Paul Finebaum is putting Ohio State-Texas right alongside the SEC’s heaviest hitter.
After watching the Buckeyes and Longhorns deliver a 24-23 thriller in Week 2 at DKR Stadium, Finebaum said that matchup belongs in the same conversation as Georgia-Alabama, which is set for Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. He made that point while brushing past the buzz around LSU-Ole Miss, the September 19 game in Oxford that came with Lane Kiffin’s return to face the Rebels after leaving for LSU mid-CFP run last year.
“I don’t think the loser of this game is really in trouble very much because of the opposition. I mean, this is a massive game, and you know, probably along with Ohio State-Texas, is among the biggest games of the year.
LSU-Ole Miss got the hype, but that game really probably does not compare to this. Everyone knows what the two teams represent,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic.
That Ohio State-Texas game lived up to the billing and then some. The home crowd in Austin got a comeback, the visiting Buckeyes got a bruising reminder of how thin the margin is in a top-five showdown, and both teams walked away looking like CFP contenders. Each is now sitting in the AP Top 25 top five.
For Ohio State, the regular-season runway gets a lot thinner from here. Maryland comes next, and there’s not much mystery about the challenge.
Mike Locksley’s Terrapins have never beaten a ranked Big Ten team during his tenure or at any other point, and Maryland is 0-39 against ranked conference opponents since joining the league. Against this Ohio State team, an upset would be the kind of result that would barely sound real.
Indiana has a tougher assignment this weekend as it heads to Nebraska, where the atmosphere figures to be a major test for Curt Cignetti’s rebuilt roster. The Hoosiers have been shaky on defense, and the trip to Lincoln looks like a potential trap.
If Ohio State and Indiana both keep rolling and come out of the weekend still unbeaten in Big Ten play, the rematch in the Big Ten Championship Game the following week would give the conference its own version of the Georgia-Alabama showdown.
And unlike some other contenders on Ohio State’s schedule, the Buckeyes no longer have many headline-grabbing regular-season games left. Oregon already lost to Oklahoma State, USC fell to Oregon, and Michigan has two losses. That means the biggest game of Ohio State’s season may already be the one it lost to Texas in early September.
Now the pressure shifts to Bryant-Denny Stadium, where Georgia and Alabama have a chance to match the standard set in Week 2.
In Other News...
Simeon Caldwell Is Giving Ohio States Secondary A New Decision To Make
Simeon Caldwell arrived at Ohio State with the kind of preseason expectations that usually keep a freshman safety in the background, but his early work has pushed him into a more meaningful spot in the Buckeyes secondary. He has seen the field in multiple games already, and his usage has grown as the coaching staff has continued to trust him more in the defensive rotation. The staffs interest in him has only sharpened because he brings versatility to a room that already has plenty of competition.
Caldwells most notable opportunities have come in expanded snaps against Iowa, where he held up well in coverage and showed he can tackle in space. His role has been growing in nickel and dime packages, the kind of subpackages that demand safeties who can handle tight ends and bigger receivers without sacrificing too much on the back end. For Ohio State, that kind of flexibility gives the defense another option to sort through, and it could keep changing how the secondary is deployed from week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Freshmen Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Break Through
Ryan Days latest update on Ohio States young wide receivers gave a clearer picture of where the room stands heading into Maryland. Freshmen Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd have been making progress, and Day said both have shown the kind of confidence that can earn more trust in the passing game. With the Buckeyes still sorting through their receiver rotation, the door is at least a little more open for the first-year players to carve out snaps.
The timing matters because Ohio State may need extra help at the position, and the staff has already been looking for more ways to spread the field. That creates a real opening for Henry and Boyd to get involved in a game that could test the depth chart a little more than expected, while Kyle Parker is also positioned to enter the mix after missing the early part of the season. The next step is whether those practice flashes turn into actual game reps when the Buckeyes line up against Maryland. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has A Few Injury Questions At The Worst Time
Ohio States first availability report for the Maryland game brought a few expected bumps, but the overall picture was still fairly manageable. The Buckeyes entered the week with several players either out or uncertain, yet the list also suggested the roster is generally in good shape heading into the matchup.
The biggest concern for the offense is the status of wide receivers Devin McCuin and Brandon Inniss, both of whom were listed as questionable. On the other side of the ball, safety Leroy Roker III was ruled out, leaving Ohio State to sort through a handful of late-week injury questions at a time when depth and stability matter even more. [Read more 🡒]