Buckeye Talk: Ohio State podcast by cleveland.com

On this big Thursday Buckeye Talk podcast from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means cover a lot of ground. First up, the latest with the Ohio State Buckeyes on Master Teague, Chris Olave, Cam Brown, Kerry Coombs, Pete Werner and more. Then, the champion of our Chain Restaurant Bracket is revealed. Next up, fallout from our recruiting discussion on 2022 QB Quinn Ewers, with the text subscribers agreeing with Nathan and disagreeing with Doug and Stephen. And then finally, the coaching situation at Michigan. Do OSU fans want to see Jim Harbaugh stay or go? Should he keep his job for the good of the Wolverines, or are they better off with a change? Is he actually in his last season? And if he's done, who will replace him? P.J. Fleck? Brent Venables? Matt Campbell? Luke Fickell? It's a big one, without much talk of Rutgers this week. Thanks for joining us on Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk podcast from cleveland.co, the focus is all on 2022 quarterback prospect Quinn Ewers, a five-star that many national recruiting experts are now projecting to the Buckeyes. Should Ohio State take him? If they Buckeyes do, what will happen to C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord? Can you ever have too many good quarterbacks? Can a program ever be too ruthless in the pursuit of top talent? All that is on the board for Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird to discuss, while text subscribers check in with a survey, on this latest podcast from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The undefeated Buckeyes get ready for Rutgers in Week 3. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Monday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird take their usual spin around college football while taking a first look at Ohio State's game with Rutgers on Saturday. What will it be like for the Buckeyes to face former assistant Greg Schiano? Should the Buckeyes be more than 37-point favorites over the Scarlet Knights? What more can the OSU run game prove this week? When it comes to the rest of college football, will Notre Dame beat Clemson this Saturday? Is Indiana peaking and ready to fall off? Does Georgia need a quarterback change? Should Nathan have voted for Purdue? And how legitimate of a playoff contender should Cincinnati be if the Bearcats continue playing well and winning big and if they finish undefeated? It's a look ahead at the Buckeyes and a dose of the national college football scene, so thanks for making Buckeye Talk part of your day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, this episode got away just a bit. Ohio State beat Penn State 38-25 on Saturday in State College and somehow Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means spent an hour and 45 minutes talking about it -- Nathan and Stephen after watching the game in the press box and Doug after watching it from his couch. Why was there so much to discuss? Because there were so many things that OSU fans were concerned about even in victory. There were plenty of questions about the run game, the touchdowns allowed in the second half and the secondary in general. There was praise for Buckeyes like Justin Fields, Jonathon Cooper, Tuf Borland, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. This was probably the most interesting game of the regular season, with overmatched opponents ahead for the Buckeyes. So maybe nearly two hours was needed. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our Buckeye Talk text subscribers once again were treated to a live Thursday night audience for this episode previewing what annually stands up as the biggest game in the Big Ten East. Ohio State travels to Penn State on Saturday, and while the Nittany Lions cannot recreate Whiteout conditions, they still pose a threat to the Buckeyes' national championship hopes. The Buckeyes were favored by 12 points as of the moment we hit record Thursday night. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means give their picks for OSU's first road game of the coronavirus era. Two of them believe the Buckeyes are too talented after Penn State lost both Micah Parsons and Journey Brown and will cover. One of them expects a game deep into the fourth quarter. We share the results of our texter poll, breaking down how close they expect the game to be and how worried they are about an upset. We also invite some of them on the pod to ask us their questions about this always competitive matchup. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the big Thursday Buckeye Talk episode, and Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means have a lot to cover. There are 15 rapid-fire questions from text subscribers as the Buckeyes prepare for a trip to Penn State on Saturday; a discussion about the Wisconsin-Nebraska cancellation; suggestions from listeners on what Nathan should have to do to pay off his losing bet to Doug from the season opener; and a review of the Final Four in our Chain Restaurant Bracket. But most of the talk is on football, with a big look at the Ohio State running game. To start off, the discussion centers on whether the Buckeyes could be like last year's national champ, LSU, which featured a defense that improved a lot over the course of the season and was carried early by an offense that outscored everyone. Could that happen for the Buckeyes as a young group of defenders eases into things? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Buckeyes Talk episode for Wednesday includes a very special crossover in the second half of the pod, when Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird are joined by Bob Flounders and Greg Pickel of Blue-White Breakdown, the new Penn State football podcast from PennLive.com. Doug, Nathan, Bob and Greg talk about the lesser-known players on both sides who could affect this game; the quarterback gap between Ohio State's Justin Fields and Penn State's Sean Clifford; how Penn State fans are viewing James Franklin after the Nittany Lions' loss to Indiana; and whether the young PSU receivers will be able to get open against Shaun Wade and the Ohio State secondary. That's in the second half of the podcast. In the first half, Doug, Nathan and Stephen Means talk about all they learned from talking with Ryan Day, Garrett Wilson, Haskell Garrett and Josh Myers on Tuesday. Thanks for listening to Buckeyes Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buckeyes move to No. 3 in the AP Poll after a season-opening win over Nebraska See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nathan Baird and Doug Lesmerises have decided to call this Monday episode looking at the college football scene and examining what's next for Ohio State "Monday Madness." Nathan writes a column at cleveland.com each Monday of the same name and you should be reading that, too. But here, your ears can take in this Buckeye Talk episode offering an early preview of the Ohio State-Penn State matchup on Saturday night. How should OSU fans view the Nittany Lions, who are coming off an upset loss at Indiana? Plus, how good is Wisconsin and what will it mean if the Badgers lose new QB Graham Mertz to a positive COVID test for a few weeks? Might Michigan have a talent surge this season, including at quarterback? And what does the early College Football Playoff picture look like? All that and more from Nathan and Doug on this Monday Madness Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State beat Nebraska 52-17 on Saturday, and Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means are here to break it down. Nathan and Stephen covered the game in Ohio Stadium, while Doug watched at home, and the three of them got together after the postgame interviews to discuss the game for an hour. The passing offense looked great, the running game looked questionable and the young defense started slow. Also, a backdoor cover allowed Doug to cover the 29 points he had given to Nathan for this one, as Ohio State won by 35. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com after Ohio State's first game of the 2020 season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We made it, you guys. Ohio State finally kicks off the 2020 season on Saturday when Nebraska visits Ohio Stadium. We gathered virtually with our Buckeye Talk subscribers on Thursday night to preview the game and make our picks for this and other games this weekend. We took a closer look at many of the matchups in Saturday's game. Will Adrian Martinez, Wan'Dale Robinson and an offensive line that returns intact cause problems for the Ohio State defense? If so, is that a good thing because it will help the Buckeyes answer some lingering questions on that side of the ball? How long should Justin Fields play if this is a lopsided game. We'll be back Saturday with a postgame pod shortly after the game. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Instead of a big Wednesday podcast, it's a big Thursday podcast on this game week as the Ohio State Buckeyes prepare to open their football season on Saturday. After previewing this season for almost 10 months, Buckeye Talk is taking this one opportunity to say --- we might be wrong. On this episode, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird, Stephen Means and the Ohio State text subscribers secretly admit on a popular public podcast all the ways they might be reading these Buckeyes incorrectly. Most people are anticipating a big season from the Buckeyes, so much of the pod consists of the things in the back of people's minds that could go wrong -- from the defense to the running game to the Big Ten's handling of COVID-19. But there are also some texters who are legitimately worried about some things this season, and they admit where they maybe should be more optimistic. As Nathan said, it's a last chance for everyone to cover their butts with their thoughts on the Buckeyes, so this was a fun one with lots of great texter ideas. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this game week Wednesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means continue to learn more about Ohio State's team heading into the season. A focus for this episode is the offensive line, especially starting right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. Plus, what's the long-term plan for intriguing OL prospect Dawand Jones? There's more talk on Marcus Hooker, the recruitment of Tristan Leigh and other pressing issues for the Buckeyes. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buckeyes are ready to open against Nebraska on Oct. 24. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At long last, football season has arrived in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State opens its pursuit of a fourth consecutive conference championship against Nebraska at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird first take a spin around the college football landscape. How difficult is it to fill out an Associated Press ballot right now? Which teams and players are we buying stock in or dumping our shares of through the first six weeks? What are the storylines we are most intrigued by in the OSU-Nebraska opener? The Buckeyes opened as 23.5-point favorites over the Cornhuskers. Does that line make sense, and should OSU fans expect some higher-scoring games on both sides of the ball? What level of concern should Buckeye fans have for Saturday game -- either that an upset could come or OSU will not live up to expectations? Finally, Doug and Nathan pick their four College Football Playoff teams after other conferences have played as many as five games. NOTE: There will be no Tuesday podcast during the season. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday pods will continue as usual, with the Friday pod recorded live with Buckeye Talk text subscribers Thursday night. We'll come back with a Saturday postgame pod and this Monday format to wrap up the weekend and look ahead. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We wrap up our preseason look at the important games in Ohio State football with the night that more than any other set the stage for how we measure the current Buckeyes program. The Sugar Bowl after the 2014 season, in which Urban Meyer led 4 seed Ohio State against Nick Saban's top-seeded Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals. It was the culmination of Ezekiel Elliott's brilliant rumble through the postseason. More than that, it was the culmination of what Meyer had been building since he arrived at Ohio State. The Buckeyes, with third-string quarterback Cardale Jones, were nine-point underdogs and fell into a 21-6 deficit early, setting the stage for history. From Evan Spencer's overlooked contributions to Michael Thomas' hints at what would come to the late decisions that almost blew up in Ohio State's face, we delve into the details of one of the most unforgettable nights in Buckeye history. Our ReTalkables will go on hiatus for a while as we focus on the 202 games yet to be played. But we'll still bring you Buckeye Talk five days a week, including after every game. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State is a week away from the start of its season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State football will release a depth chart the day before the Oct. 24 season opener against Nebraska. But what will the actual relationship be between starters and backups when the Buckeyes take the field? Your Buckeye Talk crew got to the bottom of that question. The conversation began with Wednesday's revelations about the safety competition from assistant coach Matt Barnes, then worked its way to the front of the defense. With defensive tackle depth questionable at best, who will rotate through those spots against the Cornhuskers? Also, what will OSU actually do with this abundance of linebacker talent? On offense, we know the first-string offensive line, we know the running back spot will be a timeshare, we know the tight end three-deep and we know the starting quarterback. How much will freshmen factor into the Buckeyes' six-man receiver rotation? Also, we delve into the breaking news regarding COVID-19 and the SEC and what Big Ten fans need to keep in mind as the season draws near. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this big Wednesday Buckeye Talk podcast from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means describe exactly what would need to happen for Ohio State to have the best football season in school history. The schedule, the opponents, the talent and the context are all there to make it possible. The distinction between best team and best season is important, but playing in the COVID-19 era has a chance to make 2020 as memorable as any OSU season. OSU text subscribers joined the conversation in a live Zoom call on this pod, and they also asked questions about Kerry Coombs, Chris Gamble, Tom Herman and other issues around Ohio State football. If you'd like to join a live zoom podcast, sign up for a free text trial by sending a message to 614-350-3315. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk pod from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and the Ohio State text subscribers take a crack at some over/unders and either/ors for this football season. How many touchdown passes will Justin Fields throw -- over or under 39? How many points per game will the Buckeyes allow (over or under 20) and score (over or under 50)? Will the leading rusher be either Trey Sermon or Master Teague? Leading receiver be either Chris Olave or Garrett Wilson? Leader in sacks be either Zach Harrison or Tyreke Smith? And will the Buckeyes score 60 on Rutgers? It's another round of predictions as the season draws closer. Thanks for joining the prognosticating fun on Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the season's start finally closing in, Buckeye Talk delved into Mark It Down Monday for the final time in 2020. Continuing a tradition you may already know from our weekly video series, we all mark down our Outrageous Predictions for the season ahead. So did our Buckeye Talk text subscribers. They chimed in with predictions on how COVID-19 will affect the season, what numbers Justin Fields will put up, who will lead the defense and exactly how many points Ohio State will score in The Game. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means also made their own Outrageous Predictions covering a high-scoring offense, Justin Fields' touchdown ceiling and how many of them will go to a specific tight end. Outrageous Predictions will continue throughout the season, but Mondays will soon become about recapping the weekend in college football and previewing the week ahead. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the preseason winding down, we had to bring The Game into our discussion of the important games in Ohio State football history. So we took our little time machine back to 1968, when the Buckeyes dominated Michigan with the Super Sophs en route to the national championship. This game lives on as Woody Hayes' finest moment OSU's head coach. It also came during a time of upheaval in society. One year later, Bo Schembechler took over the Wolverines, setting off the Ten Year War in the rivalry. On this day, however, we focused on Rex Kern and a Buckeyes running game equal parts beautiful and punishing. We also paid homage to Jack Tatum and a defense that dominated much of this game and set a tone for the triumph to come in the Rose Bowl against O.J. Simpson and USC. Watch the youtube cut-up version of this Ohio State classic, then join us for this discussion. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buckeyes add an offensive line recruit See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Thursday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, the defensive line is the focus. But there's also a discussion about running backs at the end. What Nathan Baird and Stephen Means are doing is explaining the most important things they've learned from recent interviews with Ohio State assistant coaches and players, and both the running backs and defensive linemen recently spoke with reporters. With Doug Lesmerises mostly asking questions, Nathan and Stephen let you know what to expect from Zach Harrison, Tyreke Smith, Tommy Togiai, Tyler Friday, Antwuan Jackson, Trey Sermon, Master Teague and other Buckeyes you care about before the start of the season. Thanks for making Buckeye Talk part of your day. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a rapid fire Wednesday for our biggest Buckeye Talk of the week, as Nathan Baird, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means take questions from text subscribers. Among the topics: • What should be expected from DBs Tyreke Johnson and Josh Proctor this season? • Is this the year that Ohio State returns a punt for a touchdown? • How large will the betting lines be for OSU games? • How far would you drive for a specific fast food meal? • Could Ohio State win a title if Justin Fields got hurt? • How does a conference develop an identity? • What's our favorite holiday story? • How much upside does new Michigan QB Joe Milton have? • Is Tom Herman on the hot seat at Texas? • Which college coaches would survive on The Walking Dead? • And then there's the last question, which is too dangerous to type out here. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Nathan Baird, Stephen Means and Doug Lesmerises talk about the position changes for Pete Werner and Baron Browning and how everything will fit together in the Ohio State linebacker room this season. But first, the guys discuss Ohio State's latest 2021 recruiting commitment at tackle and what happened with the higher-rated tackle recruits they didn't get. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we close in on the start of the Big Ten season -- finally -- we need to once and for all mark down our College Football Playoff championship scenarios. We tried this back in mid-August, based on what we knew about schedules, opt-outs and the sport's landscape at the time. Six weeks later, Doug, Nathan and Stephen followed through with a Mark It Down Monday on their actual playoff and national championship predictions. To set the stage, the guys discussed the Buckeyes. Does Ohio State's eight-game Big Ten-only schedule make it easier to reach the playoff, and does it also make it more difficult to claim the No. 1 seed? Has the conversation around Clemson's schedule similarly changed? How impressed are we with Alabama so far, and can the Big 12 or Pac-12 summon any sort of a challenge? Then, we revisit our earlier predictions. Have our top four teams changed, and how do we expect the four seeds to shake out? Is Ohio State still our unanimous pick to win its first national championship since 2014? Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our fourth Buckeye ReTalkables on the Buckeye Talk Podcast from cleveland.com, where Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means relive and retalk an Ohio State game from the past. This time, it's the recent past, as the cleveland.com Ohio State text subscribers picked the 2017 Ohio State vs. Penn State game from a list of four recent classics between the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions. Great choice, and not only because this was the best quarter of J.T. Barrett's career as he rallied the Buckeyes to a 39-38 win while completing all 13 of his passes in the fourth quarter. This also might have been the most consequential game in recent Big Ten history. Listen to relive it and find out why. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Olave says he was always coming back for another season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're another day closer to the long-delayed start to the Ohio State football season, and today that means a closer look inside the potential receiver rotation for the Buckeyes this fall. Nathan Baird and Stephen Means were in on a Zoom call with receivers coach Brian Hartline and four players from his room on Tuesday. What did they learn about Chris Olave's commitment to 2020 and beyond, the progress Garrett Wilson is making in the slot, what Hartline wants from that position long-term, how much of a factor Jameson Williams could be this fall and how the freshman have looked in early practices? All of that is covered in this Thursday edition of the daily Buckeye Talk podcast. Come back to cleveland.com all week for more on the receivers and an update from Al Washington and the linebackers. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this big Wednesday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means dig into a major comparison for the 2020 season, and, well, every season. It's Ohio State vs. Clemson and the Big Ten vs. the ACC. The question here is in two parts: Does Ohio State or Clemson have an easier path to the College Football Playoff with their schedules this season? Does the Big Ten or the ACC have the bigger gap between the team on top (either Ohio State or Clemson) and the teams chasing them (Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan, et al. in the Big Ten and Notre Dame, Miami, North Carolina, et al. in the ACC.) Those questions, with answers from the hosts and text subscribers, took up most of this episode. But the guys did start the episode with a look at the way Trey Sermon and Master Teague may share the load at running back this season. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wyatt Davis and Shaun Wade opt in for the fall season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten reinstates the football season starting the weekend of Oct. 23-24. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're finding the flow on Buckeye Talk. This is the Thursday episode, but it feels like a typical big Wednesday pod, as Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means run through everything that the cleveland.com Ohio State text subscribers are thinking about. What changed to get the Big Ten focused on an October restart? What would the hype for an Ohio State-Clemson playoff rematch feel like? How will the playoff selection committee evaluate the Big Ten champ compared to the SEC, ACC and Big 12? What's up with McDonald's spicy McNuggets? How important is defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs to the Buckeyes now? How do the Big Ten testing regulations compare to other conferences? What's the biggest hurdle for Ohio State on its attempted path to the playoff, and is it football or coronavirus related? Will Wyatt Davis be able to opt in and play for the Buckeyes? It's busy, and it's pretty darn normal. Except for the part where Doug starts shouting about the idea that Wednesday was the darkest day in Big Ten football history. It's Buckeye Talk, and if you stopped listening for a few weeks because you were sad there was no fall football in the Big Ten -- then welcome back. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The long-awaited word officially came Wednesday morning. The Big Ten Conference has reversed course and will attempt to play a fall season beginning the Oct. 23-24 weekend. Ohio State does not yet know the layout of its eight-game schedule, but it knows it again has a chance to earn its was into the College Football Playoff. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means discussed what the news means for the Buckeyes' potential opt-outs, where they believe the OSU-Michigan game should go on the new schedule, how this affects the College Football Playoff picture and so much more. Also, how far did Wednesday's announcement go in repairing Big Ten Commissioner's Kevin Warren's reputation. And is Ohio State still the same national championship contender it was in the preseason, considering it may not have two preseason All-Americans this fall? Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk podcast from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird are still waiting, just like you. But while the Big Ten still hasn't announced a decision on when football will be played, Doug and Nathan talked about something that has been announced -- Shaun Wade's decision to opt out of the season. They talked about that choice by the OSU cornerback, they looked at what's happening at LSU and Michigan and, like you, they wondered when the Big Ten will make a decision. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Big Ten should soon reach a decision about when it will play football again, and the league might play this fall. Aren't you ready for the league to do something? On this late Monday episode of Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird make their predictions on what they think the Big Ten will do. And then they talk about what has been so miserable about the last 34 days, since the Big Ten announced the fall cancellation on Aug. 11. What do they hate most about this, from the opportunities missed to the reporting to the Rutgers-ness of the situation? If you've been frustrated, join Nathan and Doug for what should be a final session of venting before the Big Ten makes its call. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the second Buckeye ReTalkables for this bonus Saturday pod, as Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means break down the Rose Bowl between Ohio State and Oregon that capped off the 2009 season. It's Jim Tressel vs. Chip Kelly and a sweater vest vs. a shiny spread offense. It's a big moment for sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor and a major test for an OSU defense led by future NFL star Cameron Heyward. It's Ohio State's first Rose Bowl in 13 years and a chance for the Buckeyes to break their string of three straight bowl losses. And it's a way to enjoy the Buckeyes vs. the Ducks on the weekend when Ohio State was supposed to be playing at Oregon in a non-conference game that would have highlighted the Week 2 schedule as a matchup of top-10 teams. The guys tried to replace that -- and it's a fun game to relive. (By the way, the Buckeyes won.) Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All-American offensive lineman Wyatt Davis announced Friday that he is opting out of Ohio State's season and beginning to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, the first Buckeye to officially declare he won't be part of whatever season the Big Ten might play this season. On this Friday edition of Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird discuss the decision by Davis and what might be next. Plus, they get into the statement Ryan Day released on Thursday pushing for football in October, and the eventual decision the Big Ten presidents will have to make about that. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All-American Wyatt Davis opts out See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allatoona, Georgia tight end Bennett Christian took matters into his own hands when the NCAA instituted a recruiting moratorium during the coronavirus pandemic. He made his own visit to Columbus and committed to the Buckeyes soon after -- though he waited to announce the decision on his birthday a couple of weeks later. Christian joined Buckeye Talk to discuss the factors that went into that decision, his relationships with coach Ryan Day and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson, and who else he is trying to bring on as the second tight end in OSU's 2022 class. He also talked with Stephen Means and Nathan Baird about why he believes Ohio State is a destination for tight ends and what role his faith played in his recruiting decision. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices