Ohio State vs. Grambling State picks, preview

Summary

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The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State vs. Grambling State Picks & Preview

Podcast by Blue Wire | Released: September 4, 2025
Hosts: Doug Lesmerises & Bill Landis

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Overview

This episode centers on previewing Ohio State’s upcoming home game against Grambling State, touching on why the game was scheduled, what to expect on the field and around the stadium, and the cultural significance of Grambling State and its legendary coach Eddie Robinson. Doug and Bill provide both football analysis and a broader look at college football scheduling, traditions, and history, aiming their discussion at dedicated Ohio State fans while keeping it fun and insightful.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why is Ohio State Playing Grambling State?

• The game was scheduled in summer 2024 after Ohio State canceled a previously scheduled matchup with UConn that was oddly set for mid-October—an unusual time for a non-conference game.
  • "They canceled a game against Yukon that was scheduled for October 18th of this year. So it's kind of weird that they had a game scheduled for the middle of Big Ten season which they almost never do." (03:02, Doug)
• Grambling State is being paid $1 million for the game, a sum Doug and Bill note is less than what some other opponents have received—especially when adjusted for inflation.
  • "I think Grambling maybe could have held out for more money. OU's getting 1.9 in week three...Inflation's more than that." (04:19, Doug)

2. The Fan Experience & Traditions

• Despite the lopsided matchup, Doug encourages fans—especially those who can rarely afford to attend—to come enjoy Ohio Stadium’s atmosphere, traditions, and the bands.
  • "Go take your kids. Go with your coworkers. Go round up people in the neighborhood...Go to the Shoe." (06:11, Doug)
• Both the iconic Ohio State Marching Band and Grambling’s celebrated "World Famed Tiger Marching Band" will perform, along with the OSU alumni band—a rare triple-band event.
  • "Three bands in attendance this week." (18:47, Bill)
• Mickey Joseph, Grambling’s head coach, jokes that the real competition will be between the bands:
  • "First of all, they've got a great band and we have a great band and we're going to compete as a band." (19:12, paraphrased from Doug relaying Joseph's quote)

3. Grambling State’s Football & Historical Significance

• Grambling Head Coach: Mickey Joseph, previously Nebraska’s interim head coach, brings Louisiana ties and a down-to-earth outlook.
• Legacy of Eddie Robinson:
  • Grambling’s legendary coach for 56 years, Robinson recorded 408 wins, playing a pivotal role in giving Black athletes college opportunities before programs in the South integrated.
  • "Eddie Robinson was offering opportunity to black football players to come play high quality college football. And he was dominating." (09:03, Doug)
• Notable Alumni: The school produced Doug Williams, Super Bowl-winning QB for the Washington franchise.
• Contextualizing Importance: Games like this offer a chance for fans to learn about lesser-known yet foundational chapters in college football.
  • "I do like the opportunity sometimes the games like this can present for people to like learn a little bit about the history of the game if you choose to." (10:35, Bill)

4. Eddie Robinson’s Legacy & Influence

• Robinson’s career intersected with Ohio State’s own legacy: Larry Johnson, OSU assistant, told the team about how Eddie Robinson inspired his coaching journey.
  • "Larry Johnson came to him and said, 'I'd like to speak to the team a little bit about Eddie Robinson.'" (12:32, Bill)
• The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, named in his honor, has been won by five different Ohio State head coaches—more than any other school.
  • "Do you know which school has the most winners ever of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award? ... It is the Ohio State Buckeyes. 5." (14:09, Doug)

5. Grambling State’s Team Preview

• Grambling comes off a win against NAIA Langston (55-7), playing two QBs: Xavion T-Set (mobile, 6:3) and Ashton Fry (bigger, 6:5), both expected to see time.
  • "Mickey Joseph said this week, expect both quarterbacks." (17:20, Doug)
• The running game rotates multiple backs, and overall, the team is not projected to be competitive in the SWAC.
  • "This Grambling team was picked to finish fifth out of six teams in the SWAC west." (23:51, Bill)

6. What to Watch For: Ohio State’s Game Plan & Rotations

• Expect a heavy rotation and early action from backups and highly touted young players, particularly WRs and RBs like Bo Jackson.
  • "Bo Jackson leads this team. Leads the team in carries. Or maybe Isaiah West, right?" (27:13, Doug)
• Emphasis on airing it out after a previous run-heavy game—a chance for backup QBs and younger receivers to shine.
  • "This is an opportunity, I think, to kind of let your receivers go have some fun and let Julian Sayin throw it around a little bit..." (24:43, Bill)
• Possible redshirt-freshman QB Tavien St. Clair could see limited action, and the game allows clear evaluation of second- and third-stringers.
  • "You're going to see all these guys. So get ready and pay attention. ... You get a sense of who really are the second team guys." (27:26, Doug)
• The game should be extremely lopsided, with all signs pointing to dominance from the opening snap.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On opportunity for fans:
  "It would be fantastic if some people who don't normally get to go to games get to go to this game." (06:23, Doug)

• On history and meaning:
  "If you're gonna do it, let it have meaning. So when Trestle played Youngstown State, that was cool. Having HBCUs come in here with their awesome bands...there's a reason." (21:07, Doug)

• On expectations for the game:
  "We will have a live postgame show right when this thing ends and we'll probably be talking about a lot of Ohio State backups." (01:33, Doug)
  "I think they're going to throw it a lot...you want to try to give them a little bit of a show. And obviously the way that Ohio State does that is by throwing the ball." (24:43, Bill)

• On score prediction:
  "What is your score prediction for this game?" (29:46, Doug)
  "63-0." (29:51, Bill)
  "Oh, come on. That's mine too." (29:53, Doug)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Game scheduling & payment context: 03:01–05:47
• Fan experience, traditions, & bands: 06:07–07:44, 18:47–20:35
• Grambling State history & Eddie Robinson: 08:53–15:29
• Grambling team preview & Mickey Joseph: 16:47–18:47
• Ohio State’s strategy, players to watch: 24:43–27:26
• Roster/depth chart insights: 27:26–28:33
• Score predictions & blowout discussion: 29:46–31:35

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Conclusion

Doug and Bill paint a full picture for fans: The football result isn’t in doubt, but the game offers a key moment to share college football’s rich history, appreciate traditions, and give opportunities to both fans and younger Buckeye players. The hosts’ easy rapport and deep knowledge combine analysis and affection for the culture of the sport, making the preview both fun and informative.

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Transcript

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[Doug Lesmerises]

Welcome back to the Bill and Doug show. Ohio State versus Grambling State on Saturday, 3:30pm Eastern Time in Ohio Stadium on the Big Ten Network. Jeff Levering, Jake Butt, Brook Fletcher on the call. Landis, you'll be there. I'll be in the home office. We will have a live postgame show right when this thing ends and we'll probably be talking about a lot of Ohio State backups.

[Bill Landis]

Yes, that is my anticipation. Yeah, we'll be talking about the highlights of the A lot of young guys, I think. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So we're gonna wind up making a pick here. There's. Is there still no line as we record this as far as we know?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I'm. I'm pretty sure because I we ran into this problem I think two years ago when Ohio State played. Was it the Youngstown State two years ago? I don't think. Yeah, I don't think they put out FBS vs FCS lines until either Friday or Saturday morning. So they usually come out late.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, 50 would be my guess. I think it was 50 when they played Florida A M in 2013. Yeah, probably that might be a little hot. We're actually going to get a decent representation of the change in the clock rules, I think in fewer possessions and I have the numbers from when they played Florida A M, which is last historically black college FCS school. They Played and that was 76 nothing. And in 20 to 13, 2013. So we'll get a sense about that. We have some stuff to run through. A little bit about Grambling State, a little bit about what we think we might see. Want to see from Ohio State. So let's do that. This game was only scheduled last summer. Do you remember that? You remember that?

[Bill Landis]

I do, yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

They canceled a game against Yukon that was scheduled for October 18th of this year. So it's kind of weird that they had a game scheduled for the middle of Big Ten season which. Which they almost never do. I'm a little curious even why they decided it's a two by two bye week season so you have a little more wiggle room. But like for instance in the. So this was. They changed the schedule in June of 24 and then the, the Big Ten put out its schedule in December of 24. Like who's everyone, what the dates actually are. So they're playing Wisconsin on October 18th. So I, I don't know if that motivated it. Yukon's playing Syracuse this week and I think the lines like a seven point game. So Yukon would have been a. Substantially more of a test than Grambling State. But also they were never playing Yukon now. And I get, I get why they canceled Yukon. I guess, I don't know.

[Bill Landis]

I wonder. I, I don't recall when the Yukon thing was scheduled. I wonder if they were because sometimes you get an early Big Ten game and then the Big Ten schedule got like all changed around. Right. So I wonder if they were anticipating playing a Big Ten game early this year so they had to play. But yeah, I don't, I mean I've never covered an Ohio State non conference game that wasn't in September. So yeah, playing Yukon in October would have been really weird.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So Grambling State is getting a million dollars to play this game, which actually is a little light frankly. I think if Ohio State was trying to do something late, I think Grambling maybe could have held out for more money. OU's getting 1.9 in week three. And when Ohio State played Florida A M in 2013, they gave Florida A M 900,000. So Grambling's only getting a hundred thousand more 12 years later. Inflation's more than that.

[Bill Landis]

It has, it's. It's tv. TV eyeballs I would imagine.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Right.

[Bill Landis]

And they're probably like Ohio State, ou, you'll probably fill the shoe.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Right.

[Bill Landis]

I don't even know people. I don't wanna, I don't wanna make Ohio University fans angry. I don't know if they actually call it ou, but like, you're not gonna fill the shoe for this game.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, against Grambling, but at least, but that's. I don't know. I think they say like 1.2. So. Yeah, their ad should walk up to Ross and Saturday and be like, give us a little more. We need it. I. I know when I, I wrote this, I was trying to look. I think it's probably about right, except it's just even more expanded. Like $900,000 in 2013, I wrote that was 10% of Florida A M's budget and it was 1% of Ohio State's budget. You know, like less than 1%. And now it's $1 million. Is. Is a half percent. Is. Is.35% of Ohio State's budget. And it's really important to Grambling State. So anyway, I want.

[Bill Landis]

This makes me want to look now.

[Doug Lesmerises]

What is.

[Bill Landis]

If you've never been to the shoe, could be a week for it.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Oh, there are prices.

[Bill Landis]

I'm looking at. I'm looking at Se Geek and there's like 38 tickets.

[Doug Lesmerises]

And go. It's the. The fall has been loving.

[Bill Landis]

Be nice. It's gonna be really nice. Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Go experience the shoe. The shoe's the same. Ohio State wears the same helmets. They still have Buckeye leaves on them. They still do the same intro. The band still plays the same way. They still come out of the tunnel. You get everything's the same except. And then you're going to see them score a bunch of touchdowns. Go take your kids.

[Bill Landis]

They'll go down too. Closer to the.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Go. Go with your co workers. Go round up people in the neighborhood. Get Grandma and Grandpa. Find long lost friends. Go take a picture in front of the Archie statue. Go to the shoe. And I only say this, I only say this as someone who, when I was growing up in Pennsylvania, only got to go to games when it was games like this. And guess what? I didn't care. Yeah, I was at the game. So. And I know still it's, you know. Anyway, it would be fantastic if some people who don't normally get to go to games get to go to this game. Mickey Joseph is the head coach of Grambling State. He was the interim coach at Nebraska, the interim head coach when Scott Frost got fired. Although he's actually a Louisiana guy. He coached in Louisiana practically his whole life and was at Nebraska for one year and everything blew up. And I'm sure he was like, what did I get myself into? And then he went back. So he's been at Grambling State. It's a reminder. Hugh Jackson is not the coach at Grambling State. He was. And then he went 3, 8 and 5 and 6 and got fired. The former Browns coach got fired as the coach at Grambling State. Mickey Joseph is in his second year and. And he said. I watched his news conference. He says, we know what we're getting ourselves into. We know why we're playing this game. And do you?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

He means money.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah. Mickey Joseph played a role in LSU landing Joe Burrow.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Landis]

Because Mickey Joseph is a former Nebraska quarterback. And when Joe transferred to LSU, Mickey was LSU's receivers coach. And part of the reason they. Part of the reason they liked LSU is because there were two assistants on staff. Bill Bush who had been in Ohio State and Mickey Joseph who had been at Nebraska. And Joe's family, obviously is a bunch of Nebraska people. So, like, that connection helped a little bit.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Look at that. Yeah, look at that. Wonder why you did that research. That's good stuff, Landis. You should put that in a podcast. So Mickey Joseph knows what's up. He also said it's not how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get up. So he. He knows what he wants out of his team. Eddie Robinson. I. This is one of those things. Initially, maybe my assumption would be that if you're watching a college football show, you know who Eddie Robinson is. But that might be wrong, Bill. There might be very dedicated, educated, loyal college football fans, Ohio State fans, who aren't exactly sure who Eddie Robinson is.

