Even we beat writers who typically prefer noon games believe Ohio State vs. Texas should be a night game.

With how spectacular the atmosphere was for Ohio State’s home night College Football Playoff game against Tennessee, we want to see another primetime showcase for the Buckeyes’ season opener against the Longhorns. That doesn’t seem to be in the cards, however – unsurprisingly – with FOX set to broadcast the Cotton Bowl rematch, likely at noon.

As such, Ohio State finds itself facing the possibility of playing most of its big regular-season games at noon once again this year, though we do believe Ohio State vs. Penn State is a prime candidate for the marquee home night game Ohio State and its fans covet. But we’d love to see more transparency with the Big Ten television networks’ game selection process – which could be easily achieved by televising the networks’ game draft during a time on the calendar when sickos like us are starved for more college football content.

Eleven Warriors’ Dan Hope, Chase Brown and Garrick Hodge share their thoughts on the season opener’s likely noon destiny, our kickoff time predictions for the rest of the season and how the networks could bring fans into the game selection process on a new episode of Press Coverage, which is also available on the Real Pod Wednesdays feed for this episode.

While there’s not a ton happening with Ohio State football right now, there’s a lot to look forward to over the next eight months.

Right now, the most anticipated event of the summer for Buckeye fans might be Michigan’s Committee on Infractions hearing that’s set to take place in one month as the Wolverines could finally face punishment from the NCAA this summer for their impermissible scouting scheme orchestrated by former staffer Connor Stalions.

The height of recruiting season will also come soon as Ohio State prepares to host official visitors and camps in June, while we’re personally excited to make our way to Las Vegas in July for Big Ten Media Days, the unofficial kickoff to football season.

Ohio State’s season opener could be its most highly anticipated season opener ever as the Buckeyes host Texas in a Cotton Bowl rematch that could be a 1 vs. 2 game. Ohio State’s Nov. 1 home game against Penn State will be one of its most-anticipated games against the Nittany Lions ever as the Buckeyes look to spoil Jim Knowles’ return to Columbus. And of course, everyone in Columbus has Ohio State’s Nov. 29 trip to Ann Arbor circled on the calendar with hopes that Ryan Day’s Buckeyes will finally end their drought against Michigan.

Add in road trips to Washington, Illinois and Wisconsin and Nico Iamaleava’s return to Columbus with UCLA, and the Buckeyes’ regular-season schedule is loaded with games we can’t wait for. As fun as the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff was, we’re also excited for year two of the expanded playoff race.

Of course, we’ll be excited to watch Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs play every game as the Buckeyes’ superstars have the potential to be even better than they were last year. And there’s no shortage of players with the talent to emerge as stars around them, such as Max Klare, James Peoples and Jermaine Mathews Jr., just to name a few.

With Ohio State in the quietest part of its offseason and us preparing to take an early summer break on Real Pod Wednesdays, we highlight all the biggest things for Buckeye fans to look forward to this season.

The full rundown:

• 0:00 Why There Won’t Be Real Pod Wednesdays for the Next Few Weeks
• 4:52 Anticipation Builds for Potential Michigan Punishment
• 12:53 Big Summer Ahead for Ohio State Recruiting
• 18:45 Big Ten Media Days in Vegas Will Be Fun
• 21:46 Season Openers Don’t Get Any Bigger Than Ohio State vs. Texas
• 26:28 Jim Knowles’ Return Makes Ohio State vs. Penn State Extra Spicy
• 32:00 Beating Michigan Still the Big Hurdle Ryan Day Must Clear
• 38:07 Illibuck Game in Champaign, Trip to Camp Randall Among Other Exciting Matchups
• 43:35 Why Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs Should Be Even Better in 2025
• 48:11 Buckeyes Will Have Potential Breakout Stars All Over the Field

Ohio State’s quarterback competition is real, as is Austin Siereveld’s surge on the offensive line.

Those two things were made clear by Ryan Day on Tuesday, when he revealed that Lincoln Kienholz led Ohio State’s quarterback competition entering the spring game – until Julian Sayin evened it up with his spring game performance – and that Siereveld has already earned a starting job this offseason even though Day doesn’t know where he’ll line up on Ohio State’s offensive line yet.

Day’s press conference Tuesday also included excitement for the Buckeyes’ recent transfer addition of North Carolina transfer defensive end Beau Atkinson, who we view as a high-quality addition that gives Ohio State the ability to deploy a deep rotation on the edge and get creative with its pass rush personnel this season.

Ohio State’s defensive tackle depth is a much bigger question mark, and that concern was only exacerbated by Day’s acknowledgement of the reality that the Buckeyes’ options to upgrade that position through the transfer portal are dwindling – though there is still one available defensive tackle, Oklahoma State’s Justin Kirkland, who would be exactly what the Buckeyes need at nose tackle.

