The Hodgepodge: Multiple Things Can Be True Following Ohio State's Loss to Oregon, Tyler Warren Goes Nuts in Penn State's Victory over USC, Oct. 12 Lived Up to the Hype

By Garrick Hodge on October 14, 2024 at 5:30 pm
Will Howard
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Welcome to The Hodgepodge.

Before we get into everything else about Ohio State’s unfortunate night on Saturday, I’m going to take a moment to give Autzen Stadium its flowers since this is Oregon’s first season in the Big Ten and a lot of us are experiencing the West Coast former Pac-12 stadiums for the first time. 

Getting to Eugene from Columbus for your average fan is no easy task, with most who made the trip having to take a connecting flight and spending around five hours one way on a plane to Portland, then having to make a nearly two-hour drive to the stadium. 

Yet, the atmosphere was definitely worth it. 

The campus was buzzing with excitement in the pregame, with Oregon and Ohio State fans walking around everywhere with a modest but fun tailgate scene. You walk across a bridge en route to the stadium that overlooks a river, with a giant, inflatable duck in the background and a Heisman house set up not too far away. Oregon has long been known for having one of the most fun mascots in college sports, and man, that guy is plastered everywhere, ranging from a statue on a bench to logos in restaurants on campus. The actual in-game entertainment ain’t bad either, considering the Oregon Duck rides onto the field on a motorcycle.  

Oregon and Autzen Stadium caught a bit of grief for holding “only” around 60,000 fans or so, but man, the way the stadium is built, the fans feel right on top of you. Granted, the stadium experience was probably a little inflated considering Saturday was a top-three matchup. Yet, on Ohio State’s final offensive drive of the night, I’m pretty sure I saw the decibel meter reach almost 120. And while it's not quite as fun as Wisconsin's "Jump Around," Autzen Stadium blasting "Shout" at the start of the fourth quarter is pretty awesome. 

I think Penn State was probably louder basing off of the last game we attended and I’d still rank it No. 1 in terms of toughest places to play in the Big Ten. Ohio State and Michigan’s stadiums can both get all kinds of chaotic in big moments. But the hostile environment Oregon creates is right up there. The only complaint I have is Oregon’s stadium and campus infrastructure aren’t equipped to handle a game of that magnitude in terms of media accommodations and traffic control for various reasons. But those all seem like petty grievances that don’t matter in the long run, so we’re moving on.

Now, pleasantries aside. 

Two things can be true following the Buckeyes’ disappointing 32-31 defeat at the hands of the Ducks. 

  1. Beating top-three teams on the road is hard and a one-point loss doesn’t prevent Ohio State from achieving any of its preseason goals whatsoever. Even further, the Buckeyes still control their own destiny and ability to get a bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff since they’ll play every team except Illinois that could potentially have the same conference record as it if it wins out. While it’s an unfortunate loss, this isn’t a death sentence by any means. Not many people remember the 2014 Ohio State team lost to Virginia Tech right away, so if everything plays out as hoped, this could be just a blip on the radar. 
  2. It’s still hard not to be disappointed in the result considering there’s been consistent letdowns against top-five teams the past few seasons and the defense may not be as championship caliber as once thought.

Starting with the defensive woes, it was troubling to see a unit with this much talent get as exploited as the Buckeyes were against the Ducks. The front seven left a lot to be desired, and the defensive line failed to generate pressure on Oregon quarterback Dillion Gabriel, who was not sacked once in the contest and threw for 373 yards. The Ducks torched the Buckeyes for 496 yards of total offense and averaged 7.6 yards per play. 

Cornerback Denzel Burke probably had his worst game in an Ohio State uniform, allowing a catch on all eight passes thrown his way that totaled nearly 200 passing yards. It was shocking to see such an esteemed player perform far below his standard, but my theory on why it went so sideways is Oregon broke a lot of tendencies offensively from what you saw on film the first five games. 

Primarily, the Ducks lived through their short and intermediate passing game, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise if Burke and the rest of the Ohio State secondary prepared to defend short routes and were caught slightly off guard Oregon took so many deep shots. That doesn’t excuse the result, but if those two ultimately have a rematch in Indianapolis later this year, I wouldn’t expect the secondary to be caught off guard again, nor would do I expect Burke to repeat that performance.

A few more thoughts from Saturday’s game: 

  • If you had told me before the game Will Howard would complete 28 of 35 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and run for a touchdown, I’d have guessed the chances Ohio State lost that game were near zero. It wasn’t a perfect performance, especially considering the final play of the game was obviously unfortunate and will be one Howard wants back. But considering the expectations the staff and even fans have of Howard on a week-to-week basis, I’d say he did his job and then some and played perfectly capable enough to win. I’ll go a step further and say his play made me a bit more confident that OSU can win a meaningful game later in the year if it comes down to his shoulders.
  • If we’re being 100 percent honest, if the offensive pass interference never gets called on Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State wins with a walk-off field goal, I think Dan Lanning gets torched pretty badly by local and national pundits. Oregon left a lot of points on the table, starting with a botched PAT following the first touchdown, then Lanning opted to chase points and go for a two-point conversion in the first half, which was some Big Game James energy. Lanning also went for it on 4th-and-goal from the two in a one-score game in the third quarter instead of taking the free three points. Not that OSU also didn’t leave its fair share of points on the board, but it’s also hard to sit here and say it was a masterclass job all-around by Lanning either.
  • Now, what WAS a masterclass coaching call by Lanning and Co. (assuming this was intentional) was playing with 12 men on the field on the second-to-last play, running off four seconds of clock time, and giving OSU a free five yards, which were ultimately meaningless anyway.
  • No doubt the offensive pass interference call was a bit controversial, which has been discussed at length on the interwebs already. But the part I feel slightly bad for Ryan Day about with this is he learned from his mistake in the Georgia CFP game, where he played for the long field goal down a point instead of staying aggressive. A shame he wasn’t rewarded for it.
  • I think the biggest reason for the angst around the loss isn’t because the Buckeyes narrowly lost to a very good Oregon team on the road. Losses like that are going to happen even to the best of teams. Nah, the anger seems to stem from a “we’ve been here before” mindset. Ryan Day is now 2-6 against teams ranked in the AP top five in his OSU career, which include the Clemson loss, the Georgia CFP game, games against Michigan, a blowout loss to Alabama in the 2020 national championship and now the Oregon defeat. Sure, a good bit of those almost feel like pure bad luck more than malpractice excluding the national championship and whatever your opinion is of Stalions Gate. But regardless of circumstances, Ohio State fans crave finally being on the right side of one of these games. Especially when this season and this roster had more hype coming into it than any I can remember in recent memory. 
  • I’ll make another attempt at talking some off the ledge: Despite the warts exposed on Saturday, I think Ohio State is still an excellent team capable of winning a national championship this season and past season results are not necessarily an indicator of future performances. It also helps that this season sure seems to be the one where a team can have a few flaws and still find a way to win a title regardless. So far this season, no team looks like an unbeatable Death Star on a victory march toward a title. Texas appears to be the closest team to fit that description, but it’s not like the Longhorns don’t have their own flaws, either. Ohio State still has all its goals in front of it, with its greatest challenges coming against a flawed Nebraska team at Ohio Stadium, a coach that, while undefeated, is 1-9 in his career against the Buckeyes, an upstart Cinderella story and a hated rival down to its third-string QB.
  • I think this game made me an even bigger fan of the expanded playoff. It might be nerve-wracking, but from a competitive standpoint, who doesn’t want to see these two teams potentially play two more times? 
  • There was a more detrimental loss to Ohio State Saturday than the one it took in the win-loss column.

Ohio State spotlight of the week: Left tackle

Potentially losing Josh Simmons for the season is probably worse than the Oregon game itself from strictly a long-term season view. Simmons has arguably been Ohio State’s most improved player from a year ago and was catching the eye of many NFL Draft scouts, with projections coming in for him to be a second or even first-round pick this year. 

Even worse, tackle is probably one of the thinnest positions on Ohio State’s roster. From a glass-half-empty view, this could be where the lack of landing a standout offensive tackle on the recruiting trail in the past few seasons bites you in the ass. From the glass-half-full side, the Buckeyes still moved the ball effectively against Oregon with Zen Michalski thrust into action at left tackle, plus Michalski has had four seasons with the program to hone his skills. 

We’ll see just how ready he is to be a full-time starter, as Michalski will likely make his first career start against Nebraska in two weeks. If things don’t go well, I’m not entirely sure what the “break glass in case of an emergency” plan is here. Perhaps you could shift George Fitzpatrick from right tackle to left, or if you’re really in a bind, try Donovan Jackson out at tackle and put Austin Siereveld in at left guard. 

Nobody Ohio State plays is going to feel sorry for the Buckeyes not having their standout left tackle in there, so they’ll have no choice but to adopt a “next man up” mentality. Still, Simmons’ absence may cast a shadow on the team’s long-term goals if OSU can’t stabilize that spot.

It’s probably too early to be thinking about this, but if there’s any silver lining whatsoever to an otherwise unfortunate injury, perhaps Simmons considers returning to OSU for another season since this injury could impact his pre-draft process. That didn’t seem tenable a week ago, but now you can’t rule it out. 

Rest of CFB slate lives up to the preseason hype

Before we even kicked off the college football season, we circled Oct. 12 as the college football weekend of the year you’d declare war over if your friend or family member decided they wanted a wedding on that Saturday.

Well, it didn’t disappoint.  

  • Big Game James and Penn State kept its undefeated season alive against USC, thanks to an otherworldly performance by tight end Tyler Warren, who somehow caught 17 passes for a whopping 224 yards and a touchdown in the Nittany Lions’ 33-30 win over USC. Not to be overlooked, but despite three interceptions, Drew Allar threw for 391 yards and two scores in the win and former Ohio State wide receiver Julian Fleming made two crucial fourth down catches on PSU’s eventual game-tying drive in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. This performance by USC probably wouldn’t have been such a big deal if it hadn’t lost to Minnesota last weekend, but with Lincoln Riley off to another subpar start at 3-3, the noise around that program is on the verge of growing a little louder. 
  • LSU vs. Ole Miss bordered on a CFP elimination game, and it was a fun one at that, though the Tigers’ 29-26 overtime victory was a little more contained than that 55-49 shootout a year ago. Ole Miss seemed in control for much of Saturday’s contest, as LSU’s first lead of the game wasn’t until Garrett Nussmeier found Kyren Lacy for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Nussmeier struggled early, throwing two interceptions and completing less than 50 percent of his passes. But the LSU gunslinger still threw for three touchdowns and 337 yards while leading his team to a win and putting the Rebels’ playoff hopes on life support. Good news for Florida if the Gators want to make a run at Lane Kiffin, though.
  • Utah’s playoff hopes also turned dire Friday as a clearly injured Cam Rising was ineffective in a 27-19 loss to Arizona State. Monday, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham declared Rising is out indefinitely going forward and that the Utes could consider bringing Rising back for an eighth year. If that does happen, remind me not to fall for the preseason hype again.
  • A week after suffering embarrassing defeats for a national contender, Alabama and Tennessee again looked mortal against unranked conference foes. Both narrowly escaped. The Crimson Tide bested South Carolina at home despite the Gamecocks recovering an onside kick in the final minute of regulation. Tennessee got into a rock fight against a well-rested Florida team and eventually bested the Gators in overtime thanks to its defense. Both of these squads looked pretty mortal. 
  • Texas whomped Oklahoma in a snoozer of what’s typically a pretty fun rivalry, but it’s hard to argue the Longhorns look like the SEC’s best so far this season. On the other side, man, the Sooners’ offense is putrid. 
  • Colorado vs. Kansas State was super fun. For all the drama that surrounds the Deion Sanders reality show in Boulder, the Buffs at least look much improved from a season ago. Shedeur Sanders played out of his mind even with Travis Hunter going down with an injury to give the Buffs a chance, completing 34 of 40 passes for 388 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. The Buffs scored a go-ahead touchdown with 3:12 remaining in the contest, but couldn’t get one final defensive stop as Avery Johnson connected with Jayce Brown for 50 yards to seal the victory for the Wildcats.

And then there were 11

Halfway through the season, we have 11 undefeated teams remaining following Ohio State’s defeat. 

Big Ten: Oregon, Indiana, Penn State
SEC: Texas
ACC: Pittsburgh, Miami
Big 12: BYU, Iowa State
Group of Five: Navy, Army, Liberty

Week Seven had some fun moments

  • Army ain’t messing around this year. 
  • Clemson busted out the ole’ double pass touchdown against poor Wake Forest. 
  • Somehow Georgia Tech had a go-ahead 68-yard touchdown run in a tie game against North Carolina with 16 seconds remaining. 
  • It’s been a dreadful year for Wyoming but at least this flea flicker worked to perfection. 
  • We talked about Warren’s ridiculous game for Penn State already, but this was how he caught his touchdown pass. 
  • Don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone summersault to secure an interception before. 
  • Another week, another Ashton Jeanty being really good at football highlight.

Week Seven had some wacky things, too

  • Georgia coach Kirby Smart forcefully pushed a Mississippi State player on the Bulldogs’ sideline while trying to argue with a ref. How is this not being talked about more? Perhaps it was intentional, perhaps it wasn’t, but either way, he deserves a suspension at minimum. If the roles were reserved, you'd never hear the end of it. You know what it reminded me of? That whacky Friday Night Lights TV season where the opposing coach runs out onto the field to tackle a player because he gets frustrated his team can’t do it themselves. 
  • Oregon wideout Traeshon Holden had the infamous Duck-Tuah around the world and spit in Davision Igbinosun's face, leading to his ejection. Holden issued an apology a day later.
  • Once Oregon kicked the field goal, the Ducks announced on their video board to wait 5-7 minutes after the game ended before storming the field to allow Ohio State players and coaches to leave the field first. Well, as you can imagine, alcohol was a factor and fans were having none of that nonsense. Yours truly almost got decked three separate times trying to dodge fans jumping from the stands onto the field the moment time expired while carrying camera equipment. It was all in good fun, but I definitely saw my life flash before my eyes a few times.
  • Oregon tried to salvage its botched PAT and it did not go well.
  • Definitely have to put the botched onside kick recovery in here for Ohio State, too.
  • Technically this happened after Week 7, but Mike Gundy’s press conference Monday was moved to Zoom because he was “head-butted by a cow.” Can’t make it up!
  • Kansas State QB Avery Johnson out here taking selfies for fans in the middle of a game! 
  • Iowa and Wisconsin scored at least 40 points each in a noon window. What kind of parallel universe are we living in?
  • Alabama QB Jalen Milroe somehow took a safety on an intentional grounding penalty when the line of scrimmage was… the 12-yard line.
  • I know who’s not going to be returning kickoffs for Iowa anytime soon.  
  • Don't think this is how LSU drew this one up.
  • It’s been that kind of a year for BYU and that kind of a year for Arizona. 

Former Buckeye of the week 

Week Seven former Buckeye of the week: Joe Royer, tight end, Cincinnati

Honorable mention goes to Julian Fleming for making a few game-saving catches for Penn State on the Nittany Lions’ final drive of regulation, but it’s time to give Joe Royer his flowers here. Royer was instrumental in Cincinnati’s 19-13 win over UCF, catching eight passes for 84 yards. On the season, Royer is having a breakout campaign, catching 28 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns in six games.

Past results

Week Zero former Buckeye of the week: Mason Arnold, long snapper, Florida State
Week One former Buckeye of the week: Evan Pryor, RB, Cincinnati
Week Two former Buckeye of the week: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Week Three former Buckeye of the week: Mookie Cooper, WR, Missouri
Week Four former Buckeye of the week: Julian Fleming, WR, Penn State
Week Five former Buckeye of the week: Noah Rogers, WR, North Carolina State
Week Six former Buckeye of the week: Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse

Games of the week

Like Ohio State, my Saturday was a disaster. Fortunately, if this trend continues, you can make a lot of money by fading my picks.

Week 6 record: 2-5

Overall record: 24-25

Appointment viewing

Georgia at Texas, 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Pick: Georgia +3.5

Breakdown: On paper, Texas should steamroll this overrated Georgia team. The Bulldogs were lucky to survive against Kentucky, lost to Alabama in a shootout, had a taffy pull with Auburn, then only beat the worst team in the SEC by 10 points last week. But, this season is already giving off 2007 chaos vibes, so nothing truly makes sense. You gotta feel like Kirby Smart (who should but probably won’t be suspended) can pull one off when the chips are down on his program. If we’re being honest, the biggest reason I’m rolling with Georgia is because logic hasn’t worked at all in these picks so far so we’re going off of straight chaos vibes instead.

Alabama at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Pick: Tennessee +2.5

Breakdown: I don’t feel great about either of these teams if I’m being honest. Both had escape artist performances against unranked foes when each was already coming off a disappointing loss. Either way, someone has to win this game and someone has to serve as message board fodder for the week. I’m projecting that to be Tennessee with the home-field advantage. Nico Iamaleava has left a lot to be desired in the past two games, but if there’s ever a get-right opportunity, it’s against this porous Alabama defense. On the flip side, I think Tennessee’s defense is actually pretty solid and should slow down the Crimson Tide just enough to secure the win.

Nebraska at Indiana, noon Saturday on FOX

Pick: Indiana -5.5

Breakdown: Who knew a Nebraska vs. Indiana game midseason would be this exciting and have some very real stakes? Anyway, this is a put-up or shut-up game for the Hoosiers. Indiana has scored at-will on every opponent it's faced so far and while this will be the best defense it's played so far, I’m optimistic the Hoosiers can find a way to outscore the Huskers. Also, can you imagine what the atmosphere will be like in Bloomington? 

