Jon Joseph

The Buckeyes' bona fides were supposed to be evidenced this coming Saturday when James Franklin brings the Nittany Lions into Columbus. Right?😁 Texas A&M may have given Kelly the kill shot yesterday, but there are no teams in CFB this season that are a certain PO champion. South Carolina had Bama on the ropes, ditto Mississippi State with Texas. Did Oklahoma or Ole Miss look unbeatable? And Vandy and Missiouri are ranked because of where they play their football. I love your Dawgs, but this isn't a vintage UGA defense. Ohio State had an impressive win over 6-2 UW in Seattle. Ohio State also had a good win at Illinois, and Texas is a two-loss team and still in the running for the playoffs with two 'prove-it games' remaining. One against your Dawgs and the other in Austin vs. the Aggies. At the end of the regular season, Ohio State's win over Texas could be one of the best of the year. Two-loss Iowa, with a 3-point road loss at Iowa State and a 5-point home loss to Indiana, is not ranked. UW's two losses came against the AP No. 1 team and on the road in the Big House, where it's hard to win football games. Two-loss Nebraska has a win over one-loss and ranked Cincinnati. 6-2 Michigan, with a true frosh QB, is improving and AP-ranked because of its brand name. USC lost by ten points on the road to No. 12-ranked Notre Dame and dropped from No. 20 to out of the poll, with USF, LSU, and ASU ranked. Wins in the other Power 2 conference, the Big Ten, are not easy wins. Losses in the Big Ten count in the AP Poll far more than losses in the SEC. This is bound to happen when more than half of the SEC is ranked in the preseason top 25. Top to bottom IMO and by every metric the SEC is deeper than the B1G. But winning B1G games is not easy, and the B1G more than held its own against the SEC in the 2024-25 postseason. I also note that ESPN has Purdue-sized SEC drum, while Fox is playing B1G bongos. GO DUCKS! GO DOGS!

What Mike West said. 😁Times how many times he posted. Also, what Charles and others said, a win is a win. Hopefully, this season is only half over, and OBD will play in 16 games. This Wisconsin game will be a distant memory. Such is College Football. Winning football games is hard. Especially in a monsoon, which hurts your team's speed and quickness advantage. Especially with a young football team. Especially with fourteen new starters. The last two seasons, the Ducks' QBs had more experience than any QBs starting in CFB. There will be erratic play out of Dante from time to time. The same guy who called plays last night called the plays in Jersey. The same guys blocked. Frustrating? Heck yes, but the winner of this game was never in doubt. Wisconsin has not quit on Luke Fickell, a coach who took the only G5 team to make the four-team PO field. Every B1G team has the defending conference champion in its sights. The coaches in the conference are competent. Winning in the Big Ten is not easy. Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, and UW are 6-2. USC is 5-2. All of these teams have looked terrific on occasion and terrible at other times. All could be ranked, including Nebraska, with a win over top 25 Cincinnati. Compare the number of two-loss teams ranked in the SEC compared to the B1G. Texas and Alabama had tough games against unranked teams yesterday. Ole Miss and Oklahoma had several breakdowns in defense yesterday amid questionable coaching decisions. MO vs. Vandy was far from dandy.🤪 The SEC has many teams ranked in the preseason. Thus, many games are 'self-fulfilling' top 25 vs. top 25 matchups. The SEC is deeper than the Big Ten, although this was not evident in last year's postseason. OBD will likely drop in today's AP Poll, which doesn't matter. It will be interesting to see how the PO committee treats the teams, including 7-1 OBD, on the fourth of November. Come the 7th of December, it will be infamy if OBD is not in the top eight and hosting an opening game. Iowa had a Gophers sack fest yesterday. The week before, Minnesota sacked Dylan Riola so many times he looked like he was in a grocery store checkout line. In particular, a young team will not be the same team week after week. The B1G test for Dan and friends this week and next is to win the bye week over a group of experienced coaches who will have the benefit of playing on their home field. Kirk Ferentz is 130-59 in Kinnick Stadium, .687. I'm hoping for better weather on November 8th in Iowa City. Win the Bye Week! GO DUCKS!

Looks like another week - No Charles-Ten Final Score Trophy in my (mostly empty) Trophy Case. I'm blaming the Weather gods! 🤬 Beat the Badgers, and then use the Off Week wisely. Iowa fans may be good to children, but they really hate Gophers, and they don't need a license to go Ducks hunting. 😁

WOOF! 6-2 UW TCB in Seattle vs Illinois. Iowa destroyed Minnesota to improve to 6-2. Both UW and Iowa could be ranked when OBD visits. USC could also be ranked. Bama rebounded. BYU won and covered. Vandy beat Mizzou. How far does Mizzou fall in the AP? Texas has tied the game up, 38-38 vs. Miss State.

