Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State beats Rutgers to go to 10-0, now the season really begins

Ohio State put it on Rutgers, and has been fantastic to date. But now, the season really begins with Penn State and Michigan on tap.

Ohio State may not have looked as good as it has in previous weeks against Rutgers, but it was still a convincing win nonetheless. The Buckeyes raced out to a quick lead, put in some backups and won going away 56-21.

To date, the Buckeyes closest game — if you can believe it — was against FAU in week one. They only managed to win that one by 24 points. Since then, it’s been beat down after beat down. Along the way, Ohio State eviscerated one of the best defenses in the country when it whitewashed Wisconsin 38-7. It scored over 70 points twice, held its opponents to ten points or below ten times, and scored at least 34 points in every game.

Heck, there’s even be three guys in the Heisman conversation. Quarterback Justin Fields, running back J.K. Dobbins, and defensive end Chase Young have all had magical years so far.

Simply put — the Buckeyes have been on cruise control and haven’t been tested to date.

But now it’s about to get into the meat of the schedule. What’s happened to date has little bearing on what needs to occur over the next two weeks when OSU welcomes a top ten Penn State squad, then hits the road for the annual grudge match between Michigan — er … TTUN.

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Has Ohio State been dominant, fantastic, marvelous and all the above so far in 2019? Yes, it sure has. In fact some of the things we’ve seen this year may not happen for a long, long time. We may not even know how truly historic this season is until it’s over and we look back on it.

But … in order for it to be that type of year, the Buckeyes have to finish the deal. Lose against Penn State and the Nittany Lions likely go to Indianapolis. Lose to Michigan and, — well … let’s just not go there.

In some ways, what’s happened up until now seems like a precursor in a blockbuster movie right before the climax begins.

So, strap it up men. The focus and execution has been outstanding to date. But remember, there’s a countdown clock in the Woody that has the real finish line. It’s time to show Penn State THEY AREN’T, and Michigan that it still can’t hold a candle to THE Ohio State University.

Practice is going to be fun this week. It’s time to finish this thing.

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WATCH: Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade makes incredible interception

Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade made a circus interception Saturday against Rutgers.

Some of the Ohio State skill position players made some unbelievable, highlight-worthy plays Saturday against Rutgers. Wide receiver Chris Olave hauled in a deep ball that you have to rewatch no less than six times, but he wasn’t the only one making circus catches.

On the other side of the ball, cornerback Shaun Wade had himself a pretty remarkable interception. While dropping back in coverage, and with his head turned to the ball, he was able to look back at just the right moment, get his hand in the way for a deflection, then somehow find the ball on the way to the ground and snatch it before it hit the ground.

If you didn’t get a chance to see it the first time, or just want to re-live it, click on the below shared by BTN on Twitter and rewind and replay it.

These high-profile guys on offense and defense are making some of these plays look easy, but they are far from it.

Watch: Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave haul in remarkable catch

Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave dealt with some pass interference and still managed to make an unbelievable catch against Rutgers.

Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave had a catch for the ages against Rutgers Saturday night. Early in the 3rd quarter with the Buckeyes already up 35-7, Olave ran down the right sideline and was bowled over by a Rutgers defender.

It was of course called pass interference, but that didn’t stop the OSU receiver from making a spectacular play. While falling down, he kept his head on the ball, keeping his focus and was able to grab the ball around his ankles and keep it from hitting the ground.

The fact that Olave was able to somehow snatch the ball and caress it against his legs while playing through contact was pretty amazing and worth a watch.

In case you missed it, simply click on the below Tweet shared by Fox College Football and get a slow motion view of it.

Yes, the pass interference penalty was declined.

Simply unbelievable.

Ohio State vs. Rutgers: Final thoughts and ramblings before the game

Just before Ohio State takes on Rutgers Saturday, get some final thoughts, ramblings, and brain dump comments to ingest.

I have all these thoughts flying around in my head, and they have to go somewhere, so why not share them with you? Before every game we’ll provide a mindless brain dump of all the things that you might want to think of for the upcoming game — or at least what I’m thinking of. Take it or leave it I say.

Some of those thoughts might be humorous, some outlandish, some just factual, and some nondescript and boring. Either way, we provide our final thoughts just before all the fun on the gridiron for Ohio State each week. This time we’re talking the college known as the birthplace of college football, Rutgers.

It’s not expected to be much of a contest, but they have to play the games and the Buckeyes need to remain sharp and focused.

Off we go …

  • You’d think the program that has the genesis of college football in its DNA would have won more games. But no, apparently Rutgers is still stuck back in 1869.
  • When Jim Delany sold Rutgers and Maryland to all the benefits of being in the Big Ten, you figured the programs would get a boost. It hasn’t happened and there’s really no signs that it will. That can change quickly, but right now those television markets and new locations to visit are really all that’s going for the expansion.
  • How many points will Ohio State score in this one? Anything below 60 would be a surprise.
  • Speaking of which, I hear many asking if the Buckeyes can score 100 points in this one. Here’s the problem with that. The clock has to run out at some point and OSU would need at least 14 total possessions — all ending with a TD, two with a two-point conversion. That’s not happening without a slew of turnovers.
  • Can Rutgers score on the Ohio State defense? I say there will be some garbage time points much like last week against Maryland. Until then though, it’ll take an act of God or something.
  • There will be zero home field advantage in this one. SHI stadium might have more Ohio State fans. I mean the color is the same, but that’s about it.
  • Is there any amount of points OSU can score that would impress the CFP Playoff Committee enough to sway out Ohio State for LSU. Only if there was an SEC logo on the chest it appears.

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Next … Final Thoughts continued

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Ohio State moves way up in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology

ESPN resident NCAA college basketball bracketologist Joe Lunardi has released his new projections. He has Ohio State making a big move.

The Ohio State basketball team has had a great start to the 2019-2020 season. The win over Cincinnati at home to start the year was a significant one, but the whitewashing of No. 10 Villanova was a head turner.

There are still things to work on, and there have been some issues scoring at times early on in the season, but it looks like roles are starting to be defined, and this team is getting an identity.

And ESPN’s famed Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has taken note.

In the latest release of his bracket projections, Lunardi has Ohio State all the way up to a No. 2 seed. This is notable because before the season, the Buckeyes were showing up around a No. 5 or No. 4 seed, but it’s clear many — Lunardi included — are starting to believe this team can do some damage nationally.

Of course now, just three games into the season, does not a postseason resume make, but the ceiling of this year’s Ohio State basketball team might be a little higher than what anyone thought.

So where would you make travel plans if this were to come to fruition? Lundardi has the Buckeyes in the East bracket, playing in Cleveland against Northeastern. Duke is the No. 1 seed in that region.

Of course this will all change significantly, but we’ll keep tabs on where the experts believe this team is.

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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