Penn State gave Ohio State a little bit more trouble than we expected, which raised some concerns about the Buckeyes’ national championship hopes even though there was still plenty to like.
Most importantly, Ohio State found a way to beat Penn State for the sixth year in a row, earning a 44-31 win in a series that has been decided by 13 points or fewer in seven straight seasons. J.T. Tuimoloau and Marvin Harrison Jr. were both spectacular, and the Buckeyes improved to 8-0 with the win, setting them up to earn the No. 2 spot in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.
The Buckeyes faced more adversity against Penn State than they had all year, though, as they needed a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Nittany Lions. Against the best competition Ohio State had faced all season, the Buckeyes’ imperfections were on display as both their rushing offense and passing defense struggled.
We discuss all of that on this week’s show along with previewing this week’s game against Northwestern and sharing our takeaways from Ohio State men’s basketball’s exhibition game against Chaminade.
The rundown of topics discussed this week:
- 0:17: The win didn’t come easy for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes showed how quickly they can turn a game around
- 7:38: Marvin Harrison Jr. makes his case for being the best wide receiver in the country
- 11:50: The rise of Farmer Gronk continues
- 14:17: Ohio State’s run game struggles for a second straight game, making it a concern that can’t be ignored
- 18:09: Why the Buckeyes’ passing defense remains their biggest question mark
- 24:55: Ryan Day draws scrutiny for play calling, leaving points on the table at end of the first half
- 30:51: Injuries to key players made a bigger impact against tougher competition
- 34:09: J.T. Tuimoloau had one of the best individual defensive performances we’ve ever seen
- 37:26: The last two weeks showed Ohio State has more than just one “alpha dog” on the defensive line
- 40:07: Ohio State should blow out Northwestern because Northwestern is really bad
- 44:36: The Buckeyes’ No. 2 ranking shows how much they’ve impressed the CFP selection committee so far
- 48:02: Why we both think Tennessee can beat Georgia this weekend
- 50:26: Could we see an upset in Alabama at LSU or Clemson at Notre Dame?
- 54:28: Biggest takeaways from the Ohio State men’s basketball exhibition game
You can listen to Real Pod Wednesdays in the audio player above or on various podcast streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.
