LovingBuckeye

Yeah, I agree that he needs to play better in big games. Having a second off season being coached by Ryan Day and a legit NFL level OC leads me to believe he'll do just that. There isn't a returning QB in the country that I would put ahead of Julian Sayin though.

I appreciate the respectful banter. Please let me try to address each of your points 1. Ohio State had the #5 transfer portal class per 247Sports. They actually had a higher per transfer average than the #1 team LSU (88.24 TO 88.08) Here is our top incoming transfers (per 247sports) 1. James Smith - DT, Alabama (4*, .9600) 2. Hunter Welcing - TE, Northwestern (4*, .9300) 3. Qua Russaw - Edge, Alabama (4*, .9300) 4. Earl Little Jr - S, Florida State (4*, .9300 5. Trey Moore - S, Duke (4*, .9000) 6. Dominick Kelly - CB, Georgia (4*, .8900) 7. Christian Alliegro - LB, Wisconsin (3*, .8800) 2. "Sayin shouldn't have been a Heisman contender" - Well he was and was one of the most accurate QBs in the history of the sport, including beating Texas in his first ever start 3. As far as cornerbacks go, Ohio State should be even better with another year of Jermaine Matthews Jr, and former 5* recruit (from Texas) Devin Sanchez. Ohio State returns one starting safety in Jaylen McClain, but obviously lost all world Caleb Downs. Matt Patricia is hoping they addressed that as well as he possibly can through the portal with Earl Little Jr & Trey Moore.

It's just my opinion, but here are my reasons Offensively - Ohio State returns their Heisman finalist QB. For the first time in four years Ryan Day gets a second year with a QB - Ohio State returns their top two running backs (both were true freshman last season) - Ohio State returns 4/5 starting offensive lineman - Ohio State returns their #1 & #3 wide receivers, which include the best WR in the country - Ohio State is deep at TE - Ohio State has a massive upgrade at offensive coordinator Defensively - This is year 2 in Matt Patricia's scheme - Ohio State's LB room is probably the best unit on the entire team - Ohio State returns their #2 & #3 CB's from last season, and one of their starting safeties - Based on Ohio State (& Larry Johnson's history) the losses on the defensive line don't worry me. They added a lot of talent from the portal - Historically, Ohio State always has a top tier defense Special teams - Ohio State has a special teams coach for the first time in several years, before this, it was just Ryan Day trying to coach special teams - Ohio State added an all conference kicker in the portal. Kicker has been a weak spot for the Buckeyes for what seems like a decade now

IU is very much in the conversation for best team in the country. They probably have the #1 WR corp, which pains me to say as a Buckeye, and possibly the top coaching staff in the country. Hoover is going to crush it in Bloomington

Right. If Arch takes that next step in his development, it's probably game over for the rest of CFB. I have my doubts

It's almost like the B1G has been dominating the sport on the field to earn that

Not that anybody here cares, but my T5 would be 1. Ohio State 2. Notre Dame 3. Indiana 4. Texas 5. Oregon I don't buy Georgia at all as a T5 team. Not to anybody's surprise but I think 2-5 are pretty interchangeable, but I think Ohio State is clearly #1

The B1G is better at the top and middle than the SEC. Playing Arkansas, Mississippi State, etc isn't going to impact you guys

If the decision were up to me, I would want - 16 team playoff T8 seeds host first round on campus Top 15 ranked teams + highest ranked G5 team *Undecided on how I feel about conference championships, I could be swayed either way* I personally think 12 is the perfect number, but I hate that the T4 seeds don't get home games and that the long layoff has such a negative effect on seeds 1-4

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame is my prediction In my opinion, the only teams that can realistically win a national championship this season are - Texas - Ohio State - Notre Dame - Indiana - Oregon

Bill Connelly has Michigan as the better team entering the season than Tennessee, Ole Miss, Florida, & Missouri. SP+ has Iowa as one of the 25 best teams in college football, ahead of Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Utah, etc. As for Texas State & UTSA - SP+ has Texas State as the 89th best team in the country, behind teams like Hawaii & Old Dominion. SP+ has UTSA as the #73 team in the country, just behind North Dakota State and San Diego State If you take each other out of the others' schedule, this would be the ranking of teams that Ohio State & Texas play #2 Oregon #5 Indiana #9 Texas A&M #10 LSU #12 Oklahoma #13 USC #14 Michigan #15 Tennessee #16 Ole Miss #19 Florida #20 Missouri #22 Iowa #33 Illinois #37 Nebraska #47 Arkansas #49 Northwestern #52 Mississippi State #55 Maryland #73 UTSA #89 Texas State #128 Kent State #134 Ball State

You don't need to worry about Ohio State's schedule @ Texas (#6) @ Indiana (#5) vs Illinois (#33) @ USC (#13) vs Oregon (#2) @ Nebraska (#37) @ Iowa (#22) vs Michigan (#14) This is about fans wanting their programs (there are Ohio State fans like this as well) to schedule Ball State, Texas State, & UTSA as their OOC opponents to make it as easy as possible because they can't make a freaking 12 team playoff without it being hand fed to them.

I'm not trying to alienate myself, you guys have all been very kind to me, and I can't wait to make it down there in a few months. However, despite what BC said, I don't think this schedule is very tough at all, outside of the one B1G team that you play.

"Arthur Smith is the opposite of what y'all's team wants" Obviously this isn't true or Ryan Day would not have hired him. It is also not cope, I have watched every single snap of Ohio State football since 1998. Hartline is the best WR recruiter in the history of the sport, Hartline is one of the best WR coaches in the history of the sport. Brian Hartline was an inexperienced offensive coordinator who struggled with play calling. If you want to say that Ohio State's WR recruiting will dip in the future, that might be true. If you want to say Ohio State's WR's won't be as well coached in the future, that might be true. Ohio State's offensive identity and play calling will be much better under Arthur Smith.

It's a 12 team playoff brother, how much help do you need to make the playoff lol

Texas is also a different team this season, with an ELITE WR corp. It doesn't mean Ohio State can beat Texas three straight years, but Ohio State's coaching staff is better this season without Hartline than it was last season with Hartline. That is because there is no more experimenting with Hartline as offensive coordinator. Now we have a legit NFL OC running the offense. Again, that doesn't mean we will beat Texas, but in the long run Ohio State is in a better position (coaching wise) this season than they were last season.

I like to think that I am looking at it from a "blue blood" perspective, of which Texas is included. No true blueblood looks for an excuse to schedule weak opponents. I understand why Indiana, and Ole Miss, and Texas Tech would do it. There is no excuse for Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, or Alabama to do it. Even if the playoff committee gives you an easy out.

100% I wish Ohio State played 3 powerhouses in their OOC schedule every year. As a consumer, I want to be entertained and get my money's worth

I don't blame the selection committee for having two G5 teams. I blame the ACC and their completely idiotic tiebreakers for that. I personally strongly support 1 G5 team (unless a 2nd one truly earns it) being included in the playoffs every season.

I agree, I just hope as a consumer, Ohio State doesn't follow that trend. In a soon to be 16+ playoff, it's pathetic in my opinion if you use the committee as an excuse to schedule weak OOC opponents. The next five years (as of now, could change) Ohio State has - @Texas - vs Alabama - @ Alabama - vs Georgia - @ Georgia

Ohio State played Texas last season, didn't hurt us at all 😉 I just prefer for Ohio State to schedule the best competition as much as possible. How miserable would this sport be if everyone ducked each other?

Bro, you are Texas. You shouldn't be afraid of anybody.

I am a huge believe in analytics when it comes to CFB rankings. SP+, F+, FEI, FPI, etc. I knew Ohio State's schedule was tough, I didn't realize how tough Texas' was. Personally, looking at Texas' schedule, I'm surprised it is rated as the hardest. There's a good chance most of those teams (Tennessee, Florida, LSU) are 7-5 teams at the end of the season, with others being below .500

Hey all, I plan on coming down to your beautiful city & campus in September for the Ohio State @ Texas monster clash. Maybe my google skills just stink, but I'm getting conflicting information. Can you please let me know which section(s) are typically the away sections?

Fans will overreact to anything on social media. They shouldn't be taken seriously. In reality, the SEC will still dominate baseball, softball, and women's basketball. The parity in CFB and men's basketball is here to stay though.