Behind Enemy Lines: Inside information on Georgia before today’s Peach Bowl
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


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Our friends from Dawg Sports pull the curtain back to give us the unbiased truth about the Bulldogs.

In preparation for the Peach Bowl between the No. 4 Ohio Buckeyes and the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs today, we chatted with Jeremy Attaway the managing editor of Dawg Sports, our SB Nation sibling site that covers UGA athletics.

If you want more of the Bulldogs’ perspective on the game, make sure that you check out all of Dawg Sports’ coverage on their website or on Twitter @dawgsports.


LGHL: What do most people across the country get wrong about Stetson Bennett? His invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony was received mostly with jokes around the CFB Twittersphere, but he appeared to be far more dynamic than most casual fans give him credit for.

Dawg Sports: Bennett has developed a bit of a reputation as a “game manager.” In fact, he’s got a pretty strong riverboat gambler streak, often improvising with his legs and extending plays to make throws downfield. It’s even given rise to a nickname among Bulldog fans, who fret about occasional appearances by “Bad Stetson.” He’s kind of like Bad Santa, right down to the cigars, but with the addition of occasional ugly interceptions or strip fumbles from backside defenders.


LGHL: Ohio State’s offense lives and dies on its ability to throw the ball seemingly at will. While OSU’s passing game is substantially different from Tennessee’s, UGA shut down the Vols earlier this season. Do you think that they will run a similar scheme against the Buckeyes, or will they bring out a different plan for a less tempo-focused attack?

Dawg Sports: Kirby Smart conceded after the Tennessee game that Georgia really ran its base defense against Tennessee. The Bulldogs’ staff was confident that corners Kelee Ringo, Kamari Lassiter, Javon Bullard, and Tykee Smith could match up man-on against Tennessee’s receivers, jamming them at the line and relying on the pass rush to force premature or errant throws. By and large, that worked.

In fact, the only points of emphasis that varied from Georgia’s usual scheme were rushing to get lined up after each play and being mindful of rare substitution opportunities.

I don’t expect Smart and co-defensive coordinators Glenn Schuman and Will Muschamp to reinvent the wheel against Ohio State. They’ll rush four or five on most downs and play man with either one high or cover two safeties. Ohio State will likely have some shots open downfield as a result. You can’t put defenders on an island against dynamic playmakers like the Buckeyes have without somebody getting open.

But the calculated risk of the Georgia defense is that you won’t get the combination of a clean pocket, an out-of-position defender, and a QB and receiver both making the required play on more than a handful of occasions per game.


LGHL: Georgia has struggled a bit at times this season against obviously inferior opponents (Kent State, Missouri, Kentucky). Was that more about the Dawgs taking their foot off the gas (unlikely to happen on Saturday) or those teams doing something(s) that the Buckeyes can attempt to replicate in the Peach Bowl?

Dawg Sports: You know how all the major dictionaries this time of year release their “word of the year”, the one that sort of sums up the zeitgeist of the moment? Georgia’s phrase of the year has been “playing with their food.” The Red and Black have looked disinterested against lesser opponents. But the granular view of each of those games is a little different. Kent State hit some big plays and did some unexpected things schematically, but that game was never really in doubt.

Against Kentucky, the Bulldogs played it close to the vest offensively, built a 16-0 lead, then really throttled it down to prevent injuries and get out of a cold Lexington. The Missouri game, however, is the one that could be instructive as a blueprint for beating the ‘Dawgs. “Bad Stetson” made it out for that one, with some head-scratching throws and a costly fumble. It was one of two fumbles in the first half that likely took points off the board and contributed to a 16-6 halftime deficit.

The Bulldogs stormed back with 20 points in the second half, taking the lead with four minutes and change to go, but Bulldog fans have been cognizant ever since of the fact that this team is more of a danger to stop itself offensively than it is to be stopped by opponents (more on that below).


LGHL: Jalen Carter has missed some time this year, but still has seven tackles for loss and three sacks. Is there any way to stop him whatsoever?

Dawg Sports: If someone has found a way, they’ve kept it quiet. I remain committed to the position that Carter was actually the best player on the UGA defense in 2021, which is saying something for a unit that produced the top pick and five first-rounders in the NFL Draft.

He’s extremely strong, plays with good leverage, and has both impressive straight-line speed and a quick first step. To top it off he plays with a relentless energy that means he’s never really out of the play. You can certainly double-team him, but that’s an iffy proposition in part because it means another All-SEC caliber defender (Nazir Stackhouse, Robert Beal, or perhaps freshman phenom Mykel Williams) is going to have a shot to come free.

To paraphrase renowned football strategist Ferris Bueller, if you have the chance to add a Jalen Carter to your defense, I highly recommend you pick one up.


LGHL: Georgia has three running backs that essentially have split the carries this season. How does that generally work in-game? Does offensive coordinator Todd Monken ride the hot hand, or is the rotation set in stone — each back getting a certain number of carries/possessions — or is it more situational, with specific backs better suited for different situations? And how do you think that plays out against Ohio State?

Dawg Sports: Georgia’s tailback rotation has settled into a pretty solid pattern. Kenny McIntosh is the putative starter and the most versatile back, a solid runner with good vision who’s also a reliable blocker and a weapon in the passing game. He’ll be spelled by Daijun Edwards, a shifty back who runs well behind his pads and rarely loses yardage. Edwards has become the workhorse when Georgia wants to run out the clock on the ground, in part because he has great ball security habits.

Behind him are a pair of big backs, Kendall Milton and Branson Robinson. Those players have both broken some nice runs this year and will certainly be fixtures moving forward, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see all four backs in this game.


LGHL: Is there any crack in Georgia’s defensive armor that Ryan Day and the Buckeyes can exploit, or will they just have to hope that their defense can slow Bennett and company down enough for the offense to scrape enough points together to pull off the upset?

Dawg Sports: As I noted earlier Georgia has been somewhat prone to giving up big plays. It’s just the nature of the game when you play the type of defense they do. LSU for example was able to throw for a whopping 502 yards on the Bulldog defense, and while a lot of those were in garbage time when Georgia was just keeping the ball in front of them and keeping the clock moving, there were touchdown passes of 53, 33, and 35 yards.

Again, Kirby Smart’s gamble is that you won’t be able to beat the pass rush, beat the defender, and execute yourself enough times to consistently move the ball on his squad. Ohio State’s best bet against this defense is to win that bet by executing well. If CJ Stroud is half a turn off on deep balls or if Buckeye receivers don’t consistently win those one-on-one battles and come down with the ball, Georgia will have a distinct advantage.

On the other hand, if the Georgia offense turns the ball over and gives the Scarlet and Gray shorter fields, the odds of putting points on the board go up dramatically. It sounds a bit trite, but if Georgia wins the turnover margin, I really like the Dawgs’ chances. If it’s even or Ohio State has the advantage in the turnover column, this one is going to be tough for the favorite.


LGHL: Ok, you don’t have to pick a score if you don’t want to (although you are more than welcome to), but what do you think happens in the Peach Bowl on Saturday night?

Dawg Sports: I would expect these two very talented teams to feel each other out a little bit in the early going. Both squads are also coming off long layoffs, which seem to affect teams in unpredictable ways. In the end, I think Georgia’s in good shape if it doesn’t give Ohio State a lead to work with, and Ohio State is in good shape if they get that lead. I see a close game with Georgia pulling away with a punishing drive on the ground in the fourth quarter to win 34-24.

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Bold Predictions: A close halftime margin and a New Year’s surprise
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by John Adams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Plus more bold predictions for tonight’s CFP matchup against Georgia.

Before each Ohio State game this year, LGHL is going to bring you some “bold predictions”. This will include somewhere a few hot takes for the game, whether it be passing yards, points scored, sacks, or some other things that we could see happening during the game.

We’d love to hear your bold predictions. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your bold predictions in the comments.


Ohio State has a halftime lead

Ohio State is entering the game as a 6.5-point underdog to the Bulldogs, so a first-half lead might come as a surprise especially given what we saw in games like Maryland and Penn State when the Buckeyes needed a second-half surge to secure the W. However, the Buckeyes are third in the nation in first-half points on the season (22.6 per game) and they do have the weapons to jump ahead early.

With a strong defense that’s able to make adjustments, Georgia has allowed an average of just eight second-half points per game this season (though the Bulldogs gave up 20 to LSU during the SEC Championship when Georgia had the game very much in hand in the first half).

Under 100 net-rushing yards

When two great rush defenses clash, what else would we expect? Georgia is tops in the FBS, allowing just 77 yards on the ground per game. Ohio State is No. 25, giving up just under 120. On the flip side, both rushing offenses are averaging around 200 yards per game. Something’s got to give and given long seasons and injuries at various times in both running back rooms, it feels like the defenses might hold the edge here.

Then again, there’s a lot of benefit to having a month of rest, especially for running backs.

More than 100 receiving yards from tight ends

It almost happened against Iowa. Why not now? Georgia’s first and fourth-leading receivers are both tight ends who collectively haul in an average of 88 receiving yards per game. Ohio State’s Cade Stover isn’t pulling in quite that much, but the crew of Bulldog and Buckeye tight ends might just make the mark together.

We’ll ring in 2023 in the fourth quarter

We all know that networks love having Ohio State in their lineup because we, obviously, get the best ratings. For a spectacle such as the College Football Playoff, sponsors and advertisers will be paying top-dollar for commercial spots and you can bet we’ll see a whole bunch of media timeouts.

With kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and an average game length of 3:22, it will be a stretch to make it to midnight — but not totally unreasonable.

Uga will bark at the new Peach Bowl mascot

And maybe Brutus. While we can have all of our competitive feelings about the Georgia team, we at least have to reserve some positive feelings for its live mascot. Still, Uga will definitely be startled by the new Peach Bowl mascot. (FWIW I think Huddles is adorable.)


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Running through the Ohio State vs. Georgia Peach Bowl prop bets
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Taking a look at some of the odds when the Buckeyes take on the Bulldogs.

Ohio State enters their College Football Playoff matchup against Georgia in the Peach Bowl as six-point underdogs as things stand on Friday night, and are currently listed at +200 to win straight up with the total set at 62.5. However, as most sports gamblers know, there are more ways to bet a game than just who is going to win and how many points are going to be scored. We are of course talking about player props.

Here is a look at some of the marquee player prop bets you can take on Saturday night. As always, be sure to bet responsibly if you’re going to throw a wager down on the Buckeyes (or the Bulldogs, if you’re so inclined or going with the emotional hedge).

All odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Passing TDs — C.J. Stroud: o/u 1.5


The line for Stroud’s passing touchdowns is set at 1.5, the same line given to Georgia’s Stetson Bennett. Looking at Strouds scoring prowess this year, the Ohio State QB threw 37 touchdowns over 12 games, which comes out to an average of a little over three per game. As far as the actual games go, there were only three contests this season where Stroud failed to thrown at least two TDs — Penn State, Northwestern and Maryland. Stroud only needs to find the end zone twice on Saturday to hit the over.

On the other side, Bennett has thrown for 20 TDs over 13 games, which puts his average right around the total at a tad over 1.5. The Bulldogs’ QB has failed to reach that total in five games this season.

Passing Yards — C.J. Stroud: o/u 279.5


Stroud threw for over 3,300 yards this season in 12 games, averaging 278.3 yards per contest — pretty darn close to his total here set by Vegas. However, if you remove the outlier game against Northwestern, in which he threw for only 76 yards in basically hurricane-like conditions, his average over the other 11 games was 296.7 yards. Georgia’s passing defense this season ranked 49th in the country, allowing 215.3 yards through the air per game.

Bennett’s line is set a little lower than Stroud’s at 275.5. With 3,425 yards over 13 games, his average is down at 263.5. Bennett hasn’t reached the 275-yard mark in six different games this season, and while Ohio State’s pass defense statically ranks 14th in the nation, that is far more a reflection of the Big Ten offenses they played rather than the actual play of their defensive secondary.

Rushing Yards — Miyan Williams: o/u 68.5


With TreVeyon Henderson out for the rest of the year with an injury, Miyan Williams will feature as Ohio State’s lead back on Saturday. Missing time with injuries at points this year as well, the month off has hopefully given him time to get back to full strength. Chop ran for 817 yards in the 10 games he played, which puts him near 82 yards per game on the ground — even with a two-carry, nine-yard performance against Penn State. If he is truly healthy, he will shoulder the majority of the workload in the run game for the Buckeyes against Georgia.

Georgia has a pair of running backs with prop yardage, with Daijun Edwards’ total set at 47.5 and Kenny McIntosh set at 59.5. As a team, the Bulldogs’ offense averaged 207 yards per game on the ground this year, but the Buckeyes have proven stingy against the run. Even if Georgia is able to put together a strong rushing attack, it is tough to say which of their trio of backs will shoulder the load.

Receiving Yards — Marvin Harrison Jr.: o/u 90.5 | Emeka Egbuka: o/u 71.5


If Ohio State is going to win this game, they will need big contributions from their star wide receivers in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Harrison Jr. has the highest total set for any pass-catcher in this game at 90.5 yards, while Egbuka is second on that list at 71.5. Harrison Jr. totaled 1,157 yards receiving this year (96.4 YPG) and reached the 90-yard mark in six different games, while Egbuka totaled 1,039 receiving yards (86.5 YPG) and reached the 70-yard plateau in nine separate games.

On the Georgia side, Brock Bowers is the only player with odds, with his total listed at 58.5. He totaled 726 yards this year in 13 games (55.8 YPG) and reached at least 58 yards in a game five times. The other players listed with receiving props are Julian Fleming (o/u 41. 5) and Cade Stover (o/u 29.5).

Anytime TD scorer odds:

• Marvin Harrison Jr.: -140
• Miyan Williams: -130
• Emeka Egbuka: +130
• Chip Trayanum: +180
• Dallan Hayden: +180
• Cade Stover: +200
• Julian Fleming: +240
• OSU Def/ST: +340
• C.J Stroud (rushing): +450

Harrison Jr. is the favorite to score a touchdown in the game for Ohio State at -140, but there is some good value here as you go lower down the list. Julian Fleming caught six TDs this year in 10 games, which is behind only Harrison Jr. (12) and Egbuka (9) in two less games, so he could be a potential candidate to score in this one. Of course, you could really test the odds and bet on Stroud to score his first rushing touchdown of the year (and second ever) at +450.

On the Georgia side, McIntosh has the best odds of any player to score a TD at -190, followed by Ladd McConkey (-140), Bowers (-140) and Edwards (+140).

Ohio State team total: o/u 27.5


This is a real tricky one, as it is tough to determine which Ohio State offense we see against Georgia in their road to try and score 28 points to go over their team total. The Buckeyes scored the second most points of any team in the country, trailing only Tennessee with 44.5 points per game, but head coach Ryan Day tends to call an incredibly conservative offense against the better teams he faces. This year alone, Ohio State scored just 21 points against Notre Dame in the season opener, and just 23 points in the loss to Michigan.

