Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

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Favorite Ohio State memories and a Buckeye Talk announcement Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

This Wednesday Buckeye Talk episode begins with an announcement and then continues with nearly three hours of appreciation.

Doug Lesmerises is leaving cleveland.com and Buckeye Talk. The pod will continue with Nathan Baird and Stephen Means and a potential addition, and you'll find Doug somewhere else out there in podcast land pursuing a chance he couldn't turn down.

Doug will be on two more episodes on Thursday and Friday, but on this episode he answers more than 40 questions from text subscribers about his favorite Ohio State games, players, coaches and memories, and his favorite episodes and aspects of Buckeye Talk.

This went super long, but there was a lot to remember, and a lot for Doug to be grateful about. This podcast audience has been the highlight of his career, and he wouldn't be where he is without these listeners.

So strap in for lots of memories ... or skip this one and look forward to next week and the new future of Buckeye Talk.

Thanks for making Buckeye Talk part of your Ohio State fandom.

Preseason preview with Phil Steele -- The Big Ten East has 3 of the 5 best teams Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises is joined by Phil Steele -- from Phil Steele's College Football Preview -- to talk about the 2023 college football season.

Among the subjects covered:

Why the Big Ten has four of the five best running back rooms in the country
Comparing Ohio State's receivers to everyone else
Michigan's offensive line
Penn State's defense
Wisconsin as a surprise team
How Western Kentucky and Notre Dame might fare against the Buckeyes
Are Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State three of the five best teams in the country?

Plus condolences at the end of the pod to Ohio State freshman receiver Carnell Tate on the death of his mother, Ashley.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

Where should Ohio State be ranked in the preseason? Plus life as a tourist and restaurant etiquette on Monday Madness Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

On this Monday Madness from Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird are talking preseason polls and Whatcha Watchin', Whatcha Eating', Whatcha Thinkin'?

First, (0:30) they dive into Ohio State's history in the Associated Press preseason poll. How are the Buckeyes viewed with a returning QB vs. when they have a new QB? And what does that mean for the 2023 Buckeyes, who will have a new starting quarterback? Doug and Nathan predict where they will, and should be, ranked.

Then (21:41) it's a look at the bigger picture and who should be and will be No. 1 in the preseason poll. Where will Michigan be ranked compared to Ohio State? And in the cleveland.com preseason Big Ten poll that will drop next week, which team is the likely favorite?

Finally (42:31) it's talk about watching, eating and thinking.

That includes a boring movie and an exciting TV show; Pizza Hut in Paris; and whether being a tourist is a good or bad thing, and how you should handle an unsatisfactory meal in a restaurant.

Football and nonsense ... thanks for listening to another Buckeye Talk.

Change one game: The Ohio State loss to Georgia, Michigan State, Florida, Michigan, Clemson, etc. the Buckeyes would want to reverse Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

On this Friday Buckeye Talk, Nathan Baird and Doug Lesmerises are playing off the Thursday episode that dug into the 1998 Ohio State-Michigan State game. Was that the most devastating loss in Ohio State history? The one game that fans would want to reverse the outcome of?

Or would it be another game, maybe a loss by a great OSU team with national title hopes to an opponent like Michigan, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, USC or another team?

Doug made a top-10 list of the results he thinks the Buckeyes would most want to change, and Nathan gathered an array of answers from text subscribers to come up with their list of the most popular games to undo.

It makes for an interesting look at the long, successful history of Ohio State by examining how many times a single loss in a season kept them from a title.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Ohio State vs. Michigan State 1998 -- Pain and lessons from a great team's only loss on Buckeye ReTalkables Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

It's another edition of Buckeye ReTalkables on Buckeye Talk as Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird look back on and discuss Ohio State's 28-24 loss to Michigan State in 1998 season.

The Buckeyes were No. 1 coming into this game in this first year of the BCS, and this upset in Ohio Stadium was the only loss of the year for this John Cooper team.

Michigan State was an average team coming in, but was coached by legend in the making Nick Saban, and the Spartans had future high first-round picks on both sides of the ball.

Ohio State featured five future first-round picks on defense and a high-powered passing offense that makes for some interesting comparisons to the 2023 Ohio State offense, from Joe Germaine at quarterback to Michael Wiley at running back to David Boston at receiver.

This is a painful rewatch and discussion for Ohio State fans, but there's a lot of interesting college football history to discuss and maybe some lessons to be learned.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

The traffic pod: Merging, driverless cars, Ohio State gameday plans, and idiots on the road Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

It's finally the traffic podcast you've been promised on this Wednesday Buckeye Talk, as Doug Lesmerises is joined by Ohio State professor Dr. Benjamin Coifman.

Dr. Coifman is a traffic expert who studies traffic flow and driver dynamics, among other things, and he's here to talk about all the things that drive you nuts on the road and the way we maybe can all be a bit better out there.

The topics:

(0:30) How people think they drive compared to other people
(9:05) Ohio State traffic on gameday and how the school handles it
(16:28) Leaving gaps at a traffic light
(23:06) Roundabouts
(28:24) Etiquette when merging in construction
(36:22) When traffic appears for no reason
(42:32) What individual drivers can do to help traffic
(48:15) The future of autonomous vehicles

We like the occasional off-topic offseason pod, and thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk.

Northwestern fires Pat Fitzgerald as college leadership stumbles again Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

Pat Fitzgerald was fired as the head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats on Monday, and though this is Buckeye Talk and a podcast about Ohio State, that kind of Big Ten news merits a discussion. And there are Ohio State lessons involved with this from how the Buckeyes handled Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer in the past.

Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird discuss this mess from several angles:

(0:30) Reaction to the Fitzgerald firing
(10:05) How would Ohio State have handled this situation?
(22:06) The constant balance around the power of a football coach
(42:29) Where will the Northwestern football program go from here?
(50:00) A final wrap from Doug, including Fitzgerald's statement

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

Tommy Eichenberg's legacy and Ohio State's leading tackler: Mark It Down Monday Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg ranked second in the Big Ten in tackles last season while earning second-team All-American. He's back, so will he lead the Buckeyes in tackles again?

On this Mark It Down Monday on Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means talk about Eichenberg's potential place in Ohio State history, and then make their predictions on a tackle leader for this season.

(0:30) The player Eichenberg has been, and could be in 2023
(22:58) Other candidates to lead the Buckeyes in tackles
(33:26) Marking down predictions for Ohio State's tackle leader and how many he'll have

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

The national title Ohio State should win; another recruit; the assistants to add; and more Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

On this Friday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means are hitting several topics on the Ohio State Buckeyes:

(0:52) The addition of cornerback recruit Miles Lockhart
(13:55) Would the Buckeyes rather win the national title in 2023 or 2024?
(30:28) Which Buckeye would the guys most and least want to box?
(39:29) If and when schools can hire more assistant coaches, what will the Buckeyes do?
(1:00:03) What's on a player and what's on a program when it comes to development?
(1:15:08) With an increase in playoff games, what will happen to old records?

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

The 10 greatest threats to Ohio State football Jul 06, 2023

Show notes

What are the greatest threats to the continued high-level success of Ohio State football? What are the internal issues that could trip up the Buckeyes? What Big Ten competition could make the future more difficult? How about changes on the evolving national college football landscape?

On this Thursday Buckeye Talk, off a great suggestion from an Ohio State text subscriber, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means rank their 10 greatest threats to Ohio State football over the next five to 10 years.

And when it comes to those threats, how real are they? Doug and Stephen also discuss if they really believe there are multiple things that could shake the Buckeyes from their perch near the top of college football.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

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