Buckeye Talk: Ohio State Podcast By Cleveland.com

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season are out putting Ohio State in a favorable place. For just the second time in the playoff era, the Buckeyes debuted in the No. 1 spot followed by Georgia, Michigan and Florida State. On this Wednesday Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird breakdown what that means going forward. Then Andrew Gillis joins in as the trio to react to everything Ryan Day and Jim Knowles said as OSU prepares to face Rutgers on Saturday. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's another recruiting conversation on Buckeye Talk with this episode featuring a conversation about Ohio State five-star commit Justin Scott. Andrew Gillis went to go watch the nation's No. 12 player and No. 3 defensive linemen last Friday to get an idea of how he fits in the defensive line room and how he ended up committing to the Buckeyes in the first place. After that, he and Stephen Means take a look at the future of the defensive tackle position at Ohio State knowing that there's a chance that the top three players in the hierarchy could all be gone after this season. Is the interior of Larry Johnson's defensive line room in good hands? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State improved to 8-0 following a 24-10 win over Wisconsin, but not all the members of Buckeye Talk were there to see it live. Stephen Means had a wedding to go to so the rewatch served as more of an initial reaction to the 14-point win. Stephen had a lot of those. Then again so did Nathan Baird who was getting to see it a second time: First, the two look back on what might've been the best game of TreVeyon Henerson's career; Then they breakdown the rest of the offense which includes a short conversation on Marvin Harrison Jr.'s Heisman Trophy case; The second segment is an almost 40-minute-long discussion about yet another dominant performance by a defense that has still yet to give up more than 17 points; Closing things out is a discussion about Kyle McCord's most fatal flaw that continues to an issue, but also on just how healthy the first-year starting quarterback is. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TreVeyon Henderson returned and responded with his best game of the season. The Buckeye defense continue to roller over Big Ten opponents. Ohio State won 24-10 at Wisconsin in what may have been the final major test until it heads north to face Michigan in the regular-season finale. Nathan and Andrew take a quick run through the highlights in this postgame pod from the road. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State's next game is probably the closest thing on the schedule that resembles the idea of a trap game. OSU is coming off a hard-fought, emotional win over a top-10-ranked Penn State team and now will head on the road for a night game against a Big Ten West opponent. Wisconsin comes into Saturday night’s game with a 5-2 record in the first year under long-long Buckeye Luke Fickell looking to put up a better fight than the first time he faced his alma mater in 2019 as Cincinnati’s head coach. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis use this Fridau episode of Buckeye Talk to preview Ohio State’s Week 9 opponent and whether it can shut down another quality Big Ten running back in Braelon Allen. The Tyler Shoemaker joins the pod as usual to provide some of the best bets of the week both in relation to OSU and around the country. That includes whether or not to continue hammering home the point that maybe Las Vegas is a little too low on tight end Cade Stover’s production. Then Nathan and Andrew rejoin

Marvin Harrison Jr. has picked up where he left off last season as clearly the nation's best wide receiver but can Ohio State's best weapon take it a step further? The Heisman Trophy field still seems to be wide open and Harrison is coming off yet another dominant performance against a Penn State team that arguably has the nation's best defense. He could not only be building his case to win a Fred Biletnikoff Award that some felt he deserved last year but also be in contention for college football's most prestigious award. Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis use this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk to explore how realistic his chances are of being a finalist and what the path looks like over the next month to make that happen. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michigan became the biggest topic of conversation late last week, but Ohio State d coach Ryan Day didn’t have to deal with discussing it until after getting a chance to celebrate a 20-12 win over Penn State, Then Tuesday hit and even he knew that his thoughts on what was going on with the Wolverines was going to be the first thing everyone wanted to know. He didn’t take the bait instead declining to comment. Is that the right way for him to go about this as OSU continues its 2023 season knowing its rival awaits it at the end of the year? Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis use this Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk to discuss, whether Day plans to still use the red zone package without Devin Brown, the injury status of a few key plays and much more. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis look back at Ohio State's big recruiting weekend. Then after the break they discuss some recent recruits and targets Andrew got to see in person one what is one of the more high-profile games in Northeast Ohio High School football. To close things out, they preview a trip to Chicago where Andrew Gillis will visit with five-star commit Justin Scott. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Monday Buckeye Talk means another chance to break down an Ohio State win with Penn State being the victim this time. Stephen Means and Nathan Baird break down the Buckeyes' 20-12 win over the Nittany Lions looking at the dominance of the defense, the pros and cons of the offense and two underrated special teams moments that may have decided the game. OSU's offense will surely need to keep improving over the next four games before Nov. 27. But did the defensive play potentially provide a blueprint for how it can snap its two-game losing streak to Michigan? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State just got its second big win of the season beating Penn State at home 20-12 and it did so on the back of its defense. On this postgame Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss whether OSU’s defense has reached the point that it can be the catalyst behind the reason this team can win a national title. Plus a conversation about McCord’s continued progression including one major deficiency that keeps popping up even if it has yet to be costly. All that and more on this postgame episode. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State's second big game of the season has arrived with a top-10 matchup with Penn State on the docket. That means a packed episode of Buckeye Talk: First Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis react to the latest trouble OSU's rival Michigan finds itself in; Then they discuss the game at hand; Stephen is then joined by PennLive.com's Johnny McGonigal to get an inside look at the Nittany Lins; Then as always, Tyler Shoemaker provides his insight from a betting perspective on a game expected to be a rock fight where the defenses control the pace; Then Stephen, Nathan and Andrew wrap things up with their game picks plus a discussion on who a win would mean more for. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk, the crew gets back to their roots while discussing Ohio State's upcoming top-10 matchup with Penn State. It's been a while since the podcast has had an episode go for almost two hours but a game with significant Big Ten and College Football Playoff implications makes it well worth it. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss Saturday's game using six simple questions that sum up everything that will matter: Should Ohio State still be trying to redshirt Dallan Hayden given the state of the running back room? How ready is Kyle McCord for his second big game as starting quarterback? What's the best unit between OSU's offense and defense and PSU's offense and defense? What's the most important positional matchup in deciding who will win the game? Who is an Ohio State offensive and defensive player who can use this game to make a name for himself? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis react to the comments from Ohio State's head coach Ryan Day and Jim Knowles as OSU prepares to face Penn State. Among the things discussed: Should Ohio State still be trying to redshirt Dallan Hayden given the state of the running back room? How ready is Kyle McCord for his second big game as starting quarterback? Could Jermaine Mathews step up as a freshman cornerback if Denzel Burke can't play? Is there a rotation forming at Will linebacker? Plus much more. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State spent last weekend retooling its secondary for the future, but it also brings up a question of what that future will look like. On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis take a look at the commitments of 2024 safety Leroy Roker and 2025 cornerback Blake Woodby. The two additions may paint a of picture of how different the two parts of OSU’s secondary recruiting have gone. Tim Walton has gotten off to a hot start on the recruiting trail, fueled mostly by an uptick in in-state talent. But landing Woodby proved his ability to go national with his efforts as the fifth top-100 recruit he’s landed despite this being only his second year on the staff. Perry Eliano was brought in as a young coach with a potentially high upside both as a developer and a recruiter. The development has been there as his starting trio of Josh Proctor, Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles have played at a high level this year. He even has freshman Malik Hartford ahead of schedule as a guy on pace to win

