Silver Bullets Podcast

A big game deserves a big podcast, so this week’s show is a little more supersized than usual. We apologize for nothing, because hey, no extra charge for you. (Not that we charge.)

Ohio State went on the road for its second Top 5 matchup away from home this season and this one went better than the last one. The Buckeyes made nearly the same amount of mistakes at Penn State as they did at Oregon, but this time they came away with a win by a touchdown instead of a one-point loss. Many (including us) thought this might be Penn State’s year to get a win in the series, but the Buckeyes got some key stops from the defense and a massive game-ending drive to grind out the final five minutes of the clock. 

We break down all of the key moments of the game, check back on our picks to click, and see how our score predictions turned out (spoiler alert: we’re happy to say, the latter went poorly).

After we wrap up our Penn State game discussion, we turn our attention to the other scores from around the Big Ten. Michigan lost again and remain short of bowl eligibility. Indiana finally trailed but ultimately destroyed the Spartans. Nebraska lost at home to UCLA to remain bowl ineligible. Purdue took Northwestern to overtime but then didn’t do anything else after that. Oh, and Wisconsin is bad again.

Finally, we looked ahead to Purdue’s visit to the Horseshoe on Saturday. We look at which Boilermakers the Buckeyes will need to watch for, make our “picks to click” selections, and try again to predict the final score of the game.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - The Buckeyes started poorly but finished well in a 20-13 road victory over Penn State in Happy Valley.

46:02 - A look around all the other Big Ten games from the weekend that was.

54:44 - The Buckeyes host a struggling Purdue Boilermakers squad. Will they sleepwalk through another noon game or take care of business?

We got the Ohio State offensive line answers we were looking for, but that doesn’t mean they are the ones we wanted. The Buckeyes looked terrible up front without Josh Simmons and struggled offensively in a 21-17 home win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers. A few big plays wallpapered over a poor day running the football and Chip Kelly’s worst playcalling of the season. The Huskers played hard and it was almost enough, as the Buckeyes did not play like the angry team Ryan Day promised would take the field on Saturday.

We break down the game, discuss all the key talking points, check our score predictions, and see if the Buckeyes we picked to click did just that. 

After our Nebraska rewind, we looked at the other games around the Big Ten. Oregon continues to roll, and the Wolverines and Spartans continue to save their worst moments for when they’re off the field. Oh, and Indiana won again.

Finally, we looked ahead to Ohio State’s trip to face the Penn State Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. After what we saw on Saturday, we’re not feeling great about the Buckeyes, but perhaps they were just exhibiting their usual sleepy post-bye-week play or nearly fell victim to a trap game. Or maybe they’re just not good. One thing is certain: Penn State’s defense is less forgiving than Nebraska’s, so the offensive line must find some answers.

We provide our score predictions and choose the Buckeyes we think could have big games on Saturday.


We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - The Buckeyes did not look great in Saturday’s win over Nebraska, nor did they respond like the angry team Ryan Day promised. We discuss.

38:22 - A walk through the weekend’s other scores from around the Big Ten.

51:56 - The Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State’s formidable defense. But who will be under center for the Nittany Lions?

With the Ohio State Buckeyes on their second bye week of the 2024 season, it provided a great opportunity for us to focus on some of the other teams around the Big Ten. With that in mind, we opened this week’s show with a trip around the other B1G results to see how everyone was doing. 

It was a bad weekend to be an Iowa Hawkeyes or a Michigan Wolverine — is there ever a good week to be a Michigan Wolverine though? — and the wheels seem to have come off for Rutgers. On the flip side, Michigan State notched an important win and Indiana looks as formidable as it has been in my lifetime. We discuss some of the key talking points.

After looking around the conference and the country, we turned our attention toward the Buckeyes’ upcoming game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers were humbled on Saturday and will be looking to bounce back with a much stronger defensive performance than they had against Indiana. Dylan Raiola, a former OSU quarterback commit, will no doubt feel like he has something to prove to Ohio State fans, even though it wasn’t the Buckeyes’ fault he decided to flip — not once, but twice. Raiola started the year strong but has not looked great the last two games.

We made our score predictions and selected the players we thought might have good games on Saturday against Nebraska. 

We also looked at the Ohio State players who were named “Midseason All-Americans,” although we don’t agree that that’s actually a thing, and we had another black stripe removal to discuss.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at [email protected]. Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.

As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - The Buckeyes were off over the weekend, but there was plenty of drama around the rest of the Big Ten.

33:01 - The Buckeyes get set to take on a Nebraska Cornhuskers team that just got humbled by Indiana — and a former OSU quarterback commit.

Ohio State went toe to toe with a good football team in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday night, but that team made a lot fewer mistakes than the Buckeyes and that culminated in a 32-31 win for the Ducks over the Buckeyes. While the loss doesn’t prevent Ohio State from still being able to achieve its goals for the season, it was a disappointment seeing the Buckeyes become their own worst enemies. The loss in Oregon could serve as an important opportunity to learn and grow for the team if the Buckeyes can handle their business in the right way.

