Buckeye Talk: Ohio State Podcast By Cleveland.com

The season schedule preview has reached maybe the toughest test of 2020 for the Ohio State Buckeyes and their national title hopes -- Oct. 24 at Penn State. On this big Wednesday podcast, Doug Lesmerises is joined by Penn State writer Bob Flounders of PennLive.com for an in-depth look at the Nittany Lions. There's All-American linebacker Micah Parsons on defense, quarterback Sean Clifford on offense and what the future holds for coach James Franklin. Also, what will it mean for this OSU road trip if there aren't fans in the stands at Beaver Stadium, or if the crowd is limited? Then Doug, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means look at the Nittany Lions from the Buckeyes' perspective: -- Could Ohio State lose at Penn State this season and still win the national title? -- Where does Penn State rank among the best programs in the country? The guys debate them in the top seven. -- Is Penn State recruiting at a level that can keep the Nittany Lions competitive with Ohio State? -- And what if Justin Fields had maintained hi

On this Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Stephen Means is back to join Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird in diving into the issues around Ohio State as the guys do some more rapid fire questions. Which Ohio State player could be a sleeper ready to break out this season? Which Buckeye will be missed the most after the 2020 season? What about Kerry Coombs as a potential Ohio State head coach down the line? And what are the best concerts they guys have ever attended? Beyond the quick answers, Doug, Stephen and Nathan talk about the news surrounding Ohio State having its athletes sign a coronavirus pledge before returning for voluntary workouts. What did that say about the relationship between the school and the players, and do the guys agree with that policy? There are some quick discussions and a more in-depth one, and it's all part of another Buckeye Talk. Thanks for listening. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark It Down Monday on Buckeye Talk is about taking a stand on our assessment of Ohio State football. This week’s topic lays out exactly what we expect from one of the Buckeyes’ most important newcomers. Will Ohio State running back Trey Sermon be first team All-Big Ten in 2020? Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird debate the various angles. From potential usage to how he fits in the offense to Sermon's injury history to the other top running backs in the Big Ten Conference, they look at how likely the Oklahoma grad transfer is to succeed J.K. Dobbins as a first-team selection. Then they turn to the Buckeye Talk Subtext subscribers for their collective vote and their reasons why they are optimistic about Sermon's ceiling for 2020 or why they have lingering questions or concerns. If you’re not already a Buckeye Talk Subtext subscriber, text 614-350-3315 for breaking new and analysis and to participate in the polls and include your comments on this daily podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out infor

On this Friday Buckeye Talk podcast from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird are going rapid fire again, answering questions from text subscribers. If you'd like to ask them questions, sign up for a free text trial by texting 614-350-3315. Honestly, it's not all that rapid fire. But there are a lot of questions. Such as: Which Buckeye would it hurt to lose the most if he decided to give up football? As journalists, would Nathan and Doug rather cover success or controversy? Is there any chance Ryan Day leaves for the NFL soon? Who is their favorite non-Buckeye player to cover? Is Ryan Day at the same level as Lincoln Riley as a quarterback whisperer? And who are the top five best recruiting hits for the Buckeyes of the last five years? (We'll get to the five biggest misses on a later podcast). As always, the guys love the questions that texters send. And they hope you'll enjoy hearing the answers. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informatio

Chase Young is named the Male Big Ten Athlete of the Year See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Thursday Buckeye Talk episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises is joined by Matt Wenzel of MLive.com to talk about Michigan State, the sixth opponent on the 2020 Ohio State schedule. Buckeye Talk has been working its way through the OSU opponents, and it's time for the Spartans, now under first-year coach Mel Tucker. Doug and Matt talk about Mark Dantonio's departure and legacy, how Tucker is recruiting differently than Dantonio, the expectations for the Spartans this year, and all the play makers they lost from a year ago. You'll know much more about Michigan State when this pod is over. At the start of the podcast, Doug runs through three questions, including what it would be like if Urban Meyer was still the coach and whether any OSU coach could ever surpass Woody Hayes. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This big Wednesday episode is like three Buckeye Talks in one. First, Doug Lesmerises and Nathan Baird do a round of rapid fire questions from text subscribers, including how far quarterback Justin Fields is from reaching his upside and which out-of-business chain restaurants they miss the most. Then Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith makes his first Buckeye Talk appearance for a half-hour interview, as he and Doug talk about the Buckeyes' involvement with the Black Lives Matter movement, whether Ohio State should have more black assistant coaches, what Smith's career as a black college football administrator has been like and how OSU athletes might continue to show some form of protest, including possibly kneeling for the National Anthem in the fall. Then, the podcast ends with three big, meaty questions from text subscribers, all related to the Big Ten chasing the Buckeyes: Which Big Ten fan base should be the most discouraged? Which Big Ten team will be the next to beat Ohio State? Which Big Ten te

