It’s another Monday here at the Scarlet and Gray Report.
Here are the 10 things on my mind heading into another week.
All eyes will be on Ohio Stadium to start the 2022 season.
The game is still more than three months away and it’s still the only thing I can think about.
And the Buckeyes wouldn’t have it any other way.
For Notre Dame’s first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1995, Ohio State is pulling out the red carpet, beginning the 2022 campaign under the lights at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3.
The two heralded programs are only separated by 254 miles, but it will only be their seventh matchup in history and their first non-bowl meeting since 1996 after the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in 2006 and 2016.
Simply, it’s a BIG game, the perfect scenario for a night game.
It will be the official start of the Marcus Freeman tenure, the former Buckeye linebacker, who has former Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington as his defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator along with James Laurinatis, who was a teammate with Freeman in Columbus, on staff as a graduate assistant.
It’s two Midwest powers with two young head coaches — one established with two College Football Playoff appearances in his first three seasons as head coach; the other, taking over a program that has made the CFP twice in eight years under a head coach that’s starting over with another Power Five powerhouse.
It’s a recruiting battle (more on that later), each fighting for the top kids coming out of the region, along with Michigan, something that will only be heightened with a primetime atmosphere and a full sideline in that season opener.
It’s also a tone-setter, one that will establish the narrative for each program going forward, whether it’s an Ohio State team that meets the expectation the 13.5-point spread gives or if Notre Dame rises, immediately replacing the Buckeyes on the trajectory for a spot in the Playoff — something Ohio State can overcome, like it did after losing to Oregon in Week 2 and storming back, arriving in Ann Arbor last season with the weight of a Playoff berth hinging on a win.
Even as the storylines continue to overflow from the Ohio State sideline, whether it’s C.J. Stroud’s first game in what is expected to be a Heisman-caliber redshirt sophomore season before being named as a top-five pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, to Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles showing off his defense for the first time, it will all be under the microscope only a primetime ABC night game can provide.
And, again, the Buckeyes wouldn’t have it any other way.
But here’s the thing…
Ohio State doesn’t necessarily do the best when all of the attention is fixated on Ohio Stadium.
It doesn’t necessarily have to do with playing in primetime, posting a record of 38-8 in games that start after 6 p.m. since 2013, including wins in 27 of 30 matchups against Big Ten opponents.
It’s those early-season matchups against high-leverage non-conference opponents, the games that define the course of the Buckeyes early in the season: Oregon in 2021, Oklahoma in 2017, Virginia Tech in 2014, USC in 2009.
It’s games that have become sort of a protocol for the Buckeyes on the scheduling front, with Notre Dame in 2022 and 2023, Washington in 2024 and 2025, Texas in 2025 and 2026, Alabama in 2027 and 2028, Georgia in 2030 and 2031, and Oregon again in 2032 and 2033.
It’s early-season tests, games that clearly showcase where the Buckeyes stand heading into Big Ten play, something Ohio State has shown it can build back from even with a loss (2014, anyone?).
But it’s not an atmosphere Ohio State has shown much success in, not winning a high-leverage, high-profile non-conference game at Ohio Stadium since hosting Miami (FL) in 2010, a team that finished 7-6 and in second place in the ACC Coastal division, losing to Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl.
Will Ohio State lose to Notre Dame Sept. 3 at Ohio Stadium? History shows that it very well could. But history also shows that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, no matter what time it’s at.
So what does it mean on the recruiting trail now that it’s a night game?
It’s a game Peyton Woodyard is already locked into.
As soon as the start time was confirmed this past week, he let safeties coach Perry Eliano know his intentions of being in attendance, commenting on his tweet “Looking forward to it Coach!”
The No. 1 safety in the 2024 class will likely be one of many on the sideline for the season opener against the Fighting Irish, like 2023 OL commit Luke Montgomery, who already is quote-tweeting LeBron James, trying to get him to attend the first game of the season.
