The Buckeye Weekly Podcast

James Laurinaitis has done a lot as an Ohio State football player and coach, but he will get to do something new on Saturday before the Buckeyes take on Illinois: ring the Victory Bell.

Laurinaitis is being honored as the pregame bell-ringer on Saturday in honor of his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

As soon as he's done ringing the bell, he'll have to hustle back down to the sidelines to coach the linebackers. 

In this special bonus episode, you'll hear directly from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day about Laurinaitis, how he ended up back as a coach on the OSU staff, and the honor ahead.

Plus, updates on the offense, defense, and more.

Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia always has some interesting insights during interview sessions, and this week was no exception. 

In this special bonus episode, you'll get to hear directly from Patricia with an update on the Ohio State defense as they sit one-quarter of the way through the 2026 college football regular season. 

Patricia discusses the emergence of young standout Jay Timmons, veteran DT Jason Moore, what they're doing to generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and more.

What kind of issues will Illinois pose for the Buckeyes? 

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr recap their thoughts following a watching of Illinois' week two loss against Duke.

What can the Buckeyes expect from an Illinois defense that couldn't stop Duke? Can the Ohio State secondary contain star receiver Collin Dixon? The fellas talk about all of this and more.

In this special bonus episode, you'll hear directly from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, and some of the most interesting things he had to say during his weekly Tuesday press conference about the offense. 

Day discussed what qualities he looks for when recruiting and evaluating quarterbacks, where he thinks Julian Sayin is in his personal growth at the moment, the issues he sees in the running game and how they'll need to be fixed, where the various combinations of offensive line lineups stack up, and more. 

The Ohio State 2026 football regular season is already 25% over, which seems like a good time to check in to see where things stand and where the Buckeyes still need to take big steps forward in order to reach their goals. 

In this special bonus episode, you'll hear directly from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day during his Tuesday afternoon press conference about that, this weekend's matchup with Illinois, the Illibuck Trophy, and more. 

In this special bonus episode, Ross Fulton and Justin Whitlatch, two of the Scheme Insiders at BuckeyeInsiders.com join host Tom Orr to break down four big questions about the Ohio State offense. 

• How big are the issues in short yardage right now, and what's causing them?
• Should the Buckeyes be using more 10 personnel (1 running back, no tight ends, 4 wide receivers)? 
• How is Julian Sayin playing? Has he taken a big step forward since last season? And what issues is he still having?
• What position group is the biggest potential issue for this year's Ohio State team, and how likely is it that they will be able to get that fixed during the season?

If you enjoy this conversation, you would love BuckeyeInsiders.com. Our team of Scheme Insiders is there to answer your questions every day, all with the goal of making you a smarter football fan. Sign up today: https://app.buckeyeinsiders.com/subscribe

It's time for some bold predictions for Ohio State's upcoming game against Illinois this Saturday.

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman go back and forth with their bold predictions ahead of the Buckeyes' Big Ten opener against Illinois. There are bold predictions about Bo Jackson, Riley Pettijohn, Jay Timmons, and much more.

This is a bonus episode, featuring answers from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day during his Tuesday afternoon press conference previewing this weekend's game against Illinois. 

This episode focuses on the defense, including the performance of DT Eddrick Houston, the emergence of Nickel Jay Timmons, the surprising impact of DT Jason Moore, and which players Day feels they should build their 2026 defense around. 

If you enjoy this episode, please consider joining BuckeyeInsiders.com as a member. It's the best way to support the work that we do.

On Tuesday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with reporters to talk about his football team. During one portion he mentioned newcomers Christian Alliegro, Earl Little, and Jay Timmons, and how the Buckeyes are going to continue to build the defense around those three players. 

In this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, hosts Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss these three names -- and a few others -- and what each player has done to earn this praise and what it means moving forward.

Basketball season is right around the corner, and BuckeyeInsiders.com basketball insider Marcus Hartman was just at OSU women's basketball practice this week to get the latest on Kevin McGuff's new team. 

Marcus joins host Tom Orr in this special bonus episode to discuss:

• The role Ohio State football coach Ryan Day played in the recruitment of freshman Sydney Mobley
• The challenge of replacing the departed Chance Gray, and how they went about doing it
• Why McGuff decided to go with such a challenging non-conference schedule this season