Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

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Are the 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes really a once-in-a-lifetime team? Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means take eight rapid fire questions from text subscribers on this Tuesday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com.

It starts off with Ryan Day claiming that this Ohio State team is a once-in-a-lifetime group, then the questions move to whether the Big Ten will change its mind on no fans in the stands; whether any OSU players would opt out midseason; Greg Studrawa's offensive line recruiting; if the playoff should expand for this season; and finally, a Tim Beck question.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

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Revisiting our preseason predictions for the Heisman Trophy and the Big Ten standings: Mark It Down Monday Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

At the risk of violating the sacred integrity of Mark It Down Monday, we decided to take a bit of a mulligan on some of our season predictions. A lot has happened in the college football landscape over the past two months. At the same time, has anything really changed?

So Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means first looked at the early Big Ten-less results of the college football season. Who has surprised us (Miami, and other teams in a bad way)? Who has underwhelmed (basically the entire Big 12). We spent the obligatory segment on former OSU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's issues at Oklahoma and looked at why the Sooners remain a notch below the other national contenders.

Then we took another look at our preseason Hesiman predictions. The Buckeye Talk crew unanimously picked OSU's Justin Fields over Clemson's Trevor Lawrence for the honor originally. Does the Tigers' head start give Lawrence any kind of an edge? Who else do we think could make it to New York, and has anyone already fallen out of contention?

We also took an opportunity to correct our preseason Big Ten order of finish. Did the schedule release and any remaining opt-outs change our expectations for who reaches Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game?

Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk.

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Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, 1995 matchup after a 59-year wait: Buckeye ReTalkables Sep 25, 2020

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It's the third Buckeye ReTalkables here on Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. Already in the feed are the 2015 opener vs. Virginia Tech and the 2010 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon.

Now, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means go a little further back.

It's Ohio State vs. Notre Dame in 1995, the first game between these two historic programs since 1936. The teams played again in 1996, and then they met in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2005 season and the 2015 season. The teams are scheduled for another home-and-home series in the regular season in 2022 and 2023. But this game in 1995 between John Cooper and Lou Holtz was a huge deal because it was so long in the making.

Holtz is in a neck brace. Eddie George is going on to win the Heisman. Future coaches Mike Vrabel and Luke Fickell are on the OSU defensive line. And this 45-26 win for the Buckeyes was a great one to re-talk about.

Eric Hansen, the Notre Dame writer for the South Bend Tribune who also happens to be an Ohio State grad, joins us to set the scene for this one, as Eric covered this game and Doug, Nathan and Stephen didn't cover this.

Neither the Buckeyes nor Fighting Irish are playing this weekend, so we hope fans of both teams can enjoy this look back to 25 years ago. Thanks for listening to Buckeye ReTalkables.

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Buckeye Talk Headlines: September 25 Sep 25, 2020

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Wyatt Davis and Shaun Wade opt in for the fall season.

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Resetting what we know about Ohio State's 2020 defensive backs Sep 24, 2020

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We finally have real football to talk about at Buckeye Talk, after a Tuesday night Zoom call with defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and a couple of cornerbacks provided new insight into what Ohio State's defense might look like this fall.

Nathan Baird, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means begin with those cornerbacks, including potential starting slot cornerback Marcus Williamson. He doesn't fit Coombs' ideal look for an OSU corner and yet he recruited him anyway back before the Buckeyes employed a slot cornerback full-time. Now he becomes the missing piece that perhaps allows Coombs to keep his long, athletic options, such as Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown, on the outside with Shaun Wade. Also, why does Cameron Martinez sound like such an obvious long-term option at that slot corner?

The Buckeye Talk crew bounces around the rest of the defense. How much of a problem is OSU's perceived lack of depth at defensive tackle? Could the tweaked defensive alignments Coombs mentioned Tuesday become a part of the Buckeye defense as soon as 2020? And looking ahead fo more interviews later this week, what do we most urgently need to learn about the OSU offense?

Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk.

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Ep. 295: Building the perfect college football conference for Ohio State Sep 23, 2020

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On this big Wednesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, the goal is to build the perfect college football conference for Ohio State. Is it the Big Ten with a few tweaks? Is it the Big Ten with major tweaks? Would Ohio State be better off in a totally different conference? Could you smush the Big Ten together with another conference? And should schools like Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue, Northwestern, Penn State and Nebraska stay in Ohio State's conference? Or should they be replaced by schools like Notre Dame, Pitt, Texas, West Virginia and Kansas?

That was the goal of this podcast episode, considering all the consternation in the Big Ten in the last six weeks. Could we improve the grouping of schools that Ohio State calls conference companions?

Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means tackled that assignment and designed their ideal conferences, while our OSU text subscribers chipped in with lots of ideas of their own. It made for a fun exercise -- and some yelling.

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Rapid fire on Ryan Day watching Alabama; injury risks; freshmen WRs; and Demario McCall Sep 22, 2020

Show notes

It's a Tuesday rapid fire edition of Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, as Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird take questions from text subscribers. (Try the texts for a 14-day free trial by texting 614-350-3315.) Among the seven topics:

Ryan Day scouting Alabama
Demario McCall's role
Will the freshmen receivers be set back?
Buckeyes in the NFL
Is there an additional injury risk because of the season and preseason schedule?

And more. Thanks s always for joining Buckeye Talk, a rather enjoyable listening experience, wouldn't you say?

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What will be the closest game on Ohio State's regular-season schedule? Mark It Down Monday Sep 21, 2020

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The Big Ten’s current fan attendance policy will prevent Penn State’s usual “whiteout” conditions when the Buckeyes visit on Halloween. Will that still be the closest game any opponent gives Ohio State in this revamped regular-season schedule?

Will that distinction instead go to Michigan, which comes to Ohio Stadium on Dec. 12 in the Big Ten’s biggest rivalry game? Only once in the past six meetings have the Wolverines played within one score of Ohio State. Are they due for a challenge worthy of the rivalry’s history and attention?

Or perhaps someone else on the Buckeyes' schedule will pull a surprise and summon the scare that Iowa, Purdue and Maryland managed in recent years. In the triumphant return of Buckeye Talk’s Mark It Down Monday, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means predicted which of Ohio State’s eight games would have the slimmest margin of victory.

The crew also broke down all aspects of the schedule released Saturday morning. Is it important that Ohio State plays Penn State early? Did the Big Ten do the right thing keeping the rivalry games in the final week? Does Nebraska sound ridiculous whining about getting a tough crossover schedule when they were treated exactly the same as every other team?

Thank you for listening to Buckeye Talk.

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Do Ohio State fans like Jim Harbaugh more after the battle to save Big Ten football? Sep 18, 2020

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On this Friday Buckeye Talk Podcast from cleveland.com, the topic is Big Ten brotherhood. After this five-week fight to save a fall Big Ten football season, how do Ohio State fans now look at the rest of the conference? Do they like Jim Harbaugh more after he marched with members of the Michigan program to have a fall season? Do OSU fans feel camaraderie with Iowa and Nebraska, the other two football programs that never wanted to cancel in the first place? Are OSU fans mad at the original 11 no votes? Will we ever hear "Big Ten" chants at OSU games?

All that, plus Justin Fields and whether he ever thought of opting out; Shaun Wade's decision to opt back in; the games around the country that are being postponed; and when OSU will be eligible for the AP poll again.

Thanks for joining Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means on Buckeye Talk.

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Buckeye Talk Headlines: Big Ten Football Returns Sep 18, 2020

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The Big Ten reinstates the football season starting the weekend of Oct. 23-24.

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