Overall, Ohio State is undefeated in the Ryan Day era where scoring more than 30 points. The problem will be getting there against one of if not the best defenses in the nation.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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OHIO STATE GAMEDAY: It’s a bad day to be a Georgia Bulldog
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes are looking for redemption on New Year’s Eve.

Wake up, everyone. It’s Ohio State game day!

After a month of waiting, the Buckeyes’ Peach Bowl matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs has finally arrived. Ohio State is looking for redemption in the College Football Playoff, as the entire program from the head coach down to the players has been questioned ever since their regular season finale against Michigan. Ryan Day has a lot to prove in this one, as his team was fortunate enough to sneak into the CFP despite failing to win the Big Ten for the second year in a row. Still, somehow, a national title is within reach.

Over the past week, our talented group of writers and podcasters have put together preview pieces, analytical breakdowns, and everything in-between.

If you missed out on any of the coverage, we have you... well, covered. Below, each type of story is categorized. If you’re looking for podcasts and previews we’ve done, you can find them; if you’re looking for the betting lines and film studies, they are there, too.

Enjoy the day everyone. As always, Go Bucks!

Football Podcasts

• I-70 Football: Big Ten recruiting, College Football Playoff semi-final previews
• Silver Bullets: Early Signing Day recap, Georgia preview
• Hangout in the Holy Land: Previewing College Football Playoff against Georgia
• Buck Off: Previewing Ohio State and Georgia’s Peach Bowl matchup
• In Conversation: Mike Golic Jr. on what Ohio State needs to do to beat Georgia
• Play Like a Girl: Breaking down the keys to beating Georgia

Previews

• Ohio State vs. Georgia: 2022 game preview and prediction
• Three Things To Watch from the Georgia Bulldogs
• Defensive Player to Watch: DL Jalen Carter
• Offensive Player to Watch: TE Brock Bowers
• What are the injury situations for Georgia, Ohio State ahead of the Peach Bowl?

Sports Betting

• Ohio State heads to Atlanta as 6.5-point underdogs
• College Football Playoff, New Years Six picks

Film Studies

• Film Preview: Final thoughts on what Ohio State will need to do to beat Georgia
• Film Preview: Georgia’s defensive line is elite, Ohio State’s offensive line performance will tell story of the game
• Film Preview: Georgia’s offensive line is consistent, run game is eerily similar to Ohio State’s
• Film Preview: Don’t underestimate Stetson Bennett, Georgia’s passing game
• Film Preview: What makes Georgia’s defense so difficult for opposing offenses to break down?

Basketball

• Women’s: Injuries shift Buckeyes basketball to “point guard by committee”
• Women’s: Four Storylines — No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 Michigan on Saturday
• Men’s: Buckeyes bury Bulldogs in the second half, close 2022 with 90-59 win
• Women’s: You need to care about the Ohio State vs. Michigan women’s basketball game
• Women’s: Ohio State point guard Madison Greene out for season with injury

Recruiting

• Buckeyes keeping Georgia on their mind on the recruiting front as well as on the field
• A closer look at preferred walk-on running back commit, Willtrell Hartson
• Buckeyes still in pursuit of big time 2024 linebacker, keeping up with portal targets
• Four-star athlete from Tennessee includes Ohio State as a top school
• Five-star wide receiver from Florida includes Ohio State on top group
• Three early enrollees for 2023 to watch from the recruiting class

Other Podcasts

• In Conversation: Comps for OSU football players on women’s basketball team
• LGHL Uncut: Thornton, Holden, Holtmann talk Alabama A&M win, looming trip to Evanston
• Bucketheads: Ohio State women’s basketball is on a heater, Brice Sensabaugh could be league-bound
• Play Like a Girl: Was Ryan Day on the Naughty or Nice List this year?

Other Columns

• Preview: Michigan, TCU to kickoff 2022 College Football Playoffs
• Comparing the 2014 Sugar Bowl to Saturday’s Peach Bowl
• Who will be the ‘next man up’ in the College Football Playoff?
• What is your new year’s resolution for any Ohio State team?
• As Buckeyes head to Atlanta for the playoffs, it’s time for redemption

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Game Preview: No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball vs. No. 14 Michigan Wolverines
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Rivalry hits the hardwood Saturday between two ranked powers of the Big Ten

The final day of the 2022 calendar features not one but two Ohio State athletic events that will create ripple effects throughout respective sports. While one is a football game in Atlanta, Georgia with “win or go home” implications, the other is the No. 3 team in the country versus the No. 14 side. It’s the Ohio State women’s basketball team against the Michigan Wolverines.

Win and the Buckeyes maintain not only their ranking but their spot atop the early Big Ten standings and their place as the only remaining undefeated team in the conference. Lose and Michigan gets the bragging rights plus pushes their streak against Ohio State to four games.

Preview


The Buckeyes and Wolverines need little introduction for rivalries’ sake, but both teams are sides that’ve changed over the past year.

For Michigan, their biggest difference is the departure of forward Naz Hillmon. The 2021 Big Ten Player of the Year and four-time All-American left the Wolverines with a legacy that propelled Michigan to their best basketball in program history.

Hillmon left Michigan averaging 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds pre-game. In the 2020-21 season where she won conference Player of the Year, Hillmon averaged a double-double with 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

Her departure meant that Michigan could have taken a dive without their star, but this season they’ve overcome Hillmon’s move to the WNBA. Michigan is 12-1 coming to Columbus on Saturday, with a lone slip-up in an upset defeat against the Toledo Rockets.

Outside of their fall to some MACtion, the Wolverines have two wins against top-25 sides, including a standout 76-68 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels. Leading the way in that game and on the season is guard Leigha Brown.

Brown played three years at Nebraska, winning B1G Sixth Player of the Year and in the last two years, she’s come on strong for Michigan.

The Indiana native is a guard who specializes in attacking the basket and shooting midrange. Brown is third on the Wolverines in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, but she has a knack for coming on strong against the toughest opponents.

Against the USF Bulls, then No. 22 Baylor Bears, and against then No. 6 North Carolina, Brown scored 23, 26, and 25 points respectively. As the spotlight gets brighter, so does Brown’s play, but she’s not alone.

Other players to watch for the Wolverines are guard Laila Phelia and forward Emily Kiser. Phelia, a sophomore out of Cincinnati, Ohio, started only 14 of Michigan’s 29 games last season, but this year she’s shown how even one year of NCAA basketball under their belt can help a player grow.

Phelia’s second on the Maize and Blue in scoring, averaging 16.6 points and shooting 45.2% from deep. An area where she can be exploited though is that youth, should Ohio State’s press get into form in the game, with Phelia giving the ball away 32 times this season.

In terms of replacing Hillmon, there’s Kiser. Last season, next to Hillmon, Kiser played a more subdued role, scoring less than 10 points per game but playing strong on the boards. This year, Kiser’s improved that scoring, and opponents no longer see a gap in that presence in the paint role for Michigan.

Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Emily Kiser (33) is the new force for the Wolverines in the paint. Can Ohio State stay away from fouls enough to stop her?

This season, Ohio State started the year playing bigs well. In the campaign opener against Tennessee, the Buckeyes held center Tamari Key to eight points and three rebounds. In the next game against Boston College sophomore Maria Gakdeng, the Scarlet and Gray held her to under her season average in rebounds, grabbing only five.

However, when foul trouble hits Ohio State, things change. In last week’s San Diego Invitational, the Buckeyes were dominated by USF Bulls forward Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu. The Cameroonian lit up Ohio State with 34 points and 17 rebounds, with Buckeyes’ forward Rebeka Mikulášiková and guard Rikki Harris both fouling out.

If the Scarlet and Gray can avoid hearing the referee’s whistle too often, they’ll have a better chance at slowing down Kiser.

Overall, Michigan is a team that will keep the game in the half-court, meaning Ohio State’s half-court defense needs to be on point. There’s a reason Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico celebrated 500 career wins Thursday, after beating the Nebraska Cornhuskers — she coaches a disciplined, high-performing, team.

Projected Starters

Lineup Notes

• Forward Taylor Thierry still leads the nation in FG%, hitting 73% of her shots.
• Ohio State’s rebounding margin is .6.
• Rikki Harris leads the Buckeyes' healthy players with 40 assists.

Lineup Notes

• Forward Emily Kiser is third in the conference averaging 18.4 ppg.
• Guard Laila Phelia leads the Wolverines in blocks with 12.
• Michigan’s defense leads the Big Ten, holding opponents to an average of 57.2 ppg.

Prediction


The score prediction below says Michigan wins a close game but this one can go either way. Michigan had the tiebreaker because of a healthy and lethal Brown, but if Ohio State hits its shots it's going to be a tough day for the Maize and Blue.

Saturday’s game will be close regardless, with Mikesell meeting the gravity of the moment and playing one of her best games with the Scarlet and Gray.

Ohio State won’t have an answer for Kiser, but slowing down two of the Wolverines’ three threats will keep the game exciting. It’s going to come down to the final moments of the game, and the winner will show how close the Buckeyes really are to being at the top of the Big Ten.

How to Watch


Date: Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Covelli Center, Columbus, Ohio
Television: Big Ten Network
Stream: FOX Sports with Big Ten Network subscription

LGHL Prediction: 78-76 Michigan Wolverines

Sell Out at Covelli


The Schottenstein Center isn’t available Saturday, but it’s probably for the best. The Buckeyes move down the street to a venue that only holds 3,700, but it’s a story of quality versus quantity.

The Covelli Center is loud, and formidable to opponents. It’ll feel like the crowd is on the court, and the lower ceiling means that sound is amplified easier. To make matters better in terms of the home-court advantage, on Friday the Ohio State University announced the game will be a sellout.


While it isn’t Taylor Swift-level ticket selling, it’s a sign that people want to watch the No. 3 team in the country play live.

Now if only fans came out to the Schottenstein Center for the women’s team like they do the unranked men’s team.

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LGHL Tailgate Podcast: Everything you need to know to watch today’s Ohio State vs. TTUN game
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The only Ohio State game day podcast you need.

Before every Ohio State football game, Matt Tamanini will get you ready with all of the information that you need for that day’s game on the “LGHL Tailgate” podcast.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 1 Georgia (-6) | over/under 62.5


Game Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ESPN
Online: Sling TV
Radio: 97.1 FM/1460 AM

After fives weeks of hearing that they were outplayed, outclassed, and outcoached the last time they were on the field, the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes will have an opportunity to prove their doubters wrong tonight in the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. To do that, they will need to play an incredible game against the top-ranked and defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

No matter who has the ball, tonight’s matchup will be a battle of strengths-on-strengths with Ohio State’s No. 2 ranked scoring offense facing off against Georgia’s No. 2 scoring defense. Then when UGA has the ball, the Bulldogs have the 10th-rated scoring offense vs. OSU’s 13th-ranked scoring defense.

Though stud offensive weapons Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson won’t be in uniform for Ohio State, the rest of the Buckeye roster is relatively healthy. Running back Miyan Williams missed a pair of early-week practices this week due to illness, but was back on Thursday and has nearly fully recovered from the lower-leg injury that hampered him throughout the season.

On Jan. 9, 2023, the winner of the Peach Bowl will take on the winner of the Fiesta Bowl matchup between No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 TCU.

Matt’s Heart Prediction: Ohio State 31, Georgia 30

Matt’s Head Prediction: Georgia 42, Ohio State 24

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Ohio State vs. Georgia: Game time, TV schedule, streaming, more
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It’s finally game day, which means that it’s time for redemption.

If you would have told Ohio State fans 35 days ago that their favorite team would spend their New Year’s Eve playing for a spot in the national championship game, I imagine that you would have been met varying levels of confusion with apprehension. Nonetheless, the No. 4 Buckeyes will kick off against the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs at 8 p.m. ET in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in the second of two College Football Playoff semifinal matchups happening this afternoon.


For the first time this season, Ryan Day’s crew will enter a game as the underdog, with UGA currently sitting as six-point favorites. The defending national champions will present an interesting challenge for the Buckeyes tonight; while they share some offensive DNA with the Michigan Wolverines, they come to their run-first offense much differently. The Dawgs’ most dynamic offensive weapons are likely to be tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington. Bowers — who is 6-foot-4, 240 pounds — leads the team with 726 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and Washington — 6-foot-7 (yes, 6-foot-7) and 270 lbs. — has 417 and two.

It will be interesting to see how OSU’s defensive coordinator Jim Knowles attempts to contain the mass of humanities posing as pass-catchers. Since the Buckeyes tend to play with just two linebackers, they will either need to change their primary defensive scheme to add another bigger body onto the field, do they attempt to walk up one of their bigger safeties to mark him, or is this the moment that Ohio State decides to employ their secret weapon of true-freshman 6-foot-4, 222-pound safety Sonny Styles?

It might be too early to make Styles the primary defender on one of these tight ends, but his presence in a defensive rotation could be the perfect type of bowl-season addition that OSU could make that Georgia would have no ability to prepare for.

On the other side of the ball, the fate of the Buckeyes’ chances might hinge on how well they can contain unanimous All-America defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Even though he missed a decent amount of time, he still recorded seven tackles for loss and three sacks and has the ability to blow up any play that he’s on the field for. Fortunately, though, he is an interior defensive lineman, which Ohio State has had a better track record against — we certainly don’t want to see a repeat of last year’s rivalry game in which Michigan’s Aiden Hutchinson and David Ojabo wreaked havoc coming from the outside.

However, Ohio State’s starting right guard Matthew Jones is still dealing with the lingering effects of a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the Michigan game five weeks ago. While guards have the benefit of being able to double-team defensive linemen with the help of centers and tackles, anything that limits Jones’ ability to move could pose a problem in attempting to keep quarterback C.J. Stroud’s jersey clean.

Ultimately, tonight’s matchup will be a battle of strengths-on-strengths with Ohio State’s No. 2 ranked scoring offense facing off against Georgia’s No. 2 scoring defense, and when UGA has the ball, the Bulldogs have the 10th-rated scoring offense vs. OSU’s 13th-ranked scoring defense.

Ohio State coaches this week have talked about the necessity to score in at least the 30s, if not the 40s, in order to have a chance to win. If the Buckeyes can find a way to keep scoring near their season average, they should have a pretty decent shot to win the game. However, I tend to think that Ohio State’s defense will fare better against the Dawgs’ offense than many are anticipating, so I would not be surprised if it ends up being under the total points mark of 62.5 that DraftKings Sportsbook has set for the game.

When is the game and how can I watch it?


Game Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ESPN
Online: Sling TV
Radio: 97.1 FM | 1460 AM

DraftKings Sportsbook line: Georgia -6 | o/u 62.5

Official LGHL Prediction: Ohio State 31, Georgia 27

Matt’s Heart Prediction: Ohio State 31, Georgia 30

Matt’s Head Prediction: Georgia 42, Ohio State 24

Join the conversation


Below is your Ohio State vs. Georgia GameThread. Be respectful, be kind and — as always — keep it classy, BuckeyeNation. If you like GIFs, lay ‘em on us. In all, be good fans, cheer for your teams, be cool to each other (even if somebody else isn’t) and everyone wins. Let’s finish the season strong!

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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MC&J: Picks for the College Football Playoff semifinals and what’s left of bowl season
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Buckeyes have had a month to stew over the loss to Michigan and prepare for Georgia.

Season ATS: 107-123-6 (58-72-3 National, 49-51-3 B1G) - With a few Friday games still pending

Bowls ATS: 11-18-1 (10-16-1 National, 1-2 B1G)


After not a bad start to bowl season, things really went off the rails over the last few days. Arkansas blew a big lead, Syracuse scored a late touchdown, and a number of other teams I picked had terrible performances. While we can’t even up our season record, hopefully we can still have some fun with these last games of bowl season. Who knows, maybe these picks for bowl games on January 2nd can help you win a little coin since sports betting will be legal in Ohio then!

Bowl games 12/31/22 - 1/2/23


(All lines courtesy of Draftkings Sportsbook.)

Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Alabama (-6.5) v. No. 9 Kansas State - Saturday 12/31 12:00 p.m. - ESPN

Will Alabama care about this bowl game? There was a few instances when the BCS where the Crimson Tide laid an egg in the Sugar Bowl. In 2009 Alabama lost to Utah, and in 2014 they were beaten in New Orleans by Oklahoma. Even though this is only the second time the Crimson Tide hasn’t played in the College Football Playoff, it sounds like Nick Saban’s team will be ready for this game. Both Bryce Young and Will Anderson will play even though nobody would have blamed them if they wanted to sit out and protect themselves for the upcoming NFL Draft.

Kansas State doesn’t quite have the athletes that Alabama has. One thing you can’t take away from the Wildcats is the fundamentals and attention to detail that they play with. Deuce Vaughn is a tremendous running back and Will Howard has found some comfort at quarterback after taking over for Adrian Martinez. Working in their favor is the Alabama defense doesn’t quite squeeze the life out of their opponents as we have seen in the past.

Having said that, I still think Alabama is the right side in this game. Even though he might have not quite lived up to the expectations coming into the year, I think Anderson has a big game to put a little more juice behind his name ahead of the draft. Jahmyr Gibbs is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches that ball, and I think he goes for over 100 yards and a couple of scores as the Crimson Tide win by double digits.

Alabama 38, Kansas State 24


Music City Bowl: Iowa (-2) v. Kentucky - Saturday 12/31 12:00 p.m. - ABC

After the Titans had to use their third-string quarterback on Thursday night against the Cowboys, neither starting quarterback from either team will play in this game. We know Iowa will start third-string quarterback Joe Labas since Spencer Petras won’t be playing in this game and Alex Padilla is in the transfer portal. Kentucky’s Will Levis has already opted out of this game, leaving either a couple of freshmen or an Iowa transfer to take the snaps. As if that wasn’t enough, running backs Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Kavosiey Smoke won’t play for the Wildcats.

These teams met in the Citrus Bowl with Kentucky beating the Hawkeyes 20-17 on the first day of 2022. Now they’ll close out the year with another defensive slugfest. This time I think Iowa wins a low-scoring affair. It sounds like there is a bit of excitement amongst Hawkeyes fans since Labas will play. Then again, the bar is low when it comes to quarterback play in Iowa City.

Iowa 20, Kentucky 13


ReliaQuest Bowl: No. 22 Mississippi State (-1.5) v. Illinois - Monday 1/2 12:00 p.m. - ESPN2

Are you picking against a Mississippi State team that will put forth a spirited effort after the death of Mike Leach? I’m certainly not. The Bulldogs will certainly want to honor their coach with a great performance to close out the year. Also, Mississippi State won’t have to worry about trying to stop Illinois running back Chase Brown, who opted out of this game. Without Brown, Illinois has a hard time getting much going on offense.

Mississippi State 31, Illinois 20


Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 16 Tulane v. No. 10 USC (-2) - Monday 1/2 1:00 p.m. - ESPN

Tulane feels a bit like Utah light. They have some pop on offense and a really tough defense. The Green Wave did have a bit of trouble stopping the run, averaging 153 yards per game on the ground this year, but the Trojans lost a key part of their running game earlier this year when Travis Dye was injured.

USC obviously had bigger aspirations at the end of the year. Had the Trojans not laid an egg against the Utes in Las Vegas, they would be playing in the College Football Playoff. Now USC will be without wide receiver Jordan Addison for this game after he opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams will play in this game but the last time we saw him he was obviously dealing with some injuries. Plus, we have seen how Heisman winners sometimes come out flat after hitting the banquet circuit.

Tulane is going to throw everything they have at USC in this game. I’m not convinced the Trojans have the mental toughness to handle it. Alex Grinch is such a bad defensive coordinator that it feels like the Green Wave can do whatever they want because they are so sound on offense. I’ll take Willie Fritz’s team to cap off an incredible turnaround after going 2-10 in 2021 with one of the biggest wins in school history.

Tulane 34, USC 27


Citrus Bowl: No. 17 LSU (-14.5) v. Purdue - Monday 1/2 1:00 p.m. - ABC

At first, this feels like a lot of points to be laying, especially with the way LSU played in their last two games, losing at Texas A&M and in the SEC Championship Game to Georgia. Then you look at what Purdue will have available in this game. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell, wide receiver Charlie Jones, and tight end Payne Durham have all opted out of this game. As if that wasn’t enough, head coach Jeff Brohm took the Louisville job, which leaves Drew Brees as the interim head coach in this game.

I just don’t feel good about backing Purdue in this game since they’ll be without their three best guys on offense. Jayden Daniels has had some time to get healthy and he should be able to throw the Boilermakers for some loops with his ability to throw and run. If the Tigers get up by a couple of touchdowns it’s hard to see Purdue having the horses to be able to keep LSU from running away with this game.

LSU 41, Purdue 21


Rose Bowl: No. 11 Penn State v. No. 8 Utah (-2) - Monday 1/2 5:00 p.m. - ESPN

Penn State isn’t getting the respect they deserve ahead of this game. The two losses the Nittany Lions suffered this year came to Michigan and Ohio State, with both of those teams playing in the College Football Playoff. Now the Nittany Lions will try and end quarterback Sean Clifford’s 61-year career at Penn State with a victory.

Utah does have some recent experience in Pasadena, taking Ohio State to the limit on the first day of 2022. This isn’t quite the same Utah team we saw in last year’s Rose Bowl. The Utes will be without running back Tavion Thomas and tight end Dalton Kincaid, putting even more pressure on quarterback Cam Rising. The Utah defense has to be breathing just a little easier since Penn State wide receiver Parker Washington won’t be playing in this game.

Unlike USC, Penn State does have some toughness. The Utes were able to run over the Trojans in the Pac-12 Championship Game because USC is soft. The Nittany Lions have been through some wars in the Big Ten, so they won’t be scared to not only take some hits but also dish them out. For the second year in a row, Utah comes up short in the “Granddaddy of Them All” against a Big Ten team in Pasadena.

Penn State 35, Utah 31


Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 TCU v. No. 2 Michigan (-7.5) - Saturday 12/31 4:00 p.m. - ESPN

Just a few years ago who would have thought Jim Harbaugh would lead the Wolverines to back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances? I know I certainly didn’t. For a while, it looked like Harbaugh was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole but he has really gotten things to work in Ann Arbor. I thought the Wolverines might take a step back this year after how many players they lost to the NFL. Luckily for Michigan fans, I’ve made quite a habit of being wrong about their program.

TCU played with a lot of fire late in the season, and it burned them in the Big 12 Championship Game when they lost to Kansas State in overtime. Luckily for the Horned Frogs, the loss didn’t keep them out of the College Football Playoff. Max Duggan had a great season, throwing 30 touchdowns while running back Kendre Miller ran for 1,342 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Where TCU is a bit lacking is with their defense. Even though Michigan is going to be without Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards has proven he can handle the workload at running back. Just look at what he did in the fourth quarter in Columbus last month where he uncorked a couple of long touchdown runs to seal the victory for the Wolverines. The Horned Frogs feel a bit more like a finesse team, and we all saw how that worked out for Ohio State against Michigan. TCU might hit a couple of shots early, I just don’t think it’ll be enough as the Wolverines wear down Sonny Dykes’ team.

Michigan 37, TCU 23


Peach Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State v. No. 1 Georgia (-6.5) - Saturday 12/31 8:00 p.m. - ESPN

We have finally made it to this game! I’m already having PTSD from Ohio State playing on New Year’s Eve and getting shutout against Clemson in Arizona in a semifinal and hoping we aren’t in for something similar in Atlanta to close out 2022. This has been such a strange season for the Buckeyes. After watching years of terrible Buffalo Bills football, I’m still trying to wrap my head around feeling so miserable about a team that has only lost one game.

Of course, that one loss came in the biggest game of the season (so far) when Michigan ran away from the Buckeyes in the fourth quarter last month. Before The Game, I was thinking some of the criticisms of Ryan Day were a little unfair. I can’t say as much anymore. Luckily for Day, he has a chance to redeem himself. Ohio State’s head coach and the rest of the coaching staff better have been locked inside their offices for the last month just eating tape and coming up with the perfect game plan for Georgia.

The Bulldogs are certainly a scary team, but I think they are able to be beaten, though. There are a few things Ohio State must do to upset the defending national champs. Miyan Williams has to be a big part of Saturday night’s game plan. The Buckeyes need to get some sort of running game going to keep Georgia guessing. I’m begging Day and Kevin Wilson to mix in some Dallan Hayden on the ground. Hayden is a great compliment to Williams, as he brings some speed and elusiveness while Williams is a bruising back.

Can J.T. Tuimoloau please repeat his performance against Penn State? Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Zach Harrison, and the rest of the defensive line have to get in Stetson Bennett’s face early. I know Bennett is 27-3 as a starter and has seen pretty much everything on the football field, but Ohio State has to make him uncomfortable and hurry his throws. There has to be a bit of a fine line though since the Buckeyes have to create pressure without sacrificing their coverage, which we saw Michigan exploit.

Even though the players and coaches are different, we’ve seen this play out before. Ohio State was an underdog against Alabama in the first College Football Playoff and went out and shocked the world. The Buckeyes are going to have to work insanely hard to keep Jalen Carter and the rest of the Georgia defense off C.J. Stroud, but it’s not impossible. I think Ohio State uses the chip on its shoulder to its advantage and sets up a rematch with Michigan. Day gives himself and his team a chance for revenge.

Ohio State 31, Georgia 27

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

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Play Like a Girl Podcast: Breaking down the keys to beating Georgia
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s Peach Bowl week! And apparently there are some other CFB games, too.

On LGHL’s “Play Like a Girl” podcast, Megan Husslein and Jami Jurich welcome in friends from around the LGHL, Ohio State, and sporting worlds to talk about everything from Ohio State sports to advocacy for women in sports and all the happenings in between.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio


The time has finally come: Ohio State plays Georgia this Saturday in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. On this episode, Megan and Jami discuss the major storylines heading into the College Football Playoff semifinal, and what the Buckeyes need to do in order to upset the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

The duo also discusses TCU’s chances against Michigan (they’re not great), talk about a few other bowl games, and the latest transfer portal news. Sam Hartman to Notre Dame, anyone?


Contact Megan Husslein
Twitter: @meganhusslein

Contact Jami Jurich
Twitter: @JamiJurich

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Injuries shift Buckeyes women’s basketball to “point guard by committee”
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

What the point guard spot looks like without either starting player available.

Losing a basketball team’s starting guard to injury is hard to overcome. Losing both starting-caliber facilitators is a whole different level. That’s the environment at UConn, losing top-ranked Azzi Fudd on Dec. 7 for three-to-six weeks and college superstar Paige Bueckers for the season with an ACL tear.

It doesn’t get the same attention as the Conn-sphere, but the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team is going through similar problems. Now, the Scarlet & Gray prepare for the start of their toughest stretch of the year, and they’re doing it in a different way.

The 2022-23 season started off like a dream for the Buckeyes at point guard. Senior guard Jacy Sheldon amassed 27 steals in the first four games, led the Buckeyes past a No. 5 seed Tennessee Volunteers and was the catalyst for the start of Ohio State’s best start to a season in 11 years.

Then, Sheldon went down with a lower leg injury, missing two games before returning for the ACC/B1G Challenge against the Louisville Cardinals. As is the case of every game the Buckeyes have played this year, it ended with a victory, but it created a loss for Ohio State. Sheldon hasn’t played since that Nov. 30 win in Kentucky.

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Jacy Sheldon (center) hasn’t played a game in December.

It’s not ideal, but the Scarlet & Gray had Madison Greene — a redshirt junior who started for the Buckeyes in the 2020-21 season before requiring season ending knee surgery in the week leading up to the start of the 2021-22 season. Greene didn’t bring the same out-of-this-world number of steals as Sheldon, but brought a steady defensive presence, assists on offense and better control of the ball than any other Buckeye.

The starter turned back-up turned back into a starter, leading the way in seven games before Dec. 20. That’s when Greene went down clutching her knee in the final minutes of regulation against the USF Bulls. Within a minute of hitting a deficit-cutting three, Greene was in serious pain on the court, with teammates in tears near the scorers table and on the bench.

Wednesday, head coach Kevin McGuff announced after the Buckeyes’ 81-48 victory over Northwestern that Greene’s done for the remainder of the season. Also, there’s no sure timetable for Sheldon’s return, although it’s likely this season. Those injuries create a hole for the Scarlet & Gray, but so far coach McGuff’s “point guard by committee” is working.

That’s what the coach McGuff calls Ohio State’s current position at point guard. Unlike UConn, the Buckeyes don’t have a star-studded list of five-star recruits at the position. Instead, they have a pair of guards who bring different skillsets to the role. The primary name being Rikki Harris.

Greene’s injury put the Buckeyes in a tough position. Ohio State had less than 24 hours to incorporate another point guard, with a match-up against the then No. 16 Oregon Ducks looming, but Harris stepped up. The Indianapolis, Indiana area guard had eight assists in the 84-67 win over the Ducks, a career high.

That continued after the holiday break against the Wildcats. Harris had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists. Ohio State features two underclassmen in the starting lineup, so it’s assumed that it’s tough for them to adjust to the revolving door at point guard, but it’s the opposite.

