Tag: buckeyes football

Chip Kelly vows to learn from Michigan mistakes for CFP battle with Tennessee

The Ohio State Buckeyes, especially offensively, came up short against the Michigan Wolverines, and Chip Kelly is taking the blame for it.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have had one of the most aggressive and efficient offenses in college football this season; however, that wasn’t the case in their final game of the regular season.

The Buckeyes failed to really do much of anything against Michigan, and the worse part is that they failed to really change much of anything throughout the game either.

Chip Kelly, the team’s offensive coordinator, who was an elite offensive mastermind at Oregon years ago, is taking the blame and also preparing for the College Football Playoff, where’s he hoping to do “what it will take” to put them in a position to win.

Will Howard, the Kansas State transfer turned Ohio State starting quarterback, finished with two interceptions, 175 passing yards and one touchdown. Quinshon Judkins, the team’s leading rusher, had just 46 yards, and freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith had just 35 yards.

Things must be better than they were on November 30, and Kelly clearly realizes that. Let’s hope he finds a way to change it for the team’s Saturday battle with Tennessee.

Kirk Herbstreit’s son, Chase, commits to Michigan

Kirk Herbstreit played four seasons at Ohio State in the early 1990s, but his son has opted to commit to the Buckeyes rival, Michigan.

Chase Herbstreit is heading to Michigan.

Having played his high school ball at St. Xavier in Cincinnati, OH, Herbstreit isn’t following in his dad’s footsteps, and that isn’t the most shocking thing in the world, especially considering how difficult it would be for him to get on the field with the Buckeyes.

Herbstreit is an unranked quarterback in the Class of 2025 and had attended a camp at Penn State. He was offered by Michigan Sunday as well. Here is one of the many reports citing Herbstreit’s decision.

The Buckeyes have the legacy of the father though, having had Kirk in the program from 1989-1992. He played in 38 games and ended with 2,263 passing yards and 5 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.

With Tavien St. Clair, the No. 2 quarterback in the upcoming class, having committed to Ohio State, there will be no shortage of high-level quarterback talent in Columbus next season. Herbstreit will be in the same locker room as the No. 1 overall quarterback commit, Bryce Underwood, next season.

How Ohio State football matches up with its projected first-round opponent

Ohio State football is likely going to host Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff. How do they matchup with the Vols?

Ohio State football might have had a heart-breaking loss to the Michigan Wolverines last Saturday, one that kept them out of the Big Ten Championship Game, but it is time to get over that and move on.

The Buckeyes have to put that in the past as they are projected to host a playoff game in the coming weeks, and most are expecting Ohio State to welcome the Tennessee Volunteers to The Shoe.

Tennessee is going to be ready as the Volunteers head coach is prepared to go anywhere and face anyone.

How would Tennessee match up against the Buckeyes though?

The Volunteers are averaging 37.3 points per game. How are they able to score so frequently? Well, it has mainly been on the back of a ferocious rushing attack. They average 232 rushing yards per game.

For Ohio State, that is music to the ears as it ranks 4th in the country in opponents yards per carry at 2.9. The Buckeyes have also found success on the ground, but much like Ohio State, Tennessee is allowing just 2.9 yards per carry. Both defensive lines are among the best in the country.

This game is going to come down to which quarterback can take control. While there’s no exact science, both teams have an opponent average team passer rating in the top 15 nationally.

These teams match up similarly, so the question is — can Ryan Day outcoach Josh Heupel when it matters most? That’s what it may boil down to.

Five-star cornerbacks flips from Ohio State to Big Ten rival

The Ohio State Buckeyes not only lost to Michigan in the last week, but they also lost the commitment of a five-star cornerback.

Ohio State football has had a rough week.

The Buckeyes, who have one of the best incoming recruiting classes and several five-star players coming to Columbus next season, lost one Wednesday as Na’eem Offord flipped his commitment from Ohio State to Oregon.

Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Offord is the No. 2-ranked cornerback in the Class of 2025. He is the top player from the state of Alabama and is a top-15 player nationally.

Here’s his confirmation of the breaking news on X.

Offord took an official to Ohio State on June 21 and was recruited by Tim Walton and Gerran DuHart. He had committed to the Buckeyes back on February 4, 2024, visiting Auburn and Alabama after that.

Thankfully, the Buckeyes still have Devin Sanchez set to bring his talents from Texas to Ohio. He is the No. 1-ranked cornerback in the class and fifth-best player nationally.

With five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair also set to join Ohio State next season, there will be an abundance of riches in Columbus. Let’s hope Ryan Day, or whoever is leading the charge, can get the most out of them.

Ohio State football fans rage on social media after historic loss to Michigan

Ohio State football lost to Michigan at home as a near three-score favorite Saturday. The Buckeyes fanbase was raging after the defeat.

Ohio State football had a nearly flawless season until today. Sure, it had a loss on the road to the No. 1 team in the country, Oregon, on its resume, but that was easy to look over given the Ducks dominance.

The Buckeyes welcomed their rival to Ohio Stadium and closed as a near three-score favorite. It was time for Ryan Day to finally get back at Michigan after having lost the most important game on the Ohio State schedule for the last few seasons.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened, and the Buckeyes lost a grueling 13-10 physical contest. The Wolverines drove and kicked a field goal with under two minutes to go to seal the win.

No one expects the Buckeyes season to be over as they should easily be in the College Football Playoff, and despite having just two losses on the season, fans are far from happy.

Let’s dive into a few of the most dramatic tweets from Day and the Buckeyes yet again losing to Michigan.

It’s a sad day in Columbus and these social media posts show how raw the emotion can be of losing to your arch-rival four-straight years.

Caleb Downs named finalist for prestigious defensive player award

Ohio State football brought in Alabama safety Caleb Downs, and he has shined throughout his first season with the Buckeyes.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the betting favorites to be the College Football Playoff National Champions and will get another chance to prove themselves this upcoming weekend against the Michigan Wolverines.

They’re in that position partially because of safety Caleb Downs, who has been a star for the Buckeyes this season. Downs has been a key weapon for the team’s secondary and is blossoming during his first season in Columbus.

That said, he’s been so good that he’s been named a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here’s the official release from the program’s Twitter/X account.

Downs, who also had a punt return for a touchdown during the third quarter of the Buckeyes’ dominant 38-15 home victory Saturday, has totaled 30 solo tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 7 tackles for a loss this season.

Despite Downs having yet to have an interception, his impact has been unmatched. Two other players were finalists with Downs as both Penn State’s Abdul Carter and Colorado’s Travis Hunter cracked the list.

Indiana’s performance against Ohio State earned it CFP brownie points

Indiana lost by 23 points to Ohio State football last weekend, but that loss still earned them some College Football Playoff brown points.

The Ohio State Buckeyes covered the betting spread with ease as they throttled the Indiana Hoosiers at home in Week 13.

The Buckeyes came in at No. 2 with the then-undefeated Hoosiers No. 5, marking Ohio State’s third top-five matchup of the season. Ohio State left with a 38-15 victory and a late-game touchdown that iced the cake.

Despite losing by a significant margin, Indiana only dropped to No. 10 in the College Football Playoff ranking, and the CFP Selection Committee chair explained the viewpoint on the Hoosiers as compared to the SMU Mustangs.

He cited the Indiana performance against Ohio State, noting that the Hoosiers “played well at times.”

“Yeah, like I said on the ESPN interview, Indiana played well at times against Ohio State, and obviously Ohio State pulled away in the second half,” Manuel said.

Although the Hoosiers were blown out, let’s just say there are some fans who think Indiana fell too far, especially when looking at the ranking of another high-profile college football program.

Playing as a top-five opponent on the road at Ohio Stadium is no easy task, and keeping the game close certainly isn’t for the faint of heart.

