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Defense wins championships. This is known; the type of conventional wisdom that every fan has heard since they were old enough to understand the difference between offense and defense, and by and large stands up to scrutiny.
Sadly for Ohio State fans last season, the Buckeyes barely had a defense, or least one you might call moderately competent while keeping a straight face. That glaring inability to stop a stiff east breeze kept the local team from making a third-consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff thanks to humbling losses to Oregon and That Team Up North.
Jim Knowles, the new "Head Coach of the Defense," knows he doesn't have four years to remake the beleaguered Silver Bullets, but in reality he doesn't need four years. He probably has enough talent to get the defense up to scratch, and there is little doubt his scheme, system and teaching of fundamentals should propel Ohio State back into a place where being even half as bad as they were last year should be sufficient for the nation's best offense to get the job done.
In this episode will talk about what Knowles said about the defense this week, as well as what the numbers tell us about the opportunity to get the Buckeyes back to the mountaintop. We'll also revel in the joyous news that Jim Harbaugh will not be heading to the NFL after all (because nobody likes him that much, it seems), but that both of his coordinators bolted at the first opportunity.
Plus, Ask Us Anything (which, as always, you can do by emailing us at dubcast@elevenwarriors.com) asks what we stock up on when winter storms, blizzards or other acts of god threaten to keep us shut indoors for a few days.
RUN OF THE SHOW
0:00 Ohio Stadium will celebrate its 100th season by getting a turf makeover. Like most things in Ohio State's creative aesthetic, it is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
06:40 Jim Knowles knows he can't take too long to get Ohio State's defense back on track, but so far he's saying all the right things about how he's going to get the job done.
18:20 While the offseason is going pretty well for the Buckeyes, this is not the case for That Team Up North! In the best of all possible outcomes, Jim Harbaugh was not offered an NFL job despite a month-long flirtation, but both of his highly-regarded coordinators have bolted for greener pastures. *maniacal laugh*
31:50 One guy who isn't going anywhere any time soon is Ryan Day.
35:30 Sevyn Banks is in the transfer portal.
37:20 The Buckeye basketball team whipped up on Maryland, and E.J. Liddell looks every bit a player-of-the-year type of guy. Plus, Zed Key and Justin Ahrens are back!
45:35 Ask us anything! When the snow and ice hits our doorstep, what do we stock up on with reckless abandon? Ramen and Bourbon, anyone?
55:05 Quick Cals: This is the weirdest timeline in college football history... Jimbo Fisher fights SlicedBread and Tito's Handmade Vodka strokes and eight-figure check to Texas.
And that'll do it! Thanks as always to Travis for the cool, cool logo, thanks to you for listening and checking out the Dry Goods store, and we'll see you next week!
