Category: Buckeyes Wire

Joel Klatt one of a select few still ranking Ohio State No. 1 over LSU

Fox College Football analyst Joel Klatt is one of the few media members out there that believes Ohio State is still No. 1 over LSU.

It’s not Bigfoot, a UFO, or the loch ness Monster, but we did find one analyst that still believes Ohio State should be the No. 1 ranked team in the country. And it’s a guy that’s been behind the Buckeyes almost the entire season.

As other analysts like Kirk Herbstreit, Paul Finebaum, and others do, FOX College Sports Joel Klatt also provides his opinion on the top of the college football rankings. He sees more Ohio State games than most in person, so that can be good or bad, but he’s been singing the Scarlet and Gray tune since a couple of weeks into the 2019 season.

And get this — despite apparently the most monumental victory of all time over Alabama by LSU last weekend — Klatt still believes OSU should be ranked No. 1. After all, Ohio State continues to break advanced analytic records, has an equally impressive offense and defense, and continues to blow the doors off every single opponent.

So… Klatt has put his name out there, and to be honest, he’s probably right. Heck, when pressed, even SEC talking head Paul Finebaum agreed that Ohio state would likely beat LSU if the two were to play.

Anyway, here’s Klatt’s rankings from earlier in the week. He has the Buckeyes at No. 1, followed by LSU (2), Clemson (3), and then Alabama (4).

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Keep fighting the good fight Joel. Unfortunately, Ohio State may not be able to get that No. 1 ranking back unless the Tigers lose a game. Fortunately, as long as the Buckeyes are in the top four, that’s all they need to get in on all the fun.

Watch: Ohio State basketball head coach Chris Holtmann talks Villanova and previews Stetson

Ohio State head basketball coach Chris Holtmann met with the media in Columbus Friday to discuss Villanova and to look ahead to Stetson.

Ohio State looked awfully impressive against the tenth ranked Villanova Wildcats Wednesday night, winning by a wide margin 76-51. There’s no doubt it was a head-turning victory. However, a season is not made by one impressive victory, and that’s no doubt that’s the message Holtmann is giving his team.

The head man in charge met with the local media Friday night to reflect upon the game against Villanova and to look ahead to the next opponent, Stetson.

We’ve got the entire press conference for you in case you didn’t catch it courtesy of the Ohio State University Men’s Basketball Facebook page. Holtmann discussed how laser focused his team was against Villanova, tried to temper expectations because of youth, looked ahead to Stetson and more.

Click on the below, watch — and get a listen. As a bonus, you can also catch questions posed to Danny Hummer and freshman E.J. Liddell at the beginning. Holtmann appears midway through the video.

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https://www.facebook.com/OhioStateMensBasketball/videos/2242103142747919/

Ohio State wrestling downs No. 15 Pitt on the road

The Ohio State wrestling team went on the road and took care of business against No. 15 Pitt Friday night, winning 23-12.

The No. 3 ranked Ohio State wrestling team traveled to No. 15 Pitt Friday night and came away with a 23-12 team victory to improve to 2-0 on the season in dual meets.

The Buckeyes won six of the ten bouts, with three of them scoring bonus points. No. 1 ranked Kolin Moore (197 lbs.), No. 1 ranked Luke Pletcher (141 lbs.) got major decisions, and No. 6 Sammy Sasso (149 lbs.) pinned his opponent.

Heavyweight Chase Singletary also impressed in his season debut, defeating the higher ranked No. 9 Demetrius Thomas of Pitt 8-3. Malik Heinselman at 125 lbs. and Kaleb Romero at 174 lbs. also scored decisions to give Ohio State the win.

The outcome was never really in doubt, with Ohio State winning five of the first six matches, but the Panthers did battle back to take four of the matches to keep things respectable and showed plenty of grit.

In the end it was a nice victory for the Buckeyes and they next take on No. 11 Virginia Tech (2-0) on Sunday back at home in the Covelli Center.

Ohio State vs. Rutgers: Five snarky reasons the Buckeyes win

Ohio State is almost assured a victory Saturday on the road against Rutgers. Here’s five tongue-in-the-cheek reasons the Buckeyes win.

It’s off to the next tuneup for Ohio State. Thanks goes out to Jim Delany for bringing in the television markets of New York and the D.C. area while also getting two more bye-weeks for the Big Ten East division contenders.

After treating Maryland like a whipped omelet, the Buckeyes now head east to take on a Rutgers team that’s still trying to figure out how to play the game of football since helping invent it.

We normally do five reasons Ohio State beats its next opponent, but this time we’re taking a little different tact because there’s little rationale for believing the Scarlet Knights can put up more resistance than a light breeze on Saturday.

So, here’s five snarky reasons the Buckeyes beat back the Scarlet Knights this weekend. And before we get any vitriol pointed in our direction by one of the few dozen Rutgers’ fans, remember it’s all in good fun.

Next … Influenza?

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Ohio State vs. Rutgers Buckeyes Wire staff predictions

As we do every week, our contributors take turns predicting the final score of the Ohio State vs. Rutgers matchup.

It’s off to the next one for Ohio State. After annihilating Maryland this past weekend, it should be a similar showing when the Buckeyes hit the road to play Rutgers, and they might be looking to make a statement.

That’s because many — likely including the team — believe the College Football Playoff Committee continued to show its bias towards the SEC by elevating LSU over an Ohio State team that has been more dominant from the start of the season than any we’ve seen in recent memory.

Of course, blowing out one of the worst Power Five opponents in the country will do nothing to change that perception, but don’t be surprised when this team continues to look focused and hungry.

So let’s get on with it. Here’s our Buckeyes Wire contributors’ predictions for the game.

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Next … the predictions

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Ohio State releases depth chart and availability information for Rutgers game

Ohio State released the depth chart and player availability, injuries for the game against Rutgers Saturday. Get a look at it here.

Every Friday Ohio State releases information on the depth chart and player availability for the upcoming game. Next up is a trip to Rutgers that should be nothing more than another tune up prior to a bigger one against Penn State the following week.

The Buckeyes will still be without arguably its best player because of the Chase Young’s suspension, but that didn’t seem to matter against Maryland last week. So the team will just keep moving forward, taking one game as it comes — and probably looking dominant in this one.

We’ve got the release of the depth chart from the fine folks at Ohio State, so were passing it on. We’ll start with player availability and injury, then provide the complete depth chart for the game against the Scarlet Knights.

Game-time decision

None

Unavailable

OL Josh Alabi

WR Kamryn Babb

LB Baron Browning

DE Jonathon Cooper

RB Marcus Crowley

DL Noah Donald

WR Ellijah Gardiner

SAF Ronnie Hickman

OL Matthew Jones

WR Austin Mack

OL Brett Novick

WR C.J. Saunders

DT Taron Vincent

DE Chase Young

Next … Ohio State Depth Chart – offense, defense, and specialists

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Ohio State vs. Rutgers: How and where to watch and listen to the game Saturday

Ohio State is looking to lay waste to another Big Ten opponent, Rutgers. Here’s how you can watch, stream, or listen to the game Saturday.

Okay, It’s off to the next challenge that probably won’t be much of one. After administering a public flogging against Maryland last week at home, Ohio State travels to the garden state to take on a Rutgers team that is having a worse year than a Donald Trump phone conversation.

The Buckeyes are favored by a gazillion or something like that, and this one doesn’t figure to be close for very long. But, they must play the game as they say, so we know you’ll be watching. As will we.

On that note, in case you need to know where to watch, stream, listen, or catch the smoke signals from the game against the Scarlet Knights, we got all the information you need on the next page.

Let’s keep it going.

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Next … television, radio, streaming, game time, and venue

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Ohio State may never re-gain the No. 1 CFP ranking without an LSU loss

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been dominant in recent weeks, but even undefeated, they won’t have the resume of an undefeated LSU Tigers.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have dominated their opponent in every game this season, but even undefeated, they won’t have the resume of an undefeated LSU Tigers.

Right before they traveled to Columbus, both Penn State and Wisconsin lost. While we don’t know the end result of PSU-OSU, we do know that Ohio State absolutely annihilated the No. 13-ranked Badgers team about three weeks ago to a tune of 38-7.

Now, with Penn State losing this past week, Ohio State will not play a top-five team until potentially the B1G Ten Championship Game. It’s a long shot for an undefeated Minnesota to jump into the top five.

Had Wisconsin and Penn State been undefeated when entering Columbus, they both would’ve been ranked within the top seven. Two top-seven blowout victories would give Ohio State a claim to the top seed, especially had they outscored both by 31 points each.

However, LSU has those victories.

The Tigers took down a then-undefeated Texas and Alabama, one-loss Florida and two-loss Auburn. When they took on LSU, whether in Death Valley or not, those teams were among the top ten in the nation. They were ranked 9th, 3rd, 7th, and 9th in respective order.

Assuming they end the season undefeated, they’ll have another victory over Georgia, currently a top-four team.

Bad losses are more important than quality victories, but quality victories over top teams are more important than dominant ones over average opponents.

These victories all add up to a quality resume. And, while they don’t have the dominance of Ohio State, who has a +42.4 victory of margin, they’ve played more top-tier competition, something the committee has shown value in.

Ohio State has undisputed the best defense in the nation, and behind two Heisman candidates in J.K. Dobbins and Justin Fields on offense, this team is looking as potent as ever before.

This could be one of the best Buckeyes roster of all time. Sadly, they just don’t have, and likely won’t have, the resume of the LSU Tigers unless there’s a blemish from here until the last CFP Rankings. That’s ok though. The No. 2 seed may be the best historic seed to have entering the CFP playoffs.

Just keep winning …

Ohio State vs. Rutgers Enemy Territory preview. Get to know the Scarlet Knights

Ohio State travels to New Jersey to take on the state school better known as the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Uh-oh, things could get messy.

Before every game, we provide a preview of Ohio State football’s opponent for the upcoming week. It’s a twelve game slate to the regular season, so there’s plenty to talk about, and plenty of opponents to get up to speed on.

Of course, some you’ll know better than others.

So, if you want to impress your friends while watching the game, we’ve got your cheat code right here. We do the research, you drop nuggets. You win on Saturdays. It’s as simple as that.

Ohio State’s tenth game of the year is against a Rutgers team that is sorely outmatched and outmanned. There’s almost no way the Scarlet Knights stay competitive in this one short of an act of God, a virus strain breaking out in the Ohio State locker room, or an unscheduled, long and blustery blizzard.

But none of that will be in the cards, so this one could be one of the most lopsided Power Five conference games of the year. Anyway, you still need to know the opponent, so here’s all you need.

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Next … Rutgers all-time vitals

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WATCH: Ohio State football trailer, hype video for game against Rutgers

Ohio State is on its way to face off with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, New Jersey. Watch the trailer and hype video here.

So, here we go again. Ohio State is on an absolute roll, and it figures to keep right on rolling downhill against a Rutgers team that’ll be lucky to stay competitive in this one. The Buckeyes are favored to get deep into their bench early and most likely will, but you still have to play the games.

I know this. If the football team watches the weekly trailer and hype video the Ohio State creative team puts out weekly, there will be no problem with motivation. I feel like I myself could strap on the pads and mix it up after watching the latest one.

It’s Thursday, so you know we have it for you. Simply click on the below Twitter video shared by Ohio State Football, clear out the room, and move the breakable items.

Ohio State will take on Rutgers at 3:30 PM Saturday. Look out, it’s going to get ugly.