With Indiana having scored first and showing some firepower to start the game before the Buckeyes really settled in, it likely did enough Saturday to lock in a CFP spot.

Will Howard elevates Ohio State vs. Michigan above just a normal rivalry

Quarterback Will Howard elevated Ohio State vs. Michigan from a rivalry to a way of life when discussing the upcoming battle.

Will Howard will be facing Michigan on Saturday, and despite having three top-five battles already under his belt with the Ohio State Buckeyes, most fans would argue this is, by far, the biggest yet for the fifth-year signal caller.

Despite spending four seasons with the Kansas State Wildcats, who play in the Big 12, he never crossed paths with the Wolverines. He seems pretty excited to leave his mark on the rivalry.

When sitting down with the media, Howard called the rivalry a “way of life.” You can review the entire video by Eleven Warriors, which has far more than just that quote, below.

Howard isn’t wrong either, and if you look up “biggest rivalries in sports” on Google, Ohio State vs. Michigan is typically at the top of the list, so it’s a game that means quite a bit to thousands of people.

Set to captain the Buckeyes, Howard knows the expectations put on him, and he’s ready to deliver. He also spoke on how he feels joining the Buckeyes this season was a terrific decision.

With a conference-high 26 touchdowns on the season, Howard has been a star and appears to be the caliber of leader that can captain this team to a National Championship, something we’ll find out more of in the coming weeks.

Who Ohio State football would face in the CFP if the season ended today

If the college football season ended today, the Ohio State Buckeyes would face the Clemson Tigers, who jumped to No. 12.

The polls had some major reconstruction to do as numerous teams ranked between 5 and 20 lost this past weekend and will ultimately have things shaken up when the College Football Playoff official ranking comes out on Tuesday.

The Ohio State Buckeyes took care of business though and throttled the Indiana Hoosers at home 38-15.

They will remain at No. 2 in almost every poll, still sitting behind the Oregon Ducks, the only team to take down the Buckeyes this season. For now, we can base our perspective on the US LBM Coaches Poll, which has the Buckeyes at No. 2.

However, it’s necessary to remember that, if Oregon stays atop the Big Ten to end the season, it would be the No. 1 seed and Ohio State wouldn’t get a first-round bye, meaning it would come in at No. 5 and play the No. 12 seed.

In this scenario, the Buckeyes will be facing the Clemson Tigers, who will face the No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks to close out the regular season on Saturday. Just to get two opinions, the AP Poll agrees.

Considering the Tigers were destroyed by Georgia 34-3 earlier on in the season and don’t have many impressive wins since, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Buckeyes should it play out that way.

However, it would be ignorant not to think things will change drastically in the coming weeks, so bucket up and get ready for the ride that is Michigan-Ohio State and then conference championships in the coming month.

BOOM! Ohio State football lands top Class of 2027 receiver after mauling Indiana

Ohio State football was relentless on Saturday and ended up beating Indiana 38-15. Following that, it received a major recruiting win.

Ohio State football consistently gets some of the best weapons in the country, and Jeremiah Smith has been that star this season, setting a plethora of receiving records this season.

Marvin Harrison Jr. was it last season, and Chris Henry Jr. should be it for the next few years along with Smith. The Buckeyes are the best in America when it comes to recruiting receivers.

They may be getting another one well into the future as Jamier “Showtime” Brown posted on Twitter/X that he’s committed to Ohio State after the Buckeyes throttled Indiana 38-15 on Saturday.

Here’s his statement.

The Buckeyes rolled in their third top-five battle this season. Emeka Egbuka ended with a team-high 80 receiving yards and a score as well. They outscored the Hoosiers 38-8 after the first quarter.

For Brown, he is ranked as the best player in the state of Ohio, the No. 1 receiver in the nation, and the No. 7 player overall in the Class of 2027. He had offers from numerous other programs, including Penn State and Auburn.

Let’s just say seeing that top-five win by his potential team, without a doubt, helped the cause. With that in mind, hopefully, more top recruits want to come to Columbus alongside Brown.