Ohio State Buckeyes LIVE 383 Voice of College Football | Hosts: Mark Rogers, Steve Helwagen (Bucknuts 247), Tony Gerdeman (Buckeye Weekly) Wednesday episode, mid-August camp (roughly 2.5 weeks from season opener vs. Ball State; Week 2 at Texas)
Mark opens noting everyone in college football is grinding through August camp. Ohio State is working to justify the No. 1 ranking, though championship expectations in Columbus exist regardless of preseason polls. Steve and Tony join after a slight delay. Season is close enough to “taste it.”
Steve spoke with the RBs and TEs. Isaiah West opened camp as the No. 1 back. Ryan Day indicated Bo Jackson has come on strongly. Possible explanations: Bo was slower returning from a shoulder procedure than West, or coaches were sending a message.
Day wants Bo to finish runs and run over defenders—things they didn’t see enough of last year. Bo rushed for 1,000 yards as a freshman but mostly in 4–5 yard chunks rather than explosive or punishing runs. Coaches are optimistic about the leap.
Isaiah West and Jacoby Jackson (Florida transfer, valued as a pass-catcher out of the backfield) will both play; they’re likely 2 and 3. Depth includes freshman Legend Bay, redshirt freshman Turbo Rogers, and true freshman Favre Aki. The group has limited experience beyond the Jacksons and West but is expected to take a step under Carlos Locklin and become a top position group.
Mark notes Bo had a fine freshman year as the main back at Ohio State, but elite OSU backs must create extra yards (make someone miss in the backfield or turn a 6–8 yard gain into 15–50). Competition is healthy. Ohio State historically features one featured back (Zeke, J.K. Dobbins) more often than a three-headed committee like Alabama/Georgia, though Henderson/Judkins sharing 1,000-yard seasons in the title year showed it can work.
Steve’s top concern: injuries to key players. Camp has been relatively clean. Austin Sereveld missed some practices last week but was in full uniform after practice and appears back. The 64,000-dollar question is whether he plays left tackle or right guard.
Possible alignments: Ian Moore at LT + Sereveld at RG, or Sereveld at LT + Josh Padilla at RG. Steve leans toward Moore at LT. The running game (line, play-calling, and backs) needs to become more dynamic than last year.
Ohio State is No. 1 with a commanding 40–14 first-place vote edge over Oregon. Top 7 largely matches the coaches poll (one flip: Notre Dame and Texas). Media often follows the coaches poll.
Historical note: Ohio State has never gone wire-to-wire from a true preseason No. 1 (1942 was mid-October after games had been played). 1998 is the famous near-miss (lost to Michigan State after sitting No. 1 for weeks). Only three teams have done it in the last 25 years.
Tony ran preseason rankings since 2020: if form holds, No. 20 Tennessee would win the title like Indiana last year. Clemson is unranked for the first time under Dabo since 2011. Ryan Day’s preseason rankings under him: 1, 3, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 5 — consistently better than Urban Meyer’s.
Discussion of Paul Finebaum saying Indiana has “no chance.” Panel views it as an unintelligent statement even if it might prove correct; Indiana just won it and can do it again, even if they don’t expect it.
Athletic.com coaching tiers piece (Chris Vannini): Tier 1 is Curt Cignetti and Kirby Smart. Ryan Day is in Tier 2 with James Franklin, Mario Cristobal, Kalen DeBoer, Marcus Freeman, Lane Kiffin, Dan Lanning, Steve Sarkisian, Dabo Swinney, and Kyle Whittingham.
Hosts call it comical. Day has dominated most of that group (roughly 14-5 record cited). Putting him with recently fired or underperforming coaches (Franklin especially) while citing Ohio State’s resources/expectations as a knock is mental gymnastics. Day is on pace for NCAA record-book winning percentage and will hit 90/100 wins faster than any OSU coach.
Comparison of “established winners” vs. championship pedigree. Resources/NIL (Alabama’s issues, “haves and have-nots”) should factor in evaluations.
National title now evens the ledger somewhat. Day’s 2-4 vs. Michigan is the sore thumb compared with Meyer’s dominance. Day has one Big Ten title to Meyer’s three (2014, 2017, 2018). Day has a strong record vs. ranked teams.
Context: Day faced the best Michigan teams (including a national champion). Meyer faced weaker Michigan squads and a different Big Ten. Sign-stealing and missed tackles factored into some losses. A second title would put Day in rare air (Tressel, Meyer, Paul Brown never got two). Both belong on the stadium facade.
Hosts wouldn’t necessarily vote Ohio State No. 1 but have no issue with it. Ohio State is the safest “top-5 finisher” pick year after year. Anyone in the top 6–7 can win it all if they stay healthy and get hot.
Skepticism on Texas A&M (“what have they ever done?”). Growing belief in Oklahoma’s defense (could be among the best) and John Mateer’s health. Tony likes Oklahoma to beat Michigan in the Big House based on scheme vs. Bryce Underwood’s prior numbers.
Steve leaves for a Ghana Club event honoring Archie Griffin as Man of the Year (Jim Tressel speaking). Joke about not hassling Archie for autographs. Collectors now pay to get into open practices for young-player autographs.
Tony and Mark discuss terrible internet takes, AI-generated fake stats/charts, and entitled Ohio State fans who treat Michigan wins as expected (“Wheel of Fortune RSTLE”) and complain about Julian Sayin, Brandon Inniss, Ross Bjork, etc. Ohio State fans are fortunate and should appreciate the consistency. ChatGPT is a terrible football research tool. Fake AI stories (Ryan Day saving a puppy) get believed.
Tony recorded Buckeye Weekly episodes dropping soon, including one on what Arthur Smith is bringing to the offense (multiple things from one or two alignments confusing the defense). Saturday’s scrimmage: defense had trouble with the offense due to execution, not just bells and whistles. Stock-up/stock-down pieces (5 offense, 5 defense) at BuckeyeInsiders.com.
Mark will have full Michigan-show duties starting next week. Show airs Wednesdays at 4 p.m. ET. Mark takes calls weeknights at 9 ET on the main channel.
Key takeaways for notes
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