“She’s (Harris) a really good playmaker,” said sophomore forward/guard Taylor Thierry. “She’s able to handle the ball, look up the court and see who’s open. Just a really good facilitator and its helpful. It showed in this game.”

That facilitation comes with Harris turning off any of the ego, or missing the chance to be more of a point-scorer. She’s making her young teammates better.

“She also puts a lot of trust in us,” said freshman forward Cotie McMahon. “She wants us to get the bucket more so than herself. That’s really good to have as a point guard.“

Another good thing to have as a point guard is Taylor Mikesell playing alongside you. That’s what Harris has but lately, Mikesell’s role has changed. When Harris goes to the bench to rest, Mikesell’s sliding into the point guard role and its paying dividends. Mikesell’s had nine assists in the two games since Greene’s injury. Also, nine steals and 14 rebounds. It’s a surprise for everyone except for the people she sees day in and day out — her teammates.

“We all know she’s a great shooter but it goes back to what I was saying about we’re all versatile,” said Thierry. “We all can do multiple things and today it showed she was able to execute in other areas.”

That versatility Thierry talks about spreads across the roster too. The five starters for Ohio State all move around the offensive side of the court, can shoot from deep and force turnovers on defense.

This means, at least on the surface, the Buckeyes aren’t showing any panic. Instead, players are stepping up to the challenge. To the team, it’s no big deal.

“We practice with Rikki (Harris) at the one, T-Mike (Mikesell) at the one, Rikki at the two, T-Mike at the two, so we’ve all seen different kinds of positions, we’re all kind of used to it,” said McMahon. “It’s nothing major. It has been a little bit of an adjustment, but nothing too crazy.”

Now, the committee of the Buckeyes welcome their biggest test when the Michigan Wolverines come to town on New Year’s Eve. Win and maybe it isn’t such a big deal?

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In Conversation Podcast: Finding comps for Ohio State football players on women’s basketball team
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK | Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

LGHL’s women’s basketball beat writer Thomas Costello joins the pod to draw comparisons between the two highly rated teams.

On Land-Grant Holy Land In Conversation, we talk to people in and around Ohio State athletics, and the sporting world at large, to bring you a different insight and perspective to the teams, athletes, and university that you love.

Listen to the episode and subscribe:

Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio


On this very unique episode, Land-Grant Holy Land’s Matt Tamanini and Thomas Costello take a look at two of Ohio State’s most highly rated and highest profile teams and look to draw some comparisons between their rosters.

On Saturday, Dec. 31, the No. 3 Ohio State women’s basketball team will host No. 14 Michigan at 1 p.m. ET looking to get revenge having lost three straight in the series. Then, later that night at 8 p.m. ET, the No. 4 Ohio State football team will look to rebound from a second-straight loss to Michigan as they take on the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff Semifinals.

So, if Buckeye fans are unfamiliar with some of the talents on the WBB roster, Saturday is a perfect opportunity to embrace one of the best teams in the country. So, Matt has picked five of the most popular OSU football players and Thomas is going to try and find a women’s basketball player who has a similar background and traits to make it easy for predominantly football fans to find their favorite women’s basketball player


Connect with Matt Tamanini
Twitter: @BWWMatt

Connect with Thomas:
Twitter: @1ThomasCostello

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Georgia Defensive Player to Watch: Defensive lineman Jalen Carter
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Carter was one of only a few impactful players up front who returned for the defending champs, but their defense has not skipped a beat.

Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes are heading into the belly of the beast on New Year’s Eve, as they look to knock off Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs in the defending champs’ own backyard. As if UGA needed any additional help, this year’s Peach Bowl is being played in Atlanta, creating an inherent home field advantage for the Dawgs.

But a team as talented as the one from Columbus, OH should never be counted out. The Big Ten underdogs have an opportunity to shock the college football world, but it will take an aggressive gameplan and 60 minutes of high-level execution.


Both (gameplan and execution) failed OSU in their last game — a defeat at the hands of TTUN. Now they will face a team which, frankly, needs no help in beating opponents senseless. So the Buckeyes must evaluate and address what failed them in late November, on both sides of the ball.

From a defensive perspective, Ohio State coaches, players, and even fans know that big plays – or “explosives” – were at fault for their loss to the Wolverines. Great. Now that we’ve all pointed out the obvious, how does OSU prevent those big plays from becoming long, back-breaking touchdowns?

Georgia is basically just a souped-up version of the other Big Ten team in this College Football Playoff, so Jim Knowles’ gameplan will likely not differ that much from the one we saw in November. However, that poor performance was primarily a result of horrendous execution and failed assignments — not some half-brained plan of attack. If the Buckeyes eliminate mental mistakes and shore up their tackling, I believe that Knowles’ defense can at least limit the effectiveness of any offense in this CFP. Easier said than done though, especially against the Bulldogs.

Offensively, Ohio State’s recent struggles are much harder to swallow. A unit led by quarterback and Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud and loaded with skill position stars such as Marvin Harrison Jr. should never have trouble scoring points. But this OSU offense, despite being ranked No. 2 nationally in points (scored) per game, has not been consistently crisp down the stretch.

The Northwestern game was a slog, the trip to Maryland left much to be desired, and the second half against TTUN was... shocking? Confusing? An abject failure? Call it whatever you like, but Day’s offense looked completely lost. And as a result, the Buckeyes will now be tasked with rediscovering their swagger against one of the best defenses in college football.

Georgia ranks No. 8 nationally in total defense and No. 2 in scoring defense. This, after the team lost their top four tacklers from a season ago — in addition to first overall draft pick Travon Walker and fellow first-rounder Jordan Davis. The amount of pure talent UGA has on that side of the ball is truly absurd.

But the Bulldogs are not without subtle flaws. They are tied with Ohio State in team interceptions – putting them outside the top-50 – and sometimes struggle to get after the quarterback. Smart’s defense has totaled just 26 sacks in 13 games, ranking outside the top-75. Sure, they don’t have to blitz a ton to be effective, and sacks are not entirely reflective of pressure created, but still... this defense bleeds. The players are human.

With the possible exception of defensive lineman Jalen Carter.


A candidate to go first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Carter is one of the more impressive athletes you will ever find — on a football field or elsewhere. This 6-foot-3, 300-pound destroyer of dreams might even turn out to be a mutant disguised as a Georgia Bulldog, but at the very least, he is the closest thing to Aaron Donald since... well, AD himself. Regardless of whether or not he is a legitimate Space Jam monstar, we do know this much to be true about Carter: He is undeniably good at football, cementing his status as the Peach Bowl’s Defensive Player to Watch.

Hailing from the Sunshine State, Carter was a five-star recruit in the 2020 class. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 3 defensive tackle and No. 18 player overall, leading to no shortage of suitors for his elite services. Interestingly enough, Carter rose in national recruiting rankings despite making the switch from offense to defense prior to his senior season. That’s right. This big man was primarily a tight end until 2019! Florida schools were obviously in on Carter, but he could likely smell their respective dumpster fires from his own backyard. So the freak athlete committed to Georgia, joining a dynamic defensive core.

As a true freshman, Carter played in all 10 games (pandemic) and earned two starts. Pretty impressive, considering he belonged to the same position group as older players like Devonte Wyatt, Travon Walker, and the aforementioned Davis. But there were plenty of reps to go around, and Carter earned his fair share. He finished with just 14 total tackles, but an impressive 13 QB pressures. His impact was felt and clearly noticeable, leading to an increased role as part of an otherworldly 2021 UGA defense.

Led by five first-round draft picks, the Bulldogs surrendered a paltry 10.2 PPG last season. Carter was consistently involved in the action, despite again splitting reps. Not even listed as a full-time starter due to his team’s ridiculous rotation, the star sophomore was still a fixture in opponents’ backfields, racking up 8.5 tackles for loss and 33 QB pressures. Carter “only” added three sacks, but that is not what his game is about. He is a space-eating, block-deflecting, gap-shooting disruptor. His mere presence on the field makes 10 other players exponentially better. And last year, he managed to stand out on a defense which featured a 2004 Miami-level collection of talent.

Georgia obviously won last year’s CFP, and though that could cause some championship-winning returnees tend to rest on their laurels, Carter has returned with a vengeance, leading the Bulldogs’ 2022 defense (and repeat title chase). In 11 games played, big #88 has totaled 29 tackles and 7.5 TFL, while also forcing two fumbles.

But remember, as an interior defensive lineman, he is not likely to stuff the stat sheet with traditional “counting” stats. He is a disruptor and a run stuffer, with the added ability to rush if/when called upon. His presence in the middle of the defensive line has helped UGA limit opponents to an average of 77 rushing yards pre game. And this is with virtually no returning experience up front, outside of Carter.

He has been a one-man wrecking crew; one who will absolutely challenge the Ohio State front throughout this weekend’s Peach Bowl.


It is not hyperbole to say that Jalen Carter might be a generational talent. Credit goes to his coaches as well, but we’re talking about an interior defensive lineman who significantly impacts (and sometimes even changes) his opponent’s entire gameplan. And he has continued to do so, despite losing five first-round teammates from a year ago! Carter and Kelee Ringo are the next guys up, and I would not be surprised if the block-shedding, hard-hitting, quarterback-lifting lineman is drafted first overall in late April.

It is not a stretch to say that Ryan Day’s team will have its hands full on Saturday night. But Ohio State is just as talented as the defending champs — if not more so. Their chance of success will hinge on gameplan and execution, as well as their ability to limit the effectiveness of Georgia’s stars. Carter is certainly one of them, so much will be asked of Justin Frye’s position group. But I have faith in the boys up front. And I have faith in the Buckeyes. It feels like Ohio against the world, so here’s hoping the Scarlet and Gray can make a run another special run as an underdog 4-seed.

Go Bucks!

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Three Things To Watch from the Georgia Bulldogs
CMinnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images

The Buckeyes are underdogs, but by no means are out.

Ohio State’s players and coaches have been subjected to an onslaught of negativity from their fans who are overly active on Twitter and the national media ever since Nov. 26. It is tragically comical that people have seemingly forgotten that for most of the season, people expected the Buckeyes to wind up facing Georgia, albeit in the national championship game. Ohio State was often considered to be on par with Georgia for most of the season, sometimes even superior to Georgia, until the epic face plant that took place in Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State, along with Alabama and Georgia, is considered to have a talent-rich roster that is among the envy of the college football world, but so many members of the national media have decided to portray this game as a David versus Goliath contest. So be it. Ohio State is the underdog, and can come into this game playing loose and aggressively, with the mindset that they can let it all hang out against Georgia in The Peach Bowl.

Below are Three Things To Watch from Georgia when the ball kicks off on ESPN at 8:00 p.m. ET on Dec. 31...

1. Ohio State’s passing game vs. Georgia’s secondary

This strategy has been well-discussed by Ohio State fans, but the Buckeyes need to be attacking the Georgia secondary early and often on offense. Mind you, I am not advocating for a bombs away approach, but more of quick slants, hitting checkdown receivers if Georgia blitzes, and above all, for C.J. Stroud to take off for productive yards on the ground on passing plays when the opportunities present themselves.

Georgia’s Jalen Carter is going to be extremely difficult for Ohio State’s interior offensive line to manage, and Stroud will need to roll out to give himself more time against the Bulldogs. If that means Stroud gains 2 or 3 yards on a scramble to put Ohio State ahead of the chains, the Buckeyes need to take it.

2. Limit Georgia’s big plays by their tight ends

Tight ends Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington are crucial to the Georgia offense as both blockers, but also receivers. I am not suggesting that Ohio State’s defense will be able to stop Bowers and/or Washington, but I am sincerely hoping that Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and the other members of the defensive coaching staff have taught their players to resist the urge to go for a highlight knockout shot.

They should be content to wrap up low on Bowers and/or Washington, hoping that a teammate(s) will be along to get them to the ground. If the Ohio State secondary can tackle immediately after a Georgia reception, that will help immensely from what the Buckeyes did in their last game.

3. Keep Stetson Bennett in the pocket

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is underrated — even as a Heisman Trophy finalist — as most people derisively think of him as a “game manager”, and not somebody capable of carrying the Georgia offense. The reality is Bennett is not only effective as a passer, but can keep drives alive with his legs. The Buckeyes were burned by Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy on Nov. 26, and will need to make sure that Bennett is not able to take off for decent runs on passing downs.

Here’s to hoping Ohio State plays confidently, aggressively, and assertively in all three phases of the game — offense, defense, and special teams. For those of you who are going to the Peach Bowl, my sincere hope that you have a tremendous time. For those of you who may be out at a bar/restaurant, please use good judgment and do not hesitate to call an Uber, Lyft, taxi services, etc on New Year’s Eve.

Go Bucks!

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Four Storylines: No. 3 Ohio State women vs. No. 14 Michigan on Saturday
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The OSU women’s basketball team has fallen three straight games against TTUN, do they break the streak Saturday?

The Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball team returns to Columbus for Big Ten play on New Year’s Eve. For the second year in a row, it’s the Michigan Wolverines facing the Scarlet & Gray before the ball drops. It’s a game that already features rivalry, but add both teams' top-15 rankings, the Buckeyes' undefeated season, and possible revenge for Ohio State, and it becomes a heavyweight battle.

Here are storylines to watch before Saturday's 1 p.m. ET tip.

Avenging Defeats


It’s not likely to come from head coach Kevin McGuff’s mouth but there has to be revenge on the Scarlet and Gray’s mind on Saturday. After three straight losses to the Wolverines, the Buckeyes want to kiss that losing streak goodbye.

Michigan hasn’t just beaten the Buckeyes in three-straight, but they’ve beaten them without much of a chance for Ohio State. In the last two games, during the 2021-22 season, the Maize & Blue won by 19 points per game. Former Michigan center Naz Hillmon, who now plays for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, put 49 points up on the Buckeyes across the two games. She was a force nobody on Ohio State could stop.

This year is different because Hillmon’s gone, but that doesn’t mean Michigan isn’t formidable. The Wolverines have beaten the ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and Baylor Bears, and leading the way in big games is Leigha Brown.

The guard hurt Ohio State last year too, scoring 40 combined points in those two games, meaning Saturday is by no means at all a cakewalk.

Photo by David Jensen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Leigha Brown (32) steps up in big games, scoring 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds against No. 6 ranked North Carolina

Coach McGuff’s side is different than last year though, and features multiple players who can go off on the scoresheet on any given night.

Two Taylors


Last season, the Buckeyes relied on guards Taylor Mikesell and Jacy Sheldon to lead the way on offense. The Oregon transfer Mikesell launched threes at an impressive clip, even averaging 50% from deep late in the season. This season, Mikesell hasn’t been as effective in shooting, but she also hasn’t had to be.