On this Buckeye Talk podcast episode from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises is back to join Nathan Baird, while Stephen Means is on furlough this week, and the topic is the ACC vs. the Big Ten. The discussion around Ohio State and Clemson on this pod has often led to disparaging comments about Clemson's conference, the ACC, but now Nathan and Doug really dig into it, thanks to a great texter question. How many Big Ten teams other than Ohio State would be the second-best team in the ACC behind Clemson? The answer is ... a lot. And that tells us something about how much easier Clemson has it. Also, Doug has some gripes about the episodes he wasn't on last week and lays them out to Nathan, and then Doug has a few more complaints about sports writers in general. Thanks as always for listening to Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark It Down! Ohio State's winning streak against Michigan has to end someday, right? Right? Well, we're running with that assumption for the next installment of our weekly kick-off podcast. Doug Lesmerises is back, at least for the first half of this episode in which he, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means predict what year Michigan will rise up and beat the Buckeyes. They explain what roster dynamics, coaching dynamics and other factors play into their predictions. From there we turn to the other stars of the show: The Subtext subscribers who make their predictions on when this OSU winning streak will end. Some see a potential interruption in the near future. Some went the full Ray Bradbury approach and looked far into the future for the Wolverines' next victory. If you're not already a Buckeye Talk Subtext subscriber, text 614-350-3315 for breaking news and analysis and to participate in the polls and comments on the Daily Pod. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad

Ohio State athletes participate in protests and demonstrations against racism See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're closing out the week with a Rapid Fire Friday on Buckeye Talk. Nathan Baird and Stephen Means roll through a handful of questions from our Subtext subscribers to head into the weekend. First up: Which Ohio State football player is the best bet to win a major national award in 2020? Justin Fields is the returning Heisman Trophy finalist. All of 2019's other award winners or finalists have moved on. Could other Buckeyes rise up to contend for major positional awards? Among the other topics on today's episode: How many Fields interceptions would "give us pause?" Could Ohio State's 2020 offense actually better suit Master Teague? After years of rolling their eyes at SEC fans who talked about their grinder of a schedule, did Buckeye fans see the same dynamic play out for their team in 2019? As always, thanks for following us on Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buckeye Talk daily pod keeps rolling right along, and today the topic is quarterbacks. We know Ohio State enters the 2020 season with one of the nation's top quarterbacks. Prompted by a Buckeye Talk Subtext subscriber question, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means delve into having a returning starter might be a bigger edge than ever in the season ahead. They also play devil's advocate on how much of a jump Fields can take between his sophomore and junior seasons. In the second half of the pod, both Nathan and Stephen rank their top five quarterbacks the Buckeyes will face in the 2020 regular season. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the big Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk we resume our walk through Ohio State football's 2020 schedule after taking a "bye" week. Next up are the Iowa Hawkeyes, who will visit Ohio Stadium on Oct. 10. Nathan Baird talks with Des Moines Register columnist Chad Leistikow about all things Iowa. How do the Hawkeyes keep outperforming their recruiting rankings? How long will Kirk Ferentz stick around? And most importantly, how could Iowa potentially come to Columbus and give the Buckeyes a scare? Additionally, Nathan and Stephen Means reach back to Buckeye Talk Subtext subscriber memories of the 2017 Ohio State loss at Iowa. Some had very visceral reactions to that loss, but some also appreciated it for triggering necessary change within the program. Before all that, however, Nathan and Stephen debate a question that may be central to the Ohio State season. Which is more crucial for the Buckeyes' national championship hopes for 2020: An offense that reaches its expectations or a defense that exceeds its expe

