There’s no sugarcoating Ohio State’s defensive play against Oregon, but we still think the Buckeyes can achieve all of their goals. Ohio State’s defense was bad against Oregon, especially when considering what this year’s defense is supposed to be with all of the talent the Buckeyes have on that side of the ball. The Buckeyes’ defense gave up way too many big plays without making big plays themselves, allowing eight plays of 25 yards or more while recording zero sacks and zero takeaways. We stil...
Oct 16, 2024•58 min•Ep. 262
It’s time for our first true look at what this year’s Ohio State football team is made of. The first half of the season has all built up to this week’s road trip to Oregon, where the second-ranked Buckeyes will face the third-ranked Ducks in what’s not only one of the biggest games of Ohio State’s regular season but one of the biggest games of the entire year in all of college football. While Ohio State was heavily favored to win all of its first five games, this week brings a true matchup game ...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 261
Ohio State’s first month of the season is complete and we’re still feeling good about our preseason picks that the Buckeyes can win this year’s national championship. There’s still a couple of lingering question marks, though it’s not necessarily what we thought the biggest concerns would be going into the season, as Ohio State’s linebacker play has been shaky while its offensive line has exceeded expectations. And there are certainly bigger tests to come than what the Buckeyes have faced so far...
Oct 02, 2024•57 min•Ep. 260
Ohio State appears to have plenty of competition in the Big Ten as the Buckeyes begin conference play this week. While we agree with the widespread consensus that Ohio State is the class of the conference, that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes will easily run the table to a Big Ten title. Their conference schedule includes three of the conference’s other marquee teams – Oregon, Penn State and Michigan – while Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska have all established themselves firmly in the middle of the confere...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 259
Ohio State’s first two games have given us a look at how the Buckeyes’ depth chart stacks up at every position, and the Buckeyes appear to be loaded just about everywhere. The Buckeyes haven’t faced any real tests yet, and they won’t this week either – at least we don’t think so – as Ohio State hosts Marshall in its final non-conference game of the regular season, a game the Buckeyes are favored to win by 40 points. That said, the Buckeyes have looked the part of an elite team so far, dominating...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 258
If you’ve been following the TTUN Scandal threads on Eleven Warriors ‘ message board, you‘re undoubtedly familiar with the name Premierdrum by now. For those who haven’t, Premierdrum is one of several Eleven Warriors site members – along with Brohio and 22buck , among others – who have taken it upon themselves to dig into the Michigan sign-stealing scandal and share what they’ve learned from their investigative reporting in the 11W forum. Premierdrum, who formerly worked for multiple Columbus TV...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 257
We said last week that anything less than perfection against Akron could be seen as a disappointment for Ohio State’s season opener, and that’s pretty much how it played out. With all the hype Ohio State entered the season with, much of the focus in the days following the Buckeyes’ first game of the year has been on what could have gone better – namely, an underwhelming start for the offense and specifically the offensive line, particularly in run blocking. But Ohio State still won its season op...
Sep 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 256
Ohio State’s first game of the 2024 season is just three days away and Connor Stalions has broken his silence. On this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, we preview Ohio State’s season opener against Akron and share our thoughts on Netflix’s Connor Stalions documentary while also making some big-picture predictions for the Buckeyes’ 2024 season. In the first 20 minutes of the show, we discuss what we’re most eager to see from the Buckeyes in their first game of the year after eight months of...
Aug 28, 2024•59 min•Ep. 255
Ohio State’s 2024 roster is loaded with star players, but some of them would be tougher to replace than others. While there’s no question that the likes of Denzel Burke, Jack Sawyer and Emeka Egbuka rank among Ohio State’s best players entering the 2024 season, the Buckeyes have enough depth at each of their positions to be OK if someone misses time. Losing a starting offensive tackle, safety or Will Howard, on the other hand, could be more concerning. On this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesda...
Aug 21, 2024•56 min•Ep. 254
With our Season Preview in full swing here at Eleven Warriors, we’re taking a big-picture look ahead to the 2024 season on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays. First, we look at the just-released AP Top 25 and discuss whether the voters got it right by slotting Ohio State as the No. 2 team in college football behind Georgia entering the 2024 season. After that, we break down the initial projected field for the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff and make our own predictions for wh...
Aug 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 253
The defense was as impressive as expected during the four practices Ohio State opened to media members and paying fans, but our confidence in the Buckeyes’ offense has also grown after seeing Will Howard and the offensive line make strides during the team’s initial practices of August. Howard was just one of many standouts during Ohio State’s first four practices. Linebackers Sonny Styles, Gabe Powers and Arvell Reese, offensive tackles Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar, cornerbacks Jermaine Mathews J...
Aug 07, 2024•51 min•Ep. 252
Ohio State is one day away from the start of preseason camp and one month away from the first game of the season. Thirty days before the Buckeyes begin their much-anticipated 2024 campaign against Akron on Aug. 31 at Ohio Stadium, Ohio State will take the field for its first of 25 preseason practices at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Thursday. The good news for the Buckeyes entering preseason camp is that most of their starting lineup is already set. Everyone expects the defense to be one of...
Jul 31, 2024•57 min•Ep. 251
Real Pod Wednesdays is on location this week at Lucas Oil Stadium as representatives from Ohio State and the Big Ten’s other 17 schools go through Big Ten Media Days. After Ohio State coach Ryan Day, cornerback Denzel Burke, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and defensive end Jack Sawyer participated in their media sessions at Lucas Oil Stadium on Tuesday, we sat down inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Wednesday morning to share our biggest takeaways from what we heard from the Buckeyes. ( Note: This episode ...
Jul 24, 2024•32 min•Ep. 250
It wasn’t easy choosing which Ohio State players we’d most want to have on our team this year. Ohio State’s star-studded lineup for the 2024 season gave us plenty of options to choose from as we conducted our annual Real Pod Wednesdays draft to build head-to-head lineups for a hypothetical game of Buckeyes vs. Buckeyes between our two hosts. Eleven Warriors beat writers Dan Hope and Andy Anders conducted a snake-format draft to build 22-man teams consisting of players on Ohio State’s 2024 footba...
Jul 17, 2024•45 min•Ep. 249
Ohio State’s quest for the No. 1 recruiting class in 2025 is looking more and more real. The Buckeyes have strengthened their position at the top of the team composite recruiting rankings , currently leading No. 2 Alabama by nearly 20 points, by landing commitments from 11 prospects since the start of June: running backs Bo Jackson and Isaiah West , wide receivers Quincy Porter and Bodpegn Miller , tight end Brody Lennon , center Jake Cook , defensive end Zion Grady , defensive tackles Maxwell R...
Jul 10, 2024•50 min•Ep. 248
Sports have always played an important part in Ted Carter’s life, but he’s come to understand just how much they mean to Ohio State fans in his first six months as OSU’s president. Just before the halfway point of his year as the leader of The Ohio State University, Carter sat down with us for a 30-minute conversation last week to talk about his first six months on the job, what sports mean to him as a former Navy hockey player, the athletic director transition from Gene Smith to Ross Bjork, how...
Jul 03, 2024•30 min•Ep. 247
The Big Ten will officially expand to 18 teams next week. Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA will officially become members of the conference on Monday, bringing in a new era for what’s traditionally been a Midwest-based conference. From a football standpoint, the Big Ten’s newest round of expansion should immediately make the conference more competitive as Oregon enters 2024 as a major College Football Playoff contender while Washington is the defending national runner-up and USC has a history of...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 246
Gene Smith is ready for the next chapter of his life. Less than two weeks away from his retirement, Ohio State’s athletic director says he isn’t having any second thoughts about his decision to move on at the end of the month. After 19 years leading OSU’s athletic department, Smith feels ready to move to Arizona, play more golf and spend more time with his grandchildren. Before leaving Columbus, however, Smith joined us for nearly 30 minutes on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays to talk ...
Jun 19, 2024•47 min•Ep. 245
While Ohio State’s primary focus right now is on competing for a national championship in 2024, it’s also working toward building its roster for the future. With high school football camps and official visits ongoing at Ohio State this month, the Buckeyes are in the heart of their efforts to build their 2025 recruiting class. Those efforts have gone quite well so far as Ohio State currently has the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, receiving another boost to that No. 1 ranking on Sunda...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 244
The busiest recruiting month of the year is underway. Ohio State has already hosted its first 10 official visitors of June, netting the Buckeyes their first commitment of the month from running back Bo Jackson . Camp season begins at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Wednesday as the Buckeyes will host seven high school football camps – five skill camps and two 7-on-7 tournaments – over the next 14 days, and the Buckeyes will host many more of their top targets in the 2025 recruiting class for ...