Michigan at Illinois, 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS

Pick: Illinois +1

Breakdown: Will Michigan start Jack Tuttle at quarterback or revert back to Alex Orji? Who knows what’s going on there? Illinois was caught off guard by Purdue defensively last week as the Boilermakers completely changed their tendencies, but I don’t know how much Michigan is going to be able to do that. Illinois should hold the offense fairly in check and score enough to give itself a chance and with what’s likely to be a large home crowd behind them, it should be enough.

Underrated games

Miami at Louisville, noon Saturday on ABC

Pick: Miami -4.5

Breakdown: The cardiac Canes are back at it following two close calls and a week off. I’m probably nuts for continuing to roll with Miami given the circumstances and factoring in Jeff Brohm usually is good for at least one monumental upset per season, but I think the Hurricanes finally lock in here. 

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, 3:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Pick: Georgia Tech +10.5

Breakdown: Admittedly, I flipped this pick once I saw the news that Notre Dame star cornerback Benjamin Morrison is out for the season following a hip injury. Haynes King is a capable passer and should be able to keep the Yellow Jackets competitive at home with the Fighting Irish down one of their best defensive playmakers, though I expect Notre Dame still finds a way to squeak the game out but fails to cover.

LSU at Arkansas, 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Pick: LSU -2.5

Breakdown: The Tigers survived an overtime thriller against Ole Miss and now have the unfortunate task of playing in the place that derailed Tennessee just a few weeks ago. Arkansas is coming off an off week and has had plenty of time to study the Tigers, but I believe in Garrett Nussmeier and LSU’s offense enough to get it done here.

Hot seat tracker

Seat is red hot

Billy Napier, Florida: Seems unnecessarily cruel to keep Napier in red hot after his Florida team pushed Tennessee to the brink on Saturday, but losses — no matter how close or who to — aren’t going to help his case here. Napier’s best chance to save his job will be DJ Lagway flashing the last six games of the season now that Graham Mertz is done for the year.

Dave Aranda, Baylor: The Bears had a week off from their losing ways, but are set to get right back at it this week with a matchup against Texas Tech.

Seat is probably a little warm

Mack Brown, North Carolina: The Tar Heels have now lost four straight games following a 3-0 start. Not a ringing endorsement of Mack Brown, who may be taking a long look at retirement soon if things don’t get better in a hurry.

Ryan Walters, Purdue: Fortunately for the Boilermakers, Purdue changed its quarterback and offense around and looked competent against Illinois last week. Unfortunately, it didn’t finish the game and suffered another loss. More competitive games like that could save Walters since it’s only Year Two, but this Purdue team still isn’t very good. Don’t worry though, we’re in prime Spoilermakers territory with an Oregon team coming to West Lafayette on a Friday ranked No. 2 and coming off a massive upset, right? 

Mike Locksley, Maryland: Following a 37-10 home loss to Northwestern, welcome to the hot seat tracker, Mike Locksley. The Terps are 3-3 on the season and probably won’t be favored in any game they play the rest of the year, so they could be staring a four or five-win season in the face. Locksley has been there since 2019 and while Maryland is never going to have massive expectations, the program might decide it’s time for a reset. The right coach could make the program a bit more competitive considering how talent-rich the DMV area is. 

Hodgepodge Week 7 classifiers

Undefeated conference contenders: Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Miami, Iowa State, BYU

One loss conference contenders: Ohio State, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, Clemson

Winner this week gets to keep conference title hopes alive: Alabama, Tennessee

Big 12 fun dysfunctional family that you can’t rule out quite yet: Kansas State, Colorado, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Cincinnati

Disappointing former Big 12 frontrunners: Utah, Oklahoma State 

Probably have to win out to make the CFP: Michigan, Ole Miss, Missouri, Notre Dame, Iowa

Playoff darkhorses: Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois, SMU, Pittsburgh, Syracuse

Serving our country and both ranked for the first time since the 1960s: Army, Navy

Group of Five playoff contenders: Boise State, Liberty, UNLV and the two armed forces squads not named Air Force

Could make a nice bowl game but don’t know about much else: Vanderbilt, USC, Rutgers, Louisville, Oklahoma, Duke, Boston College, Washington

Will have a chance to make a bowl game at least: Cal, Minnesota, Michigan State, TCU, South Carolina, West Virginia, NC State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Stanford,  Kentucky

It’s not looking great: Florida, Maryland, Northwestern, Auburn, UCLA, Purdue, Wake Forest, Baylor, Houston, Mississippi State, Florida State, Kansas, North Carolina

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