[Bill Landis]

Or maybe you know the name. Right, because of the award that is named in his honor. But don't 100 know why there's an award named in his honor?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah, he was the head coach at Grambling State. The university, the college went through some name changes while he was there. He was the head coach in 41 and 42. Then he wasn't for a couple years. Then he was a head coach from 1945 to 1997. He was the head coach at Grambling State for 56 years. He went 408, 165 and 15. And at a time before lots of college football programs were recruiting black players, you have to remember that there were some northern schools that integrated, you know, in the 40s, 50s and 60s. There were SEC schools that did not integrate and have its first black players until the 60s or maybe even the early 70s. So at that time, Eddie Robinson was offering opportunity to black football players to come play high quality college football. And he was dominating. So if you think about Grambling State now, you have to think about what it was and the role it served at that time in American history and the kind of players that he got through there. 408 career wins. And the other name, again, that to me is like everybody knows this and probably not everybody knows this. Doug Williams.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Super bowl winning quarterback with the Washington Redskins. Now commanders is a Grambling State grad. And so like a Grambling State quarterback has won the Super Bowl. So like this is what we're talking about. It is a long college football history. It's just maybe not something that every 25 year old college football fan knows about.

[Bill Landis]

No. And I think, you know there you, you work hard to find like interesting things to talk about. Right. When a game like this happens. And I don't think any of us is, you know, expecting anything close or anything near a close football game on Saturday. But I do like the opportunity sometimes the games like this can present for people to like learn a little bit about the history of the game if you choose to. And Grambling certainly plays a big part in that.

[Doug Lesmerises]

I think Eddie Robinson and Woody Hayes are two of the 10 most important college football coaches in history.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[Doug Lesmerises]

408 career wins. I wonder if anybody has more wins than that.

[Bill Landis]

Like one more.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Like one more. Do the thing. Do the thing that everybody does.

[Bill Landis]

What's the thing that everybody does?

[Doug Lesmerises]

Tell the Ohio State fans about why 409. Like what everybody with Penn State and Joe Paterno and everything.

[Bill Landis]

Oh, it's just like. Yeah, like 409 is like a thing. It's like, like a shorthand. There's like bumper stickers with 409. Audrey Snyder, who covers Penn State as well as anybody better than anybody on the Penn State beat. Like anytime she sees 409 out in the wild, she takes note of it because that's how many games drop out one to pass Eddie Robinson.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah. So Eddie Robinson. This is any division of college football. Eddie Robinson's third. Now when he retired, he was first, he had 408. Joe Paterno did. Is that was that. It was Joe Paterno. Like, don't suspend me yet. I gotta get Daddy Robinson. Is that how that went?

[Bill Landis]

I don't know. I don't think so.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So Joe Paterno got to 409 and the leader is John Gagliardi with 489 for most of them at Division 3, St. John's Minnesota.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So anyway, that's where. So anyway But Ryan Day on Wednesday said that Larry Johnson spoke to the team about Eddie Robinson because Eddie Robinson had some influence on Larry Johnson's coaching life. Yes.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, I thought you're gonna say, here's how long Ryan Day has to coach to get to 409 wins. And I don't want to. I don't want to do that math. Yeah. Larry Johnson. The way Ryan Day explained it is Larry Johnson came to him and said, I'd like to speak to the team a little bit about Eddie Robinson. And the story that Larry Johnson, I guess, told the team was that he had heard Eddie Robinson, at some point in his life, give a talk at a coach's clinic. And that is what made Larry Johnson want to become a football coach. He also played for Herman Boone of, remember, the Titans fame. So I'd imagine that also had some influence on Larry Johnson wanting to be a head coach. But, you know, Larry Johnson is one of the most influential African American football coaches that have been around. So for him to hold that kind of affinity, Freddie Robinson certainly is not surprising. But again, I just think it's like, it's good for the Ohio State football players, I think, to learn about that kind of stuff. Right. I'm sure many of them didn't know who Eddie Robinson was.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Remember the Rushman should do that.

[Bill Landis]

That's right.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Remember the Rushman. The Football Writers association of America, which we are members. Although I often forget to send in my dues, I'm not sure that I'm a current member in good standing. I might have forgotten to send in.

[Bill Landis]

My former former president.

[Doug Lesmerises]

No longer former president. Worst president ever. They hand out a Coach of the Year Award. They've been handing it out since 1957. In 1997, they named that award for Eddie Robinson. So they have the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award. And do you know which school has the most winners ever of the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award?

[Bill Landis]

Is it the Ohio State Buckeyes?

[Doug Lesmerises]

It is the Ohio State Buckeyes. 5. Woody Hayes won it three times. Actually, Woody Hayes won the inaugural award in 1957. Now, again, this is before it was named for Eddie Robinson because they're peers. Woody won it in 57, 68, and 75. Earl Bruce won it in 79. And then Trust won it in 2002. So. And I. You know what? Now I actually want to look this up. Because I was looking it up. Let me check. Because I think. No, I guess not. I thought Urban will maybe. Maybe won it at some point, but he's not on the list. Yeah, he did win it. He won it at Utah in 04. He wanted it Utah in 04. Because the year after Urban retired, when Urban was doing all that leadership stuff, I went in his office and interviewed him for a story and he had the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award in his office. It was like very prominently displayed. And I was looking here, I was like, oh, I didn't win it at Florence because he wanted a Utah in 04. So like, that's Urban Meyer and all the things that he's done. He had like, I think the award, I, I think it might be a bust of Eddie Robinson at this point that they give you. Yeah. So like, it's just, it was in his office. It wasn't. This was not his coach's office. This was his assistant AD office. And that was important enough to be in there for him. So this is, this is who Eddie Robinson is. This is how important he is in college football.

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[Doug Lesmerises]

Mickey Joseph said he just wants a clean game. He was just telling, he said he told his coaches like he just wants to make sure his guys line up right. You know, let's not have, he said, let's not have nine guys on the field. Let's not have 13 guys on the field. This is the kind of thing we're talking about here. But they are coming off a win. Grambling State won 557 last week against Langston, which is an NAIA school, which I think as Grambling State is to Ohio State, Langston is to Grambling State. Like I think that's, that's an SAT question there, right. When you're in NAI school of note, they're going to play two quarterbacks. So Xavion T set played 46 snaps last week at quarterback. He was 20 of 25 for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Ashton Fry played 29 snaps last week. He was 6 of 8 for 44 yards in a touchdown. Mickey Joseph said this week, expect both quarterbacks. And I just would like to note T set who's a transfer in this year is 6:3. Ashton Fry is 6:5. So. So the big quarterback is going to be in probably and then the bigger quarterback will be in. So just be ready, I think.

[Bill Landis]

So like T set can run a little bit. I think Tim Walton might have been asked about that on, on Wednesday night. But what's interesting about that is like so T set can run a little bit. I actually don't know about the other guy, but I know t second and then next week another jump the gun. Ohio State plays Parker Navarro, the quarterback of Ohio University and he can run and scramble around like a madman. So I actually think there is something to be gained from playing two quarterbacks like that before you go play at Washington and have to figure out the mod Williams.

[Doug Lesmerises]

That's very well said. Five different running backs for Grambling State last week had between seven and 11 carries. So I think they're going to rotate a bunch of guys through there. But the real story, stay in your seat. Not that anybody who go. This is actually another reason to go get a 38 ticket and go to this game. Not that anybody, any Ohio State fan needs to be reminded. Don't forget the band is good. Thanks, Doug.

[Bill Landis]

Three bands, Three bands in attendance this week.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Wait, wait, wait. So the world famed Tiger Marching Band will perform for Grambling State. Who's the third band?

[Bill Landis]

The alumni band. The OSU alumni bands.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Oh, I thought you're going to say it's that. Who's the. The band that plays the new song. They have camp. Camp. I thought maybe camp was gonna play. No, no. Mickey Joseph, funny quote. He was, he was asked about it. He said like it was one of those things like what do you know about Ohio State? And his quote was first of all, they've got a great band and we have a great band and we're going to compete as a band. And then he was like. And then it was just like, nobody knew what to do with that. He's like, I'm joking, but he's also right. And this is one of the things that was super unfortunate in 2013, because I believe they're. The marching 100 is the Florida A and M band that are also a fantastic college football band. And that was that. That whole thing was like. And that's what's. What's. What's going to happen here. Ohio State scheduled a fantastic band competition, and they're going to happen to play two halves of football around it. But in 2013, there was a hazing situation with the Florida A M band, so they were suspended, so they couldn't come. And then once the band couldn't come, it was like, what are we doing here? So this will be better than that. So just like, stay in your seat. Their band is coming, and they're awesome. They've played at the Super Bowl. Like, this is a tremendous band. Yeah, obviously, to Biddle's a tremendous band. And. And I think it's gonna be fantastic to see them both perform.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, it's gonna be really cool. I wonder because, like, usually when the alumni band is. Is here, they do the quad script Ohio. I wonder if. I wonder if they'll get the Grambling band involved in that role.

[Doug Lesmerises]

I hope they do some fun stuff like that. Yeah, that would be great. That would be awesome. Again, we're referencing this Florida A and m game from 2013. This is the fifth FCS opponent, sort of like in modern times. Ohio State played Youngstown State in 07, 08 and 23 Florida A M and 13 this game. Now, they do have New Hampshire on the schedule in 2027. Ryan Days Alma mater. And so back at the time, I was rereading my story that I wrote in 2013 when they played Florida A M. And. And I said, Jim Delaney at the time was trying to get Big Ten schools to stop playing FCS schools. And I said, like, this was kind of a goofy game. Maybe it's the last of its kind. And it's not, because at the time it felt like, okay, Delaney is going to say, you can't play these anymore. As it stands, according to the Ohio State game notes, there are 16 FCS FBS matchups this weekend in college football, and 14 of the 18 teams in the Big Ten are playing an FCS school at 16 some point this regular season. If you're gonna do it, let it have meaning. So when Trestle played Youngstown State that was cool having HBCUs come in here with their awesome bands and provide schools like that an opportunity to see Ohio Stadium and to expose the Ohio State fan base to these type of schools. There's a reason behind that. And playing Ryan Day's alma mater with Ryan Day as the head coach is also. There's a reason behind that. Right. So at least they're not playing like random FCS school X that they're gonna beat by 60. But also, do you think Ohio State should get out of the business playing FCS schools?

[Bill Landis]

I'm actually okay with it as long, as long like if they were playing whatever. If they were, if they were playing two like bad G5 teams in an FCS school, obviously I wouldn't love that. But if you have Texas, I think, I think you in some ways earn, earn an FCS game and I'm with you. Like, I think I would love if you could find some like, additional meaning, whatever that matchup is, which I think this one has and obviously playing Youngstown State does. So I'm okay with it.

[Doug Lesmerises]

But it's gonna get ugly. 2013 game against FAU. Ezekiel Elliott, 14 carries, 162 yards. Braxton Miller. That was a second game that he was hurt. He was. Had also missed the Cal game. So Kenny Guyton had to start 24 of 34. 215 passing yards and six touchdowns. Ohio State started pulling at starters in the second quarter. Cardell Jones, third string quarterback, second string quarterback for that game. Started the second half. Ohio State outgained Florida A&M, 603 yards to 80. But on the first drive, Kenny Guyton threw a pick in the back of the end zone. So first drive, end zone pick. Next 10 drives for Ohio State. Touchdowns, punt, touchdown. And then they missed an extra point somewhere. So they didn't wind up with 77. They wound up with 76. You talked a little bit. Do you have any reason to suspect that this could be closer than that based on the type of team that Grambling State is compared to what Florida a m was 12 years ago?

[Bill Landis]

No, not really. That. That Florida A M team did finish three and nine.

[Doug Lesmerises]

They were.

[Bill Landis]

They were in the MIAC then they weren't in the swack. They finished two and six. I think in league play that year this scrambling team was picked to finish fifth out of six teams in the SWAC west in the preseason rankings. So I don't think people are expecting this to be. And I think maybe every team in its division except for Grambling got a first place vote. So I, I don't think it's a, like a swack contender. And then if you look at how swack teams have fared against even just like FBS teams, not Even necessarily Power 5 teams, it is, it has understandably been a little ugly. And the last time Grambling played a power four team was in 2023. They played LSU and lost 72 to 10.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Okay, so what do you want to see? What will you be looking for out of Ohio State in this game?

