The Eleven Warriors Web Report comes to you weekly from the Spectrum Sports studios in downtown Columbus, featuring our own Beau Bishop and Dan Hope along with former Buckeye linebacker Joshua Perry.
Ohio State is 6-0 and ranked as the No. 3 team in the country, yet after a 49-26 win over Indiana in which the Buckeyes struggled to pull away from the Hoosiers, much of the discussion among Ohio State fans has been focused on the team's faults over the past few days.
Is it fair to hold a team to such a high standard that a 23-point victory for a team that remains unbeaten can be considered a disappointment? Our panel discussed that question this week, and Perry – who lived through those expectations – believes it is.
"It ain't for everybody," Perry said. "Winning's not for everybody, being successful's not for everybody. So I think it is appropriate. But we do have to understand that we're dealing with young people here, we're dealing with actual humans here, so there's a certain level of 'Hey, you guys should be doing better,' but not to get disrespectful. But this team obviously, they have a way to go, and we know that they have so much more improvement, they've got so much left in the tank."
Ohio State is being compared against the likes of Alabama, and other teams like Clemson and Georgia that could be its top competition for a national championship, and if the Buckeyes are going to ultimately come out on top, they do have to play better – specifically on defense – than they have so far this season. But Hope also thinks it's important not to lose perspective of the fact that the Buckeyes have done what they've needed to do so far this season – winning all of their games – and are one of the best teams in college football.
"There's no question they need to get better, and there's a lot of things that they need to work on, but we still don't want to lose perspective of the fact that they have won every game, they're doing better than they did last year and they still have all their goals in front of them," Hope said.
Watch the video above to hear the rest of Bishop, Hope and Perry's discussion, and for further discussion on how the Buckeyes have performed so far and what they still need to do better, watch the Eleven Warriors Report on Spectrum Sports Mid-Ohio, premiering at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