Mikesell’s having a better season in assists, rebounds, and steals, more than making up for a slight dip in scoring. However, a cold day of scoring will hurt the Buckeyes in what’s likely to be a tough Big Ten contest.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, there are two positives for Ohio State. The first is that Mikesell’s best games of the season came against ranked teams. Mikesell scored 25, 26, and 25 against Tennessee, Louisville, and Oregon respectively. When the moment gets bigger, so do Mikesell’s performances.

The other is that Mikesell doesn’t have to do it alone this season. Multiple Buckeyes are stepping up. Freshman forward Cotie McMahon’s led the Scarlet & Gray in three of Ohio State’s last four. Forward Rebeka Mikulášiková is playing her best basketball in her four years as a Buckeye. Also, there’s the other Taylor — Taylor Thierry.

After playing mostly a defensive spark off the bench role in 2021/22, the Cleveland, Ohioan is the most consistent scorer for the Scarlet & Gray.

Thierry averages 13.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Points-wise, Thierry’s increased her scoring from her freshman season by 10.1 points. Those points are coming through confident attacks to the basket, leading the NCAA in field goal percentage at 73%.

Half Court Defense


With guard Madison Greene out for the season with a knee injury, the Buckeyes have a gap in their defense. Greene is Ohio State’s best perimeter defender, and as McMahon said following Ohio State’s 84-41 win over Northwestern, she does all the small things needed to be successful.

Without Greene, Ohio State faces a team that doesn’t shoot a ton from deep, but they can terrorize an opponent inside the arc. Michigan can shoot mid-range and attack the basket at a high clip.

In past games this season, like the season opener against the then No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers, a weakness for Ohio State was allowing players to easily attack the basket. Volunteers guard Jordan Horston put 20 up against Ohio State, plus controlled inside the paint with 13 rebounds.

To stall Brown and forward Emily Kiser, the Scarlet & Gray need to play tough defense. That means limiting easy shots and giving space for Thierry and Mikulášiková to grab rebounds.

Another way to help the half-court is Ohio State getting into their full-court press early. That only happens if shots fall.

The Buckeyes play a ruthless press, even with Sheldon likely out with a lower leg injury. Michigan is a veteran team, but so are the Buckeyes. Guards Mikesell, Thierry, and Rikki Harris are the ones to watch in the press, with McMahon making reads on passes further in the backcourt.

Make the Covelli Center Scary


A new year is about resolutions and optimism, but Saturday’s game at the Covelli Center is the perfect chance to make teams afraid of Ohio State’s alternative venue. While it doesn’t hold the same amount as the overwhelmingly quiet Schottenstein Center, the volleyball and wrestling venue down the street is loud. Really loud.

If Ohio State gets going early, that sound and the feeling of close to 3,700 fans practically sitting on the court can shake the Wolverines.

When it comes to home-court advantage, it’s about quality, not quantity.

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Why is this News? All the articles and tweets Buckeye fans need for December 30, 2022
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

All the Buckeye news thats fit to re-print.

Look, we get it. Your days are busy and you don’t have time to read all of the stories and tweets from the three dozen websites dedicated to covering Ohio State athletics, or the 237 Buckeye beat writers churning out hot takes and #content on a daily basis. But that’s ok, that’s what your friends at Land-Grant Holy Land are here for.

Monday through Friday, we’ll be collecting all of the articles, tweets, features, interviews, videos, podcasts, memes, photos, and whatever else we stumble across on the interwebz and putting them in our daily “Why is this News?” article. That way, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all of the most important Buckeye news, jokes, and analysis.

You’re welcome!

For your Earholes...


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On the Gridiron


Ryan Day full transcript/video during Buckeyes’ first full day in Atlanta
Dave Biddle, Bucknuts

Lessons Learned from jam-packed Buckeyes media day, open viewing period (paywall)
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Matt Jones Says He’s “Fully Good to Go” for Peach Bowl After Missing Michigan Game with Injury
Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors

Practice Observations as Buckeyes prep for ‘violent’ Peach Bowl (paywall)
Austin Ward, Dotting the Eyes

Practice Observations: Miyan Williams Returns to Action, Devin Brown Impresses with Deep Touchdown Pass in 11-on-11 Reps
Griffin Strom, Eleven Warriors

This is it. The chance to shock the world is almost here!


Peach Bowl Film Preview: Final thoughts on what Ohio State will need to do to beat Georgia
Chris Renne, Land-Grant Holy Land

Georgia-Ohio State film: Can the Buckeyes find answers to the Bulldogs’ stars? (paywall)
Nick Baumgardner, The Athletic

Film Study: For Ohio State to Knock off Georgia in the CFP Semifinal, It Must Follow These Three Keys
Kyle Jones, Eleven Warriors

Looks like the Bucks are loose and ready to go on Saturday!


Five Thoughts: Is playing fast the key for Ohio State against Georgia? (paywall)
Bill Landis, Dotting the Eyes

Three keys for Ohio State-Georgia semifinal matchup
Joey Kaufman, The Columbus Dispatch

To beat Georgia, Ohio State football must solve two problems wrapped into one
Nathan Baird, cleveland.com

Such an unbelievably special dude on and off the field:


Ohio State enters Peach Bowl starved of takeaways
Andy Backstrom, Lettermen Row

Well-Balanced Georgia Offense Presents “Huge Challenge” for the Buckeyes, but Jim Knowles Says It’s “One Our Guys Have Worked for All Year”
Griffin Strom, Eleven Warriors

Georgia TEs Bowers, Washington pose big test for Ohio State defense
Bill Rabinowitz, The Columbus Dispatch

I mean, I get why you have to ask these questions, but really, why do we need to ask these questions now?


COLUMN: Why Ryan Day needs to ‘let it all out’ with attacking Peach Bowl play sheet (paywall)
Spencer Holbrook, Lettermen Row

Ohio State seeks to remind everyone why it belongs on national title stage (paywall)
Jeremy Birmingham, Dotting the Eyes

Comparing the 2014 Sugar Bowl to Saturday’s Peach Bowl
Megan Husslein, Land-Grant Holy Land

On the Hardwood


Buckeyes bury Bulldogs in the second half, close 2022 with 90-59 win
Connor Lemons, Land-Grant Holy Land

Now fully healthy, Ohio State faces roster decisions in Big Ten play
Adam Jardy, The Columbus Dispatch

Hear the entire postgame press conference from yesterday’s MBB win over Alabama A&M:


Column: You need to care about Saturday’s Ohio State vs. Michigan women’s basketball game
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land

Game Notes: No. 3 Ohio State women reopen Big Ten play with win vs. Northwestern
Thomas Costello, Land-Grant Holy Land

Our men’s and women’s basketball writers team up for an epic crossover podcast episode!

And now for something completely different...


Happy birthday to the !!


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Ohio State vs. Georgia: 2022 game preview and prediction
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

The Buckeyes will play in the Peach Bowl for the first time in school history on Saturday night when they take on Georgia in Atlanta.

Ohio State will make their first appearance in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday night when they square off with the Georgia Bulldogs, who are the defending national champions and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes have had over a month to stew over their 45-23 loss to Michigan in Columbus at the end of November, and hope to take out their frustrations on the Bulldogs.

Last time out


The last time we saw Ohio State, the defense of the Buckeyes was being ripped apart by J.J. McCarthy and Donovan Edwards. The Buckeyes gave up 530 yards to the Wolverines, with five of Michigan’s touchdowns coming on plays of at least 40 yards. Ohio State wasn’t able to provide any resistance when it mattered most, as the Wolverines outscored the Buckeyes 21-0 in the fourth quarter.

Buckeye bowl history


Ohio State will try to again shock the world by knocking off another top seed from the SEC in a College Football Playoff semifinal. Back in the first-ever CFP that took place on the first day of 2015, the Buckeyes took on top-seeded Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Not many gave Ohio State a chance in the game, especially since they were coming into the game with third-string quarterback Cardale Jones as the starter after J.T. Barrett was injured in the Michigan game.

After falling behind the Crimson Tide early in the game, Ohio State found their groove and took a 21-20 lead right before halftime. The victory was capped off by Ezekiel Elliott running “85 yards through the heart of the south” with less than four minutes left in the game to extend Ohio State’s lead to 42-28. The Buckeyes would go on to win 42-35, and then defeat Oregon in Dallas in the title game to claim the first College Football Playoff.

Since then, Ohio State has made three other appearances in the CFP, posting just a 1-3 record. The Buckeyes lost twice to Clemson before topping the Tigers in the 2020 playoff in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama would get some revenge on Ohio State by easily winning the title game in Miami to close out the 2020 season.

This year’s Peach Bowl marks the ninth-straight year in which Ohio State has made a New Year’s Six bowl game. The Buckeyes are the only team in the country that has made a New Year’s Six bowl every year since they were introduced with the College Football Playoff. In the 10 New Year’s Six bowl games they have appeared in, Ohio State has a 7-3 record, with the only losses coming in College Football Playoff games. Overall in bowl games, the Buckeyes are 26-27.

Only other meeting with the Dawgs


Saturday night’s game marks just the second time the Buckeyes and Bulldogs have met on the football field. Georgia earned the win in the 1993 Florida Citrus Bowl when they beat Ohio State 21-14. Garrison Hearst earned game MVP honors by rushing for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Frank Harvey secured the win for Georgia when he scored from a yard out with just over four minutes left in the game to break a 14-14 tie.

Running back Robert Smith led the Buckeyes with 112 yards and two scores, but Ohio State was hurt by the play of quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, who completed just a third of his 24 pass attempts.

General Stroud


Leading Ohio State’s offense is quarterback C.J. Stroud, who is a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist. Even though the Buckeyes ranked second in the country with 44.5 points per game this year, Stroud has faced a lot of scrutiny over the last month for not beat Michigan the last two years. A win over Georgia would go a long way to restoring some of Stroud’s legacy, as this is undoubtedly his last year at Ohio State since he is projected to be a first round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

This season Stroud threw for 3,340 yards and 37 touchdowns in Ohio State’s 12 games. Stroud’s yardage total is the third-most in a season in school history, only topped by the 4,435 yards he threw for last year and Dwayne Haskins’ 4,831 passing yards in 2018. Stroud sits either first or second in pretty much every Ohio State career, season, and game statistical passing category.

Marv and the men


The top target for Stroud is Marvin Harrison Jr., who has stepped up big time after Jaxon Smith-Njigba has barely seen the field this year while dealing with a hamstring injury. Harrison caught 72 passes for 1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, earning him first-team All-American honors. Harrison was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award with Xavier Hutchinson of Iowa State and Jalin Hyatt of Tennessee.

Along with Harrison, Emeka Egbuka was also a part of this year’s Ohio State offense after Smith-Njigba was sidelined. Egbuka caught 66 balls for 1,039 yards and scored nine touchdowns. With both Egbuka and Harrison surpassing 1,000 yards receiving this year, Ohio State has now had a pair of receivers each go over 1,000 yards in back-to-back years, with Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson each hitting quadruple digits last season.

While all eyes will be on Harrison and Egbuka, the Buckeyes are going to need big games for wide receiver Julian Fleming and Cade Stover on Saturday. After missing the first two games of the year, Fleming had a stretch where he scored at least one touchdown in five straight games, but he has been pretty quiet recently, catching just 12 passes over the last five games.

Cade Stover has been either boom or bust this year. Against Wisconsin and Indiana, Stover scored two touchdowns each. Then there were games like the Michigan game, where he only had 13 yards on four catches, and missed some crucial plays that would have helped to keep the Buckeyes in the game more than the final score might have indicated. Stover is going to have his hands full not only trying to block some of the freaks Georgia has on defense, but also trying to find some space when his number is called in the pass game.

Chop ‘em down


Where Ohio State is going to need a little more consistency is at running back. The Buckeyes are going into this game shorthanded, since they’ll be without TreVeyon Henderson, who will miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury he has been dealing with all season. When he was able to get on the field, Henderson rushed for 571 yards and six touchdowns.

With Henderson being unavailable the rest of the year, that puts even more pressure on Miyan Williams, who has dealt with his own injury issues at times this season. When healthy, Williams ran for 817 yards and 13 touchdowns on just 125 carries in 2022. On an offense that relies upon finesse, Ohio State desperately could use the tough running that we often see from “Chop”.

Along with Williams in the backfield, the Buckeyes will need a compliment to step up. Dallan Hayden looked like he could be that guy, running for over 100 yards in back-to-back games against Indiana and Maryland while Williams was limited due to injury. Then inexplicably, Hayden only saw two carries against Michigan. Instead, Arizona State transfer Chip Trayanum saw the bulk of the carries against the Wolverines, toting the rock 14 times after getting just one carry in the previous 11 games this year.

Even though Trayanum did have experience at running back during his time at Arizona State, Hayden’s speed and movement running the football is the perfect compliment to the bruising style we see from Williams.

Protect the pocket


To get any offense going, Ohio State’s offensive line will have to hold up against the most athletic defense they have faced all season. Paris Johnson Jr. and the rest of the line have held up well this year, allowing just eight sacks — fifth-fewest in the country. The offensive line has largely kept opponents out of the backfield, with the 44 tackles for loss they’ve given up being the third-lowest total in college football. If the Buckeyes want to have any hope of winning, they have to keep Stroud clean and the Bulldogs out of the backfield.

First line of defense


Following a game where they gave up 45 points to Michigan, Ohio State’s defense has something to prove against Georgia. If the Buckeyes want to have any shot at winning on Saturday night, they are going to need to make things uncomfortable for Stetson Bennett. Ohio State certainly has the talent on the defensive line to create pressure with J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Zach Harrison, and others. Even though defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. leads the team with just 4.5 sacks, the Buckeyes have 13 players with at least one sack this year.

Rock solid


The most consistent players on the Ohio State defense this year have been linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers. Eichenberg became the first Ohio State linebacker since Raekwon McMillan to surpass 100 tackles, finishing the regular season with 112 stops. The senior from Cleveland has done a lot of the work on his own this year, with his 72 solo tackles topping the Big Ten and ranking second nationally.

One player that can’t wait for kickoff is Steele Chambers, who grew up and played high school football in Georgia. After starting his Ohio State career as a running back, Chambers has transitioned to linebacker, becoming a key part of the Buckeye defense since the middle of 2021. Entering Saturday night’s game, Chambers ranks second on the team with 69 tackles.

The good and the bad


The achilles heel of Ohio State’s defense the last couple years has been in their secondary. Even though safeties Tanner McCalister, Lathan Ransom, and Ronnie Hickman have done a lot of good, cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Cam Brown have been inconsistent. The play from Burke has been especially troubling after he burst onto the scene last year and was looking like he could be the next great cornerback to come out of Ohio State. Brown has been limited by injuries at times this season, which has only allowed him to play in seven games, but hopefully the month off after the Michigan game has allowed him to get back to full strength.

To beat Georgia, the Buckeyes are gonna need the safeties to make the plays we know they are capable of making. After transferring from Oklahoma State to join Jim Knowles in Columbus, McCalister led the team with three interceptions this year. Ransom was third on the team with 65 tackles, and brings a very physical style of play to the game, which is something the Buckeyes will need in trying to slow down Brock Bowers. Hickman has experience having started 23 straight games. “Rocket” will have to show why was named to an AP second-team All-American this year.

Season at a glance


Georgia enters this game having not lost since last year’s SEC Championship Game against Alabama. After avenging the loss in last year’s College Football Playoff Championship Game, the Bulldogs went through this year mostly unthreatened. The only game where they trailed in the fourth quarter came at Missouri. Daijun Edwards scored a touchdown with just over four minutes to go to thwart the upset attempt of the Tigers.

In their 13 games this season, Georgia has outscored their opponents 509-166.

Georgia’s CFP history


This will be Georgia’s third appearance in the College Football Playoff. However, this will be the first time where the Bulldogs won’t meet Alabama in the playoff. At the end of the 2017 season, the Bulldogs beat Oklahoma before falling to the Crimson Tide in overtime. Last season, Georgia routed Michigan and were able to erase a 18-13 deficit in the fourth quarter to earn their first national title since 1980.

This will be Georgia’s 26th consecutive bowl appearance, which is the longest active streak in the nation. In the 59 previous bowl games the Bulldogs have played in they have posted a 35-21-3 record.

A familiar setting


It doesn’t help Ohio State that Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a second home for the Bulldogs. Georgia has already played in two games in Atlanta this year, beating Oregon 49-3 in the season opener, and winning the SEC Championship Game 50-30 over LSU early last month. The Bulldogs also played in the 2021 Peach Bowl at the stadium, squeaking by Cincinnati 24-21.

Sharp Stetson


Georgia was dominant on both sides of the football this year. On offense, the Bulldogs ranked seventh in the country with 491.9 yards per game. Stetson Bennett led an offense that averaged 39.2 points per game, which was 11th-most in the FBS. Even though Bennett doesn’t put up huge numbers, he knows how to win, entering Saturday’s game with a 27-3 record as a starter. This season Bennett threw for over 3,400 yards and tossed 20 touchdowns, earning him a spot as a Heisman Trophy finalist for how he ran the offense of the defending national champions.

Three-headed monster


What Georgia does a great job of is grinding out their opponents with a strong rushing attack. The Bulldogs averaged 207 yards per game on the ground this year. Even though the Bulldogs didn’t have a running back go for over 1,000 yards this season, they had three backs rush for over 500 yards and combined for 23 rushing touchdowns.

Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards split the workload, with McIntosh carrying the football 137 times for 709 yards, while Edwards rushed for 681 yards on 127 totes. The Buckeyes can’t sleep on Kendall Milton, who averaged 7.4 yards per carry, and is coming off a performance against LSU where he ran for 114 yards on just eight carries, giving him his first 100-yard rushing game of the season.

Dynamic duo


Ohio State is going to have their hands full trying to slow down the nation’s best tight end, as well as one of the country’s most versatile receivers. The Buckeyes saw Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in the season opener, but they’ll face an even bigger animal on Saturday in Brock Bowers. Last year Bowers was the SEC’s Freshman of the Year, and this year he was awarded the Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end. Along with his 52 catches for 726 and six touchdowns, Bowers also had three rushing touchdowns, as the Bulldogs try and find creative ways to get the football in his hands.

Along with Bowers, Georgia also has Ladd McConkey, who is a little taller version of Wes Welker or Julian Edelman. McConkey had 51 catches for 675 yards and five touchdowns this season. Even though McConkey isn’t going to blow people away with his size or athleticism, he knows how to get open and make plays. McConkey will undoubtedly frustrate the Buckeyes all game long if the defense can’t get an early handle on how to keep the football out of his hands.

The latest Bulldog beast


Last year Georgia had the most dominant defense in the country. Even though a lot of the players from that unit are now in the NFL, the Bulldogs have reloaded with a new crop of talented defenders. Even scarier is Georgia won’t be at full strength in this game after Nolan Smith tore his pectoral muscle against Florida in late October.

This year’s defense is led be defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is looking like a top prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carter has seven tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and 25 quarterback pressures. Even though Carter’s numbers might not be huge, the amount of attention he demands on the field is. It’s going to take a big effort from the Ohio State offensive line to keep Carter out of the backfield.

Rabid Bulldogs


Leading Georgia in tackles this year were Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon Jr., with both being credited with 64 stops. Dumas-Johnson is the team’s MIKE linebacker, while Mondon is more a hybrid linebacker. Dumas-Johnson made more impact plays with three sacks, a forced fumble, and 21 quarterback pressures, while Mondon patrolled more of the middle of the field, and has been compared to Jaylon Smith.

Ringo star


In the Georgia secondary, a name you’ll hear a lot of is Kelee Ringo. The cornerback had 36 tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups this season. Even though Ringo is extremely talented, he is still pretty young. This year Ringo is a redshirt sophomore and he’ll be tasked with trying to slow down Harrison and Egbuka. If the Buckeyes can’t get to him early, they could see some cracks in Ringo’s armor.

Safeties Starks and Smith


Much like Ohio State, Georgia fields some great safeties. True freshman Malaki Starks fell just one tackle shy of tying Dumas-Johnson and Mondon for the team lead, and had two interceptions to go along with seven pass breakups. While Starks is a freshman, he is paired with senior Christopher Smith, who nabbed a team-high three interceptions this season. Smith is also a sure tackler, making 50 stops this year.

Summary


Does Ohio State have the talent to beat Georgia? There’s no question the Buckeyes do. What is unknown is if the Buckeyes have the coaching and mental toughness to beat the Bulldogs. Kirby Smart has proven himself to be one of the best coaches in America, while Ryan Day is facing intense questioning after losing to Michigan two years in a row.

What the Buckeyes need to do is use the loss to Michigan as fuel to silence their doubters. Not many are giving Ohio State a chance in this game after how the Wolverines were able to hit so many big plays last month in Columbus. It’s not like Ohio State hasn’t been in this position before, as back in the first College Football Playoff they were able to shock an Alabama team that was more than a touchdown favorite.

What remains to be seen is how Day and his staff used the last month to address issues and prepare for what they’ll see from Georgia. Even though Georgia won last year’s, it’s not like Ohio State is unfamiliar with the spotlight and pressure that comes with a game like this. When he is coaching loose, there aren’t many better at coaching that Day. The problem is it feels like Day overthinks himself a lot and gets inside his own head with some of his play calls.

While it’s obvious Day needs to cede the play-calling, it’s not going to happen before next year, if at all, so hopefully he has used the last month to get a better handle on what he wants his offense to do.

What fun is it to write 3,000-plus words on this game if we think Ohio State is going to destroyed by the Bulldogs? The Buckeyes play with a chip on their shoulder in this game after hearing over the last month of how fraudulent they are. What the Buckeyes have to do is keep Georgia guessing, which will mean the offensive line is going to have to find a way to open up some holes for the running backs against the talented defensive line of the Bulldogs. If they are able to do that, it will make Georgia hesitate a bit and give Stroud more time to survey the defense.

In a back-and-forth game, the Buckeyes know how to close out the game, which is something Missouri didn’t have talent to do against the Bulldogs.

LGHL prediction: Ohio State 31, Georgia 27

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LGHL Uncut Podcast: Thornton, Holden, Holtmann talk Alabama A&M win, looming trip to Evanston
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State flipped the script Thursday like only they know how to do, outscoring AAMU 54-26 in the second half.

Throughout the season, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.

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Ohio State (9-3, 1-0) played down to the level of their competition Thursday night in the first half, briefly trailing Alabama A&M (4-9) for just over 60 seconds. But a Buckeye avalanche ensued in the second half, and they won the game by 31 points in dominant fashion.

After the game. Bruce Thornton and Tanner Holden spoke with a few media members — the few who aren’t in Atlanta — about the win. Thornton admitted he really has “No idea” what the Big Ten will be like with 19 games coming up over the next two-plus months. Holden also spoke on that, as well as his team’s struggles getting back in transition at times.

Holtmann followed and also was critical of his team’s transition defense, saying it “Just isn’t where it needs to be now.” But he was proud of the way both Isaac Likekele and Gene Brown played after being out for extended periods of time.


Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor

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Buck Off Podcast: Previewing Ohio State and Georgia’s Peach Bowl matchup
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

We’re now a day away from finding out what Ohio State is made of in their matchup against Georgia.

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On today’s episode of “Buck Off with Christopher Renne,” I’m joined by Jordan Williams to get into our final Peach Bowl Preview discussing Ohio State’s matchup against Georgia.

We start the show with our initial thoughts on the conversations surrounding the chances Ohio State has against Georgia. Then we get into the overconfidence of Georgia fans and why that energy might not be the best heading into the matchup.

Then we get into our predictions about the Fiesta Bowl matchup between Michigan and TCU. We look at key aspects about how the each team can win the game, and why you have to throw out logic when it comes to the Horned Frogs.

After that our conversation turns to the key positional matchups for the Buckeyes against the Bulldogs. We discuss how the Buckeyes matchup against Georgia’s tight ends, how the interior offensive line might be the most important position group for the Buckeyes, and why C.J. Stroud needs to be great against the blitz to win the game.

Next, get talk about Ryan Day given certain results of the matchup, and predict how fans and Gene Smith might react if Ohio State loses. Continuing forward we discuss our final points on how Ohio State should attack the Bulldogs and what they need to do to win.

Then, to close out the show, we give our score predictions and our final thoughts about the game.


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Twitter: @BuckOffPod

Connect with Chris Renne:
Twitter: @ChrisRenneCFB

Connect with Jordan Williams
Twitter: @JordanW330

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Buckeyes keeping Georgia on their mind on the recruiting front as well as on the field
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


2024 five-star Georgia LB Sammy Brown | Cory Fravel, 247Sports

Georgia continues to be a priority recruiting location for Ohio State with its wealth of talent.

The long awaited College Football Playoff contest versus Georgia is only a day away, and the intensity is really ramping up. Thanks to Ohio State’s social media efforts, fans have been able to see a glimpse into the team’s preparation throughout the week. While the content has been helpful, the excitement is causing a rush for this game to finally get here.

With so much to play for, Ohio State has preached that this is an opportunity to have new life, and here’s to hoping the team does just that as they look to finish with a special two-game performance to become champions.

On the recruiting front, Ryan Day and company are still being as active as they can be even with their hectic bowl game schedule. Whether it’s been with transfer portal efforts or even in the 2024 class, these coaches are in constant communication with their top transfer and prep targets, and visit plans are getting set into place once this season is completed.

It’s always a busy time for Ohio State football, but these past few weeks have really set the bar high, and efforts are being made so success is granted both on and off the field.

Georgia on my mind


As noted, the thoughts surrounding Georgia have been endless for Ohio State for some time now. Recruiting wise, the Peach State has and continues to be a real priority for the Buckeyes. Considering how much talent is in the state every recruiting cycle, all of the top programs in the country have their sights surrounding Georgia for the long haul — and for good reason.

Home to many of the nation’s best players, the population growth the last several years has helped. Traditionally, this has always been a major state for producing power five caliber players. In Ohio State’s 2023 cycle, the staff was able to steal two big time players from the state and that bodes well for continuing relationships with high school coaching staffs and players for the foreseeable future.

One of the many positives this week has been Ohio State’s ability to speak with their coveted Georgia prep players over the last few days. Mentioned in yesterday’s edition of State Secrets, five-star linebacker Sammy Brown is just one example of that being the case.

Another cool development has been the ability to have current signee Jelani Thurman in attendance for practice, as the trek to Atlanta for Thurman is just about a half hour drive. For one, this gets Jelani more acquainted with how the team prepares for games, but also gives him the chance to continue being around the staff. Certainly Keenan Bailey, who takes over the tight end spot for Kevin Wilson after he departs for his new Tulsa coaching gig, appreciates having Thurman around.

Either way, having him on-hand for these bowl practices does nothing but increase the relationship before he’s on campus full-time, and other impressionable recruits are taking notice of what Ohio State is promoting while in the state. A win would be monumental for the program, but regardless, the Buckeyes are here to stay in the Peach State when it comes to their recruiting efforts.

This week has been a solid addition to their impressive resume when it comes to pitching Ohio State to Georgia native players.

Quick Hits

• Sticking with the trend, listen here for Kevin Wilson’s words on what Georgia means as a fertile recruiting ground not only for Ohio State, but nationally. This just further proves how much of a priority this state is and will continue to be because of the elite level of talent the area is continuing to produce year after year.

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Peach Bowl Film Preview: Final thoughts on what Ohio State will need to do to beat Georgia
Chris Renne via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Georgia is a strong football team, the few weaknesses they have Ohio State will need to exploit to come out victorious

The Ohio State Buckeyes will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in a college football playoff matchup taking place in the Peach Bowl down in Atlanta, Georgia. These past few weeks, we have taken dives into what has made Georgia, so successful this season on both sides of the football.

Using the film that has been cut and looked at already, can help visualize areas the Buckeyes can attack come New year’s eve. Looking back at how Georgia has attacked teams will give us a quick look into how other coaches have tried to counter the Bulldogs. The few things that have worked Ohio State does well, but the challenge in front of them is something they have yet to see this year.

Starting with the Bulldogs defensively, they are an aggressive man-coverage team who relies on a four-man rush to get the job done in the passing game. When it comes to defending the run, Georgia has athletic defensive linemen who take on blocks well, win matchups with quickness, and give the linebackers plenty of freedom to flow by eating up blocks as well.

For Ohio State, this means gaining leverage at the line of scrimmage, and when offensive linemen are doubling, getting to the second level to interfere with the linebackers' flow to the football. As frustrating as this has been to watch, Ohio State’s Wide Zone concepts, toss Counter, and Power toss have been schemes that have worked for other teams against Georgia – albeit very minimally.

In the play below we see a situation Ohio State has struggled mightily this year in power run situations. Kentucky runs an outside zone look against Georgia in short yardage, and this play has a similar result to what Ohio State fans have become accustomed to seeing in this scenario. For the Buckeyes winning in the trenches will play a pivotal role in extending drives and keeping Georgia’s defense on the field. If they can’t win in short-yardage situations, the result can turn quickly like we’ve seen the past two seasons for the Buckeyes.


The other area Ohio State will need to have success is in its misdirection game, their pin-and-pull counter concept would fit the bill. This play attacks the tendencies of Georgia’s defensive line slants creating a split second of confusion. The way the Bulldogs step on the defensive line is by crossing the face of the offensive linemen’s step and squaring up the opposing offensive linemen to give them leverage to move in either direction. When done correctly, this eliminates run lanes to the play side and gives both eh defensive line and linemen leverage to attack any cutbacks.


