Ohio State might not have been quite as dominant against Arkansas State as oddsmakers and fans expected, but a 33-point win is nothing to scoff at nonetheless.
On this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays, we give our overall assessment of Ohio State’s 45-12 over the Red Wolves, which Buckeyes stood out in their second game of the season and why a wild second weekend of college football should serve as a reminder to appreciate what was ultimately a convincing win. We also look ahead to Saturday’s game against Toledo, which we think might also be at least a slightly more competitive game than the point spread suggests.
A rundown of some of the many topics we talk about this week:
- 1:45: Grading the win over Arkansas State
- 3:54: Ohio State’s passing offense returns to form, showing how special it could be when Jaxon Smith-Njigba is healthy
- 7:25: Why it’s dumb to be miserable after a 33-point win (even though there are some things to clean up)
- 11:14: The defense hasn’t been fully tested yet, but it’s been excellent so far, especially in the red zone
- 14:03: Mike Hall is a star, but don’t discount the defensive ends’ role in helping him make plays
- 17:17: Denzel Burke’s slow start, what might be leading to that and why we think he will bounce back
- 21:27: Arkansas State might prove to be a better team than we thought
- 23:04: JK Johnson had a solid showing, but he still might be behind Jordan Hancock when healthy
- 25:15: Caden Curry, Dallan Hayden and Jyaire Brown among freshman standouts vs. Arkansas State
- 28:30: Cody Simon, Josh Proctor, Lathan Ransom, Gee Scott Jr., Mitch Rossi among under-the-radar standouts vs. Arkansas State
- 35:10: Why Toledo looks like a step up in competition from Arkansas State
- 43:50: Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba could both be back this week, but it’s important for Fleming to be on the field
- 46:23: Ohio State vs. Toledo score predictions
- 48:40: Why TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams will likely continue to split carries evenly
- 49:57: How Ohio State’s season-opening win loses some luster with Notre Dame’s loss to Marshall
- 53:45: Nebraska had no choice but to fire Scott Frost
- 55:46: It was a bad weekend all the way around for the Big Ten West
- 57:41: Michigan and Michigan State look like Ohio State’s top competition in the Big Ten
- 59:20: How our preseason confidence rankings Ohio State will win each game would change now
- 1:01:36: Ohio State should be ranked ahead of Alabama after Crimson Tide barely beat Texas
Listen to Real Pod Wednesdays in the audio player above or on your streaming platform of choice (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts) to hear what we have to say about all of that.
