THE SITUATIONAL: Murder Ballad

We're a little too familiar with the horror inflicted by Sparty on the Buckeyes in the early 1970s, 1998, 2013 and 2015. No single act of vengeance can make up for any of those crimes.

Which is a shame, because East Lansing has overdelivered for the Buckeyes going back to the days when Jim Tressel still had brown hair. Did you realize Ohio State won its 10th straight at MSU on Saturday? Ten in a row? Up there?

Forget about 10 in a row: Ohio State is +100 in points in Spartan Stadium just since Ryan Day took over for Urban. That was three games ago. The Buckeyes don't treat anyone this rudely.

Maybe you're old enough to remember Teddy Ginn returning a punt, running an end around and ultimately catching a seam route from high school teammate Troy Smith for three touchdowns up there in 2004. Jeremiah Smith wasn't even conceived when that game was played. That's how long this has been going on. Also, hahaha you're old.

An erotic mix of humiliation and heartbreak with nothing but everlasting sadness for a program located in a state which only deserves the absolute worst of everything in sports. Think about it - Michigan State's golden era is tucked into this Ohio State run.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes lost five times in West Lafayette this century. Sparty has three B1G titles during this stretch. Purdue has none. College football cannot be explained by science or religion, which is why it remains perfect.

Do you know whose most recent conference title was that same year as the Ginn trifecta which started the current streak? Hint: They visit the Horseshoe on Saturday. Alright, let's get Situational -

OPENER | NO STUPID QUESTIONS

Jordan Hancock strips the ball from Michigan State tight end Jack Velling during the 2nd quarter at Spartan Stadium Sept. 28, 2024. © Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Speaking of 10 in a row, Will Howard completed his first nine on Saturday night as the Buckeyes came out looking to loosen up whatever Michigan State nicknames its defense these days.

Alas, his tenth fell incomplete, denying him from achieving what's still known around Columbus as a Tate Martell. A few attempts later he threw right into double-coverage and got picked off, sending Ohio State fans - already deep into their emotions over having to sign up for yet another Peacock trial - into an emotional breakdown.

The fan response signaled we still haven't quite adjusted to how Day operates in 2024. Howard made one bad decision and then after that performed admirably until he and the other starters played themselves into taking the 4th quarter off for the fourth straight game. It didn't matter a bit. Nice inconsequential lesson and rebound.

Sixteen of Ohio State's first 23 snaps were passes because Chip Kelly was intent on attacking Sparty vertically to get them breathing heavy before running them over with an inexhaustible and creative rushing attack.

This offense is methodical and at this point you should think about how concerned everyone was *points at self* about the offensive line's condition entering this season. Kelly's unit is near the top of the FBS in every meaningful statistic. Its weakest element is still pretty good.

Sustainability, explosiveness and it looks great on television. As for the other side of the ball, it might feel stubborn but this isn't feelingsball. Here, look at these dudes:

Nothing random about the guys listed. Tyliek Williams hasn't played in two weeks because Ohio State hasn't needed him. Jim Knowles wisely used the opportunity to develop some bench talent. This kind of thing didn't happen as recently as last year.

You're probably old enough to remember Tommy Eichenberg playing with no hands in 2022 and one arm in 2023. Cade Stover was too injured to block and couldn't buy his way to a week off. Both units were really bad at building trust and developing options. The first third of this season has been different.

Hero Kanu got the start against Marshall in Williams' place and underperformed. In East Lansing, Kanu received half the snaps he received a week earlier and the Buckeyes showed some formations which a) only included three down linemen along with b) a five-lineman double eagle package that featured just one down lineman and four edge rushers. Stubborn? You're not looking close enough.

JIM KNOWLES' DEFENSE IS staying fresh WHILE improving the quality of its depth - and still delivering terrific, single-digit outcomes.

Knowles deployed some flexibility against an opponent OSU knew it could beat a dozen different ways. Sparty only had one path to victory, which was everything going its way for 60 minutes and the Buckeyes falling apart. Those are bad odds.

The most fan consternation was toward Sonny Styles playing a defense-high 42 snaps in a lot of three-linebacker formations, which can take Jordan Hancock off the field. Hancock got 39 fewer snaps (!) over the weekend than he had against Marshall.

Reducing his workload in a blowout was a welcome development. Meanwhile, Sonny didn't seem to know where he was half the time but was receiving live snaps to close his gaps faster. After Jeremiah Smith called game in the 1st half and demoralized everyone wearing green, Knowles turned the evening into a development session.

Jim Knowles on Sonny Styles:

"Very pleased with Sonny," he said.

If there are times Styles is out of position, Knowles said that "goes back to me, training and coaching." He added that if a player makes a good play, it's on them; if a player makes a bad play, it's on him.

— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) October 1, 2024

Hancock doesn't need extra snaps - Ohio State needs him for what is scheduled to be 12 more football games, an entire season remaining to play. What he and other stars need is efficient preservation, especially with safety depth a rare unpleasant topic for this team.

Knowles' defense is 20th nationally in sacks and third in rushing defense. It's allowing under seven points a game while nearly playing its entire bench. No defense is allowing less than Ohio State's, even if it looks vulnerable in spurts.

It's simultaneously staying fresh and improving the quality of its depth while still delivering terrific, single-digit outcomes. Imagine being disappointed with that.

INTERMISSION

The Solo

The last time we had to tolerate the unforgivable phrase Defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines it was following the 1997 season. This year, intermissions will pay homage to that cursed year's Billboard Hot 100.

We've arrived at the Bird section of the schedule with Hawkeyes visiting on Saturday and a trip to see Ducks a week later. The rest of the schedule and probably the postseason is bird-less, which means this week is appropriate for Seal's cover of The Steve Miller Band's 1977 hit Fly Like an Eagle.