Jun 05, 2024•46 min•Ep. 243
College sports are about to change in a big way. As part of a settlement of three antitrust lawsuits last week, the NCAA committed to allowing schools to share revenue with their athletes beginning in 2025, ending the NCAA’s longstanding ban on schools paying athletes. We spend this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays discussing why it was time for the NCAA to embrace revenue sharing, how the change could impact Ohio State, the lingering questions that remain unanswered and why the model creat...
May 29, 2024•54 min•Ep. 242
There hasn’t been much that’s noteworthy in Ohio State’s spring transfer portal movement. The Buckeyes added some key depth at safety in the form of South Carolina’s Keenan Nelson Jr., but no players that will make an immediate impact have been or appear likely to be added to the team in the second portal window. With Dan Hope on vacation, Eleven Warriors producer Chase Brown joined Real Pod Wednesdays this week to discuss why Ohio State’s portal inactivity speaks to the confidence Ryan Day has ...
May 22, 2024•48 min•Ep. 241
Depth could be as important as it's ever been for college football’s national championship contenders in 2024. With the eventual national championship game participants facing the possibility of playing as many as 16 or 17 games this season, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said this spring the Buckeyes need to have depth they can rely on at every position as they set their sights on winning it all. “We're trying to build three-deep at each position,” Day said. “We used to say a pair and a spare, now w...
May 15, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 240
The spring transfer portal window has come and gone without Ohio State losing any key players. Six players from Ohio State entered the portal during the spring window, but none of them – running back Dallan Hayden, wide receiver Kyion Grayes, guard Enokk Vimahi, linebacker Nigel Glover and safeties Ja’Had Carter and Cedrick Hawkins – were in line to play major roles for the Buckeyes in 2024. As a result, Ohio State has secured one of college football’s best and deepest rosters for the upcoming s...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 239
The post-spring transfer window has been quiet so far for Ohio State football but plenty busy for Ohio State men’s basketball. While there’s still one week to go in the post-spring transfer window for college football, Ohio State has seen just two players leave the program since the end of spring practice. That goes hand in hand with what’s been a much quieter-than-expected post-spring transfer window across the nation. The basketball transfer portal, on the other hand, remains busy more than tw...
Apr 24, 2024•41 min•Ep. 238
Spring football showcased how much talent Ohio State has on its 2024 roster, but two of the biggest question marks surrounding this year’s Buckeyes. Quarterback and offensive line have been the biggest positions of concern for Ohio State dating back to this time last season, and that didn’t change this spring. While Will Howard still looks like the frontrunner to start at quarterback for the Buckeyes, our opportunities to watch him throw this spring left us wanting more. And it’s clear Ohio Stat...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 237
Ohio State’s spring game will be headlined by a quarterback competition for the second year in a row. While Will Howard entered the spring as the frontrunner to start at quarterback, the competition has heated up over the past five weeks. Not only is Devin Brown pushing Howard for the starting job, but true freshman Julian Sayin is becoming a real factor in the competition, adding intrigue to Saturday’s spring game as each of them looks to make their case that they should be Ohio State’s starter...
Apr 10, 2024•59 min•Ep. 236
There’s been no shortage of Ohio State football and basketball happenings over the past week. On the gridiron, Ohio State has now completed 10 of its 15 spring practices, highlighted by its Student Appreciation Day scrimmage on Saturday. Jeremiah Smith and C.J. Hicks are among the Buckeyes turning heads on the practice field while quarterback and offensive line remain Ohio State’s biggest question marks with a week-and-a-half of spring ball to go. Who will coach the running backs is no longer a ...
Apr 03, 2024•55 min•Ep. 235
The offseason is officially underway for both Ohio State basketball teams. Ohio State’s men’s basketball season ended Tuesday with the Buckeyes’ loss to Georgia in the NIT quarterfinals while the women’s basketball season concluded with an upset defeat to Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. While both teams had hopes of continuing their seasons further, the focus for both teams now turns to the offseason – particularly what they will do in the transfer portal to bolster their roster...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 234
Ohio State men’s basketball has a new head coach while Ohio State football has an unexpected opening for a running backs coach. Both teams have championship expectations. The Ohio State basketball coaching search ended over the weekend when Jake Diebler was promoted from interim coach to head coach. While Diebler has never been a full-time head coach before, making it anyone’s guess how he will ultimately fare as a long-term head coach, Ohio State is projecting nothing but confidence in Diebler,...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 233