Regardless of how that plays out, though, there are many reasons to feel good about the state of Day’s program after the Buckeyes retained their entire scholarship roster during the spring transfer window and had 14 players selected in the 2025 NFL draft.

We talked about all of those topics on the newest episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. Here are the timestamps for each chapter should you want to listen to a specific segment first:

• 0:00 A Great Week for Ohio State in the NFL Draft and the Transfer Portal
• 2:02 Ryan Day Makes It Clear Julian Sayin vs. Lincoln Kienholz is A Real Competition
• 10:56 Austin Siereveld Has Earned A Starting Job, But Will It Be at Tackle or Guard?
• 19:21 Adding Beau Atkinson Should Allow For Creative Pass Rush Packages
• 23:19 Ohio State Still Needs A Transfer DT, But It Might Be Justin Kirkland or Bust
• 29:54 Buckeyes Could Still Add Another OT, Kicker to Well-Stocked Roster
• 36:05 Roster Retention, NFL Draft Class Show Strength of Ryan Day’s Program

The 2025 NFL draft is just one day away, and there are at least 15 reasons to be excited if you’re an Ohio State fan.

Ohio State is projected to have 15 players drafted, which would break its school record and tie Georgia’s record for the most players selected in a seven-round NFL draft. It’s not out of the question that Ohio State could have as many as 17 players drafted, and we talk about all 17 of the Buckeyes’ draft prospects on this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays.

In the first half of our NFL draft preview episode, we build our own five-man Buckeye draft squads in which we draft Ohio State players from five different tiers based on their average mock draft position.

After that, we make our picks for the Eleven Warriors NFL Draft Contest, in which we predict which round each Buckeye will be drafted in. One of us has four Buckeyes going in Round 1 while the other has only two, but both of us expect at least seven Ohio State players to be drafted in the first two rounds and nine total Buckeyes to be drafted in the first three rounds. We’re both also expecting each of Ohio State’s 15 projected draftees to come off the board no later than the sixth round.

The full rundown for our NFL draft preview edition of RPW:

• 0:00 Ohio State’s 2025 NFL Draft Class Has Something for Everyone
• 5:54 Building Our Five-Man Buckeye Draft Squads
• 21:44 The Most Underrated Prospects in Ohio State’s 2025 NFL Draft Class
• 25:28 Who We Would Select If We Could Only Draft One Buckeye
• 28:10 Predicting Which Buckeyes Will Go In the First Round
• 35:29 Second-Round Predictions
• 41:31 Third-Round Predictions
• 47:00 Why We Both Think Four Buckeyes Will Go in Round 4
• 52:27 Fifth- and Sixth-Round Predictions

Spring practice is in the books and the transfer portal has reopened, which means it’s time to assess where Ohio State stands in its quest to compete for another championship in 2025.

While only one of us would say we’re more confident in Ohio State’s championship chances coming out of spring than we were going in, Eleven Warriors‘ Dan Hope and Andy Anders both agree that there’s a lot to like about the Buckeyes based on what we saw this spring. Ohio State is loaded with offensive skill position talent and its defensive back seven looks like it should rank among the nation’s best once again. Ohio State’s offensive line also looks to be on a promising trajectory coming out of spring.

Strong showings by Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz in the spring game left us feeling better about Ohio State’s quarterbacks than we did just one day before, but the spring game exacerbated our concerns about Ohio State’s depth at defensive tackle, the position that stands out as the Buckeyes’ clear-cut top priority for adding to its roster in the post-spring transfer window.

On this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, we make our assessments for what we think the Buckeyes’ biggest strengths and biggest areas of concern are coming out of spring and make our early predictions for what Ohio State’s regular-season record will be in 2025.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Are You More, Less or Just As Confident in Ohio State’s Championship Chances After Spring?
• 6:56 Ohio State is Absolutely Loaded with Playmakers at the Offensive Skill Positions
• 12:29 Ohio State’s Defensive Back Seven Looks Ready to Be Elite Once Again
• 21:00 Buckeyes Building A Strong Core Along Offensive Line
• 26:44 Ohio State Quarterbacks Finish Up-and-Down Spring on High Note in Spring Game
• 33:55 Defensive Line Lacks Established Stars and Needs to Add Talent at Tackle
• 43:34 Replacing Departed Leaders, Coordinators Still A Big Question Exiting Spring
• 51:40 Why We’re Both Predicting A 10-2 Regular Season for Ohio State in 2025

Ohio State’s starting quarterback competition will be in the spotlight during Saturday’s spring game at Ohio Stadium.

After Ryan Day said Monday that Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are “pretty much neck-and-neck” in their competition to be Ohio State’s No. 1 QB this season, the biggest storyline on Saturday will be the performance of the Buckeyes’ top two quarterbacks as each of them look to make their case that they’re best the choice to lead Ohio State’s offense when it opens the season against Texas on Aug. 30.

