While one bad game can be chalked up as an off day, two games is a trend, and Ohio State’s offense has had some recurring issues in its last two games against Penn State and Nebraska. The Buckeyes have scored just two offensive touchdowns while settling for four field goals in each of their last two games as they’ve struggled to run the ball effectively and finish off drives in the red zone. Ryan Day’s play calling has also drawn scrutiny from Ohio State fans, as has C.J. Stroud rarely running t...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 112
The Ohio State football team just won one of its biggest games of the year, the first College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night and the Buckeye basketball season is about to begin. That – not to look past another game that could be a test for the football Buckeyes against Nebraska this week – gave us a lot to pack into this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, but we still managed to cover it all in just over 70 minutes. Our review of Ohio State’s 33-24 win over Penn Sta...
Nov 03, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 111
Ohio State keeps looking better and better each week, but this week's game should – or at least could? – give the Buckeyes a tougher test. The Buckeyes kept things rolling with another blowout win over Indiana on Saturday, and that's what we spent the first half of this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays discussing. There's plenty of good things to say about both Ohio State’s offense and defense after the Buckeyes scored 54 and allowed just seven against the Hoosiers, and there were no shorta...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 110
A week off for the Buckeyes gave us the opportunity to watch more of other teams playing college football this past weekend, and it only gave us more reason to believe Ohio State is still the team to beat in the Big Ten. Iowa got beaten soundly by Purdue and Michigan State barely beat Indiana, taking some wind out of the sails of two of Ohio State's top competitors in the conference. At the same time, though, it was also a reminder that there are plenty of teams capable of beating just about any...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr•Ep. 109
We've officially reached the halfway point of the 2021 Ohio State football season. With no game on the schedule this weekend, that made it a perfect time for a midseason report on this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, on which we discuss what’s impressed us most so far, what concerns we still have and what’s surprised us most from the first half of the year. We begin that discussion a little over 23 minutes into the program, but first, we discuss our takeaways from Ohio State’s 66-17 win o...
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 108
Ohio State was impressive in every facet of the game against Rutgers. C.J. Stroud showed why he's Ohio State's starting quarterback while the defense was dominant for the second game in a row, and we begin this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by discussing the tangible improvement we saw from Stroud and from the defense in Piscataway. Now that Ohio State is starting to look like the team it's supposed to be, the Buckeyes are beginning to re-emerge as one of this year's frontrunners to make...
Oct 06, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 107
Although Ohio State's 59-7 win over Akron wasn't competitive, the game didn't lack for interesting storylines. It was our first opportunity to watch Kyle McCord and Jack Miller throw passes for the Buckeyes, and that's where we begin this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, as we discuss what we saw from McCord and Miller and why their performances weren't enough to change Ryan Day's mind on who should start at quarterback. The other big story from Saturday night's game was K'Vaughan Pope's s...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 106
A 41-20 win over Tulsa didn't do much to alleviate the concerns about Ohio State's 2021 football team. Ohio State's defense gave up 501 yards against the Golden Hurricane while C.J. Stroud had his worst performance so far as Ohio State's starting quarterback. The Buckeyes' rushing offense and rushing defense were both better against Tulsa than against Oregon, but the passing offense and passing defense took steps back. We start this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by discussing what went b...
Sep 22, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 105
Coming off of Saturday's loss to Oregon, there's one question that most Ohio State fans have on their minds: Can the defense be saved? After sharing our initial reactions to Ohio State’s 35-28 loss to Oregon and Ryan Day’s Tuesday press conference – where he made clear his displeasure with the performance of Kerry Coombs’ unit – we bring on Eleven Warriors film guru Kyle Jones (beginning at 17:00) to discuss what the Buckeyes need to do to try to salvage their defense. Jones believes we should b...
Sep 15, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 104
We've had five full days to digest Ohio State's season opener, and there was plenty to take away from the Buckeyes’ first game. On this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, we spend a full hour discussing the many things we learned from the Buckeyes’ 45-31 win over Minnesota. Among the many topics we dive into: 2:50 : The good and bad of C.J. Stroud's first start 10:00 : Assessing the defense's performance in game one 14:13 : Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson make their case for being Ohio...
Sep 08, 2021•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 103
Ohio State's season opener is just one day away. Of course, that means this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays is dedicated to previewing Thursday night's game at Minnesota. Our topics of discussion ahead of the Buckeyes’ matchup with the Gophers include: 2:44 : Expectations for C.J. Stroud's first game as Ohio State's starting quarterback 8:58 : How Ohio State could split carries between Miyan Williams, Master Teague and TreVeyon Henderson on Thursday night 16:45 : Why Ohio State's defensive...
Sep 01, 2021•59 min•Ep. 102
This week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays features a brand new co-host and an exclusive interview with Ohio State's head football coach. As the newest beat writer at Eleven Warriors , Griffin Strom is also the new co-host of Real Pod Wednesdays, so we start the show – the 101st episode ever of Real Pod Wednesdays – by introducing Griffin to our audience. Dan sat down with Ryan Day for a one-on-one interview in his office on Tuesday morning, and we also play that interview for you in its entiret...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 101
If you want to spend an hour hearing about what Ohio State's offensive and defensive schemes could look like this season, you've come to the right place. Eleven Warriors scheme analyst Kyle Jones guest hosts this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. As we look ahead to the start of the 2021 season in just a couple weeks' time, we discuss a wide variety of topics related to what we could see from the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball, including: 2:20 : How the spring game foretold C.J. Stroud ...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 100
Preseason camp gave us plenty of talk about, our listeners gave us plenty of questions to answer and we shared some show news on this week's Real Pod Wednesdays. First up, we react to an interesting day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday, where we learned that Ohio State is moving toward making some major changes on the offensive line. Does it actually make sense for Thayer Munford and Nicholas Petit-Frere to change positions? Although we were skeptical initially, we're buying that th...
Aug 11, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 99
On a day like today, we'd typically start Real Pod Wednesdays by talking about what we just saw at preseason camp. After all, we recorded this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays – together in person for the first time in more than a year – just hours after watching some of Ohio State's first practice of preseason camp on Wednesday morning (which is why this week's episode of RPW comes your way a little later than usual). This, however, has been no ordinary week, as Quinn Ewers announced Monda...
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 98
While we were at Big Ten Media Days, the college football landscape began to change again. We start this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by discussing our biggest takeaways from Big Ten Media Days, including: How it could impact Ohio State's linebacker competition if Palaie Gaoteote isn't cleared by the NCAA by next week's start of preseason camp Good vibes on Kourt Williams, Harry Miller, Julian Fleming and Lathan Ransom Why it's good for the rivalry that Jim Harbaugh and Michigan players...
Jul 28, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 97
For the first time in 16 months, we finally get to interview Ryan Day and Ohio State players in person. Day, Thayer Munford, Zach Harrison and Jeremy Ruckert will all be in Indianapolis on Friday for the second day of Big Ten Media Days, and we'll be there too to talk to them as well as other coaches and players from around the conference. It'll be the first time Day and Ohio State players have been available for interviews in more than three months, and a lot has changed since then – players ar...
Jul 21, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 96
With Big Ten Media Days and preseason camp on the horizon, it's time for our annual Ohio State football team draft for Real Pod Wednesdays. As we did last year, Colin and Dan went back and forth selecting players from Ohio State's 2021 roster to build dueling 22-man rosters – 11 players on offense and 11 players on defense – with the objective of building a lineup that would beat the co-host's lineup in a head-to-head game right now. Listen into this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays to hear...
Jul 14, 2021•59 min•Ep. 95
It certainly hasn't been a quiet two weeks since our last episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. There was no shortage of Ohio State sports news while Dan was on vacation – headlined, of course, by the long-awaited news of J.T. Tuimoloau committing to Ohio State and becoming the highest-rated defensive player to sign with the Buckeyes in the modern recruiting era. We discuss why landing Tuimoloau is such a big win for Larry Johnson and the Buckeyes, what role we expect to see him play in Ohio State's d...
Jul 07, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 94
Ohio State has unofficially added a former five-star recruit to its roster for the upcoming season, while it's still trying to woo a current five-star recruit to become a Buckeye this fall. Although it still hasn't been officially announced by him or the program, all indications are that former USC linebacker Palaie Gaoteote is transferring to Ohio State, so we begin this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by discussing why the Buckeyes are bringing him in, what we think he'll bring to Ohio S...
