This Thursday Buckeye Talk is a rapid fire and a news update to get you ready for the Ohio State-Notre Dame opener on Saturday night.

The last 15 minutes of the episode, starting at the 1:27:06 mark, is an update from Wednesday night interviews with Ohio State players, as Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means provide updates on what they saw and learned.

But most of the pod is rapid fire answers to rapid fire questions from OSU text subscribers.

In order, the topics are:

It's a great discussion thanks to great questions from texters. Thanks for listening.

On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises is looking for a name for what this in-season episode is likely to be each Wednesday -- Doug and the Ohio State text subscribers combining to offer 10 rants and takes on the Buckeyes and what matters most with the football team.

For this first effort, here were the 10 topics covered, in order:

We'll continue to work out (and eventually name) this format. As always, thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk.

On this Tuesday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means attack a topic they've been talking around for years -- the idea of the Ohio State Buckeyes as The Kings of The North of college football.

What does that mean? How did it happen? And will it continue?

In the first segment through the 26:23 mark, Doug explains his first part of the series, how Ohio State is the only Northern team to win a national title this century, but Notre Dame, Michigan and Cincinnati may all be on the upswing.

In the second segment, from 26:23 to 47:23, Nathan explains the database of regional recruiting data he helped create, and what those numbers show about Ohio State's success in bringing recruits from the South and Southwest to retain their Northern supremacy.

In the third segment, from 47:23 until the end, Stephen looks at the recruiting battles ahead, talking teams like Penn State and Iowa, but especially Notre Dame, when it comes to schools challenging the Buckeyes in their backyard and going out into the world as other Northern draws for recruits from other regions.

You kind of have to listen to this pod or read the three-part series at cleveland.com to get the idea here. It's a theory, with some numbers and reporting to back it up. And with Ohio State hosting Notre Dame on Tuesday, it was time to finally do this.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

The 2022 college football season is here, and Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means are making their playoff picks on the final Mark It Down Monday before the Ohio State Buckeyes open the season against Notre Dame on Saturday.

In this episode of Buckeye Talk, Doug, Nathan and Stephen start by sharing what they think will happen with Buckeyes. Will they make the playoff? And if so, what will their seed be?

Then it's on to sharing all four of their playoff teams.

And finally, they pick their College Football National Champions.

Thanks for making Buckeye Talk part of your week, and don't forget to read cleveland.com/osu for even more Ohio State football coverage.

On this Friday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises finishes his offseason project that was designed to arrive at a final percent chance of the Ohio State Buckeyes going undefeated during the 2022 regular season.

To discuss those numbers, Doug is first joined by Tyler Shoemaker, the officially unofficial bookmaker of Buckeye Talk who shares his own numbers on the chances of the Buckeyes winning each game and then getting 12-0.

Then Nathan Baird and Stephen Means join to go through all 12 games, agree or disagree on Doug's percent chance on each game, and discuss the final undefeated number. There's also a quick lesson on the undefeated history of the Buckeyes over the last 70 years and of other teams in the playoff era.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

On this Thursday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means are talking Ohio State receivers.

Wednesday night, Brian Hartline and the OSU receivers met with reporters, and all of that is covered on this episode.

The topics discussed went in this order:

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com

On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means dive into their interviews Tuesday with cornerbacks coach Tim Walton, safeties coach Perry Eliano and several OSU cornerbacks and safeties.

The start of the pod through the 22:12 mark focuses on cornerbacks. Then from 22:12 to 44:38, the focus is on safeties. And then from 44:38 to the end of the pod, the discussion is Doug's obsession with Kourt Williams.

How is the top-end talent in the secondary? How is the depth? How is the health?

Get all that and more on the latest Buckeye Talk. Thanks for listening.

It's the final opponent preview podcast of the preseason, as it's time to talk The Game.

For this episode of Buckeye Talk on the 12th game of Ohio State's season, Doug Lesmerises doesn't have an opposing team beat writer as his co-host -- he has the Buckeye Talk text subscribers.

Doug sent a lengthy survey out to texters, and on this pod he runs through the answers and reads interesting takes on the game.

How good will Michigan's defense be without Aidan Hutchinson?

How intense are rivalry feelings for OSU fans right now?

And, most importantly, at the end, there's a discussion of whether this game qualifies as a must-win for the Ohio State football program and Ryan Day.

Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com.

It's another Mark It Down Monday, and as the 2022 college football season draws near, it's time for Nathan Baird, Doug Lesmerises and Stephen Means to check in with some major predictions.

In this episode, it's the Heisman Trophy. And the major question is whether Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will win it.

The pod starts with a discussion of the history of Ohio State and the Heisman, and some Buckeyes who have finished higher up in the voting since Troy Smith brought home Ohio State's last trophy in 2006.

Then Nathan, Doug and Stephen each mark down their top three players for the award. At the end of the season, Heisman voters pick a top three, and this is prediction of what that will look like.

Stroud is discussed at length. But there's another Ohio State player that also appears on one of the ballots.

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

C.J. Stroud said Thursday he feels stronger and healthier entering his second season as Ohio State's starting quarterback.

He also dropped the intriguing nugget that he is faster than he's ever been in his life. Does that mean the Heisman Trophy finalist will make more plays with his feet in the season ahead? Well, probably not, and Nathan and Stephen discussed what a little extra speed might truly mean for OSU's quarterback in 2022.

Also, Kyle McCord is excited about the progress he has made and is preparing as if he must start the next game. Freshman Devin Brown is still catching up to the speed of the game. All of that and more from the three scholarship QBs and assistant coach Corey Dennis.