Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

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The Nick Saban feud, and a Big Ten world with no football divisions May 20, 2022

Show notes

On this Friday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises is back with his thoughts on the news of the day.

First, he tackles the public feud between Alabama coach Nick Saban and Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, what he likes and doesn't like about it, and why college football is living by the rules of the jungle.

Then it's on to the idea of the Big Ten giving up divisions. How would have Big Ten Championship Game matchups have looked in the past in that world? How often will this mean the Buckeyes vs. the Wolverines for a Big Ten title, and is that a good thing? And if the Big Ten goes to a few permanent rivals to play every year, who should those teams be for the Buckeyes?

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com,.

What raises for Ryan Day and Chris Holtmann tell us about Ohio State football and basketball May 19, 2022

Show notes

On this Thursday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises looks at the raises and extensions for Ohio State football coach Ryan Day and Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann announced this week, compares them to salaries for Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel and Thad Matta in the past, and tries to use the money to analyze the current state of the football and basketball programs.

First, it's the new deals for Day and Holtmann in context of each other.

Then it's a dive into Day's contract, why it happened and what it means for his future.

And then it's a look at Holtmann's extension, how it fits in the Big Ten and the nation, and what it means for how much patience AD Gene Smith may have with the basketball Buckeyes.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Drafting the Ohio State Buckeyes most likely to be All-Americans in 2022 May 18, 2022

Show notes

On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk, the crew is back together as this podcast was recorded before Nathan Baird went on paternity leave.

That means Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan are taking turns drafting the Ohio State football players most likely to be named first-team All-Americans and first-team All-Big Ten choices this season.

Does that mean picking the best players in order? Not necessarily. The competition at some positions is steeper than the competition at others. But this draft will give you more info on what Nathan, Doug and Stephen are thinking about the best Buckeyes for 2022.

Thanks for listening to another Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Imagine 11-win Coastal Carolina coming to play Ohio State -- Arkansas State used to be that May 17, 2022

Show notes

It's another schedule breakdown for the 2022 Ohio State Buckeyes, and after discussing the Notre Dame opener last week, it's on to Week 2 and Ohio State's home game vs. Arkansas State.

Mitchell Gladstone of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette joins Doug Lesmerises to talk about Arkansas State and second-year coach Butch Jones, the former boss at Cincinnati and Tennessee. The Red Wolves come from the Sun Belt Conference, where they were dominating and winning league titles about eight years ago before falling on some tougher times.

But the Sun Belt plays good football -- imagine if fellow Sun Belt team Coastal Carolina, which has won 11 games each of the last two seasons, was coming to Columbus.

Doug and Mitchell talk Arkansas State's best players, the state of and hopes for the program, the Red Wolves defensive coordinator with Ohio State ties, and a little Ja Morant.

Hope you enjoy this schedule breakdown, and thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

Will Ohio State basketball be better or worse after losing 86 percent of its points? May 16, 2022

Show notes

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means look at the 2022-23 Ohio State basketball team, a 13-player roster that will include:

Two players from last season's rotation
Two injured players returning to health
Three transfers
One redshirt freshman
Five true freshmen

That's the team for Year 6 of the Chris Holtmann Era, and will it be good enough? That group includes the No. 5 recruiting class in the country, but only Zed Key and Eugene Brown from last year's contributors.

Doug was so confused and frustrated by the roster, he did a terrible podcast. But Stephen tried to hold it together.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

An NFL QB debate -- Would you take C.J. Stroud or Justin Fields? May 13, 2022

Show notes

A week ago on Buckeye Talk, a draft of the best Ohio State players in the NFL right now led to another question.

Where would C.J. Stroud fit in that mix? And specifically, how would he stack up as an NFL quarterback compared to Justin Fields, who is entering his second season with the Chicago Bears?

So on this Buckeye Talk episode, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means dug into that idea. Doug, Stephen and the OSU text subscribers each rated Stroud and Field in five categories as potential NFL franchise quarterbacks. Who came out on top when those ratings were added up?

And then in the simple question of which QB you'd take as an NFL GM, who won that vote?

These are two good NFL options with different styles, so dive in to this OSU NFL QB discussion. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Inside the brewing Ohio State-Notre Dame football recruiting battles May 12, 2022

Show notes

Ohio State will open up the 2022 season against an opponent it will see enough of on the recruiting trail going forward in Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish and the Buckeyes have plenty of 2023 recruiting targets in common. OSU may have the upper hand in the head-to-head battles, but Notre Dame enters the summer with the nation’s top recruiting class and new momentum under new head coach Marcus Freeman

Stephen Means is joined by Kyle Kelly, who covers Notre Dame recruiting for Rivals, as the two discuss the ongoing battles between the two programs in their fight for Midwest supremacy and a national recruiting title.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

The Notre Dame matchup that could give Ohio State problems, and why the Buckeyes should still win May 11, 2022

Show notes

On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk, it's time to start a weekly series that will take us through the end of July.

One by one we will break down every opponent on the Ohio State schedule, in order, by interviewing a writer that covers that team and getting down to the matchups and meaning of the game with the Buckeyes.

It's a big one to start -- Notre Dame. Eric Hansen, Ohio native and veteran writer now covering the Fighting Irish for InsideNDSports.com is the guest on this episode, talking everything about Notre Dame's best players, whether these teams should play more often and his memories of the last home-and-home series from the mid-90s.

There's a lot of info in a short amount of time, and then a final wrap from Doug with his view of the game. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola commits to Ohio State football May 10, 2022

Show notes

For the third time in the Ryan Day era, Ohio State has landed a five-star quarterback in Dylan Raiola out of Arizona. Raiola kicks off the Buckeyes’ 2024 recruiting class while continuing the program’s run of successful quarterback recruiting.

Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means discuss the first member of Ohio State’s 2024 recruiting class and what it means for the 2023 class still looking for a quarterback.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

Everything we learned from Ohio State football assistant coaches May 08, 2022

Show notes

On this early Monday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means take turns revealing the most interesting and important conversations they had with Ohio State football coaches on Friday.

The coaches who met with reporters were:

Receivers coach Brian Hartline
Running backs coach Tony Alford
Offensive line coach Justin Frye
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles
Special teams coach Parker Fleming
Strength and conditioning coordinator Mickey Marotti
Head coach Ryan Day

From Kourt Williams to Jaxon Smith-Njigba, from C.J Stroud to Zach Harrison, from TreVeyon Henderson to Noah Ruggles, there are a lot of tidbits to share. That's why this Monday pod is dropping a bit early.

Catch you back on the Tuesday episode from cleveland.com.

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