We analyze the things that went right and wrong for Ohio State and look back at our predictions and picks to click from last week’s show to see how we did.

Following our breakdown of the Oregon-Ohio State matchup, we turn our attention around the rest of the Big Ten conference to see how the rest of the league was doing. It was another good week for Luke Fickell’s Badgers, whose slow start seems to be a thing of the past. It was, however, not good for Rutgers. Purdue did some good things on offense but still didn’t get a result because of its porous defense. Lincoln Riley continues to make curious decisions and non-decisions out in Los Angeles. UCLA threw away a lead, meaning the Bruins are still looking for a B1G win, while Iowa bounced back from its loss to the Buckeyes. We’ve got all of that and more.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - The Buckeyes were fine once the offense stopped hurting itself against Iowa.

35:20 - The other Big Ten results from the weekend, including a couple of overtime thrillers. Plus, what is up with spitting on an opposing player?

Ohio State remained undefeated by passing its biggest test of the season (so far) on Saturday, beating Iowa 35-7. The Buckeyes showed they could run and throw against a competent defense designed to limit big plays and force teams to be patient, slow, methodical, and mistake-free. The OSU offense was every bit of that on the first drive and not so much of it the rest of the first half. However, once the team regrouped at halftime, the Buckeyes did well to mix the run and the pass, weaponizing Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka once Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson showed the Hawkeyes they could pick up first downs.

We looked back at our picks to click and score predictions from last week and discussed all the key moments of Ohio State’s win.

After our Iowa rewind, we looked around the league to see how the other Big Ten teams did over the weekend. Michigan lost at Washington despite turning to new quarterback savior, Jack Tuttle. Wisconsin got well against Purdue, while Minnesota pulled off a surprise upset. Plus...Rutgers played Nebraska. I guess.

Finally, we looked ahead to the game many have been looking forward to since the schedule dropped, as Ohio State goes on the road to play a formidable Oregon Ducks team. Both of these teams could make the College Football Playoff, so it’ll be a good measuring stick. We select the players we think will have big games for Ohio State and try our hand at predicting the final score.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions via email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - The Buckeyes were fine once the offense stopped hurting itself against Iowa.

35:45 - The other B1G results, including a barn burner in Lincoln, and by that I mean a game that literally makes you want to go outside and set fire to something when you watch it.

51:55 - Our preview and predictions for a trip to Oregon to play the Ducks.

A win on the road in the Big Ten is rarely easy and Ohio State’s trip to East Lansing was not without its struggles, but the defense stiffened, the offense kept scoring, and Jeremiah Smith kept doing Jeremiah Smith things in the Buckeyes 38-7 victory over the Spartans of Michigan State. We break down the good, the bad, and the ugly from the road win, digest the Buckeyes’ statistics, check in to see if our Buckeye picks to click did just that, and looked back to see who came closest to predicting the final score.

After our Sparty rewind, we took a look at the other games around the Big Ten over the weekend, including a tale of two halves at USC, a defensive struggle in Happy Valley, odd officiating that will make no Gophers happy, and the Bizarro World of a 5-0 Indiana team.

Finally, we look ahead to what is easily Ohio State’s most difficult opponent so far this season. The Iowa Hawkeyes will visit Ohio Stadium on Saturday, bringing an army of tight ends to run free through the Buckeye secondary and a defense that will make Michigan State’s look like Western Michigan’s. We expect Iowa to be a pain in the neck on Saturday. Another blowout win for Ohio State would not be unwelcome, just unexpected.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions by email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.

As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - A big road win over Sparty in the Buckeyes’ conference opener.

32:31 - Other results around the B1G, including some officiating shennanigans in Ann Arbor.

53:40 - Our look ahead to the Iowa Hawkeyes with predictions.

Ohio State improved to 3-0 on the season but it wasn’t the most crisp performance. It seemed as if the Buckeyes went ultra-vanilla on defense against Marshall and simply relied on the offense to make plays. It worked, because the Buckeyes won by five touchdowns. Despite the offense looking like improved, the concerns have moved to the defensive side of the ball, although whether it’s a case of not showing all Ohio State’s cards yet or an actual weakness of the team remains to be seen.

We break down the victory over the Thundering Herd, look back at our score predictions and check to see if our OSU picks to click impressed on Saturday. We might have gushed a little about the running game, too.

After our Marshall recap, we looked around the league to see what everyone else was doing. There were more conference games this week pitting B1G vs. B1G, including one of the most entertaining games of the season so far in Illinois-Nebraska. We were not impressed with USC’s first road game to the midwest, but the Trojans still would have won had Lincoln Riley perhaps paid any attention whatsoever to clock management or the trends in the game.

Finally, we looked ahead to Ohio State’s 2024 Big Ten opener on the road this weekend against the Michigan State Spartans under the lights. The Spartans have a new head coach, a new quarterback, and lots of talented guys. Will it be enough? Will Ohio State’s defense come to play with some different looks? Will Tyleik Williams play? We will find out Saturday night.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!

0:20 - A 49-14 win over Marshall that was not without its struggles at times.

28:20 - Other results around the B1G, including an entertaining affair between Illinois and Nebraska.

47:00 - Our look ahead to the Michigan State Spartans.

With Ohio State having a week off, there was no game for us to recap. So, we dove straight into the rest of the results around the Big Ten. It was a pretty good week for the conference unless you’re a Bruin or a Husky, and let’s face it, those guys are barely B1G. In fact, if UCLA is going to play like it did Saturday against Indiana, Bruins fans may end up wishing they’d stayed in the Pac-10. Oregon finally looked like Oregon, Michigan bounced back in less-than-impressive fashion, and Maryland got a key road win out of conference. Outside the conference, LSU at South Carolina was an entertaining matchup, although the Gamecocks ran into some bad luck with a quarterback injury and didn’t help themselves with play calling late in both halves.

After we checked in on other scores, we turned our attention to Marvin Harrison Jr. and his breakout game Sunday. The former Buckeye and current NFL rookie with the Arizona Cardinals went off for 130 yards and his first two touchdowns as a professional, helping his team win big over the Rams. 

Finally, we turned our attention to Ohio State’s opponent on noon Saturday, the Marshall Thundering Herd. Our preview includes which players to watch for, a brief overview of Marshall’s season to date, and our predictions for the final score. We also selected offensive and defensive Buckeyes that we think will have big games in our “picks to click” segment. We’ll be back next week to break down the game and get ready for Big Ten play against Michigan State.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.

As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - Without a Buckeye game to recap, we discuss other scores from the Big Ten and around the nation.

25:00 - Marvin Harrison Jr.’s big game and our preview of the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Sure, we’re a little late in dropping this week’s episode due to some vacation travel, but we haven’t forgotten to give you a brand new episode of the Silver Bullets Podcast. Ohio State improved to 2-0 on the young 2024 season by virtue of a 56-0 smackdown of the Western Michigan Broncos. Against Western Michigan, the Buckeyes looked like the team we expected to see in the opener against Akron, but they say the biggest improvement during the college football season comes between Games 1 and 2. 

The Buckeyes played with energy from the jump and were relentless throughout the game in putting pressure on the Broncos on both sides of the ball. We broke down the game, discussed what we liked and what we would have liked to have seen more of, checked on the performances of the players we picked to click, and compared our score predictions to see who got closer to calling the final score correctly.

After our Ohio State-Western Michigan rewind, we ran back the scores from all the other games involving Big Ten teams, as well as some surprises around the upper echelons of college football. Illinois picked up a big win, Penn State and Oregon were less than impressive in narrow home victories, and Michigan was humiliated at home. Notre Dame’s playoff chances took a big blow on Saturday as well. It was a crazy weekend.

The Buckeyes have the weekend off, so there’s no preview this week, but we’ll be back in our usual time slot early next week to discuss the happenings around the program, how the rest of the league made out during Ohio State’s bye week, and the upcoming matchup with Marshall.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.

As always, thanks for listening!

0:21 - We break down the Buckeyes’ 56-0 win over the Broncos in Week 2.

28:39 - A walk through the other Week 2 scores from around the B1G.

Week 1 is in the books and Ohio State eventually posted the blowout win over the Akron Zips that most people predicted. It just took a while to get there. The offensive line, in particular, struggled at times, especially in the first quarter. We do our best not to overreact to Saturday’s occasionally problematic dispatching of the Zips and break down Ohio State’s victory. 

There were success stories (kick and punt returns, Jeremiah Smith, Will Howard, the defense not only getting takeaways but also turning them into points, etc.), and plenty of issues that the coaching staff can work on to improve the team as the season progresses. We also looked back at our picks to click and score predictions to see how well (or unwell) we envisioned the game.

After our game recap segment, we took a trip throughout the Big Ten to see how the rest of the conference fared on opening weekend. The only exception was the USC game, which we could not discuss because we recorded Sunday afternoon. We did not see the Trojans pulling off the upset against LSU, but we’re not mad about it.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday’s meeting with Western Michigan. The Broncos were sitting in a good position in the fourth quarter at Wisconsin when an unlucky bounce on a Badger punt turned things around in Madison. Ohio State will need to be better against Western Michigan to avoid the Broncos hanging around like they did in Madison.

We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show.

Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod.
As always, thanks for listening!

0:30 - We break down the Buckeyes’ win over the Zips.
40:39 - A walk through the other Week 1 scores from around the B1G.
58:50 - The Broncos gave the Badgers a scare. Can the Buckeyes avoid the same?