The Hodgepodge: Ohio State Squeaks by Nebraska, Offensive Line Alignment in Question As Date with Big Game James Looms, Drew Allar Gets Hurt but PSU Beats Wisconsin

By Garrick Hodge on October 28, 2024 at 12:31 pm
Ryan Day
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Welcome to The Hodgepodge.

I knelt in the end zone with a camera fixated on Ryan Day as he awaited official word on whether or not a questionable targeting call would be upheld or reversed. A nervous energy filled Ohio Stadium. The longer the review dragged on, the more tense the situation became. Ohio State was clinging to a 21-17 advantage after already needing a fourth-quarter comeback to re-take the lead.

Ohio State fans paid no thought to a matchup with Nebraska being competitive leading up to gameday. The Cornhuskers had been dismantled 56-7 by Indiana a week prior, surely they posed no threat. Yet, here they were, trailing by four with around 3 minutes remaining with a chance to put a dagger in what was supposed to be a dream season for Ohio State.

Finally, the official emerged from the replay review monitor and confirmed what we already knew in our hearts: Nobody fully understands what constitutes targeting. (AKA, the call was upheld.) 

A crowd of more than 100,000 fans of Ohio State fans who had been equal parts anxious, lifeless, boo-birds, frustrated and disgusted with the team’s play for three quarters turned hostile. A small contingent of fans pulled their best Texas impression and threw debris on the field, ranging from water bottles, beer, Fireball and even a cup of cheese. 

Yours truly only noticed what was happening when I wondered, “Why am I getting wet?” as I glanced up to be targeted by a stray, half-full, open water bottle that nicked me and harmlessly rolled onto the field.

The same fans who watched a targeting penalty that knocked out Marvin Harrison Jr. from a College Football Playoff game two years ago get overturned saw Arvell Reese get ejected without using his helmet to make a tackle said ‘Enough of this BS.’ Even if the call can be explained as technically correct per the writing of the rule, I’d be livid, too. Still speaking to the less than 1 percent of fans this applies to, as your friendly neighborhood photographer, don’t throw stuff on the field – unless it’s cash, then feel free to go wild. 

Speaking of livid, not sure if that’s a strong enough word to describe Day’s reaction to the targeting call. No word yet on whether there’s been a funeral service for his headset, which was used as a prop in an angry reaction that would have had the velocity of a C.J. Stroud pass had he let go of it. 

Day’s “get-back” guy (Ohio State chief of staff Quinn Tempel) earned his $260,000 salary and then some by restraining an irate Day who gave a nearby official an earful. The colorful reaction was obviously in part prompted by sheer disbelief and disagreement with the call being upheld, but there’s probably a more unspoken reason Day was so exasperated: He was coaching for his job, and he damn well knew it. 

If Ohio State dropped this contest to this Nebraska team having two weeks to prepare and fresh off a one-point loss to No. 1 Oregon when Day said at Skull Session “It’s about action, it’s not about words,” things would have gotten toxic in Columbus. Hell, it’s already pretty ugly, and they won the damn game. 

But it would have been deserved. Ohio State's College Football Playoff hopes would be in hospice, and a full offseason of touting one of the best rosters assembled in college football would feel fruitless. 

Of course, it didn’t turn out that way. In an ironic twist of fate, freshman Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola lived up to the promise he made when he originally committed to Ohio State that he’d help the Buckeyes win games. The five-star phenom missed two throws to wide-open wideouts that were surefire touchdowns and sailed a desperation pass that was intercepted by Jordan Hancock with less than 2 minutes remaining, sealing the victory for the Buckeyes. 

A win isn’t going to alleviate any worries for the Buckeye faithful, though. 

Ohio State lost starting left tackle Josh Simmons for the season in the Oregon game and his replacement, Zen Michalski, was overmatched for the majority of the afternoon, though he was far from the only one that struggled up front. Unfortunately, injury was added to insult for Michalski, who had to be helped off the field late in the fourth quarter after suffering his own lower-body injury. The offensive line and blocking woes resulted in a paltry 64 total rushing yards for Ohio State and two sacks allowed, with the running game a complete nonfactor against Nebraska. The Buckeyes’ inability to sustain drives resulted in only 47 total plays offensively, compared to 66 by Nebraska. It’s OK, not like the Buckeyes play a strong defensive line this week or anything (Abdul Carter is probably the most eager man on the planet right now). 

The more unsettling thing is that this performance indicates a wide range of outcomes for this season. I believe Ohio State is still talented enough, and the rest of the country is flawed enough, for the Buckeyes to win a national championship this season. I also believe the Buckeyes have shown enough warts that even making the College Football Playoff is no guarantee.

And if your worst fears materialize and there’s no CFP appearance coming, I can’t imagine Day will be long for this job. 