Recorded for the Space Jam soundtrack, it contains an interlude Entertainment Weekly described as, "ethereal synthesizer squiggles." Let's answer our two questions.

Is the musician in the video actually playing the synthesizer?

Keyboards were handled by D'Angelo, no relation to the former Ohio State basketball standout currently with the Lakers or the actress who played Chevy Chase's wife in the Vacation movies, shout out to Upper Arlington.

D'Angelo does not appear in this video, but Elmer Fudd does. You can see him dunking a basketball over a bunch of aliens while calling his own fouls. Classic Fudd. Vintage Fudd. In 1997 we achieved Peak Fudd. VERDICT: No, conclusive.

do these ethereal synthesizer squiggles slap?

True story, last summer I found myself sitting directly behind Seal at the US Open (tennis) and didn't have the foresight to introduce myself and pick his brain about Space Jam, Heidi Klum, Steve Miller (musician), Fudd as Christ figure, Newman from Seinfeld, Steve Miller (former Buckeye defensive end) or how gratifying it must have been to lend his vocals to a Michael Jordan passion project.

Life is a series of regrets. And time keeps on slipping into the future. VERDICT: Slaps.

The Bourbon

There is a bourbon for every situation. Sometimes the spirits and the events overlap, which means that where bourbon is concerned there can be more than one worthy choice.

Cardhu Gold Reserve. In heaven there is no beer.

Iowa is led by the dean of B1G football coaches, and the Hawkeyes are known for being steady and precisely good enough to never be great. There's honor in being consistently respectable and boring. There's also a bourbon for that.

But this isn't it. Iowa visiting felt like the right opportunity to go single-malt and pay proper homage to a one-dimensional tepid powerhouse. Therefore, we honor the black and gold with Cardhu Gold Reserve single malt.

I'm aware there is a Game of Thrones-edition from this distillery - this isn't it. I've also never seen more than 30 seconds of that series. Everything I know about Game of Thrones I learned against my will; you see, I retired from Dungeons & Dragons right around the time puberty hit me like 40-ton steel press in the twilight of the Earle Bruce era and I haven't had the energy or attention span for that stuff ever since.

CGR is a Speyside single malt - Speysides in my view come the closest to American bourbon on account of their fruitiness. Scotch haters are generally repelled by the peatiness; Islays, from the opposite side of the island, are the real peaty ones. This isn't a Scotch column; the point is if you prefer bourbon then Speyside is likely your most tolerable origin.

Cardhu brings ripe bananas and brown sugar on the nose. Smoked pears on the palate, and then...not much of a finish at all, which should be a preview of Saturday afternoon for the visitors from Iowa City.

Available online. You'll pay more for the House Targaryen edition. The only difference is the bottle.

CLOSER | MURDER BALLAD

Will the Buckeyes be able to consistently move the ball on Iowa's stubborn defense? © Barbara J. Perenic, 2022, © Joseph Maiorana 2023 Imagn Images

Iowa comes to Columbus off of a bye week. It's a strong bet the Hawkeyes spent Saturday night doing what you did - figuring out how to stream Peacock and wondering what Colt McCoy should be doing with his NFL pension instead of attempting color commentary.

Most strategies to outlast the 2024 Buckeyes will include conceding the hard stuff and putting unrelenting energy against the easier stuff. Defensively - and Iowa is always so formidable there - this likely means not wasting resources on Ohio State's receivers and instead committing them to turning Will Howard into Bad Will.

That's the guy who threw the interception into double coverage. Bad Will also threw that bizarre backward pass which TreVeyon Henderson recovered against Akron - don't strain yourself trying to remember that play. That is whom the Hawkeye defense is going to try to keep on the field for as long as possible.

If Iowa is successful and Kelly determines his QB has too many yips in him to continue chucking it - unlikely, but still possible - then he'll deploy more of his rushing attack with Quinveyon Henderkins staying fresh and angry for four quarters.

If Ohio State can keep Iowa starting deep on its own side of the field, the Hawkeyes are going to have a really hard time scoring enough points to stay competitive.

It's not a terrible crisis management strategy. That said, Good Will isn't likely to completely ghost the team on Saturday. He's old. Old guys are notoriously efficient at processing yips.

When the Hawkeyes have the ball, they're going to have no.6 and no.1 in their sights - as those two have been the most vulnerable this season. If Styles is in run support they'll attack him, and if he's covering the son of Ohio State's broadcast color guy, then that's probably where the ball is going. Iowa always the tight end advantage. Probably should have recruited that guy.

Anyway, this means Larry Johnson's unit will have to be the most disruptive version of itself early on and rotate in those backups who have equaled or exceeded the starters' energy. Iowa hasn't gotten 20 1st downs against a Power Five opponent in a game yet this season, and - you'll be shocked to read this - they're not winning with big plays. The Hawkeyes are no.107 nationally in big plays from scrimmage.

Which means field position is going to be consequential on Saturday. Paging Ohio State's special teams, which just came off their best performance since, I don't know, probably 2019? You didn't notice them against Sparty because they were absolutely serviceable. In this era that's a gold star.

If Ohio State can keep Iowa starting deep on its own side of the field, the Hawkeyes are going to have a really hard time scoring enough points to stay competitive.

The Buckeyes have shown they can score quickly (wrecked Marshall while barely having the ball!) or slowly (wrecked Sparty and played keep-away all night) so the home team has far more options and paths to winning this weekend than the visitors do.

SITUATIONAL ARCHIVE The Situational Whiskey Cellar

If Day's special teams can put together two consecutive winning Saturdays and Good Will logs more minutes than Bad Will, it's going to be a fifth consecutive win for his program.

Thanks for getting Situational today. Go Bucks. Beat Iowa.