Who was the fool who recommended Minny +8.5? 🤬 Don't blink when you play the Hawkeyes in Iowa City. A team Iowa lost to by three on the road, Iowa State, is giving undefeated BYU all it can handle. I wonder if Jimmy Franklin watched the Hoosiers hose down the Bruins 56-6? Jimmy, at least Northwestern lost. 🤪 SOS Boost! Okay, Northwestern lost, but Rutgers defeated Purdue by three points. Yippee! Ole Miss overcame some strange decisions by Kiff to hand Oklahoma a rare loss in Norman. Do the Sooners drop one or two spots in the AP? USC(E) is giving Bama all it can handle, and it's tied up between Mizzou and Vandy in Nashville. Cow's Bells! This is not a Miss State - Texas is losing in Starkvegas. Will a 3-loss Horns remain ranked in the Top 25?😁

And a Shelton High Guy Came Through Just When He Was Needed the Most! 😎 Yardbarker'TNF' takeaways: Justin Herbert dominates just when Charg...It was an impressive showing by both quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers defense.

Put all 34 on the D-side of the ball in South Bend, and the Domers would still rush for 500+ yards.

An LB joins the OBD Flock. https://247sports.com/college/oregon/article/oregon-lands-new-commitment-from-four-star-lb-braylon-hodge-258143585/?source=column&lctg=26140&eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e3

90% rain, and does Dan want to make Fickell the 4th guy flushed down the drain? Take no prisoners! We need the style points. OBD 49-0 4 3 265

10 Things to Keep a B1G Eye On - Saturday Tradition10 things to watch in the Big Ten as the stretch run nearsThere are a lot of things to keep an eye on as the Big Ten season nears the home stretch, but here are the 10 biggest things to watch.

Adam Bradford's B1G games predictions for Week 9. https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/10/24/adam-bradford-picks-big-ten-football-games-week-9/86861610007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email& 5-2 Minnesota is +8.5 at 5-2 Iowa. The Gophers travel to Iowa City having won both LOS against Nebraska, and with the better QB and run game. I do not 'get' this line. As far as I can determine, Minnesota will have all Gophers on deck for this game. Yes, our betting consortium has a Bob and a Quid down on Minnesota +8.5. CBS - 12:30 Pacific

Oxymoron Alert! Will Stein made On3's list of coaching candidates who are 'not sexy but hot.' Like the pultritude meter skyrocketing when you hear 'last call' at the watering hole? 😁 I can remember those days. Sort of. 😜 On3Forget the sexy names, these coaches need to be on your h...Lane Kiffin is the ultimate sexy coaching candidate, but who are the under-the-radar guys who could be the next Curt Cignetti or Mike Elko?

Thank you, Charles. I'm fired up and ready to watch OBD Give Us Fans Five! And while the loss to the Hoosiers hurts, it could work out perfectly for the Ducks. As we are painfully aware, last season playoff teams with lengthy byes went 0-4. The ultimate champ got off the mat after what would have been, in prior seasons, an end-of-the-season devastating loss, and won the whole enchilada. Looking down the road, all three of Oregon, Indiana, and Ohio State will be favored to win their last five games in the 2025 regular season. This happens, and OBD gets to take a nap on December 6th instead of playing a 13th game in Indianapolis. Let the Hoosiers and Buckeyes club one another in the mouth until they're both Rocky (sorry) while OBD, like Notre Dame, plays one fewer game against a Power 2 team before hosting a 1st round playoff game. At 11-1, OBD should host either the 12 or the 11 seed. Win this game and move on, with winning momentum, to play the third or fourth seed in the 2nd round. Recent bye-byes have not been good for OBD. Let's play ball at home in Round 1. Thanks also for highlighting the contributions of the newbies. It is so good to see highly rated recruits come in ready to ball out. And notwithstanding the indecisive play versus Indiana, hats off to the coaching staff for blending in portal players who are making an impact. Today's CFB is all about successful roster management. GO DUCKS - Wax Wisconsin! PS - Might I humbly inquire, what in Hades does a 'full spectrum live resin dab' look like, and do I need one in my aquarium? 😁

FWIW - A Week 9 Resume Ranking from writer Derek Peterson, who claims there is no subjectivity in these rankings, only the results from games played to date. Indiana is No. 1 - OBD No. 6 Saturday Down SouthCollege football's Top 25 résumé ranking entering Week 9Ranking the top 25 teams in college football based on the résumés they have compiled throughout the 2025 season.

OBD is on the list of Yahoo's contenders for this season's Natty. https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/era-of-chaos-who-are-college-footballs-national-championship-contenders-133900093.html

Mike, good post. It was the 8th game of eight in a row without a break, but Wisconsin gave OBD all it could handle last season. The score was 35-0, but Purdue did put up a fight on its home field. Last season, the B1G finished with the best postseason record among the Power 4. This season, 5-2 Northwestern was a better test than Oklahoma State. 5-2 NW at 5-2 Nebraska, 9 AM FSI, is, at least in theory, a PO elimination game. It's unfortunate NW didn't open with a home game versus a Little MAC instead of playing Tulane in New Orleans. It's easy to forget that a 3-4 B1G team took OBD into double OT. 😁 I think the game at Iowa in Week 11 and the following Week 12 Friday night game against Minnesota will both be testy. Iowa did not have to work overtime to defeat that 3-4 team. And the Hoosiers had a close call in Iowa City. I know that Super Glue is more mobile than Dylan Raiola, and Swiss cheese has fewer holes than the Cornhuskers o-line, but the Gophers did post nine sacks, a team record, against Nebraska. 😁 5-2 Minnesota at 5-2 Iowa, 12:30 CBS, is a PO elimination game. By the time the Pac-12 cratered, ASU, Cal, CU, Oregon State, Washington State, UCLA, Utah, even in Salt Lake, and a 5-loss USC team, were pretty much walkovers for OBD. Arizona was solid the season the conference died, DeBoer left for Bama, and Fisch dropped his line in Seattle. With the 5th-best roster in CFB, OBD should handle the majority of the B1G and out-of-conference teams it plays. For the most part, Oregon has done so under Dan.

Wisconsin, DUCK! Could a weather day fit for Ducks help the Badgers find cover? Sorry Bob D, but I do need a weatherman to know which way the score blows. 😁 https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/wisconsin-vs-oregon-prediction-preview-2025

The games we remember are played in November. SP+ Combined Strength of Record and Resume Rankings have Indiana 1st, Ohio State 2nd, and OBD 4th. If the Committee's metrics produce the same or close to the same results, why schedule Texas, Ohio State, when you can play three donut holes OOC, like Indiana? The SEC is deeper through the middle of the conference, but the B1G Three (move over Penn State) are deemed stronger at the top by SP+ than the top SEC teams. ESPN.comRanking the most interesting College Football Playoff and...We have just over a month until Selection Day and these battles for CFP slots and major awards should be fun.

Thanks, HDuck. Conference schedules in today's mega-conferences vary widely. Compare Wisconsin's 2025 B1G schedule with Indiana, Ohio State, and OBD. Much more difficult journey for Wisconsin, especially with Penn State's meltdown. This is one reason why I favor Tony Petitti's Automatic Qualifiers PO proposal. If adopted, the last week of the regular season would see PO play-in games, with B1G No. 6 at No. 3, No. 5 at No. 4, and No. 1 versus No. 2 with both teams in the PO. In 2027, OBD plays road games versus Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, and UW, plus a road game in Waco, Texas, against Baylor. Iowa, Penn State, Ohio State, and Purdue visit Autzen. I can't imagine a more difficult conference schedule in 2027 than this. With this schedule, a 3rd through 6th place OBD deserves a shot at the PO.

Which team wins it all this season? I don't know. But I do know that Buckeyes fans can hold a grudge. 😁😁😁 Scarlet and GameReferee who screwed Ohio State vs Clemson permanently sus...The ref was so bad that he will no longer officiate in the SEC, even if it is six years too late.

Go far in the PO? With or without a long winter's nap? OBD is in contention for the coveted 5th seed and a home game versus the 12th seed, the G6 representative. Win the opening game as it should, and OBD's 2nd round game in the Cotton or Orange Bowl would be against the lowest-ranked Power 4 champion. The 6th seed this season would also see OBD favored against the 11th seed in Autzen and a bowl matchup against the 3rd seed. Let Indiana and Ohio State beat one another up on December 6th in a 13th game in Indianapolis, with the winner having to go bye-bye for three plus weeks. Make it as the 5th or 6th seed, and I see Oregon playing in a semifinal game in the Fiesta (ideal) or the Peach Bowl. TCB versus the Baggers, er, Badgers 😁, and we'll find out on November 4th how the PO Committee views OBD and its Strength Of Schedule and Strength Of Record to date. (Thank you very little Penn State.) SC is off this week. A 5-2 UW defeat of 5-2 No. 23 Illinois in Seattle would help the Ducks' SOS down the road. The Floyd of Rosedale game from OBD's POV is a push; Iowa and Minnesota are back-to-back on Oregon's schedule. The B1G has some interesting trophy games. Last week, Indiana defeated Michigan State and won a ... Spittoon. Gag! The Floyd of Rosedale trophy carries an impressive name, but it's lipstick on a pig. 🤪 Here's a B1G prediction that is a lock - Rutgers vs. Purdue will draw fewer than four million viewers. 🙃 This Saturday Only, it's OK to Waste Wisky!

Thank you, Doctor. There is no ACC or B12 school on the list. Notre Dame may as well be in the Power 2 and would be if the Domers asked the B1G or the SEC for an invitation. No Miami, FSU, Clemson, or UNC. (And BTW, what in Hades happened to roundball on Tobacco Road?) Week after week, the SEC, B1G, and Notre Dame dominate the TV-viewer ratings. To the list of teams that have the resources and the will to win from the top down, I'd add Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and perhaps, Florida. Michigan also has the resources, as do Penn State and USC. The B12 is No. 4 in the Power 4 and fading. The games in the conference are exciting, but the close to entire top-to-bottom parity does not equal multiple teams in the CFB playoffs. However, it only takes one guy to buy a competitive roster, like Cody Campbell at Texas Tech. The restructuring of the ACC, in particular, is simply a matter of time, and teams will be left behind, ala Oregon State and Wazzu. This is why I think Jeff Brohm could leave his Mother Ship for a job in the SEC, or if promised the resources, a return to the B1G. Jeff Brohm at Penn State would be scary. Great post, thank you.

CFB is in new territory; for better or worse? 32 billionaires in the NFL cooperate to give every team a chance. College football, on the other hand 🤑 On3All coaches want is a little patience, but more firings a...Coaches want time to build their programs, like in the past, but this new era of college football does not have much patience.

Louisville QB Miller Moss is done after this season. Same for Brohm's first season QB Jake Plummer, and last season's QB Tyler Shough. Brohm can coach! He took Purdue from a doormat to a team that contended every week. I think Charles' call is spot on. If Brohm can be lured away from his alma mater, Will will be heading back home.

Thanks, Darren. With so few P4 games out of conference, it's difficult to get a top-to-bottom read of any conference. The SEC's mid to lower-level teams will be ranked notwithstanding losses to SEC opponents. Two-loss Texas, LSU, and Tennessee are ranked. Two-loss Minnesota, Iowa, Washington, Northwestern, Nebraska, and USC are not ranked. SEC folks will defend the rankings, and not without justification, all day long. However, AP voters will give the nod to brand names, like the ranked two-loss SEC teams. FWIW - Minnesota has a W over ranked Nebraska, Nebraska has a W over 21 Cincinnati, two weeks ago, SC blew out No. 25 Michigan. UW's two losses came against No. 1 Ohio State and a ranked Michigan team on the road. 2-loss Iowa suffered a 3-point loss on the road at Iowa State, and shut down the Indiana offense. Northwestern? With the first game loss at Tulane, I got nothin'. 😁 Man versus Machine - After Week 8, Massey Rankings include No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 5 OBD, No. 14 Michigan, No. 17 USC, No. 20 Iowa, No. 22 Washington, No. 26 Illinois, and No. 30 Nebraska. Half of the conference is ranked in the top 30. The B1G is behind only the other Power 2 conference, the SEC. In 2025, the SEC went 2-1 versus the B1G. Ohio State defeated Texas in Columbus, Oklahoma defeated Michigan in Norman, and Wisconsin no-showed against Bama in Tuscaloosa, as is the case versus every Baggers' B1G opponent in 2025. In 2024-25, Tennessee and Texas lost to Ohio State. No.1 Michigan defeated No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl on 1/1/2024. In the 2024 postseason, 5-loss Michigan defeated Alabama, and 3-loss Illinois defeated South Carolina. The B1G was 11-6 in the postseason. The SEC went 6-10. In today's CFB, a program's past does not define its current ability. Ohio State is the favorite to win the Natty, no surprise. But Indiana also has favorable odds. I very much enjoyed the read, but I don't believe the B1G is any lower than the 2nd-best conference in CFB. With 18 teams in the conference, a few are going to stink. PS - I believe Purdue has its guy in Barry Odom. Wisconsin is a Jeff Bromh or equivalent hire, away from success. Paul Chyrst should not have been fired.