National pundits and even Ohio State fans have criticized Day for his inability to win top-five matchups. On Saturday, he almost deviated from his most reliable calling card: always winning the ones you’re supposed to, an underrated feat at most places. 

That’s nothing that can’t be forgiven if Ohio State rights the ship in a hurry. And it will have to do that in, guess what, another top-five matchup. Call Saturday’s matchup the “something has to give” bowl. Day has a 2-6 record against AP Top 5 opponents in his career, while Big Game James is 1-9 in his career against Ohio State.

Potentially down his starting quarterback (we’ll get to that in a second), you know James Franklin is itchin’ to chase points in the second quarter or run a halfback draw on 4th-and-5. Nobody will see it coming. 

In all seriousness, Ohio State opens as a 3.5-point favorite in what’s a must-win game for the Buckeyes to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive, while it seems Penn State is playing with house money. Things may seem gloomy in Columbus right now, but a statement game in Happy Valley would sure do wonders to change the narrative around for this season.

Ohio State spotlight of the week: Offensive line construction

For the last two weeks, the spotlight has primarily been on left tackle. This week, we’re wondering about what the entire makeup of the offensive line is going to look like in the biggest game of the season. Following the injury to Zen Michalski, Ohio State is down to its third-string left tackle. You’d have to guess Donovan Jackson will move from left guard to left tackle and give his best effort at filling in on the outside, even if this is far from the ideal situation to make your first start there. 

Beyond that, it's possible Tegra Tshabola will move from right guard to left guard and that Austin Siereveld will slot in at right guard, even though Luke Montgomery was the temporary replacement at guard Saturday when Michalski went down. Moving Tshabola to the left side would be interesting, but my take is you’d want your slightly more experienced guard on that side to help out the new tackle the best he could. As for playing Siereveld on the right side, you’d think Ohio State would just want to put its best five offensive linemen on the field period, regardless of who is comfortable playing where.

Drew Allar gets hurt but Penn State wins, Texas A&M wins crucial showdown against LSU

There were a lot of other interesting storylines surrounding Week 9.

  • There are no shortage of angles for this week’s game in Happy Valley. Chief among them is the health of Penn State starting quarterback Drew Allar. Allar suffered what appeared to be a leg injury at the end of the first half, and did not play the entire second half in the Nittany Lions’ 28-13 win against Wisconsin. Following the contest, Franklin said keeping Allar out of the game wasn’t a precautionary measure, but did not provide any further clarity. He will be a game-time decision against the Buckeyes, Franklin said on Monday. While that might raise an eyebrow from Ohio State fans, it’s worth pointing out backup signal caller Beau Pribula was excellent in relief, completing 11 of 13 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while running for 28 yards on six carries. Regardless of who starts Saturday, OSU will need to bring its A-game to walk away with a victory.
  • Texas A&M dismantled LSU 38-23 despite not having a quarterback reach triple-digits in passing yards. Starting quarterback Connor Weigman was benched after a paltry stat line of 6-of-18 for 64 yards, but backup signal caller Marcel Reed gave the Aggies a much-needed lift. Reed only attempted two passes and completed both for 70 yards, but had 62 yards on nine carries and ran for three touchdowns. The Aggies’ defense also intercepted LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier three times. With the win, Texas A&M stays undefeated in SEC play and could continue its undefeated conference season until a pivotal showdown with Texas in the regular season finale. 
  • Indiana continues to feel like a team of destiny. The Hoosiers still haven’t trailed all season and took down Washington 31-17 with a backup quarterback.
  • SMU somehow defeated Duke 28-27 in overtime despite committing six turnovers. In fact, the Mustangs are the first team to win a game despite losing the turnover battle 6-0 since 2011. Duke went for two at the end of overtime to try and steal a victory, but it wasn’t meant to be. SMU remains undefeated in ACC play and now has a massive showdown upcoming with Pittsburgh this week.
  • At long last, we can finally stop paying attention to this Liberty team in the Group of Five race. The Flames were upset by the worst team in the FBS on Wednesday, falling 27-24 to Kennesaw State. To put into perspective just how bad Kennesaw State was, it was ranked No. 207 in the country in S&P+. That ranking has it firmly entrenched as the worst FBS team in the nation, ranked lower than 66 FCS teams and seven Division II teams and only seven spots ahead of the top-ranked Division III team in the nation. All-time blunder by the Flames. 
  • I understand if a lot of you have Prime fatigue, but I have to give some credit to Deion Sanders and Colorado. The Buffs were the worst Power Four team two years ago and now are going to a bowl game following a 6-2 start. Colorado bested Cincinnati 34-23 on Saturday for its sixth win. Technically, Colorado made a bowl in 2020, but it's the first time the Buffs have made a bowl game in a complete season since 2016.
  • Pittsburgh continued its dream season with a 41-13 thumping of Syracuse. We can’t really discuss this game without mentioning how dreadful Kyle McCord was. McCord threw five interceptions on the night, three of which were returned for touchdowns. I always said I respect how McCord handled himself and represented the program while he was at Ohio State, but this kind of performance can make you understand why the Buckeyes thought they were better off with Will Howard. 
  • In the Group of Five game of the year, Boise State beat UNLV 29-24. Ashton Jeanty had a ho-hum game by his standards, running for 128 yards on 33 carries (3.9 yards per carry) and the go-ahead touchdown. Yet, the Broncos made enough plays down the stretch defensively to seal the road win and give themselves the driver’s seat for the Group of Five playoff bid.
  • Sadly, the dreamed matchup between 11-0 Army vs. 11-0 Navy matchup is dead considering Notre Dame thrashed Navy 51-14 on Saturday. The Fighting Irish look like they’ve very much corrected the ship since that inexplicable loss to Northern Illinois and have a clear path to the College Football Playoff. 
  • Oregon continued to look like the clear No. 1 team in America, steamrolling Illinois 38-9. The Fighting Illini have a path to a 10-2 finish, but with them performing so poorly against the Ducks, you have to wonder if even a 10-2 record may not be enough for an at-large berth. Meanwhile, Oregon gets ready to travel to Ann Arbor for a game that looks far less daunting than it once did. 
  • Texas outlasted Vanderbilt 27-24, so lighting isn’t going to strike twice in one season, apparently. Regardless, you have to give the Commodores credit for climbing their way out of the SEC basement. 

And then there were eight

With five weeks to go in the season, we have eight undefeated teams remaining.

Big Ten: Oregon, Indiana, Penn State

SEC: None

ACC: Pittsburgh, Miami

Big 12: BYU, Iowa State

Group of Five: Army

Week Nine had some fun moments

  • A best friend to a backup quarterback is your defense getting a pick-six in the opening quarter. The fun part about this is the camera work so you can see Indiana fans going crazy in real time.
  • The touchdown might have happened because of some bad tackling, but this was a fun move by Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green. 
  • Who doesn’t love a reserve pass that ends with a touchdown to the quarterback?
  • Get this D-lineman some oxygen after an 84-yard pick-six.
  • Sometimes you have a season where everything just goes right. BYU is having one of those seasons, even the fake field goals work.
  • Ball State somehow engineered a field goal drive down one with just 15 seconds left to beat Northern Illinois with a 52-yard field goal. Can’t make up MACation. 
  • Punters are people too, and they can run for first downs sometimes. 
  • When your offense is struggling to score, you gotta break out the flea flicker.
  • Another flea flicker, but this one went for a touchdown for Washington State.
  • Two years ago, Mario Cristobal refused to blame Florida State for running up the score on the Hurricanes, saying one day the roles would be reversed. I think he had that in mind when he called for a play that led to Cam Ward getting a receiving touchdown already up multiple scores late in the fourth quarter.
  • The only reason SMU forced overtime in the first place was because of an incredible special teams play that resulted in a blocked Duke 30-yard field goal attempt. 

Week Nine had some whacky things too

  • Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Michigan and Michigan State got into a skirmish immediately following the contest. 
  • There is something about Michigan playing Michigan State that always leads to a Wolverine always having trouble with the snap.
  • Somehow, both the offense and defense in the Vanderbilt vs. Texas matchup lined up on the wrong side of the ball following a turnover and had to be corrected by the officials.
  • Ole Miss is notorious for faking injuries on defense. Apparently, that mindset has trickled down all the way to the squirrels that invade the field.  
  • Stick to plumbing, Luigi.
  • This Illinois safety could use a hug.
  • I’m just shocked this guy isn’t a Nebraska fan, personally.
  • We’ve all been there, buddy.
  • It was that kind of a day for LSU at Kyle Field. 
  • Just how they drew it up, Cal edition.
  • Ouch.

Former Buckeye of the week 

Week Nine former Buckeye of the week: Bryson Shaw, safety, USC

USC has been reeling lately, so Friday night’s matchup against Rutgers was a good time for Shaw to deliver a season-high five tackles and a pass breakup in the 42-20 victory for the Trojans. Injuries forced Shaw into a bigger role for the Trojans, as he only made three combined tackles in the past three weeks by comparison. But Shaw made the most of his playing time Friday.

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
  • Week Seven former Buckeye of the week: Joe Royer, tight end, Cincinnati
  • Week Eight former Buckeye of the week: Cameron Martinez, DB, Boston College

Games of the week

Any time you can record an above .500 weekend, we’ll take it around here, especially with this college football season. Anyway, the slate for this weekend outside of a few games ain’t all that great, so we’ll do our best.