However, in the class of 2023, as our lovely recruiting editor @Zack Carpenter has pointed out, the recruiting battle between Ohio State and Notre Dame has been extremely one sided. The Buckeyes have won the battle for three offensive linemen — Montgomery, Josh Padilla and Austin Siereveld — safety Malik Hatford and athlete-turned-safety Sonny Styles, who reclassified to 2022: five in-state prospects who had Notre Dame as a finalist.
And the battles continue, whether it’s for four-star safety Caleb Downs or five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate that both the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish seem to be right in the middle of.
Will the head-to-head matchup between Ohio State and Notre Dame win those recruiting battles? Probably not. But that atmosphere that particular Saturday night will be at its best for those visiting, that’s for sure.
What did Day have to do to receive his historic extension?
As I said on the Scarlet and Gray Report podcast last week, this was not something that was a shock.
It was something Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith alluded to when we talked to him earlier in the year, saying that Day’s contract will reflect the success he’s had. Last week, that turned into a two-year contract extension, raising his per-year salary to $9.5 million per year: by no means chump change compared to the rest of the country.
It puts him at the top of the heap compared to the rest of the Big Ten, tying him with Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker for the highest per-season salary of any coach in the conference and putting him in the same ballpark of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, LSU’s Brian Kelly and, reportedly, USC’s Lincoln RIley.
So I was curious: what did the three (or in Tucker’s case, two) years look like before each of these coaches received their historic contracts? I took a look:
Day (2019-21 Ohio State): 31-4, 2-2 in bowl games, extended May 18, 2022
Tucker (2020-21 Michigan State): 13-7, 1-0 in bowl games, extended Nov. 24, 2021
Saban (2018-20 Alabama): 38-3, 4-1 in bowl games including 2020 College Football Championship, extended Aug. 2, 2021
Swinney (2016-18 Clemson): 41-3, 4-1 in bowl games, including 2016 and 2018 College Football Championships, extended April 26, 2019
Kelly (2019-21 Notre Dame): 32-5, 1-1 in bowl games, signed contract with LSU Nov. 30, 2021
RIley (2019-21 Oklahoma): 31-6, 1-1 in bowl games, signed contract with USC Nov. 28, 2021
Wednesday wasn’t only a big day for contracts at Ohio State.
The NCAA Division 1 Council also announced that it will relax its restrictions on conference championship games, allowing the conferences themselves to decide which teams participate in the title games.
With this, conferences have already changed their conference championship rules. In the Mountain West, starting in 2023, the conference will send the top two teams based on conference record, to the championship game. This season, the Pac-12 Championship will feature the two teams with the highest winning percentages, with indications that the ACC will be next in 2023, per ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti and Andrea Adelson.
So what would that look like in the Big Ten?
We’ve talked about it before, whether it’s new divisions or implementing three permanent Big Ten rivals — which I still think should be Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State — and having a round-robin schedule for the rest of conference play, which the conference should have a better idea about once the conference’s new media rights deal is secured.
If the Big Ten would have reverted to the Pac-12’s model, how would Big Ten championships have changed in the past five years?
Let’s take a look:
2017 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
2018 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Michigan
2019 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
2020 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Northwestern
2021 — Actual game: Michigan vs. Iowa, “Pac-12 Model:” Michigan vs. Ohio State
Could “The Game” eventually happen two weeks in a row?
Quick answer: Absolutely.
Really, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what the Big Ten is aiming for, with Michigan’s win against Ohio State averaging 15.98 million viewers last season: the highest-rated and most-watched regular season college football game since No. 1 LSU vs. No. 1 Alabama in 2019.
It is what would have happened a season ago, showing the disparity between the Big Ten East and the Big Ten West divisions. Michigan and Ohio State each finished with one conference loss, while Michigan State, the Wolverines and the Buckeyes finished 2021 with two losses overall. Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Purdue each finished with four losses.
It’s something that could happen again in 2022.
If Ohio State comes into the Michigan game undefeated this year, it would have handed losses to Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern, while the Wolverines will have to face the Hawkeyes, Nebraska and Illinois.
There could very well be a scenario where both the Buckeyes and Wolverines are undefeated, fighting for a place in the Big Ten championship against one-loss Wisconsin.
Per CBS Sports, the Big Ten wants a new media rights deal secured by Memorial Day, one that could be worth $1 billion with seven suitors in negotiations: CBS, NBA, TNT, Apple, Amazon, Fox and ESPN.
“The Game” is likely at the center of discussion here. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it twice in the same season here soon.
Some former Ohio State players are making an impact at the NBA Combine.
Chris Holtmann knew the impact both E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham could make at the next level. So it seems he wasn’t surprised with what he saw from both of them at the NBA Combine this weekend.
But it looks like both Liddell and Branham are turning some heads heading into the draft at the end of next month.
To honor the Pancake Honcho…
I could use this final spot to break down Chris Holtmann’s contract further, or dive deeper into my thoughts on the feud between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher.
Instead, I want to talk about my hero in the 2023 recruiting class: Samson Okunlola.
Earlier this week, the self-proclaimed “Pancake Honcho,” the name of the 2023 four-star offensive tackle’s brand, sent out a tweet, challenging schools to make the best #pancakehoncho edit
And the results were glorious.
Ohio State’s was pretty good too.
But none, and I mean NONE, came out better than this photo that came out of Okunlola’s visit to Oregon this weekend. This is incredible.
Here’s the song of the week.
First, a word of wisdom from E.J. Liddell:
With that, I’ll share my favorite song to play in a car: “Death and All His Friends” by Coldplay. To cap off one of my favorite records of all time — I’m a sucker for Brian Eno-produced records — it showcases an exquisite build that peaks so, so well into this choral and echo-sounding guitar refrain that’s absolutely breathtaking. And, on the studio track, it goes back to the beginning, bringing us back to “Life in Technicolor:” the introduction to the record “Viva La Vida and Death and All His Friends” that samples Jon Hopkins’ “Light Through the Veins.”
But this song is one I would play all the time when I was a kid, driving to school with my brother, blasting it at 7 a.m. as we arrived at school. It’s an incredible tune.
The song starts at 4:05.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcgCvdRy2h8
See you on the board.
Here are the 10 things on my mind heading into another week.
All eyes will be on Ohio Stadium to start the 2022 season.
The game is still more than three months away and it’s still the only thing I can think about.
And the Buckeyes wouldn’t have it any other way.
For Notre Dame’s first trip to Ohio Stadium since 1995, Ohio State is pulling out the red carpet, beginning the 2022 campaign under the lights at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3.
The two heralded programs are only separated by 254 miles, but it will only be their seventh matchup in history and their first non-bowl meeting since 1996 after the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl in 2006 and 2016.
Simply, it’s a BIG game, the perfect scenario for a night game.
It will be the official start of the Marcus Freeman tenure, the former Buckeye linebacker, who has former Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington as his defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator along with James Laurinatis, who was a teammate with Freeman in Columbus, on staff as a graduate assistant.
It’s two Midwest powers with two young head coaches — one established with two College Football Playoff appearances in his first three seasons as head coach; the other, taking over a program that has made the CFP twice in eight years under a head coach that’s starting over with another Power Five powerhouse.
It’s a recruiting battle (more on that later), each fighting for the top kids coming out of the region, along with Michigan, something that will only be heightened with a primetime atmosphere and a full sideline in that season opener.
It’s also a tone-setter, one that will establish the narrative for each program going forward, whether it’s an Ohio State team that meets the expectation the 13.5-point spread gives or if Notre Dame rises, immediately replacing the Buckeyes on the trajectory for a spot in the Playoff — something Ohio State can overcome, like it did after losing to Oregon in Week 2 and storming back, arriving in Ann Arbor last season with the weight of a Playoff berth hinging on a win.
Even as the storylines continue to overflow from the Ohio State sideline, whether it’s C.J. Stroud’s first game in what is expected to be a Heisman-caliber redshirt sophomore season before being named as a top-five pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, to Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles showing off his defense for the first time, it will all be under the microscope only a primetime ABC night game can provide.
And, again, the Buckeyes wouldn’t have it any other way.
But here’s the thing…
Ohio State doesn’t necessarily do the best when all of the attention is fixated on Ohio Stadium.
It doesn’t necessarily have to do with playing in primetime, posting a record of 38-8 in games that start after 6 p.m. since 2013, including wins in 27 of 30 matchups against Big Ten opponents.
It’s those early-season matchups against high-leverage non-conference opponents, the games that define the course of the Buckeyes early in the season: Oregon in 2021, Oklahoma in 2017, Virginia Tech in 2014, USC in 2009.
It’s games that have become sort of a protocol for the Buckeyes on the scheduling front, with Notre Dame in 2022 and 2023, Washington in 2024 and 2025, Texas in 2025 and 2026, Alabama in 2027 and 2028, Georgia in 2030 and 2031, and Oregon again in 2032 and 2033.
It’s early-season tests, games that clearly showcase where the Buckeyes stand heading into Big Ten play, something Ohio State has shown it can build back from even with a loss (2014, anyone?).
But it’s not an atmosphere Ohio State has shown much success in, not winning a high-leverage, high-profile non-conference game at Ohio Stadium since hosting Miami (FL) in 2010, a team that finished 7-6 and in second place in the ACC Coastal division, losing to Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl.
Will Ohio State lose to Notre Dame Sept. 3 at Ohio Stadium? History shows that it very well could. But history also shows that it wouldn’t be the end of the world, no matter what time it’s at.
So what does it mean on the recruiting trail now that it’s a night game?
It’s a game Peyton Woodyard is already locked into.
As soon as the start time was confirmed this past week, he let safeties coach Perry Eliano know his intentions of being in attendance, commenting on his tweet “Looking forward to it Coach!”
The No. 1 safety in the 2024 class will likely be one of many on the sideline for the season opener against the Fighting Irish, like 2023 OL commit Luke Montgomery, who already is quote-tweeting LeBron James, trying to get him to attend the first game of the season.
However, in the class of 2023, as our lovely recruiting editor @Zack Carpenter has pointed out, the recruiting battle between Ohio State and Notre Dame has been extremely one sided. The Buckeyes have won the battle for three offensive linemen — Montgomery, Josh Padilla and Austin Siereveld — safety Malik Hatford and athlete-turned-safety Sonny Styles, who reclassified to 2022: five in-state prospects who had Notre Dame as a finalist.
And the battles continue, whether it’s for four-star safety Caleb Downs or five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate that both the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish seem to be right in the middle of.
Will the head-to-head matchup between Ohio State and Notre Dame win those recruiting battles? Probably not. But that atmosphere that particular Saturday night will be at its best for those visiting, that’s for sure.
What did Day have to do to receive his historic extension?
As I said on the Scarlet and Gray Report podcast last week, this was not something that was a shock.
It was something Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith alluded to when we talked to him earlier in the year, saying that Day’s contract will reflect the success he’s had. Last week, that turned into a two-year contract extension, raising his per-year salary to $9.5 million per year: by no means chump change compared to the rest of the country.
It puts him at the top of the heap compared to the rest of the Big Ten, tying him with Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker for the highest per-season salary of any coach in the conference and putting him in the same ballpark of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, LSU’s Brian Kelly and, reportedly, USC’s Lincoln RIley.
So I was curious: what did the three (or in Tucker’s case, two) years look like before each of these coaches received their historic contracts? I took a look:
Day (2019-21 Ohio State): 31-4, 2-2 in bowl games, extended May 18, 2022
Tucker (2020-21 Michigan State): 13-7, 1-0 in bowl games, extended Nov. 24, 2021
Saban (2018-20 Alabama): 38-3, 4-1 in bowl games including 2020 College Football Championship, extended Aug. 2, 2021
Swinney (2016-18 Clemson): 41-3, 4-1 in bowl games, including 2016 and 2018 College Football Championships, extended April 26, 2019
Kelly (2019-21 Notre Dame): 32-5, 1-1 in bowl games, signed contract with LSU Nov. 30, 2021
RIley (2019-21 Oklahoma): 31-6, 1-1 in bowl games, signed contract with USC Nov. 28, 2021
Wednesday wasn’t only a big day for contracts at Ohio State.
The NCAA Division 1 Council also announced that it will relax its restrictions on conference championship games, allowing the conferences themselves to decide which teams participate in the title games.
With this, conferences have already changed their conference championship rules. In the Mountain West, starting in 2023, the conference will send the top two teams based on conference record, to the championship game. This season, the Pac-12 Championship will feature the two teams with the highest winning percentages, with indications that the ACC will be next in 2023, per ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti and Andrea Adelson.
So what would that look like in the Big Ten?
We’ve talked about it before, whether it’s new divisions or implementing three permanent Big Ten rivals — which I still think should be Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State — and having a round-robin schedule for the rest of conference play, which the conference should have a better idea about once the conference’s new media rights deal is secured.
If the Big Ten would have reverted to the Pac-12’s model, how would Big Ten championships have changed in the past five years?
Let’s take a look:
2017 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
2018 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Michigan
2019 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
2020 — Actual game: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, “Pac-12 Model:” Ohio State vs. Northwestern
2021 — Actual game: Michigan vs. Iowa, “Pac-12 Model:” Michigan vs. Ohio State
Could “The Game” eventually happen two weeks in a row?
Quick answer: Absolutely.
Really, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is what the Big Ten is aiming for, with Michigan’s win against Ohio State averaging 15.98 million viewers last season: the highest-rated and most-watched regular season college football game since No. 1 LSU vs. No. 1 Alabama in 2019.
It is what would have happened a season ago, showing the disparity between the Big Ten East and the Big Ten West divisions. Michigan and Ohio State each finished with one conference loss, while Michigan State, the Wolverines and the Buckeyes finished 2021 with two losses overall. Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Purdue each finished with four losses.
It’s something that could happen again in 2022.
If Ohio State comes into the Michigan game undefeated this year, it would have handed losses to Wisconsin, Iowa and Northwestern, while the Wolverines will have to face the Hawkeyes, Nebraska and Illinois.
There could very well be a scenario where both the Buckeyes and Wolverines are undefeated, fighting for a place in the Big Ten championship against one-loss Wisconsin.
Per CBS Sports, the Big Ten wants a new media rights deal secured by Memorial Day, one that could be worth $1 billion with seven suitors in negotiations: CBS, NBA, TNT, Apple, Amazon, Fox and ESPN.
“The Game” is likely at the center of discussion here. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it twice in the same season here soon.
Some former Ohio State players are making an impact at the NBA Combine.
Chris Holtmann knew the impact both E.J. Liddell and Malaki Branham could make at the next level. So it seems he wasn’t surprised with what he saw from both of them at the NBA Combine this weekend.
But it looks like both Liddell and Branham are turning some heads heading into the draft at the end of next month.
To honor the Pancake Honcho…
I could use this final spot to break down Chris Holtmann’s contract further, or dive deeper into my thoughts on the feud between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher.
Instead, I want to talk about my hero in the 2023 recruiting class: Samson Okunlola.
Earlier this week, the self-proclaimed “Pancake Honcho,” the name of the 2023 four-star offensive tackle’s brand, sent out a tweet, challenging schools to make the best #pancakehoncho edit
And the results were glorious.
Ohio State’s was pretty good too.
But none, and I mean NONE, came out better than this photo that came out of Okunlola’s visit to Oregon this weekend. This is incredible.
Here’s the song of the week.
First, a word of wisdom from E.J. Liddell:
With that, I’ll share my favorite song to play in a car: “Death and All His Friends” by Coldplay. To cap off one of my favorite records of all time — I’m a sucker for Brian Eno-produced records — it showcases an exquisite build that peaks so, so well into this choral and echo-sounding guitar refrain that’s absolutely breathtaking. And, on the studio track, it goes back to the beginning, bringing us back to “Life in Technicolor:” the introduction to the record “Viva La Vida and Death and All His Friends” that samples Jon Hopkins’ “Light Through the Veins.”
But this song is one I would play all the time when I was a kid, driving to school with my brother, blasting it at 7 a.m. as we arrived at school. It’s an incredible tune.
The song starts at 4:05.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcgCvdRy2h8
See you on the board.
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