[Bill Landis]

I think they're going to throw it a lot. Like, coming off of a game where we, like, we talked about, like, the rush rate was so high. They were, they. They chose a style of play that was, that was pretty buttoned up. And this is an opportunity, I think, to kind of let your receivers go have some fun and let Julian say, and throw it around a little bit and have some. And, and continue to build some, Some confidence. So I think you're just going to see a lot of balls going to Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and Brandon Innis and probably Myelin Graham and maybe like a Quincy Porter and Bryson Rogers. I think they could all get involved. So I just don't know that there's much reason to, like, work out the kinks in your run game in a game like this, because I don't even know how useful that would be if you, if you did it. So. And I think you want to, like, you know, if you're gonna ask fans to come to a game like this, you want to try to give them a little bit of a show. And obviously the way that Ohio State does that is by throwing the ball. So I think the thing that I'm most eager to see is, you know, Jeremiah Smith is really fun to watch, but I would like to see what some of these other receivers are capable of. Like, really any. Everyone other than Jeremiah in the room. So that's what I'll be keyed in on the most, I think, in this game.

[Doug Lesmerises]

I'm very curious if, like, Jeremiah Smith plays more than four series. Yeah, I, I don't. I, I don't know. I would. I. As we said, Cardell Jones started the second half in 2013. I think a lot of backups did. I. I would anticipate that. And I, I think maybe Julian saying gets the first half. Lincoln Keen Holtz gets the third quarter and half the fourth quarter. And then it's the question that I chose to ask questions. Questions are gold on Wednesday with Ryan Day, and I used one on do you want to play Tavian Sinclair in this game. Do you think we'll see Tavian Sinclair?

[Bill Landis]

Yes, but I don't know that we'll see him throw a pass. I think he might get like a couple series at the end, it seemed like.

[Doug Lesmerises]

And then I said, like, is he doing, how's he doing? Basically, How's Tavian Sinclair doing? And he said, like, they've been getting him. He's running the scout team a lot. He said they, they run the threes sometimes in practice, so he's getting a couple reps there. But he said, like he's doing what he needs to do, so it would be, it would be fun. And, and here, listen, here's the thing. But even if you don't see Tavian Sinclair, you're going to see Bo Jackson at running back in this game. And maybe a lot. I actually would bet Bo Jackson leads this team. Leads the team and carries. Or maybe Isaiah west, right?

[Bill Landis]

Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

You're gonna see Myelin Graham at receiver. You're gonna see Bryson Rogers at receiver. You might see Quincy Porter at receiver. Right?

[Bill Landis]

You might see all those guys because even like, like Philip Bell lost his black stripe in camp. Like, you might see him too.

[Doug Lesmerises]

You're going to see Riley Pettigohn, you're going to see Peyton Pierce, you're going to see Aaron Scott and Bryce West. You're going to see all these guys. So like get ready and pay attention. And then the thing that's valuable, Bill, I do think, is you get a sense of who really are the second team guys. Like we're going to have, we're going to be able to say definitively what's the second string offensive line, which I, which is like sometimes. Do they even, do they do a depth chart anymore? They don't, right?

[Bill Landis]

They don't. No. No.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So we're going to be tracking depth charts on Saturday.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, it's an opportunity to like actually get a, get a pretty good feel for that. I think the one thing I do wonder is like Ohio State had a, had a clean availability report going into Texas for the most part. I think even guys that may have been a little banged up still played. And I'm not, it's not me like saying like, breaking news, someone's injured. I just think like, if anyone's got like a little bit of anything, you might put them as questionable for this game and try to not play them. So I, you know, we might even see some second string guys start maybe in this game.

[Doug Lesmerises]

By the way, freshman quarterback C.J. stroud is a true freshman. In 2020, played one snap against Rutgers in the third game and played six snaps against Michigan State the sixth game and had a 48 yard run in that game that everybody remembers. But he went into his season as a starter in 2021 having never thrown a pass in a college football game. Dwayne Haskins, for instance, as a, as a true freshman in 2016, did not get in a game. Joe Burrow in 2015 as a, as a true freshman, did not get in a game. Kyle McCord started week four against Akron as a true freshman, which was unusual. But again, that's just a situation. Like Kyle McCorm was the backup for CJ Stroud as a true freshman or. Right. So I think we might see a little bit of Sinclair keying on the backups. Opportunity for some young guys to flash. But it will be among the most non competitive Ohio State games you've ever seen.

[Bill Landis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think you want it to be that way, right? You don't want to go through a couple drives and like, oh man, we gotta, we gotta keep our starters in the second half. I don't think they'll be in that position. I think they'll put a lot of points on the board of people who are there. Hopefully with the cheap ticket, we'll have a good time watching Ohio State score touchdowns.

[Doug Lesmerises]

So we're gonna guess the line's gonna be around 50. What is your score prediction for this game?

[Bill Landis]

63 0.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Oh, come on. That's mine too.

[Bill Landis]

I just asked myself, are they going to score 10 touchdowns? And I said no, they'll score nine.

[Doug Lesmerises]

The game is shrunk. The game is shrunk. It's just, that's actually like a clock.

[Bill Landis]

Runs more and I wonder like will they play at like a normal pace because they want to get some work in or will they continue to play like they played slow Last year they played really slow against Texas. Will they play slow in this game? And like maybe it's only, maybe they only have nine possessions, right? And then will they score every time? I don't know.

[Doug Lesmerises]

I think Ohio State was forcing some turnovers, but in the Florida. And I'm getting, I'm looking at the box score from that game. These are the lengths of Ohio State's touchdown or first touchdown drives in that game. 4 seconds, 6 seconds, 36 seconds, 655, 4 seconds, 155, 319, 231 and then a couple more. So it's just like, I mean they're, they're turning it over and punching it in. So I'm. I didn't want to predict. We didn't want to predict 11 touchdowns for Ohio State. We didn't want to protect predict 10. But I think like seven's too low. So we both landed at nine touchdowns and I just don't think Grambling State will score. I don't.

[Bill Landis]

So in looking at like SWAC versus FBS games in the last two years, there are a couple of shutouts. So yeah, Vanderbilt shut out Alcorn State last year in Michigan State shut out Prairie View A M last year and SMU shut out Prairie View A&M in 2023. And there's a bunch of like threes and sevens in there too.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Okay, so that's what we're expecting. Last week you were right and I was wrong. You picked Ohio State to win. I picked Texas to win. So you're ahead in our Ohio State head to head showdown. And we'll see how we do this week. We will have our show on Friday morning where we make other national picks, talk about some other games. We'll talk about Iowa, Iowa State. We'll talk about Oklahoma, Michigan, we'll talk about Kansas, Missouri, we'll talk about Oregon, Oklahoma State, stuff like that. And then we'll do the post game show live here on YouTube on Saturday after the game. 3:30 kick. And Bill, you'll be there?

[Bill Landis]

I will be in the shoe and we'll see. I don't know if I'll go to Ryan Day or not. Maybe I'll just like join the show right away because last time you were kind of doing it by yourself for 50 minutes and.

[Doug Lesmerises]

And the people don't like that.

[Bill Landis]

So I'm sure some people like it. Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Tmd. Tmd.

[Bill Landis]

Too much, Doug.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Too much. Stu. The please give us a band report. Lock in. I know someone asked you last week about halftime food and you were like, I'm not into these hot dogs. So they're not going to be distracting you. You'll be locked in on the bands.

[Bill Landis]

I will be locked in on the bands. I will not be eating hot dogs of concerning shade of color. Yeah.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Which is which. Which is fine. But the band. Good band. I'd rather have good bands bad hot dogs than good hot dogs. Bad bands. Oh yeah. That's a trade off you're willing to make every single time. All right, number one. Ohio State versus Grambling State. 10 versus 1 0. Thank you for being part of this. Catch us on our sub stack. Bill and Doug OSU substack. It's in the Google machine, you'll find it. Get our premium stuff over there. We did a great Wednesday show comparing the 2015 Ohio State team to this 2025 Ohio State team. That was a show for the premium folk. So if you're watching this and you think, man, that sounds like an interesting topic, come on over and join us. And also we did what you're watching what you eat and what you're thinking, which some people seem to like. Bill.

[Bill Landis]

They do seem to like that. We talked about laundry habits and apples.

[Doug Lesmerises]

Yeah. What else do you want?

[Bill Landis]

What more could you want?

[Doug Lesmerises]

What more could you want? It really is more interesting than that, than that made it sound. So this will be our thing every week on Thursday where we make our pick for the Ohio State game when the game deserves it. This will be a big game breakdown. Ohio State, Washington will be a big game breakdown just like it was for Ohio State Texas when the game it does not deserve it because of circumstance. We'll do a shorter thing like this. So we appreciate you guys being here for now. He's Bill Landis. I'm Doug Lee Maurice and that was the Bill and Doug show.

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