Week 9 record: 4-3

Overall record: 34-29

Appointment viewing

Ohio State at Penn State, noon Saturday on FOX

Pick: Ohio State -3.5

Breakdown: Listen man, I don’t feel great about this after watching the Buckeyes play last week and given the status of the offensive line. But would any of you pick Big Game James in a situation like this where your life depended on it when the health of his starting quarterback is in question? Would anyone?

Pittsburgh at SMU, 8 p.m. Saturday on ACC Network

Pick: Pittsburgh +7.5

Breakdown: At this point, Pittsburgh has made a believer out of me. Especially in the defense. Even more so after seeing SMU need a minor miracle to survive Duke. It’s pretty cool that we’re so late into the season and Pittsburgh vs. SMU has potential to have real CFP stakes attached to it.

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

Pick: Oregon -14.5

Breakdown: Oregon has hit its stride and looks like the best team in the Big Ten. Michigan found a way to survive against its in-state rival, but handling this high-powered Ducks team will be quite another challenge entirely.

Wisconsin at Iowa, 7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC

Pick: Iowa -3.5

Breakdown: Sure, there are zero CFP stakes attached here, but you wouldn’t miss the opportunity to watch two former B1G West teams engage in a rock fight, would you? In a rock fight, always take Iowa.

Underrated games

Texas A&M at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

Pick: Texas A&M -3.5

Breakdown: This has the potential to be a trap game for Texas A&M coming off an emotional win, especially considering the Gamecocks gave LSU and Alabama problems, albeit in losses. But the Aggies will find a way to pull it out in the end.

Louisville at Clemson, 7:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN

Pick: Clemson -11

Breakdown: This will be the first team in a while Clemson plays someone with a pulse since the Week 1 disaster against Georgia. Louisville gave Miami and Notre Dame problems earlier this year, but covering seems like a lot to ask against the Clemson team.

Indiana at Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Peacock 

Pick: Indiana -7

Breakdown: Any Indiana game is borderline must-watch the rest of the year. The Hoosiers anticipate getting QB Kurtis Rourke back from injury this week against a flawed yet seemingly improving Michigan State team. Will Rourke look like business as usual, or could the Spartans give the Hoosiers problems? My read says we inch closer to a reality where the Hoosiers are coming to Columbus undefeated.

Hot seat tracker

Not a ton of movement on the hot seat tracker this week, except for one new face that may find himself on it officially if a certain contest in Happy Valley doesn’t go well. 

Already fired

  • Mike Houston, East Carolina 
  • Will Hall, Southern Miss

Seat is red hot

  • Billy Napier, Florida: The Gators have played better of late, but are still in the thick of things, especially with a matchup against Georgia coming this weekend. 
  • Dave Aranda, Baylor: I’m not entirely sure what would save Aranda’s job this season, but beating teams is a good start. Oklahoma State, woof, what the hell went wrong this season? It will still be a journey to get bowl eligible, and who knows if 6-6 would be good enough to merit another year for Aranda at Baylor. 

Seat is probably a little warm

  • Mack Brown, North Carolina: Fortunately for Brown, he and the Tar Heels stopped the bleeding and ended a four-game losing streak with a victory over Virginia. North Carolina does end with a favorable slate, playing Florida State, Wake Forest, Boston College and North Carolina State in its final four games. 
  • Ryan Walters, Purdue: The Boilermakers had the highlight of their season on Saturday. They didn’t lose. Yeah they were off, but so what?
  • Mike Locksley, Maryland: The Terps did upset USC a week ago, but that momentum went down the drain with a 48-23 loss to Minnesota on Saturday. Maryland likely won’t be favored in any game it plays for the rest of the season, so things could get a little ugly here.

Not officially on the hot seat yet but raising some eyebrows

  • Sherrone Moore, Michigan
  • Brent Venables, Oklahoma
  • Lincoln Riley, USC
  • Ryan Day, Ohio State

Hodgepodge Week 9 classifiers

Undefeated conference contenders: Oregon, Indiana, Penn State, Miami, Pittsburgh, Iowa State, BYU

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

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

Big 12 letdowns: Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas

Probably have to win out to have a chance to make the CFP: LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss, Illinois, Notre Dame

Group of Five playoff contenders: Boise State, (still probably) UNLV, Army 

Could make a nice bowl game but don’t know about much else: Arizona State, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Duke, Wisconsin

Will have a chance to make a bowl game at least: Rutgers, Michigan, Washington, USC, Cal, Minnesota, Michigan State, TCU, South Carolina, West Virginia, NC State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Stanford,  Kentucky, Boston College, Oklahoma, Florida, Maryland, Baylor

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

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