Nathan Baird and Stephen Means confront one of the most common questions from our Buckeye Talk listeners. When will Ohio State schedule Alabama/Auburn/LSU/insert your SEC power of choice here? Actually, they flipped the question around, prompted by a Subtext subscriber. If you could pick one non-conference opponent for a home-and-home series for the Buckeyes, who would you choose and why? Nathan and Stephen both looked west for their answers. (Doug Lesmerises, on furlough this week, likely screamed his disapproval from home.) However, most of our subscribers looked south. This is the Tuesday warm-up before the big Wednesday pod. Thanks for coming back five days a week for Buckeye Talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another Monday, another opportunity to Mark It Down and make our bold predictions on the future of Ohio State football. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means tackle the question of who will ... well ... tackle the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage the most in 2020. Who will succeed Chase Young as the Buckeyes' sack leader this fall? Doug insists there are only two candidates, and he and Nathan opted for the same defensive end. Stephen strayed from the trend and looked at another position as OSU's next sack leader. Our Buckeye Talk Subtext listeners voted for eight candidates, though one was the clear favorite. To vote on the next Mark It Down Monday topic, or to suggest a podcast topic, sign up for a free trial by texting 614-350-3315. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Friday Buckeye Talk episode, Ohio State's rivalry with Michigan is once again the focus. Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means discuss what it would be like if Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer played golf with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson; why Michigan doesn't recruit Ohio more; what to make of Michigan coaches doing cartwheels over a recruit; and what would happen if the Big Ten realigned with the Buckeyes and Wolverines in separate divisions. There are some other Big Ten-related questions from text subscribers, and with new listeners finding the pod every week, those subscribers offered slogan suggestions for Buckeye Talk to inform new listeners what this podcast is all about. Whether you are old or new, thanks so much for being a listener. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oh baby, there is a good fight in this episode. On this Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com, Doug Lesmerises lined up against Nathan Baird and Stephen Means in a major disagreement over how many losses it would take this season for Ohio State fans to lose faith in Ryan Day. Major difference of opinion near the end of this one as the guys took eight questions from text subscribers. But first, they dealt with questions about whether the Big Ten will ever catch up with the SEC and whether there is a surge in Big Ten recruiting this season. At the end, they took subscriber answers on whether Alabama or Clemson is the bigger challenge for Ohio State as a national title contender this year, and debated quarterback skill vs. motivation in what will be driving the best teams in the country. It's a heated Buckeye Talk, and thanks for listening. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ohio State adds a recruit and plans to return from the coronavirus shutdown. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this big Wednesday episode of Buckeye Talk, America's favorite Ohio State football podcast, the comparison is to the national champs. Can Ohio State's offense this season be as dangerous and dynamic as LSU's offense last season? To figure that out, Doug Lesmerises, Nathan Baird and Stephen Means watched several LSU games from last year, and they broke down the comparison into five areas: play calling, offensive line, receivers, running back and the quarterback comparison between Joe Burrow and Justin Fields. There were some areas where the Buckeyes absolutely have the potential to match up with one of the great offenses in college football history, and other areas where Ohio State might have trouble reaching that LSU level. Find out what the guys think of each comparison. Also, there's a discussion of Ohio State's latest 2021 recruit, and final voting in the fast food bracket that will be reduced from the Sweet 16 to a champion. Thanks for listening to Buckeye Talk from cleveland.com. See acast.com/privac

This Tuesday Buckeye Talk episode is all about coaching, as the guys key in on four areas based on questions from our text subscribers: Which current Ohio State football players will make the best coaches someday? Who would set up as a better replacement for Ryan Day a decade from now, Luke Fickell still as the Cincinnati head coach, or Brian Hartline if he becomes Ohio State's offensive coordinator? Which current opposing coaches are the most dangerous to the Buckeyes, and are they in the Big Ten or are they national rivals? Which Michigan coach taking over for Jim Harbaugh would provide the greatest challenge to the Buckeyes? Doug Lesmerises, Stephen Means and Nathan Baird answer those questions. If you'd like to ask questions that lead to podcast discussions, sign up for a free trial as a text subscriber by texting 614-350-3315. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices