Willyville Guy

Gotta say that I’ve *almost* completely come around on Knowles, but I still need to see it in The Game.

They were right there — two special teams goofs made this game look worse than it was. Thanks goodness for Caleb Downs 🙏

Welco❌e to hate week. Beat that tea❌ up north.

Say what you will about Ryan Day as a coach, but he understands the human/family side of college football.

Dave Biddle and Jonah Booker had an interesting discussion about the defense this past week on the Bucknuts Morning 5. They said after the Oregon game (and public criticism from Saban), Ryan Day made it clear that Jim Knowles is completely in charge of the defense--including LJ's line--and that's that. Since then that side of the ball seems to be much improved. Penn State said the defense did some exotic things up front in that game that were not on tape. Yesterday's shutout is obviously positive. Hopefully the defense continues this trend through November, December, and into January (please). It could also be an indicator that LJ is coming to the end of his time in Cbus.

What a game — go bucks.

Franklin has to be thinking that this is finally his moment.

Finkes had a harsh assessment of the atmosphere yesterday.

At least the defense looked good? 😭

We are ground up and in the freezer!

Pain. Tough loss on the road against a very good Oregon team in a wild environment, and a game with a bunch of weird bounces that was still there to be won at the end. OSU will likely still be in the playoff and may get a shot at redemption in Indy -- and if it happens I think they probably win based on what I saw last night. Still, wtf. I'm seeing nothing great from Knowles or LJ, and now I'm wondering once again if those two are on the same page. Burke is the only player on the roster who talks smack outside of games, and he got absolutely targeted and torched. Clock management at the end was obviously bad -- although I'm not sure why 12 men on the field before the snap isn't a dead-ball penalty? Day moving to 2-6 against top 5 teams.... Lots of questions, but the team is still stacked and this train rolls on. Go Bucks.

#2 v #3 LFG!!

It‘s rare for a true freshman to get this much playing time at a skill position. Clarett is the last one I can recall.

Feeling pretty good heading into conference play. The offense looks absolutely explosive. Judkins seems as great as advertised -- runs like an animal between the tackles and has the speed to break away. Last week he reminded me of Clarett or late-2019 Dobbins. Henderson looks great in space and seems to be running a little harder this year than maybe we've seen in the past. The counter he took to the house last week was a thing of beauty. The new OC is definitely making his mark on the run game. OL seems to be improving week to week - still need to get the right side situated. And then these receivers.... The defense looks good to me too, although I don't understand why they still don't get sacks or interceptions in Knowles's third year. It's been pretty vanilla so far and maybe they have more looks coming as the season goes on, but I feel like we should be seeing more big plays with the talent on that side of the ball. Tyliek being out last week had a bigger impact than I expected -- he's critical. Ransom is a stud. I haven't heard Downs's name called very often, but it seems like he's holding down the entire back end by himself so that Ransom can be a heat-seeking missile out there. BEAT SPARTY

Juuust a bit outside.

Did they really just show alltime sack leaders without listing Bruce's 200?

White tops blue pants are so F'ing back.

Frye is under pressure, and the group needs to improve. Pass blocking looked good though… against Akron.

Good start overall against Akron. Defense looked great. Studs at every level. Tyleik Williams looks enormous out there lmao. Tuimoloau and Downs combined on a sack. Burke had a nice pick. Ransom was laying lumber all game. Styles looks great at LB. And Cody Simon didn’t even play. The offense sputtered out of the gate with drops and penalties, but they figured it out over the course of the game. I feel good about Will Howard after yesterday. The throws were accurate, he looked big and fast and smart on the runs, and he seemed relaxed and confident. The OL did not get the push I was expecting to see against Akron, and Day made all of the starters stay in there even after the score was out of hand. We’ll keep an eye on that situation. It’s clear that the plan for the running game is to use Judkins as a sledgehammer and create space for Henderson – yes please. In the passing game, it seemed to me like the deeper routes that took longer to develop were working better than Chip Kelly’s short stuff, but we’ll see. Oh, and 18-year old true freshman Jeremiah Smith had 6 catches for 96 yards and 2 TDs to kick off his Heisman campaign first season as a Buckeye. Looked like a beautiful day in the Shoe! Best thing about being 1-0…. EDIT: Forgot to mention that Egbuka got robbed on that 1st quarter TD review.

Ryan Day has required his QBs to "throw guys open" since he got here. I'd bet that came directly from Chip based on the radio comment this morning.

I’m about ready for a hype video.

I agree that I don't know how great Downs can be. I do remember how badly the Buckeyes wanted him coming out of high school, and it looked like he was going to choose OSU, but then Saban worked his magic and there was nothing our guys could do. Word among the beat reporters is that he's shockingly smart and tough, and there is talk of using him on both sides of the ball. I cannot remember a more highly regarded safety tandem than Downs and Latham Ransom heading into a season. Can't wait to watch them play. As for Bama, I would think the machine that is already in place, the depth on the roster, and the university's commitment to the football program will keep them in the hunt for at least a few years post-Saban.

I-O baby! Roster looking absolutely stacked, and once again we're heading into the season with a QB that most of us haven't seen play. I hope Will Howard can run this offense efficiently, because if he can... look out!