The end of Indiana Week is finally here.
It's time for the Buckeyes to dominate the Hoosiers. More appropriately, it's time for the Hoosiers to get dumped.
Tommy Eichenberg bringing the JUICE in this week's game trailer. pic.twitter.com/Gu3E2q5xKR
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 10, 2022
Let's have a good Saturday, shall we?
WEATHER SHOULDN'T MATTER. I'll admit that I looked at the weather report for the game a few times this week. It doesn’t look great in Columbus this afternoon with a 40-degree temperature, cloudy skies, some showers and a little wind.
But – and this is a sincere question – if The Ohio State University football team is as good as we think they are, why does the weather matter?
My answer: It doesn't.
This is Ohio State. It's November in Big Ten country, the heart of the midwest. It's time for Ryan Day to keep the finely-tuned Ferrari that is the Buckeyes in the garage for the next three weeks and roll out the Ford F-350 to drive in the muddy backroads that have been beaten up by rain and snow, powering through the brisk, cold wind with its V8 engine.
I'm game for whatever that means in the football sense – pounding the rock, taking snaps under center, running dives up the middle, playing with three or more linebackers, etc. The Buckeyes need to prove that no team and no inclement weather can stop the machine of Ohio State football.
Once the Buckeyes outlast Indiana, Maryland and Michigan, then Day can take the tarp off the supercar and use it on the fast track inside Lucas Oil Stadium, beating the brakes off Illinois of whoever else stands in their way before making adjustments to face an opponent in the College Football Playoff.
But don't let me get ahead of myself. Beat Indiana. Make sure they know it's a horrible day to be a Hoosier.
Bucks by a Billion. Leave no doubt.
TODAY'S MENU. The following two Saturdays of college football don't feature many must-watch matchups as teams prepare for Rivalry Week in the final regular-season weekend. However, there are still a few storylines to look out for as we go through the day.
Can Notre Dame carry momentum from their win over Clemson into its matchup with Navy in Baltimore? Will UCF or Tulane claim the title of Best Group of Five Team in College Football this season? Is Nick Saban on watch to lose three games this year as Alabama travels to Mississippi to battle Lane Kiffin and the Rebels?
It's college football! Anything can happen!
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana at 2 Ohio State | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Oklahoma at West Virginia | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| Rutgers at Michigan State | 12:00pm | BTN |
| SMU at USF | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Virginia Tech at Duke | 12:00pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| Pitt at Virginia | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Purdue at 21 Illinois | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Liberty at UConn | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| 20 Notre Dame vs. Navy (in Baltimore, MD) | 12:00pm | ABC |
| 7 LSU at Arkansas | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Missouri at 5 Tennessee | 12:00pm | CBS |
| Vanderbilt at 24 Kentucky | 12:00pm | SECN |
| James Madison at Old Dominion | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| ULM at Georgia State | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Temple at Houston | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Rice at WKU | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UMass at Arkansas State | 3:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Charlotte at Middle Tennessee | 3:30pm | ESPN3 |
| North Texas at UAB | 3:30pm | Stadium |
| Louisiana Tech at UTSA | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Maryland at 14 Penn State | 3:30pm | FOX |
| Northwestern at Minnesota | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Appalachian State at Marshall | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| 22 UCF at 17 Tulane | 3:30pm | ESPN2 |
| New Mexico at Air Force | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech | 3:30pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| Louisville at 10 Clemson | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Wisconsin at Iowa | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| Boston College at 16 NC State | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Arizona State at Washington State | 3:30pm | P12N |
| Iowa State at Oklahoma State | 3:30pm | ESPNU |
| 9 Alabama at 11 Ole Miss | 3:30pm | CBS |
| Army at Troy | 3:30pm | NFLN |
| Nebraska at 3 Michigan | 3:30pm | ABC |
| Lamar at New Mexico State | 4:00pm | FloSports |
| South Carolina at Florida | 4:00pm | SECN |
| Texas State at South Alabama | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 25 Washington at 6 Oregon | 7:00pm | FOX |
| 1 Georgia at Mississippi State | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Kansas at Texas Tech | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 19 Kansas State at Baylor | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Wyoming at Colorado State | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| Florida Atlantic at FIU | 7:00pm | Stadium |
| Texas A&M at Auburn | 7:30pm | SECN |
| Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina | 7:30pm | ESPNU |
| 15 North Carolina at Wake Forest | 7:30pm | ESPN2 |
| 4 TCU at 18 Texas | 7:30pm | ABC |
| 23 Florida State at Syracuse | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| California at Oregon State | 9:00pm | P12N |
| Stanford at 13 Utah | 10:00pm | ESPN |
| San Jose State at San Diego State | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| Boise State at Nevada | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| Arizona at 12 UCLA | 10:30pm | FOX |
| Utah State at Hawaii | 11:00pm | Spectrum PPV |
MY PICKS. Folks, book me for another week at 2-for-3 picking the spread. Texas Christian came through, Tennessee did not and Notre Dame absolutely did. Shout out to Marcus Freeman and the Irish for taking down Dabo Swinney and Clemson in blowout fashion last weekend.
This week, I think Illinois, LSU and Penn State will take care of business and cover the spread in their respective matchups. I'll be keeping an incredibly close eye on the Illini because that Chase Brown player is really, really good.
2022 RECORD: 14-13
- Purdue at No. 21 Illinois (-6.5): This is easily the most important game for the Illinois football program since the late 2000s, and a win would all but clinch the Big Ten West and send the Fighting Berts to Indianapolis in December. The Illini lost to Michigan State last week but outgained the Spartans 441-294. I expect them to rely heavily on Brown to beat the Boilermakers by a score or two and send themselves to Indy.
- No. 7 LSU (-3.5) at Arkansas: This feels like a gimme pick. Like, what am I missing here? Last weekend, LSU beat Alabama and Arkansas lost to Liberty. Sure, the Tigers could be in for a letdown, but I expect the No. 7 team in the country to perform well against a 5-4 team, so I'll take Brian Kelly and the power of fahmuly.
- Maryland at No. 14 Penn State (-10.5): Maryland lost to Wisconsin last week despite quarterback Graham Mertz going 5-of-18 for 77 yards. Oof. The Badgers won the game by running the rock, and the Nittany Lions will replicate that on Saturday with Nick Singleton. Also, that Penn State defense is good, so I'll take them to cover.
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. At Ohio State, every coach is required to recruit at the highest level and secure top talent from the United States and around the world. It's the Buckeye standard.
In their first few years as program leaders in Columbus, Ryan Day and Chris Holtmann have met and exceeded those standards, recruiting top 10 and top-five classes to Columbus like it's nothing.
According to @247Sports, The Ohio State University is the only school with a Top 5 2023 recruiting class in both basketball and football. @OhioStateFB | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/L00HPxAsqe
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) November 11, 2022
Ohio State football currently has the No. 5 class nationally for 2023, with one five-star, 19 four-stars and one three-star across 21 total commits. Basketball also has the No. 5 class in the country for next season, with three four-stars and one three-star making up four commitments (and now signees).
Hopefully, Day and Holtmann can deliver with these talented classes coming to Ohio State. As we know, it's one thing to recruit at a high level and another to coach at one. And as the coaches know, Buckeye Nation doesn't shower praise over recruiting. They heap praise over results on the field and court – time to see if they get the job done.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler.
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