Aside from quarterback, other positions to watch on Saturday include right tackle, where Austin Siereveld appears to be making a move in the competition for a starting job, and the defensive line, where the Buckeyes are still assessing whether they have the depth they need ahead of the transfer portal reopening later this month.

We discuss all of those storylines on our spring game preview episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

We also conducted a fantasy draft in which we made our picks for which offensive skill-position players will have the biggest days in the spring game, keeping in mind that established stars like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate will likely see only brief action. In a snake draft format, each of us drafted five players – one quarterback, one running back, one wide receiver, one tight end and one flex player (a spot each of us elected to use on a second wide receiver) – based on who think will score the most fantasy points using standard fantasy football scoring (one point per 25 passing yards, four points per passing touchdown, one point per 10 rushing/receiving yards and six points per rushing/receiving touchdown).

Our picks, which are explained in more detail in the show:

1. Dan - Bo Jackson, RB
2. Andy - Max Klare, TE
3. Andy - James Peoples, RB
4. Dan - Mylan Graham, WR
5. Dan - Quincy Porter, WR
6. Andy - Lincoln Kienholz, QB
7. Andy - Brandon Inniss, WR
8. Dan - Tavien St. Clair, QB
9. Dan - Jelani Thurman, TE
10. Andy - Bryson Rodgers, WR
 
Finally, we wrap up the show by breaking down the two newest transfer additions for Ohio State men’s basketball – Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel – and assessing what the Buckeyes should still be looking to do to round out their roster for 2025-26.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Playing A True Spring Game Completes Physical, Competitive Spring for Buckeyes
• 4:47 Competition Between Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz Looks Quite Real Entering Spring Game
• 16:28 Austin Siereveld Making A Push to Be Ohio State’s Starting Right Tackle This Season
• 24:08 Defensive Line, Emerging Linebackers In Focus for Ohio State Defense in Spring Game
• 31:55 Spring Game Fantasy Draft
• 42:54 Assessing Ohio State Basketball’s Roster Build with Christoph Tilly, Brandon Noel Additions

Ohio State is now past the halfway point of spring practice, and it became more apparent this week how Ryan Day is feeling about all 10 of the Buckeyes’ position groups.

Day had lots of positive things to say on Monday about Ohio State’s running backs, tight ends, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties, but indicated the Buckeyes are still looking for more than what they’ve seen so far this spring at defensive tackle, quarterback, offensive tackle, backup wide receiver and defensive end.

With that, we also talk about all 10 Ohio State position groups on this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays, in which we share our thoughts on what we heard from Day on Monday and what that could mean for the outlook of each of those position groups this season.

Following our position-by-position spring football updates, we also talk about the transfer portal movement thus far for both Ohio State basketball teams, the momentum Ohio State is building on the recruiting trail and the top standouts from last week’s Ohio State pro day. (Note: This episode of Real Pod Wednesdays was recorded before Ohio State basketball target Jonathan Powell’s commitment to North Carolina on Tuesday night.)

The full rundown for the show:

• 0:00 Intro
• 2:36 Defensive Tackle Remains Ohio State’s Biggest Position of Concern
• 4:21 Ohio State’s QB Competition Likely to Continue Into August
• 9:55 Transfer Offensive Tackles Still Acclimating to Ohio State, But That’s To Be Expected
• 15:06 Ryan Day Looking for More from Backup Wide Receivers
• 19:56 Could Ohio State Still Add Another Transfer Defensive End?
• 26:55 Trajectory Keeps Pointing Up for James Peoples, Ohio State Running Backs
• 29:11 Loaded Tight End Room Looking Like the Best in the Country
• 31:52 Arvell Reese, Payton Pierce Turning Heads As OSU’s Second and Third Linebackers
• 35:23 Jermaine Mathews Jr. Locking Up A Starting Job Despite Devin Sanchez Hype
• 39:31 Malik Hartford, Jaylen McClain Both Emerging As Starting-Caliber Safeties
• 43:46 Ohio State Men’s Basketball Still Must Add Multiple More Transfers
• 51:12 Ohio State Women’s Basketball Suffers Huge Loss with Cotie McMahon Transfer
• 53:41 Blaine Bradford, Chris Henry Jr. Continue Recruiting Momentum for OSU Football
• 58:55 Will Howard, Jordan Hancock Among Standouts at Loaded OSU Pro Day

Spring practice is in full swing at Ohio State, and Buckeye fans will get their opportunity to watch the team in Ohio Stadium in two-and-a-half weeks.

Ryan Day said Monday that Ohio State will have a spring game after all this year, and that’s a decision that should be celebrated at a time when other colleges are canceling their spring games. The spring game can be a great opportunity both for fans to connect with the Buckeyes and for the team to get game-like reps ahead of the season, and it’s apparent Day recognized the value of both of those things in opting to move forward with a spring game.

After opening this week’s show by looking forward to the April 12 spring game, we talk about how Matt Patricia has continued to impress us in our early glimpses of Ohio State’s new defensive coordinator. Then, we share some of our early-spring thoughts on how Patricia’s defense could look this season, including the multiplicity he wants to be a hallmark of his scheme, Malik Hartford’s emergence at safety and Ohio State’s rebuild along the defensive line, where the Buckeyes’ defensive end two-deep looks promising but there’s still more questions than answers in terms of defensive tackle depth.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Ryan Day Makes the Right Decision By Moving Forward with A Spring Game
• 5:15 Matt Patricia Continuing to Make Great Impression in First Two Weeks of Spring
• 10:30 What the Multiplicity of Matt Patricia’s Defense Could Look Like
• 14:05 Malik Hartford Trending Toward Playing A Big Role in Ohio State’s Secondary
• 16:56 C.J. Hicks Seems to Be Finally Be Playing the Right Position
• 21:31 Ohio State Has the Pieces to Rotate More Frequently at Defensive End This Season
• 26:40 Defensive Tackle Depth Remains A Major Question Mark
• 33:42 Ohio State’s Defense Will Likely Go As Its Defensive Line Goes

Ohio State’s first two days of spring practice are in the books, and we already have plenty of thoughts.

The first two days at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center allowed us to watch the first hour of each of Ohio State’s initial two practices as well as talk to Ohio State coach Ryan Day, each of the Buckeyes’ scholarship quarterbacks and running backs and each of their respective position coaches, giving us plenty to see and hear.

While we haven’t yet seen any head-to-head 11-on-11 work between Ohio State’s offense and defense, numerous players have stood out physically while there have been some interesting developments with Ohio State’s initial lineups, such as Austin Siereveld practicing at left tackle and Malik Hartford taking the bulk of the first-team reps at safety.

With that in mind, we spend the majority of this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays discussing our takeaways from the first two days of spring practice. We wrap up the show with a brief conversation about the end of Ohio State’s basketball season and why we both believe it’s the right decision to give Jake Diebler a second year to turn things around.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Julian Sayin’s Release Stands Out, But He Has More to Prove to Win Starting QB Job
• 13:17 Early Signs Are Promising for Running Back Duo of James Peoples, CJ Donaldson
• 21:42 Jeremiah Smith, Mylan Graham Standing Out at Wide Receiver
• 26:18 Austin Siereveld Probably Won’t Be Starting Left Tackle, But He Might Be Next Man Up
• 31:27 Malik Hartford Getting First Shot at Safety as Secondary Rebuilds Around Caleb Downs
• 35:10 Devin Sanchez Among Numerous Freshmen Standing Out Physically Right Away
• 39:09 Building Depth Crucial for Ohio State’s Defensive Front Six
• 44:24 Jake Diebler Deserves A Second Year, But Ohio State Must Be Aggressive in Transfer Portal

The spotlight will be on Ohio State’s defense as the Buckeyes begin spring practice next week.

Yes, the quarterback competition will draw plenty of attention too, but it’s the defense that we’ll be watching most closely this spring as we seek to get an idea of what Ohio State’s defense will look like in 2025 with eight new starters and a new defensive coordinator.

While we know the defense will be built around Caleb Downs and that Sonny Styles and Davison Igbinosun will play major roles as returning starters, there are otherwise more questions than answers about Ohio State’s new-look defense under Matt Patricia – even if the Buckeyes’ defensive talent and what we heard last week from Patricia offer plenty of reasons for optimism.

We spend more than half of this week’s show talking about our expectations for Ohio State’s defense entering spring before turning the conversation to what we’re looking to see from Julian Sayin and the Buckeyes’ offense over the next four weeks. We wrap up the show by discussing what Ohio State men’s basketball needs to do in this week’s Big Ten Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

The full rundown for this week’s show:

• 0:00 Why This Spring Feels Different Than Last Spring at Ohio State
• 5:57 Why Ohio State’s Defense is the Biggest Thing We’ll Be Watching This Spring
• 15:19 Ohio State’s Defensive Line is Its Biggest Question Mark, But There’s Plenty of Promising Talent
• 25:35 Lorenzo Styles Jr., Devin Sanchez, Safeties Could All Determine What Ohio State Does at Nickel
• 34:25 Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Payton Pierce Lead A Strong Core at Linebacker
• 38:23 What We Need to See From Julian Sayin This Spring to Feel Confident He’s Ready to Start
• 43:46 Offensive Line, Running Backs Among Other Offensive Positions to Watch This Spring
• 51:08 What Ohio State Basketball Must Do in the Big Ten Tournament to Make the NCAA Tournament