On this Monday Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird look back at Ohio State's 41-7 win over Purdue. Among the things discussed: A review of OSU's first game on Peacock; Was that Kyle McCord's best game as QB1?; Did the offensive line finally show progress; An uncharacteristic day by Marvin Harrison Jr. and the wide receivers; How the Buckeyes could deploy the cornerbacks if Denzel Burke can't play; The uptick in defensive line production Plus plenty more as Ohio State turns its attention toward preparing for a top 10 matchup with Penn State. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State got out of Purdue still undefeated. Now it can shift all of its focus solely on a top-10 matchup with Penn State. But its 41-7 win over the Boilermakers still provides some interesting topics to discuss that might matter down the road. The Buckeye debut a new role for backup quarterback Devin Brown in the form of a red zone pack that can help fix the problems in the run game; Once again Dallan Hayden was called upon to be the guy as the running back room continued to deal with injuries. Do they need to forget trying to redshirt him and give him a real role? Did OSU show enough to let you feel confident in what they'll perform like next Satuday. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis discuss that and more on this postgame episode. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State heads into its sixth game of the season on Saturday in the form of a road matchup against Purdue streaming exclusively on Peacock. Every game provides a chance for some element of the Buckeyes' team to prove itself and often you look at the roster to find such. But is there an argument to be made that no one has more to show than the coaches, especially those on offense as OSU tries to figure out how to improve a limited offensive line? Perhaps a trip to West Lafayette, Indiana, a place that has been known to be a death trap for Ohio State provides the perfect environment to do such before heading into a top-10 matchup next week. After a lofty discussion, Stephen again kicks Nathan and Andrew off the pod to bring in Tyler Shoemaker to discuss the best bets in a game where OSU is a 19-point favorite. Then Nathan and Andrew return as the two join Stephen in making their game picks. Lastly, Nathan takes us down memory lane of his days covering Purdue as the only one of the trio who covered the game th

On this Thursday episode of Buckeye Talk, the guys take a trip into the future by bringing the new 12-team College Football Playoff into the present. The expanded playoff will start next season which will bring along with it a different path to a national title. For a program like Ohio State that has constantly been in the playoff discussion even in years where it's been on the outside looking in, the expansion should change the conversation a bit. The Buckeyes will more than likely no longer be so concerned about its chances of playing in the postseason. So how does that impact the way we talk about them on a weekly basis? Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis try to take a run at what that would look like evaluating OSU's 2023 season through five games as a way to get ready for a change that's right around the corner. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Day and Jim Knowles spent Tuesday's presser in preparation for Ohio State's matchup with Purdue providing plenty of things to talk about. Stephen Means, Nathan Baird and Andrew Gillis use a Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk to discuss all of it. That starts with a conversation about whether OSU needs Emeka Egbuka on Saturday after the star wide receiver left a win over Maryland with an injury. Then we discuss Day revealing why Dallan Hayden has had practically no role this season and why that may be a good thing for OSU's future. But the bulk of the discussion is centered around the ongoing issues on the offensive line as the most prominent thing about the 2023 roster. Does Ryan Day think things can get better, or will it one day be the downfall of the season? Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Tuesday episode of Buckeye Talk, Stephen Means and Andrew Gillis discuss the latest Oho State recruiting updates centered on the most recent addition to the 2025 class. The Buckeyes added Jayvan Boggs as a three-star recruit who could be the latest example of Brian Hartline getting in on a wide receiver early. Then Andrew breaks down his impressions of offensive tackle target Carter Lowe and what the four-star recruits think of the Buckeyes. Finally, Stephen and Andrew give their impressions of OSU’s first big visitor weekend of the fall. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices