With our Season Preview in full swing here at Eleven Warriors, we’re taking a big-picture look ahead to the 2024 season on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

First, we look at the just-released AP Top 25 and discuss whether the voters got it right by slotting Ohio State as the No. 2 team in college football behind Georgia entering the 2024 season.

After that, we break down the initial projected field for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff and make our own predictions for which dozen teams will play in the four-round national championship tournament this December and January. We both agree that Ohio State, Georgia and Florida State will earn first-round byes as conference champions, but we have some different thoughts on who else will make the 12-team cut.

From there, we focus more specifically on Ohio State and evaluate the Buckeyes’ regular-season schedule with an eye toward which games will be the toughest tests for OSU.

Finally, we share our biggest takeaways from the past week of preseason camp and interview sessions as Will Howard closes in on Ohio State’s starting quarterback job and the Buckeyes project confidence about what they’ll accomplish this year.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Intro
• 1:26 Buckeyes Are Ranked “Right Where They Should Be” (Even Though They Have the Best Roster)
• 6:07 A Look at the Top 15, Where No. 11 Missouri Might Be Underrated
• 9:43 Should ACC, Big 12 Champions Get CFP Byes When SEC, Big Ten Are Clear Top Two Conferences?
• 16:18 Which 12 Teams We Think Will Make the First 12-Team CFP
• 24:25 The 12-Team Playoff is Gonna Be A Lot of Fun, And Andy Has Fully Embraced It
• 32:29 How Ohio State’s 2024 Schedule Splits Up Into Four Tiers of Difficulty
• 34:22 Why Dan Thinks Michigan State Could Be the “Trap Game” on Ohio State’s Schedule
• 37:18 Why Iowa and Nebraska Are Opponents That Can’t Be Overlooked
• 42:37 Which Game Will Be Tougher: Michigan or Penn State?
• 45:54 It’s Only A Matter of Time (Thursday?) Before Will Howard is Named Ohio State’s Starting QB
• 49:32 Jeremiah Smith Remains Humble as His Hype Continue to Build
• 52:45 Buckeyes Showing Their Confidence, Building Competitiveness Through Trash Talk
• 57:28 Hero Kanu, Eddrick Houston, Carnell Tate Among Players Impressing in Camp
• 1:01:02 Ohio State’s Receiving Corps Could Be Better This Season Even Without Marvin Harrison Jr.
• 1:03:01 Arvell Reese, Gabe Powers, Jaylen McClain, Payton Pierce Boosting Defensive Depth