Once again looking at the play above, we see how Kentucky’s pin-an-pull action turns the defensive line away from the run action and creates a step of confusion for the linebackers. Both units recover, but Kentucky is able to make a pretty positive play due to the slight misdirection.

Now to the passing defense of Georgia, they are a man-coverage dominant defense and they have the guys to get the job done on a play-by-play basis. Kelee Ringo and Kamari Lassiter have physicality and athleticism. That is where Ohio State needs to match them, if the Buckeyes receivers match their physicality at the point of the catch, they have the talent to make plays. If they don’t they can give up big plays to the defense like this.


The other defense that Georgia plays is a soft zone coverage in more obvious passing situations. In these looks Georgia likes to maintain a two-high shell playing either quarters or Cover-5 (2-Man Under). In the next play, we can see how the lack of communication can turn into a big play.


Looking above, we see LSU’s best receiver rip off a big gain against the soft zone of Georgia. In man coverage — especially the way Georgia plays it — there is little communication between players outside of pre-snap alignment. The switch to zone shifts the thought process and creates a reliance on communication, or receivers can find space between the zones. This lack of communication is what leads to this touchdown.

The last aspect to look at is the pass rush and how Ohio State needs to be able to protect against a four-man rush. If the receivers can find space against the coverage, they’ll have to take matters into their own hand bringing additional pressure. This is where the Buckeyes can start ripping off big plays if Stroud and the offensive line can handle additional rushers. We can see the damage below four rushers can do, and if the Buckeye offensive line can’t match the athleticism.


For the Buckeyes though, Stroud can help his offense line by using his pocket mobility. Now the result of this play below doesn’t do the quarterback for LSU justice. That being said, Georgia’s defensive line can be overzealous at times. For Stroud, he struggles at times with staying in the pocket and maneuvering through the traffic to deliver downfield. If Stroud can stay confident in the pocket he can neutralize the rush with his footwork – and hopefully throw the ball down the field with a better result.


Flipping over to the other side of the ball, Georgia’s offense is by no means a slouch in comparison to their defense.

Led by 25-year-old signal caller Stetson Bennett and a pair of elite tight ends, they find success in a variety of ways. Their offensive line is not individually dominant, but the Buckeyes will need to get creative because the Bulldogs are strong as a unit. They work their double teams efficiently, communicate in pass protection, and have given up seven sacks on the year. Add to the fact they have three running backs totaling over 500 rushing yards, and you get a strong offensive unit.

For the Buckeyes defensively, the first area they need to succeed is in limiting Stetson Bennett and making him beat them from the pocket. Bennett is athletic and can make plays outside the pocket, so containment from the defensive ends is that much more important especially if Ohio State plays a high percentage of man coverage. If they do not Bennett can make the Ohio State defense pay with his legs.


If Ohio State loses to Bennett using his legs, it will give fans major 2019 Clemson vibes from the matchup. There is nothing worse than losing to a quarterback doing something he is not necessarily dominant at.

In the next play below, we see where Georgia is able to attack the middle of the field with their tight ends. This play isn’t won by anything the Bulldogs do necessarily, but the threat of the tight ends really plays a role here. The lack of communication from LSU’s secondary allows 6-foot-8 and 270-pound Darnell Washington to run across the middle free. Against Michigan, Ohio State had bad communication in covering a tight end which led to a touchdown.


Now the last aspect Georgia loves to do throwing the ball is sending their receivers on double moves. Seeing how Ohio State’s corners have played throughout the year, this next play should put the fear of death into the eyes of Buckeye fans. Ladd McConkey is a solid route runner and has the speed to make defenders pay. Ohio State’s corners will need to stay disciplined and not fall for the double move like the defender below.


The last thing on the list today is the effectiveness of Georgia’s run game, they ironically run into the same issues Ohio State does including struggling in short yardage. This is because, like Ohio State, they tend to stick to the same zone schemes on a borderline exclusive basis.

The first play here shows Georgia’s base run play, an outside zone look with a read option for the quarterback. Looking at the backfield, Bennett is reading the backside end. If the end crashes he keeps and if he doesn’t, Bennett hands it off. In this play, it is a hand off and we can see the one-cut nature of Georgia’s running backs. The offensive line here uses their double teams to create the running lane in the middle, and the play is sprung by the center getting to the second level. This shows the importance of the interior defensive line eating double teams. If he held the center for another second, there is no hole for the back to run through.


In the next play, we can see Georgia using a little misdirection on the play with a pin-and-pull counter look to the boundary. This play should look familiar to Ohio State fans, as it falls into Ryan Day’s bread-and-butter category of run plays, even if he still doesn’t use it enough. The motion at the start of the play gets the defense’s eyes off of their keys. This allows for free pullers to get out and get their blocks. For the play to have significant success, the block by the tight end is what springs it.


In both of the previous plays, Georgia’s offensive line and tight ends got to the second level with ease. This is what makes their running game so dangerous, and in tandem with the backs, their run game finds regular success.

In the last play, we see how interior penetration is the key to blowing up the zone run scheme of Georgia. Now doing this consistently is easier said than done, but this will need to be a key for the Buckeyes. The penetration neutralizes the double team and doesn’t allow the offensive line to get to the linebackers. This penetration also forces the backs to bounce the play outside, and with the linebackers flowing freely, they are able to make the play before the running back can get the first down.


Now Ohio State does not need to play a perfect game to beat Georgia, but there are definitely some things they need to avoid if they want to have a chance in Atlanta. From a talent standpoint, the Buckeyes are one of the few teams who can match the pure talent of Georgia which should provide the Bulldogs a challenge they haven’t seen at all this year.

For the Buckeyes offensively, winning one-on-one matchups is the name of the game. If the Buckeyes can take Georgia out of the man-coverage they want to run or make them pay for running man-coverage, that would signify the receivers having a lot of success. To do this they will need to protect well against four and take the linebackers out of coverage. Georgia bringing additional pressure opens up the middle of the field and that is a place Stroud is incredibly comfortable attacking.

Now defensively, the worst thing Ohio State can do is underestimate Stetson Bennett. He has the ability to hurt teams with his feet, throwing outside the pocket, and if he has time, delivering the ball downfield. Now stopping the passing game starts with communication and covering the tight ends. They will find success at times, which means Ohio State will need to show some resilience which they have struggled with in big games as of late.

Lastly, stopping the run and making the Georgia offense one-dimensional is my biggest factor in the Buckeyes beating the Bulldogs. If Georgia can’t set up the hard play-action pass, this takes away a lot of their explosive play potential to their receiving threats. Now the Buckeyes will still need to hold up in coverage, but if they can do that and stop the run in key situations, Georgia’s offense has shown periods of stagnation this year. All of that goes double for the Buckeye defense in the red zone, which has been a weak point for Georgia this year offensively.

Now the talk is over, all that is left is to see which team goes out and executes better than the other. Both teams are stacked with talent, but the reason we love sports is that only one team can win the game. If the Buckeyes show up, play disciplined football, and flex their talent, there is no reason the winners can’t be them.

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In Conversation Podcast: Mike Golic Jr. on what Ohio State needs to do to beat Georgia
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Twitter: @mikegolicjr

GoJo also tries not to get too excited about Notre Dame’s next potential quarterback.

On Land-Grant Holy Land In Conversation, we talk to people in and around Ohio State athletics, and the sporting world at large, to bring you a different insight and perspective to the teams, athletes, and university that you love.

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On today’s episode, Land-Grant Holy Land’s Matt Tamanini is in conversation with DraftKings analyst and the host of the “GoJo Podcast” Mike Golic Jr. GoJo breaks down what the Buckeyes have and haven’t done well this season along the offensive line and what needs to happen in order to protect C.J. Stroud and give him time to throw, especially with UGA’s defensive line beast Jalen Carter looking to wreak havoc.

Mike also discusses whether or not Buckeye fans are right to be unsatisfied with the football team’s results under Ryan Day and how his betting luck has gone so far in this bowl season.


Connect with Matt Tamanini
Twitter: @BWWMatt

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Buckeyes bury Bulldogs in the second half, close 2022 with 90-59 win
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Ye of little faith! The Ohio State men’s basketball team overpowered Alabama A&M in the second half after a sluggish opening stanza.

For the first time all season, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (9-3, 1-0) was playing with a full deck of cards on Thursday afternoon, as both Gene Brown (concussion) and Isaac Likekele (personal) were back in uniform and available to play. That meant all 13 scholarship players were available to play for the first time since March of 2021.

After a weeklong break for Christmas following a 34-point shellacking of Maine, the Buckeyes rolled out a starting lineup of Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Justice Sueing, Brice Sensabaugh, and Zed Key — the same lineup Chris Holtmann has been using since Likekele went out nearly one month ago. Alabama A&M head coach Otis Hughley Jr. went with Messiah Thompson, Garrett Hicks, Dailin Smith, Austin Harvell, and Olisa Blaise Akonobi.

Despite a sluggish first half, Ohio State was able to run away from Alabama A&M in the second half to the tune of a 31-point win, 90-59. Sensabaugh was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points. Sueing chipped in 18, and Thornton had a clean dozen to round out the Buckeyes’ double-digit scorers. Hicks led AAMU with 11 points on 5-10 shooting over 31 minutes.

The freshman standout Sensabaugh has led the Buckeyes in scoring in each of their last three games, and an early flurry of scoring from him put his team up early in this one. Sensabaugh took four of Ohio State’s first six shots in the game, knocking down three of them, to help push his Buckeyes out to an early 9-4 lead 4:26 into the game.


However, the Bulldogs, who lead the SWAC in three-point shooting at 41%, were able to briefly tie the game at 13 thanks to back-to-back triples from Thompson and Smith 6:06 into the game. A&M began to speed things up and despite a week to prepare for it, the Buckeyes were not getting back on defense quickly enough and the Bulldogs made them pay.

Ohio State regained the lead a minute later on a Tanner Holden long jumper, and by the under-eight timeout, they’d pulled ahead by six points, 26-20. The Buckeyes got a little three-happy in the first half, with 10 of their first 20 shots coming from downtown. Unfortunately, they only hit two of them. The Bulldogs — as they do — were grabbing these long rebounds and sprinting the other way for quick baskets to keep them in the game.

The Bulldogs took the lead for 1:12 late in the first half, but Ohio State strung together five consecutive points in the closing minutes to pull back ahead. By halftime, the Buckeyes held a slim 36-33 lead. Sensabaugh led all scorers with 11 first-half points, while Thompson’s eight points paced the Bulldogs.


The Buckeyes outscored the Bulldogs 15-4 over the first five minutes of the second half, extending their one-point lead to 14 following Sueing’s seventh three-pointer of the season. By the under-12 media timeout, the Buckeyes held a 58-43 lead. They were still taking a few three-pointers, but in general Ohio State began to look for higher percentage looks even if the opportunity was there for a triple.

Someone must’ve also given Sueing a pep talk at halftime, as the Buckeye captain came out and scored 10 points over the first 10 minutes of the second half after scoring just six points in the first half. Sueing had outscored his season average of 13.2 PPG with 13:48 left to go in the game.


Alabama A&M struggled to contain the two-headed beast of Sensabaugh and Sueing throughout the second half, as those two (almost solely on their own) powered Ohio State to a 69-47 lead by the under-eight media timeout with 7:28 remaining. With seven minutes and some change left in the game, the duo combined for 36 points on 14-22 shooting, including 4-9 from long range.


By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Buckeyes had buried the Bulldogs, 90-59.

If you weren’t able to catch Ohio State’s win in today’s rare Big Ten - SWAC matchup, here are a few key plays and points that played a role in the Buckeyes’ ninth win of the season.

Can’t leave the freshman


The defense has picked up for Sensabaugh as the season has progressed, and so too have his minutes. The freshman was leading Ohio State in points per game entering today’s contest at 15.3 PPG, and he took four of the Buckeyes' first six shots this afternoon, scoring his team’s first five points.

Sensabaugh was left open for a couple wide-open three-pointers, of which he hit one of. He also was able to shot-fake and drive to the basket twice early, and the Bulldogs didn’t have much to stop him. Planning for the 235-pound freshman is one thing, but executing your defense against him is something else.

A&M gets hot to tie it


After falling behind early, Alabama A&M used back-to-back three-pointers from Thompson and Smith to tie things up 13-13 six minutes into the game. The Bulldogs are the best three-point shooting team in the SWAC, and Thompson is one of the best in the conference at 45.1%.

Bulldogs looking for a track meet


Alabama A&M came into this game as one of the quicker teams in the nation in terms of tempo, ranking inside the top 50 in possessions per game according to KenPom. They tested the Buckeyes early to see how quickly their foes could react to their speed, and it didn’t go well. The Bulldogs sprinted off of Ohio State misses on more than one occasion in the first half to get a shot off on the other end before the Buckeyes could set their defense, and Chris Holtmann had to call timeout repeatedly to regroup. The Buckeyes, in comparison, are No. 229 in adjusted tempo.

Welcome back, Gene!


After missing the first 11 games of the season and recovering from the second concussion of his career, the Ohio State junior checked in to today’s game at the 11:22 mark and played two minutes. He was scored on once, missed one shot, and was subbed out two minutes later for Sensabaugh, to a large applause from the fans.

Roddy Gayle with the big block


With Ohio State leading 26-20 and 9:24 remaining in the first half, Sueing turned the ball over in front of the A&M bench. Cameron Tucker sprinted down the floor on the fast break and dished it to Eric Lee, who went for the layup over Gayle. Despite backpedaling the whole way guarding the two-on-one, Gayle was able to elevate and block Lee’s layup. The ball bonked off Lee’s head and went out — Buckeye basketball.

A&M takes their first lead of the game


With 1:51 to go before halftime, Brandon Powell’s knocked down his third three-pointer of the season right in front of Chris Holtmann to give the Bulldogs a 32-31 lead — their first of the game.

In case of emergency, break glass for Ice


After missing a few weeks of practice while being away from the team, it was unclear how much Likekele would play today — if at all. But Holtmann checked the senior into the game with 1:03 remaining before halftime, and he immediately brought the ball up and dished it off to Key for a layup to put the Buckeyes up two points, 35-33. It seemed like a “break glass in case of emergency” situation and being tied with a 4-8 Alabama A&M team at halftime certainly qualified as that.

Extra E turns to O


Leading 45-37 roughly four minutes into the second half, McNeil missed a corner three but Felix Okpara was able to corral the board among a crowd of Bulldogs with a bit of extra effort. He passed out to Thornton at the top of the key, who swung it to Sensabaugh on the right wing. Sensabaugh took two dribbles to the baseline and took a fading baseline jumper and canned it for his 12th and 13th points of the game, giving Ohio State a double-digit lead for the first time in the game.

Sueing wakes up, Buckeyes surge ahead


After scoring just six points on 2-3 shooting in the first half, Sueing slammed down a dunk to open the second-half scoring and kept going after that. The sixth-year senior scored 10 of Ohio State’s first 22 points in the second half, including his seventh and eighth three-pointers of the season. He knocked down a pair of free throws at the 12:44 mark to give his team a 58-43 lead, which was their largest of the afternoon to that point.

McNeil keeps letting it rip, misses be damned


Sean McNeil transferred to Ohio State as a career 36.8% three-point shooter, but really hasn’t torched the nets thus far this season in Columbus. He entered today’s game shooting 35.3% from downtown, and proceeded to go 3-9 from long range. He missed four of his first five, but if there’s any game to have a quick trigger, it’s probably against Alabama A&M, right?

Up Next:


Ohio State (9-3, 1-0) has a quick turnaround, getting just two days off before a road game at Northwestern (10-2, 1-0) Sunday night. The Wildcats have exceeded expectations thus far, reaching the 10-win mark a whole month faster than they did last year (Northwestern won its tenth game of the season on February 1 last year). Northwestern has wins over Michigan State and DePaul on their resume already and is the No. 45 team in the nation according to KenPom.

The Ohio State - Northwestern game in Evanston will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday night and will be broadcast on BTN.

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Column: You need to care about Saturday’s Ohio State vs. Michigan women’s basketball game
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes welcome the Wolverines in one of both team’s biggest games of the season

If you drive through campus at The™ Ohio State University this week there are a few things you’ll notice. First, there aren’t a lot of people; it is winter break after all. Second, there aren’t widespread red “X”s on every reachable “M.” Even without the fanfare, the Buckeyes face the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday in Columbus and it’s a game you need to care about, and here’s why.

The “Duh” Reason


I can’t believe it needs to be typed but it’s Ohio State vs. Michigan. This is the rivalry that turns friends, family, and co-workers into enemies. Every time a fan of one team drives by a house with a flag of the other, it elicits a snarl or mumbled expletive (and maybe not mumbled at all). It’s a game that creates bragging rights where absolutely nobody wants to be on the losing side.

There are no illusions of grandeur that the Buckeyes’ basketball teams should get the same treatment as the football side’s heated rivalry, but why not? Each team plays under the flag of their university/region’s pride.

The Ohio State women’s basketball team wears the same scarlet and gray colors as the football team. They attend the same university, the same classes, and have friendships stretching between the two teams.

Plus, beating Michigan always feels great to an Ohio State fan. It makes the hellscape of social media a little better for at least a day or so, and that’s worth celebrating. Lately, Ohio State hasn’t had much reason to celebrate playing that team up north, but Saturday that could change.

Ohio State is Good


Following college football is difficult for Buckeyes fans. Perfection is an awfully high bar to set, and nothing but victory, and fewer screen passes, will suffice. Basketball isn’t like that.

Teams get 30+ games to prove their worth, and then get to play in a tournament featuring an ample amount of teams, where the best can prove they’re the best. The Buckeyes have done that, reaching 24 NCAA Tournaments.

Also, if you want to set a high bar, Ohio State women’s basketball has it in the Big Ten. Their 16 conference championships are the most of any team in the Big Ten. Most recently on Feb. 27, 2022, the Buckeyes jumped the Wolverines on the final day to win a share of the conference regular season title.

That strong end of last season propelled Ohio State into this season, pushing them to their second-highest poll ranking in history. The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes are the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the country right now.

Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Taylor Mikesell (24) leads the Buckeyes in scoring this season.

Want proof that they’re good? They lead the country in steals and turnover margin and are the second-best Power Five scoring team in the nation. Offensively, six different Buckeyes average double-digit scoring figures and in 13 games, five different Ohio State players have led the team’s scoring in one of the most diverse offensive seasons in a while for the Scarlet & Gray.

Ohio State plays a high-tempo pressing game. Defensives are rattled when they play the Buckeyes. Teams like the Tennessee Volunteers, Louisville Cardinals, and Oregon Ducks. All three are women’s basketball powerhouses and all three lost to Ohio State this season.

Buckeyes Revenge


Scarlet and Gray fans unfortunately know the feeling of losing two times in a row to the Wolverines. In the basketball world, Michigan also tormented the Buckeyes last season, beating them in both match-ups during the 2021-22 campaign.

It was Michigan center Naz Hillmon who led the way for TTUN, terrorizing Ohio State on the boards. Hillmon’s gone this season, and Ohio State’s playing their best basketball in years in a No. 3 vs. No. 14 game on Saturday.

Beating the Wolverines on Saturday would stop a three-game skid for the Buckeyes in the rivalry dating back to 1978. Overall, the Buckeyes lead the series 57-16 against a Michigan side that recently started caring about the sport on the women’s side.

It’s Not at the Schottenstein Center


This can’t be stressed enough — the Schottenstein Center isn’t good for Ohio State women’s basketball. The good thing about Saturday is that it’s not at Value City Arena™!

The Buckeyes face the Wolverines at the Covelli Center, the home of Ohio State volleyball and wrestling. It’s a smaller venue that puts the fans practically in the game, creating an imposing environment for visiting teams, like the much-maligned Michigan Wolverines.

Alie Skowronski/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Covelli Center is great for Ohio State women’s basketball.

It’s the official Land-Grant Holy Land opinion that all Ohio State women’s basketball games should be at the Covelli Center, if St. John’s Arena is completely out of the question.

It Won’t Interrupt NYE or Football Plans


Tickets for Saturday’s game are hard to come by, with only resale tickets available on everyone’s favorite ticket site, Ticketmaster. That’s ok! The game is on the Big Ten Network at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Since basketball games don’t stretch into the four-hour territory, the tidy two-hour game time (without overtime) won’t interrupt either of the college football playoff games. If you attend Saturday’s basketball game, you would still likely get home before the 4 p.m. ET kickoff between the Michigan Wolverines and TCU, and miss all the pregame coverage, which is a blessing in and of itself.

You could turn on the Buckeyes and Wolverines game at 1 p.m. and never leave your couch until the second ticks off between the football Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs. What a holiday treat.


No matter what your plans are this weekend as the calendar flips from 2022 to 2023, have a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Eve celebration. Drink responsibly.

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Game Notes: No. 3 Ohio State women reopen Big Ten play with win vs. Northwestern
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Ben Cole - Land-Grant Holy Land

Looking at the return to basketball after the holiday week away.

From now through the end of the Big Ten Tournament, the Ohio State Buckeyes women’s basketball team has its eyes on conference play. It began Wednesday against the Northwestern Wildcats in a convincing 81-48 victory in Evanston, Ill.

Here’s more from that win, including injury updates.

Cotie McMahon Kicks Play into Gear


For the sixth game in a row, forward Cotie McMahon scored the first points for the Buckeyes. The freshman represents the energy and intensity that head coach Kevin McGuff hopes Ohio State can play for as close to 40 minutes, and it continued Wednesday.

McMahon led all scorers on the night with 24, and it's the fourth time in the last six games that the Centerville, Ohio native led the Buckeyes in that department. It’s another early chapter in the book McMahon’s writing in her first season in college basketball.

“For me it was kind of a confidence thing too, was more so understanding the game of college basketball and I feel like from now to the beginning of the season I definitely understand basketball a little bit more,” said McMahon. “It’s not about a fast-paced game but taking your time and making the right read.”

Those reads are evident on the court. McMahon began the season with seven total assists in the first seven games of the year. McMahon’s three assists bring her total in the last seven to 24. Defensively, her reads create plays like this one.


McMahon’s 24 points mean the young forward has scored at least 20 points in five games. Not a bad beginning to the story.

Eboni Walker Continues Adjusting to Buckeyes Basketball


Before the Scarlet & Gray faced depth issues at guard, it was the forward position that coach McGuff looked for reinforcement. Forward Rebeka Mikulášiková’s had a great start to the season but the Slovakian’s averaging eight more minutes per game this year than last season.

Last night, a glimpse of that forward depth showed in Eboni Walker. While Walker’s name didn’t jump off the scoresheet, her 19 minutes is the most played in scarlet for a game against a Power Five conference school.

When Walker was on the court, she was making impacts offensively and defensively. With the ball, the Syracuse transfer scored seven points and added two assists. Of those two, one showed the quick reflexes of a player whose importance will grow as the season continues.


Defensively, Walker was everywhere. The forward grabbed three rebounds defensively but in the transition game, her two steals set Ohio State up for a big second half that put the Wildcats far back in the rearview mirror.

The overall energy of Walker was infectious, hitting +16 in the +/-, the highest of any non-starter on the Buckeyes’ roster. It was a night McGuff’s looked for from the forward, and it was rewarded.

Taylor Thierry Work Paying Off


It wouldn’t be game notes without mention of forward/guard Taylor Thierry. The Cleveland, Ohio sophomore once again hit double-digits in points and was two rebounds away from her first collegiate double-double.

Thierry spent the game in the paint, cleaning up rebounds and loose balls, and continued playing Ohio State’s most consistent basketball of the season. With scorers like guard Taylor Mikesell and McMahon, the thought of Thierry being the foundation of the team seems odd but it’s no surprise to coach McGuff.

“She’s one of the most disciplined players in our program,” said McGuff. “From day one practice, a year ago, every day she shows up and tries to do it the right way. Her progress has really been fun to watch, she’s earned it.”

Growing confidence was a goal of Thierry entering her second college season, and the disciplined approach is paying off. Even during the holiday time away.

“When we were off, I was getting in the gym, getting a lot of shots up,” said Thierry. “Getting a lot of reps in and you know that helped get my confidence up. Hopeful that that continues and builds more throughout the season.”

Thierry has the potential to become a double-double machine for Ohio State, but right now her 82 rebounds lead the team and without more presence in the paint it’s hard to rebound against two or three opponents. Some of Thierry’s rebounds last night were in that crowd, showing that regardless of being outnumbered, the forward sticks with the play through the attention.


Watch Thierry throughout the season, because the growth doesn’t seem to be close to hitting her ceiling.

Rikki Harris and Taylor Mikesell Run Point


With guards Madison Greene and Jacy Sheldon out with injury, guard Rikki Harris took up the point guard spot. Like her eight-assist performance against the Oregon Ducks, Harris led the Scarlet & Gray in facilitation. Harris had six assists and found her teammates in good positions to score.

Also, shooting guard Mikesell played the point at times, especially in the third quarter when Harris was on the bench getting rest. Mikesell had three assists but her guard work shined the most in the press. The guard had seven assists in a Sheldon-esque defensive performance forcing turnovers.

Both put in solid performances, but it's not always going to go this well, warns McGuff.

“With both Madison and Jacy out, it’s going to be choppy at times,” said McGuff.

Saturday is another test for the duo, against the Michigan Wolverines.

Injury Updates


A shadow over the entire game was the announcement of Greene’s status as out for the season, due to a knee injury.

“It’s a huge loss. She’s a great player, a great point guard, a great leader,” said McGuff. “She’s our best perimeter defender as well. I hate it for her mostly because she works so incredibly hard to get back.”

Coach McGuff added how much he hates it for her, but said Greene’s in good spirits and helping the team however she can. Greene did Wednesday, sitting on the bench and motivating teammates. In terms of Sheldon, she’ll be back this season, but the question is when?

The answer isn’t as clear, and that’s by design. Ohio State isn’t looking for a short-term fix, but a healthy Sheldon is the long-term plan.

“She’s coming,” said McGuff on progress. “We’re really making sure that we give her ample time to make sure that we get it right and when she comes back there’s no setbacks.”

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Ohio State recruiting: A closer look at preferred walk-on running back commit, Willtrell Hartson
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Willtrell Hartson

Get to know the in-state running back commit.

Ohio State’s running back position has been a wild ride in 2022 to say the least. A number of guys have taken snaps, and with the statuses of players such as Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson changing every other week due to various health reasons, it’s been hard to keep track of the situation in Tony Alford’s room. Not due to a shortage of talent, it’s been one thing after another this year, and the feelings of what’s unknown is really what’s caused uneasiness at times.

Moving to the recruiting front, the 2023 class has been just as up and down at the position. Wanting a running back in every cycle, the Buckeyes haven’t yet signed a player they’ve offered after losing the commitment of Mark Fletcher. Sure, there’s time until February and certain names have been tossed around, but the safe assumption here is leaning toward Ohio State not landing a scholarship player at the spot for this 2023 class. Thankfully, there’s a lot of solid depth already in Columbus that can soften that blow until the 2024 cycle comes around.

Notice too how the key phrase “scholarship” RB was stated earlier, because the Buckeyes are not going totally empty handed when it comes to that spot in the 2023 class. Committing to Ohio State this past weekend, Ohio native Willtrell Hartson (Massillon, Ohio/Massillon Washington) made his future plans known on Christmas Eve via Twitter.


Accepting a preferred walk-on spot, we can take a closer look at who the Buckeyes are getting. In recent history, walk-on players have made their impact on Ohio State’s roster. Guys such as TC Caffey and even Xavier Johnson — who has also spent some time at running back for the Buckeyes — are names that aren’t unknown to fans this season, and certainly with the accolades Hartson is bringing to Columbus, it’s probably just a matter of time before he too receives some attention.

First and foremost, it should be mentioned that Hartson does have double-digit offers that he turned down in order to come to Ohio State. That alone is a major deal considering the price of tuition anywhere these days. Schools such as Buffalo, Boston College, Toledo, Miami (OH), Army, Central Michigan, Temple, and more are on his list of schools he decided against. Additionally, Willtrell is a three-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the 2023 class. This isn’t your average walk-on football player.

Hartson playing his prep ball at Massillon Washington shows the caliber of back he is and the reason for that three-star status. A storied program in their own right, Willtrell has etched his name into the record book throughout his career, and his 2,073 yards rushing this year alone places him No. 1 all-time in Massillon history for yards in a season. Add in his 34 touchdowns this fall, and you can see why a number of division one programs came calling with offers in-hand.

The 5-foot-9, 200 pound back is betting on himself, and that is to be not only commended, but also respected. Turning down any offer to accept a preferred walk-on role is out of the ordinary, but the Buckeyes are happy to keep the in-state prospect at home for the next few years. It’s to be determined what will really go on with the 2023 running back spot, but if the Buckeyes keep pace and don’t sign an offered player at the spot, it makes it that much easier for Hartson to make an impact once he’s on campus.

A player that at least seems to be this determined, I am going with my gut and saying this is a name that will be heard more than just a few times in the years to come. Personally, it’s refreshing to see a young man with a dream of playing for Ohio State shoot his shot and do just that, especially for what he’s turning down in order to do so.

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