Jun 23, 2021•59 min•Ep. 93
The College Football Playoff appears set to expand to 12 teams, and we're here for it. Even though Colin previously said on Real Pod Wednesdays that he didn't think the playoff should be expanded to more than eight teams, he's changed his mind and now believes 12 teams is the right move for the CFP. Dan agrees, and we discuss why we believe College Football Playoff expansion will be both good for the sport as a whole and a net positive for Ohio State, even though there will be pros and cons for ...
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 92
With June now underway and the dead period over, all eyes are on the recruiting trail as college football teams throughout the country finally get to host visitors for the first time in over 14 months. Eleven Warriors ' own Andrew Ellis joins us for the first 30 minutes of this week's Real Pod Wednesdays to help us preview the month ahead for Ohio State football recruiting. Who are the most important June visitors for the Buckeyes, who should we have on commitment watch and where do things stand...
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 91
With an unprecedented year in Ohio State sports nearing its conclusion and significant changes coming soon in college sports, we thought it would be a good time to invite Gene Smith on Real Pod Wednesdays. In his first-ever appearance on the show, Ohio State's athletic director spent 35 minutes talking to us about a wide variety of topics, including: 2:50 : Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, what he has learned from the past year and planning for the post-pandemic future 9:45 : What needs to happ...
May 26, 2021•58 min•Ep. 90
With the throes of the offseason upon us, it's time to take a look ahead to Ohio State's 2021 football schedule. That's our main topic of discussion on this week's Real Pod Wednesdays, in which we dissect Ohio State's 2021 football schedule from start to finish, identify the “most losable” games for the Buckeyes and predict whether Ohio State will have another undefeated regular season or drop a regular-season game for the first time in Ryan Day's tenure. After our analysis of this fall's regula...
May 19, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 89
The biggest news in Ohio State football over the past week wasn't good news for the Buckeyes. That news came on Saturday, when Tennessee linebacker Henry To'o To'o – Ohio State's top target in the transfer portal this year – announced he was transferring to Alabama, thwarting the Buckeyes' plans to add him to the middle of their defense. We start this week's episode by discussing the impact of To'o To'o's decision on the Buckeyes' 2021 linebacker corps and who we expect to start at linebacker no...
May 12, 2021•59 min•Ep. 88
Another NFL draft is complete, and people are already looking to ahead what could be another prolific class for Ohio State next year. Before we look ahead, we start by talking about the 10 Buckeyes who were drafted last year – starting, of course, with Justin Fields, and how we expect things to play out for him as he starts his career with the Chicago Bears. We also discuss how the Cleveland Browns might have gotten a steal in Tommy Togiai (7:35), why Pete Werner landed in a great spot in New Or...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 87
The speculation is almost over. After months of debate on where Justin Fields could be selected and an exhausting cycle of rumors about why the former Ohio State quarterback might not be a top pick, we'll finally find out on Thursday night where Fields is going. We start this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays by discussing where we think Fields will end up when the picks are finally made tomorrow. While Fields is Ohio State's only projected first-round pick, there's plenty of other Buckeyes ...
Apr 28, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 86
Saturday's Ohio State spring game left us with plenty to analyze and discuss on this week's episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. We finally got to watch Ohio State's quarterbacks throw passes in Ohio Stadium, saw numerous early enrollees impress in their debuts in the Shoe and learned that the bullet is in fact real among other takeaways from Saturday's scrimmage, which concludes Ohio State's spring practice season for 2021. A rundown of some of what we talked about on this week's show: 3:30 : 22 min...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 85
It's the final week of spring practice at Ohio State, and there's still plenty happening at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. After talking to Ohio State's offensive linemen and defensive linemen last week and then watching another spring practice on Monday, we have new takeaways on how the quarterback competition is going, how things might stack up at wide receiver, why there's a real competition happening on the interior offensive line and why Ohio State should have lots of options on the defen...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 84
We're finally about to talk about spring football observations that we've made with our own eyes. Well, Dan's own two eyes – as only one media member per outlet was able to attend the two practices that were open to the media this past week – but nonetheless, we have plenty to talk about on this week's Real Pod Wednesdays as we've learned more about how the quarterback competition could stack up, what Ohio State's 2021 defense could look, multiple Buckeyes playing new positions and more. Among t...
Apr 07, 2021•55 min•Ep. 83
