Ohio State vs. UCLA Picks and Preview: Buckeyes defense vs. Nico Iamaleava, CFB's best scrambler

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State vs. UCLA Picks and Preview

Episode Title: Ohio State vs. UCLA Picks and Preview: Buckeyes defense vs. Nico Iamaleava, CFB's best scrambler
Podcast: The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Football Talk (Blue Wire)
Date: November 13, 2025
Hosts: Doug Lesmerises & Bill Landis

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Main Theme and Purpose

This episode dives deep into a comprehensive preview of the upcoming Ohio State vs. UCLA football game at Ohio Stadium, with Ohio State as heavy favorites. Doug Lesmerises and Bill Landis analyze UCLA's struggles and occasional flashes, focus on star quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s scrambling abilities, and discuss how the Buckeyes' defense may handle him—especially in the context of prepping for Michigan. They also review broader Big Ten narratives and finish with thoughts about UCLA’s coaching future and their game predictions.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Evaluating the 2025 UCLA Team (03:07–06:52)

• UCLA’s Up-and-Down Season:
  • Initial optimism about UCLA's three-game turnaround (Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland) was tempered by recognizing those opponents' poor records. (“They won three in a row and it was like, oh, wait, this team might be pretty good. And now they've lost two more in a row and it's like, no, I do think they're closer to stinking.” – Doug, 01:16)
  • Discussed UCLA’s thin talent outside of quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
  • Highlighted specific losses (e.g., Nebraska, Indiana), indicating average status for UCLA (“If you’re bad, they might beat you. If you’re good, they’re not going to beat you.” – Doug, 03:07)

2. Buckeye Beat Media Critique (04:32–06:26)

• Doug and Bill critique the Ohio State media’s failure to ask pertinent injury questions about players like Carnell Tate.

  "We did a terrible job on Wednesday night asking questions of Ryan Day. We didn’t find out any information about Carnell Tate."
  – Doug, 04:32

3. Spotlight: Nico Iamaleava & The Scramble Test (06:26–17:56)

• Nico’s Profile:

  • Forced to play “hero ball” due to limited surrounding talent.

  • Ranked 11th in the Big Ten in passing efficiency—impressive arm but inconsistent throw game.

  • Main threat: running and improvisation.

    “Leads the Power Four in scramble rushing yards for a quarterback by PFF.”
    – Doug, 08:53

• Comparison to Michigan’s Bryce Underwood:

  • Nico has more scramble yards than Underwood, but Underwood could still be a test in the rivalry game if unleashed.
  • Analyzes whether recent QB matchups (vs. Purdue, Washington) are proper prep for Michigan.

• OSU Defense vs. Running QBs:

  • Gave an 'A' to OSU against Washington’s D. Williams Jr, a 'B' vs. Purdue’s Ryan Brown.

  • Expectation that OSU will use spy packages (especially LB Arvell Reese) to contain Nico.

    “Ohio State’s been really good about really not allowing quarterbacks to do that this year. They do cage the pocket well, which is why I think Nico’s not going to go nuts in this game.”
    – Bill, 15:03

  • Noted the challenge posed by Nico’s long-striding running style (“Those tall, long-strider quarterbacks... It looks a little special when they get rolling and it's dangerous.” – Doug, 17:16).

4. What’s Up With UCLA's Defense? (21:46–23:13)

• Statistically abysmal: no player with even 10 pressures in the Big Ten (out of 77), fewest sacks/tackles for loss in the country, worst red-zone and third-down defense.

  “There are 77 individual players in the Big Ten who ... have at least 10 pressures this year... How many of them are from UCLA?”
  “Zero.” – Doug & Bill, 22:04

• Noted threat of special teams trickery due to interim coach desperation (onside kicks, fake punts).

5. Ohio State Offensive Line and Running Backs Update (24:08–32:58)

• Injury Watch: Right guard Josh Padilla likely out, continued rotation expected at RG and RT.

• Positive signs in running game against Purdue: Freshmen Bo Jackson and Isaiah West getting more opportunities.

• Goal for these next games: continue building the run game against weak defenses, building confidence as the postseason nears.

  “I think it's pretty clear that it's Bo and Isaiah... They're going to be the guys that are going to get the ball the most.”
  – Bill, 32:58

6. Broader College Football & OSU Context (25:53–32:58)

• Julian Sayin’s Heisman candidacy discussed in light of evolving offensive stats nationally—defending his numbers against past eras.
• Emphasis on evolution towards more balanced, slower-paced offense across college football, impacting QB stats.

7. Ohio State Historical Anecdotes & UCLA Memories (32:58–36:27)

• Recalled the infamous 1976 Rose Bowl, where Archie Griffin’s OSU lost a national title bid to a mediocre UCLA team—a candidate for the "worst non-Michigan loss in Ohio State history."

  “Ohio State was the best team in the country. They had the best player in the country... and the Bruins beat him in the Rose Bowl... Man, it's hard to top this.”
  – Doug, 35:40

8. Picks and Predictions (38:42–40:34)

• Score Predictions:

  • Bill: 42–6 Ohio State
  • Doug: 45–10 Ohio State
    (“I’m kind of would pick Ohio State not to punt.” – Doug, 39:55)

• Both expect an easy win, OSU’s defense to contain Nico, and only a single UCLA touchdown (if any).

9. Who’s Next for UCLA Head Coach? (41:53–45:39)

• Discussed odds and potential fits for UCLA after the likely exit of current leadership—names included Jed Fisch, Tommy Rees, Tony White, Pat Fitzgerald, Brian Kelly, and James Franklin.

• Consensus: UCLA is a “tough job,” but perhaps attractive to a candidate with Big Ten experience.

• Jason Eck from New Mexico and Pat Fitzgerald from Northwestern highlighted as smart options.

  “I kind of think it has to be a guy who's like, got a demonstrated track record of doing more with less... that points me toward Pat Fitzgerald.”
  – Bill, 44:33

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On UCLA’s quality:
  “They don’t have like a ton of talent kind of outside of Nico, really, there’s not a lot of game breakers on this team. So, yeah, they’re, they’re, they’re, they’re quite bad.”
  – Bill, 02:00

• On Nico’s running:
  “He’s got a real knack for it... Once he gets to the second level, he can make a cut and get another eight yards after that.”
  – Doug, 16:58

• On comparisons to Michigan:
  “Nico is significantly more active and more dangerous as a scrambler than Bryce Underwood is.”
  – Doug, 13:56

• On OSU run game development:
  “It’s not about like, toughness and physicality or whatever. It’s just like, you have to make sure that part of your offense is functional.”
  – Bill, 29:30

• On that 1976 Rose Bowl loss:
  “‘We just got the hell kicked out of us.’”
  – George Hill, via Bill, quoting the defensive coordinator (37:35)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:16 – UCLA’s rollercoaster season explained
• 04:32 – Critique of OSU beat reporting, injury mystery
• 06:26 – Is Nico Iamaleava legit?
• 08:53 – Nico: Power Four’s leading scrambling QB
• 13:56 – Nico vs. Bryce Underwood comparison
• 22:04 – UCLA's lack of pressure and defensive struggles
• 24:08 – Ohio State OL/RB injury and lineup discussion
• 25:53 – Julian Sayin’s Heisman numbers in context
• 32:58 – Historical context: UCLA's infamous Rose Bowl upset
• 38:42 – Game predictions and expected outcome
• 41:53 – Who should coach UCLA next?

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Conclusion & Takeaways

Bill and Doug, in their signature blend of candor and granular analysis, view this as a mostly one-sided contest that serves as a valuable pre-Michigan tune-up, especially in defending against dual-threat quarterbacks. While UCLA’s offense contains a unique scrambler in Nico Iamaleava, the hosts predict Ohio State’s disciplined defense and evolving offense will easily manage the challenge. The episode closes with an eye toward UCLA’s program crossroads and suggests this matchup is more about Ohio State sharpening itself than about real threat from the Bruins.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign welcome back to the Bill and Doug Show. Bill Landis and Doug Lamoriz picks and a preview for Ohio State UCLA in Ohio Stadium on Saturday night. Ohio state favored by 311 1/2. Bill Landis, and I'll just get this out of the way. I'm wearing a Roebuck more in a rowback.

[B]

Nice. Looks great.

[A]

A roback hoodie. Double checked with my wife. Did I look like a spokesmodel? She approved it. And I just want to say that we were having a roback conversation on our substack and somebody was talking about whatever, and another person who I think is a roback customer said, when you buy one, you have it for 10 years. Like, it's like, that's. So if you're thinking about a roback, you can get 20% off at r h o b a c k dot com by using the code BAD20, you'll get 20% off. And then you just have like an article of clothing that maybe, if you want to, has an Ohio State logo on it and it's just in your closet for 10 years. So, like, think about that. Bang.

[B]

It's a long time.

[A]

Decade. Bang. Don't have to worry about it. Got a piece of OSU gear that you like. All right, we're going to talk about Ohio State, ucla. They don't got much, I think.

[B]

Yeah, true. Yes, they don't. They don't got much. But I think Nico's pretty interesting.

[A]

Nico's pretty interesting. But also, I just would like. I, I don't know if people got hornswoggled by this comeback story from UCLA that is, is, is very cool because they started the season terribly and their coach got fired and it was like, oh, this team stinks. And then they won three in a row and it was like, oh, wait, this team might be pretty good. And now they've lost two more in a row and it's like, no, I do think they're closer to stinking because it turns out in the middle, the three teams they beat were Penn State, Michigan State, and Maryland, and they have a combined one Big Ten win. So. So I, I felt like for a brief moment there, Bill, it was like, what a comeback story for ucla. They're in the mix for the Big Ten title race, and it's like, no, that's not it.

[B]

They. They were, for a point, controlling their own destiny to get to the Big Ten title game. Yes. I think they changed some things up when they fired. When they fired their head coach, Foster, on both sides of the ball. They changed Things up, by the way, Jerry Neuheisel not the head coach, like, just one of, like, he's not, he's not the interim coach. He's the guy that gets on TV all the time, but he is not the interim head coach. But they, I think they kind of caught Penn State off guard, specifically with some of the new things they were doing. But, but it was also they, they fired Foster, lost to Northwestern, and then beat Penn State. Right. So it wasn't like Penn State was the first game after the firing. But yeah, I think, I think teams just sort of adjusted to the new things they were doing. They don't have like a ton of talent kind of outside of Nico, really, there's not a lot of game breakers on this team. So, yeah, they're, they're, they're, they're quite bad. And the, the shine has sort of worn off a little bit. Although they kind of hung with Nebraska last week, they got down big and tried the rally and ended up losing by a touchdown. Yeah. But then Indiana blew their doors off. So I think that's kind of more of an accurate picture of what this team is.

[A]

But like, lost to Nebraska's young backup quarterback who had never played before and threw 15 passes the whole game. And credit to teach.

[B]

Yeah. Complete a 13 of the 15.

[A]

But like, they were playing. Nebraska was playing on one leg on the road.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The week after their starting quarterback got hurt for the year. And ucla. I picked you. Like, I didn't pick UCLA because no one cared. We didn't make a pick on that. But I bet $2 on UCLA and they lost at home to a. A wounded team. It's a, it just, just so people know, they opened the season. Oh, and four. But the four teams they lost to are currently Utah, 7 and 2, UNLV 7 and 2, New Mexico 6 and 3, Northwestern, 5 and 4. So I think you saw like, my God, they lost in New Mexico and Northwestern. It's like they're actually like moderately functional teams that they lost their first four games to. Then they won three in a row against Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland, who are 3 and 6, 3 and 6, 4 and 5. And then they lost to 10 and O, Indiana and 7, 3 Nebraska. So, like, I do think they are. They're not horrible. They're more like an average team. If you're bad, they might beat you. If you're good, they're not going to beat you. And there's two things I want to talk about very briefly here at the beginning of the show about The Ohio State beat one is Bill Rabinowitz. We see you. He interviewed on Substack. He interviewed the UCLA play by play guy. And this Bill Rabinic's headline was play by play Guy for UCLA thinks UCLA might win. It's like, what? He's an employee, Bill. He's an employee of the team. Come on, Bill. What are we doing? Like, I think he's the one person in America who thinks that UCLA might. Yes. Yeah, we love Bill Rabinowitz. Go buy his book. But, Bill, come on. Like, that's not. That's not. Let's not pull the wool over our eyes here. And the second thing is, we did a terrible job on Wednesday night asking questions of Ryan Day. We didn't find out any information about Cardell Tate. Bill. We didn't get any Cardell tape updates after practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here's the thing. When the Ohio State media talks to Ryan Day on Tuesday, they haven't practiced yet. They haven't started their real practice for the week. And then we get to talk to Ryan Day very briefly after practice on Wednesday and we talk to players after practice on Wednesday. But when we talk to those people, then they've now had two full practices. And so that should be more of a news gathering, focus on the game kind of moment on Wednesday night. And I'll just say this. We did a bad job. We're part of the beat, so we also take responsibility. We also did race and didn't get called on. But that is not a time for your future question stories. We're trying to gather news for a football game that's happening in a couple days and nobody asked about Carnell Tate. The beats falling apart. We love to beat a robust group of very accomplished reporters who dedicate themselves to covering Ohio State football on behalf of the fans. We are lucky that they give us time on Mondays for around the shoe. We enjoy talking with everybody on and off camera.

[B]

We.

[A]

We failed collectively Wednesday.

[B]

Yeah. Also, I don't believe Taiwan Malone was asked about Josh Padilla, Phil Daniels, and like, part of it. Part of it is sort of like, like you, you know, probably know what the answer is going to be. But I also think there's value in how the answer is delivered, even if there's not a lot of information. Right. So, yeah, no, we dropped the ball collectively. So, yeah, we're left to. We're left to guess, I guess, what the injury situation for Ohio State is in this game. Yeah.

[A]

So let's talk about Nico. I also want to talk about a Thing at the end of the show about what? I would be curious if people view it as the worst loss in Ohio State history outside of Michigan games. Is it the worst non Michigan loss in Ohio State history? Which is not something that people are excited to talk about. Like, that's. As the defending national champion number one Ohio State Buckeyes gear up for the end of the regular season. But I want to throw it out there. Is Nico good?

[B]

I think he's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. I think he's not. He doesn't have as much around him at UCLA as he had at Tennessee, so he has to play more hero ball for this team. But I think he's pretty good.

[A]

They don't throw it great. Still. I don't. They don't throw it great. If you look at some of the success rates things at. At the beginning, like, they just kind of were bad at everything. But since they opened Owen 4, their runs. Their run success rate is like, okay. But they still don't throw it very well. And so I don't think. And they don't really have a standout receiver. I don't know that they're for this game. I don't know that their throw game is much of a threat to this Ohio State defense and this Ohio State secondary.

[B]

I think I agree with that. So Nico. I'm just looking. Nico is 11th in the Big Ten in passing efficiency.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Like, Aiden Childs who got benched is ahead of him. So. So to your point? Yes. Like, maybe it's more. Maybe I'm more. Maybe we'll talk about what Ryan Day said about him. Maybe I'm just more sort of like impressed by what he's doing for this team than I.

[A]

Than.

[B]

I think he's actually good. He's got a lot of juice in his arm. And I do like the. There's this sort of like ongoing conversation with Ohio State's defense, just sort of the way it chooses to play. If you have a strong armed quarterback who can like work the seams a little bit like there. There could be some stuff to do there. But no one has. No one has done it regularly. Right. Like, Right. Like it was literally one throw from Ryan Brown against Purdue. Damond Williams did it.

[A]

Didn't like Ethan Gronkmeyer maybe had one throw for Penn State.

[B]

Yeah, he had. He had one. I think the mon. Williams might have had two. I think Luke Altmeyer might have had two. Right. So it's not like teams are moving up and down the field on them. But I guess what I'M saying is I, I bet Nico hits one or two of those. But aside from that, I'm not anticipating UCLA doing a whole lot throwing the ball against Ohio State's defense. It's more about Nico's legs. I think that that's the more interesting point. Yeah.

[A]

Leads the power four in scramble rushing yards for a quarterback by PFF.

[B]

He.

[A]

He has four. No, he has 600 overall rushing yards by PFF because they don't include the sack. So if you look at like the ESPN stats, he has 474 rushing yards, but that's taking his sacks away. So. But just think about the pot. He's gained 600 positive yards on the ground. 143 of them by PFF have been on designed runs. 457 have been on scrambles. The 457, that's the most scramble yards in the P4. So like, if you want to call him the most dangerous scrambler in the power conferences, you could make a case for that. The interesting part about this, a lot of people have mentioned as Ohio State gets ready for the Michigan game, Ryan Brown last week, the quarterback for Purdue. Nico Yamaliava, the quarterback for ucla LA this week. Are they good comps? Good prep for Bryce Underwood in Michigan. Nico, first in the nation, scramble yards, 457. Daman Williams Jr. From Washington, fourth in the nation in scramble yards. 384. Ryan Brown, Purdue, 12th in the nation in scramble yards. 196. Bryce Underwood, Michigan, 14th in the nation in scramble yards. 193. So Nico's significantly more active and more dangerous as a scrambler than Bryce Underwood is. But I think you can see, like the ability might be similar. The two quarterbacks on the that I just mentioned that Ohio State's played Demon Williams Jr. Fourth in the nation of scramble yards. Six scrambles for 20 yards against Ohio State. And then his designed runs, he actually was negative yardage on his designed runs against Ohio state. Ryan Brown, three scrambles, 27 yards against Ohio State, including scrambling for a first down in the first third down of the game. Nico has had a couple, like, super standout games. He ran for 86 against Nebraska last week and he killed Penn State. His legs won the Penn State game. His legs might have gotten James Franklin fired.

[B]

I think his legs did get James Franklin fired. His legs and AJ Harris's inability to cover a guy for Northwestern got James Franklin fired.

[A]

Like if you wanted to do that. If we were Penn State beat writers and we were like the 10 big picture reasons, James Franklin got fired. And the 10 little picture reasons James Franklin got fired. Nico's at least in the top three. 16 carries for 128 against Penn State in a game where they scored 42 points, which is their highest point total of the year. I went back this morning and rewatched the highlights of that absolute incompetence by Penn State. Not putting a spy on that guy and figuring out don't let him out of the pocket.

[B]

Yeah, that was, I think that was Penn State's first game without Tony Rojas. They're starting Mike linebacker and like their rationale for not spying Nico was, well, Tony Rojas was hurt. We don't. There's no way we have someone else on the roster who we could possibly ask to spy this very dynamic running quarterback. So great job there by Jim Knowles and James Franklin. Yeah.

[A]

Did they only play 10 players? Were they like, we can't replace Tony Rojas. We're not even going to put somebody out there because it felt like it sometimes. A lot of those you like. Ohio State talks constantly about tenning quarterbacks in right pen, the pocket. Don't let them out. He did scramble up the middle a decent amount. He only wasn't escaping outside. It's like, oh, you lost contending. He got outside. He was hitting some interior gaps, but he'd go, he'd run up the middle. Then there was nobody at the second level and. And it was like, what are they doing? And it happened again and again and again. And as the reason I wanted to bring this up, it's like, okay, if this is prep for Bryce Underwood in some way, the first two preps, how did you think Ohio State defensively did against two quarterbacks who can run in Demon Williams Jr. And Ryan Brown?

[B]

I thought the game against Washington was great. You were, you know, moderately worried, I think, about whether or not the mon. Williams Jr's legs could be any kind of equalizer in that game. And they really weren't just a nice job spying him. I think, you know, it's. It's the kind of thing he can't spy on every down. But, you know, you spy on the passing downs and then I think you still mix it in every now and then. It is. It just felt like Ohio State had a pretty good handle, sort of like when to do it and when not to do it in a way that just really limited the impact of, of Williams. And then, you know, Ryan Brown is, is less of a challenge, I think just because there's, there's not much else on the offense to threaten you. So it actually, it actually didn't feel like that was as much of, of an emphasis I think in that game because as you mentioned, he only scrambled three times. One of them. I actually don't even think they were spying him. I think like I thought initially Kaden Curry was buying him and then going back and watching the play, it kind of just felt like Kaden Curry actually just kind of like dropped out and was playing zone coverage and happened to be the closest defender to him to potentially make a play.

[A]

And he didn't make it.

[B]

And the other ones, Rally Petta, John spied him. It didn't go well. And then Sonny Styles spied him and it was like he gained seven yards but Sonny Styles tackled him. And Purdue pun. I would say like A for sure against Washington, maybe more of like a B against Purdue, but it's a B with an asterisk because I just don't think they came into that game feeling nearly as threatened by Ryan Brown as it did by Devon Williams.

[A]

And just to be clear, as Ohio State fans continue to think about the Michigan game, Bryce Underwood has 193 scramble yards this year. 87 of that came against Central Michigan. In Big Ten play, he's averaging 16 scramble yards a game. So Bryce Underwood, in this comparison, Nico Yamalieva is, is significantly, I think more dangerous scrambling than Bryce Underwood has shown so far this year. Bryce Underwood is a first year quarterback, Nico is a second year quarterback. I think that's part of it. I also think part of it is like UCLA might just be more willing to like let him go because what else do they have? Michigan has a real run game with Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall. Michigan I think likes their receivers pretty well. They're also, I think they don't want to risk a freshman quarterback and they're trying to be a little careful with him. So I think the thing that could be a decent comparison here is what Nico is. Do you think maybe Michigan could ask Bryce Underwood to be that 41 game in the rivalry game against Ohio State? We're going to let you go, put it on the line, no holds barred. We're throwing everything we can out there. That includes Bryce. If you see an opening takeoff.

[B]

Yeah, I'm, I'm sort of waiting for that to be the case. Right. Like if you think of, think about things that Michigan hasn't done a lot of that could do in the game. I think, I think Bryce running is probably top of that list. I will say like in watching Bryce play throughout the year. I don't, I don't know that I view him as a particularly effective scrambler. Like the ability to do it, but then sort of being smart about it and then actually turning into positive plays are two, two kind of different things. And I think a young player just needs to kind of grow into that. But, but yes, I do think he'll run. He'll run probably more in that game than he has most of the year. So, so these, this game in particular, probably against, against Nico for Ohio State is probably the best, the best test they'll get, right? Because, you know, we, we thought maybe Arch would run for Texas and he kind of did it and they did a great job, as I said, against Aman Williams. But Nico's got like. Nico was probably going to have what, like whatever, 15 rushing attempts in this game, right? Like, if he, like most of them scrambles. But they'll see some design quarterback run too, I, I'm sure. And the thing with Nico too, like, if you, if you watch him, he's. He's one of those quarterbacks that I think sort of welcomes the rush, right? He, he is the second most pressured quarterback in the country, but it's not like he's the second most sacked quarterback in the country either. Like, the sack number for UCLA allowed is, like, is a little high, but, like, the pressure to sacrate for Nico is a sort of like, average. For a guy who gets pressured a lot, almost, almost 40 of his drop backs, he gets pressured, but he'll just drop back there and like, hold the ball and just like, let everybody run past him and then take off, right? So, yeah, Ohio State's been really good about, like, really not allowing quarterbacks to do that this year. They do cage the pocket well, which is why I think Nico's not going to go nuts in this game. But if, if, for whatever reason, Ohio State does try to pin its ears back and get after him, I do think he can hurt them with his legs.

[A]

He's got a real knack for it. I think he has a good handle on when to go, how to go. Once he gets to the second level, he can make a cut and, and get another eight yards after that.

[B]

He's fast in the open field. Like, he gets going, he's long strider. Like he's got some serious speed.

[A]

There is that thing. And Ohio State fans know what it looks like. There's something about those tall, long strider quarterbacks and Terrell Pryor, Nico Yamaliava, Bryce Underwood, guys like that, they just it looks a little special when they get rolling and it's dangerous. It's dangerous. But I think the point, part of the point with guys like that is if you can, if they never get started, they can't get rolling. And I think this will be one of those. It's an interesting analysis by you to say. Like, he sort of welcomes the rush. It's like, Ohio State's not going to give it to him. It's like, come and get me and Matt. Patricia's like, nope, we're not coming. We're gonna wait.

[B]

They're just gonna, like, funnel him to Arvel Reese.

[A]

Yeah. Yep. Like, like, what did, like Jim Knowles always talked about, like, the escape hatch. Right. It's like, maybe there's one spot for a guy to get out. And it's like, there it is. And like, you get out and Arvell Reese is there. It's like you open the door, it's like, oh, I'm gonna get out of here. I open the door and Arvell Reese is standing there. So, like, that's scary.

[B]

Yeah. And they didn't use Arvell, like, to my point about them not being, like, feeling threatened against Purdue, they didn't use our fellow to spy Ryan Brown. Like, I think if Ryan Brown early had been really scooting around, they probably would have gotten to using Arvell, but that kind of never happened. The game was in control. But I, I, I would imagine in this game they'll, they'll start with their normal kind of spy package, which has Arval Reese doing a lot of that stuff.

[A]

Just again, by point of reference, how well Ohio State get against Demond Williams from Washington, his rushing yards this year, 86, 64, 109, 18 against Ohio State, 64, 132, five against Michigan, 57, 91. So which is people pointing out, oh, he plays a good defense. He, you can't do that. It's like, well, that kind of is bearing out. But also it's a credit to the defense because the rest of the time the guy does do it. I looked at Bill Connolly from espn, redid his quarterback rankings, that I think he leans on stats as the foundation. But it is not only a statistical analysis. I believe it is his actual ranking. Julian. Sam was first. He ranked all the power four quarterbacks. Julian saying was first. Do you want to guess where Nico was?

[B]

It's all power four guys.

[A]

It's like power four, just powerful.

[B]

Out of 68, 23rd and like, 68th.

[A]

Was all the Oklahoma State quarterbacks. And 67th was whoever might throw the ball for Wisconsin, including their punter. Right. So like there's 41st. 41st. So like he, there's a part of his game that is really good. Like the totality of his game is not quite all the way there. And I mean like last year. He's a true freshman quarterback. No. Was he a true. He's a red shirt freshman last year. Right. First year starter, redshirt freshman quarterback for a playoff team. What an accomplishment. But it's, it's not like he's one of the 15 best quarterbacks in college football right now. From a fully rounded perspective, the Big Ten quarterbacks on his list, Julian sand was 1. Fernando Mendoza, 3. Jade Maa from USC, 5. Damon Williams from Washington, 14. Luke Altmire from Illinois, 16. Dante Moore from Oregon, 17. Ethan Kaliak Manis from Ruckers was 29. And then we're kind of getting down into like Malik Washington and Nico Yamalava and guys like that.

[B]

So Bryce have second between, between saying and Mendoza.

[A]

Was it Simpson, Haynes, King. Haynes, King.

[B]

Oh really?

[A]

Georgia Tech, ty Simpson was 11th.

[B]

Now respect.

[A]

Now if you're, if you're gonna say. Some people might say Doug and Bill, Bill Connolly, who is a very astute college football analyst, having Ty Simpson, the Alabama quarterback who people are talking about as a Heisman contender and who is third in the odds for the Heisman, him being 11th might be proof of middle. You want to say that, that's fine. Marcel Reed, the Texas A M quarterback, congratulations to him. Fourth in the Heisman odds, 12th on the quarterback list. I don't, I'm just item. Take it as you will the rest of what UCLA is going to do. We can, I, I, we could almost be done talking about UCLA. I have a stat for you about UCLA's defense. Can I give you a stat?

[B]

Yeah, I got a couple things too, but go ahead. You go first.

[A]

There are 77 individual players in the Big Ten who according to PFF, have at least 10 pressures this year. Getting after the quarterback. At least 10 pressures. 77 individual players. How many of them are from UCLA?

[B]

Zero.

[A]

Zero. Okay. Same wavelength.

[B]

Yeah, they are. No pressure. They are. It's the worst third down defense in the country.

[A]

50.

[B]

55. 136 out of 30. 136. The third worst red zone defense in the country by touchdown percentage. 134 out of 136. And they have the fewest sacks and the fewest tackles for loss in the country.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Nothing going on there. Okay. I think One other thing. Special teams, just because, like, they're an interim coach team and they got nothing to lose. They executed an onside kick against Penn State and they executed fake punts against Michigan State in Nebraska. So watch out for special team shenanigans.

[A]

They also had a punt blocked by Penn State in that game that helped Penn State stay alive. Yeah, watch out for shenanigans is a good. Is good advice, though, in a game like this. Well, they have to lose. They're 31 and a half point underdogs.

[B]

And they can't take. They're not. They're not even gonna get like, the bowl eligibility. Right? They're not. I guess they have to win this game.

[A]

Let's do that. They have to win out three and six. Yeah. Gotta win out. Roderick Pleasant is one of their corners, might be their best defensive guy. He's 10th in the big Ten in, like, lowest reception rate allowed, which is like, pretty decent, the reception rate. He's had been targeted as a cornerback 41 times. He's given up 21 receptions. That's a rate of 46.7. For example, Davison is six in the Big Ten, giving up 43.8. So, like, that's pretty good. Like a decent one. Decent corner to try to hang with Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate if he plays, which we don't know because nobody did their job on Wednesday. Let's talk about Ohio State. What do you want to see, expect to see out of the Ohio State offensive line on Saturday night?

[B]

I don't know. So, like, I was trying to get eyeballs on Josh Padilla.

[A]

Okay. And.

[B]

Just try to get a vibe for like, if he was practicing. And. And I think I am correct in saying that last week when we were in there on Wednesday when he was coming off the practice field, like, he didn't have any of like the knee braces and stuff on the guy. The offensive linemen just wear when they're practicing. And he did have them on coming to practice field on, on this Wednesday night. But that could also mean nothing.

[A]

The.

[B]

The offensive lineman were also doing stuff like they, they do these, like, pretty intense, like, exercise bike things after practice. And I don't believe I saw Josh doing any of that. So I think I'm guessing that he's probably going to miss this game, too. Ryan Day, I asked him after, after Purdue game, like, what's up with Josh Padilla? He said, hopefully we're going back for ucla. If not ucla, then Rutgers. I'm thinking they probably hold him out of this One, so.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

But also it sounds like Ryan Day, I think knowing that was a possibility. Still said on Tuesday that they want to rotate at right guard. So I think we're going to see Tiger Shabola and Ethan Onianwa play at right guard. Would be my, would be my guess. And then the other thing we're uncertain of is right tackle again. Like, I don't think I saw Phil Daniels doing any of that extra stuff at the practice either. So. So he could also be out and see more Ian Moore in this game. So I, I think I would. My assumption now is that the offensive line looks like it looked against Purdue with Ethan o' Neill rotating at right guard instead of right tackle.

[A]

Okay. What else about the offense do you want to see from Ohio State on Saturday? It's like, it's one of those things. Julian Saying remains the most productive quarterback.

[B]

It was weird.

[A]

I said, I'm just complaining about the media today. I love these guys in Cleveland. A lot of you guys listen to them. Ken Carmen and Anthony Lima, they do a great job on morning radio in Cleveland. I've been on with them forever. And Anthony was, was really want to talk about the Heisman race. And he was sort of bringing up like, I've, I've looked at the stats of Heisman winning quarterbacks over the years and Julian saying just like, doesn't compare. And I was like, that's not the comparison. The whole point is the sport has changed. And that if you think Julian Saying doesn't have good stats compared to like whatever guys were doing five years ago when the Heisman winner was throwing for 340 yards a game. There's only six guys in college football at any level right now, Bill, who were throwing for 300 yards a game in FBS, which is, which is pretty remarkable. And I said it's like, it's like the Duke quarterback and Joey Aguilar from Tennessee and the San Jose State quarterback and like, are you voting for those guys for the Heisman? Julian sayings tied for fourth in the country in touchdown passes. He's throwing for 276 yards per game. And I just thought it was like a, it was interesting to hear somebody think of it that way because you just have to be careful of like, what are you comparing things to? And, and I often say Ohio State's best comparison is itself. But I don't think the best comparison for Julian Saying is, for instance, his stats compared to CJ Stroud's stats when Ohio State was chucking around like crazy in 2021. You have to use the context of this year because we're, we've undergone like a somewhat significant shift, I think, in the way the game is played. And you've been pointing out lately that, okay, Ohio State is playing slow, but there are more contenders this year who are following that model a little bit and it's just changed the statistical view of the sport, I think.

[B]

Yeah, a lot games are shorter, games are, and teams are running the ball more. I actually think that's true at all levels of football. I think it's true in the NFL now that teams are starting to run the ball a little more as well as it became like it became a past game at all levels and defense is adjusted. So now you start running the ball again. I think that's, you know, kind of an obvious thing to have happen, but it's happening in college football. So, yeah, like, I don't, yes, Julian Saiyan's numbers aren't comparable to Joe Burrow in 2019 or Mac Jones in 2020 or even like Jaden Daniels a couple years ago. He's not competing against them to win the Heisman Trophy. So, like, I don't, I don't really think that that matters. If there was a Power 4 contender quarterback out there that did have those numbers, that guy would probably be the runaway favorite for the Heisman.

[A]

But they.

[B]

That that guy doesn't exist. So I think Julian Saying's in a great spot. But I, I do. It's interesting to me. Just like so Saying ended up throwing for 300 yards last week.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Like it actually ended up, I think it ended up being, I think he only had the one touchdown. Should have had problem.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he had missed a touchdown throw to Max Claire and he had the goofy pick. But if you can have a game, because Ohio State clearly wants to work on his run game, it's just like keep trying to iron things out. I think specifically it wants to get carries for Bo Jackson and Isaiah west because those guys who just have to keep developing their feel for the game, if you can do that, which they did against Purdue, while also having Julian saying for throw for 300 yards, like, that's a pretty good sweet spot to land in. So I think they'll try to do something similar in this game. I, I, you know, I would expect the rush rate to be a little higher, but maybe the passing game can be explosive off of that. So like, Julian and Jeremiah kind of still get their numbers, but you, you get the thing that I think is probably more important for Ohio State in The long term, which is developing that run game some. And it's not, I'm sure people like hear that and maybe roll their eyes. It's like why do they care about it? It's like it's, it's not, it's not so they can be a run first team. Like I think we're past that point and it's not about like toughness and physicality or whatever. It's just like you have to make sure that part of your offense is functional. And, and I think they're continuing to, to work at that. You know, I thought there was, there was good and bad against Purdue, but the second half I thought was pretty promising. So. And, and UCLA and this week and Rutgers next week are both two pretty bad run defenses. So there's, there's an opportunity, yeah, there's opportunity to like to build some confidence there I think for that part of your offense. So I think, I think we'll see them run the ball a decent amount in this game. And, and same thing as last week, like these three games. I figure these three games are going to try to run it and it better look good because they're playing bad run defenses and I think that's probably what it'll be. I think they'll run the ball maybe last week was probably the best. They run it all year just sort of statistically. Actually maybe that's not true. But I think, I think this game and next week can be more opportunity to kind of get the run game going.

[A]

UCLA run defense is very bad. Their past defense is pretty bad.

[B]

But it is a chance to work.

[A]

It out and, and I think a lot of teams are like this. I think Ohio State's been like it a little bit. Like sometimes they're reluctant to let freshmen talk to the media and we talked to all four running backs on Wednesday.

[B]

We didn't get Donaldson. Donaldson didn't come. Okay.

[A]

We talked to Isaiah West, Bo Jackson and James Peoples. It was great to get to talk to those guys but sometimes like you, they don't, you don't talk to guys if things are going really bad. So it's just a, it's just an interview and it's great to be able to talk to players and then write about them and talk about them. I'm going to finish a story and have that on our sub [e-mail] about what Isaiah west and Bo Jackson are right now to Ohio State and could be down the road to Ohio State. But that was a Little something that if, if they felt like the run game was like on fire. Oh, my God. Well, this run game is the thing that's going to hold us back from winning a national championship. Here are the freshmen to talk about it, you know, but like, I think it's like, okay, like you're coming along. All right, let's let you go talk to the, to the fine folks in the media.

[B]

Well, I think the Purdue game was probably the first game all year where the running backs kind of consistently got more than what was blocked for. And Ryan, Dave's probably pretty, pretty fired up about that, right? There's still, you know, aside from the 70 yard touchdown I got taken off the board, there wasn't like a, a home run in that game. But the Bo Jackson short yardage runs where he's breaking tackles in the backfield and there are a couple like 11, 12, 13, 14 yard kind of runs in there where running backs are making guys miss. I think Ryan, I don't think like who we as a media talk to really factors into like Ohio State strategy whatsoever. But there could be something too, like, these guys played well. We want them to feel confident. Let's go up, let them go out there and like, talk about it a little bit, like to kind of keep that confidence brewing for them. Because with the thinking that probably these next two games, as I said, they're going to have opportunities to build upon it on the field as well, so. But I also think it's pretty clear that like, it's, it's, it's Bo and Isaiah, like, they're, they're going to be the guys that are going to get the ball the most. I think with CJ Donaldson doing what he's been doing in the situational stuff.

[A]

Yeah. And I think Ohio State fans are excited about that, so. All right, so you can go read about that on Substack if you want a little bit more about Bo and Isaiah. I'll be finishing that up soon. I was going to write it this morning, but as I told Bill, I had one of those mornings where I was actually a little late coming to the recording. And the reason that I was late is because I did not have my stuff together this morning. So I apologize. I'm working to make myself a better person. UCLA has finished in the top 25 of the season end AP poll three times in the last 19 years. This program's looking for a little direction. Most recent was a. They finished 21st in 2022 under Chip Kelly when they went 9 and 4. They went 10 and 3 in back to back years in 2013 and 2014. I want to talk a tiny bit more about UCLA's future after we make our picks. They have played. It's interesting. Ohio State and UCLA played four home and home series as non conference foes in their history. They played in 61 and 62, 75 and 76, 79 and 80 and 99 1. This will be the first time they've played since 2001. That was the first game back for college football after the 911 terrorist attacks. We're going to write about that on Substack this week. It's just like one of those people have memories of that. Like that was like the moment of the entire country taking baby steps towards back toward everyday life. And and football is a primary part of that in college football. And for Ohio State fans, if you remember that, you remember UCLA and they also played once in the Rose bowl. And I just want to talk about this for two seconds before we make our picks. It was weird. They played each other in the 1975 season. Ohio State won 41 to 20 and then they rematched in the Rose Bowl. So they played twice that year. Ohio State was number one 110 undefeated. Archie Griffin had won his second straight Heisman Trophy and was looking to go out on top in his final game as a college football player as the Heisman Trophy winning national champion. And they lost to UCLA. UCLA was number 11. Dick Vermeil, future Eagles coach, future Rams head coach, was in his second year as the UCLA head coach that year and UCLA beat him in the rose bowl on January 1st, 1976. Ohio State was the best team in the country. They had the best player in the country. The second, second consecutive year you UCLA was fine. They were fine. And Ohio State had already beaten them by three touchdowns. And the Bruins beat him in the Rose Bowl. And I did not do a bunch of research about is this the, you know what is the worst non Michigan loss in Ohio State history? Man, it's hard to top this.

[B]

Yeah. 23 to 10 wasn't even like it wasn't close.

[A]

Was Ohio State was had three nothing at halftime. It's like they have Pete Johnson, Archie Griffin. They were kind of like they couldn't run the ball. Then Archie decided to try to throw it and that didn't work. And then they went back to running it and then I think Cornelius Green threw a pick like on the last drive of the game when Ohio State had a chance to drive to win the national title. So anyway, UCLA memories Hey, they're all coming back. So anyway, if, like, you're a young Ohio State fan, it's just like, if you, if you're like, hey man, I don't know, what am I getting fired up for? Like, we've got a little bit of questions. I get it, you know, it's a 31 and a half point spread. But maybe on behalf of your young Ohio State fan, on behalf of your parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and older Ohio State fans, go root for Ohio state to kick UCLA's butt because it cost Woody and Archie a.

[B]

National title revenge game. Who knew?

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. 31 and a half. 47 and a half for the over under. Last week, I jinxed the bejesus out of Ohio State and I apologize to everybody who lost their $3 bet on the Buckeyes. First backdoor cover of the year. I finally realized that Ohio State had been undefeated against the spread. They had one tie and then they got backdoored and did not cover against Purdue last week. And just to let the people know, if you do not watch our national college football show on Fridays where we make national picks, we include our Ohio State. We track it all year. We usually make six national picks and then we have the Ohio State pick. So we have seven overall picks. We. We make each week. Bill, you were 60 in the national picks last week and you would have had a perfect 70 week, except you got backdoored along with the rest of Buckeye Nation by the Boilermakers.

[B]

Pretty upset about it, by the way. I'm looking at an old newspaper article from that. From that Rose Bowl, I guess. Woody didn't talk after the game, but George Hill, who was the defensive coordinator at the time, stopped to give one quote and his quote was, we just got the hell kicked out of us.

[A]

Angela. Ball. Ball in the 70s. Oh, my God.

[B]

Yeah. No. Pretty angry that I didn't get to get the perfect week last week, but that's okay.

[A]

Ball knower here on the show with us, by the way. Like, give us a. Like give us a subscript. Subscribe. Subscribe. Whether you're watching on YouTube or listen on a podcast you come across, it's like, what is this? We'd love to have you here on a regular basis. And if you subscribe, then you won't miss anything. We do around the shoe on Mondays. We do the playoff show on Tuesday nights. We so some throw some other stuff in there. We had a great interview with Joshua Perry that went up on Thursday morning in your podcast feeds and on YouTube, we do sub 2 sub stack shows a week, a long one on Wednesdays and a long one on Sundays where we answer questions. So if you really want those long in depth Bill and Doug pods, come be a subscriber on Substack. Come just check it out. You can check it out for free. Can't you do it for free for a little bit, Bill, See what's up?

[B]

Yeah, I believe you can do it free for two weeks and check it out and then if you're not liking what you're seeing, you know, hard links.

[A]

Yeah, Bill and Doug osu.substack.com like subscribe, tell a friend about the Bill and Doug show. 31 1/2 point spread. What's your pick?

[B]

I'm going 42, 6. Ohio State. UCLA's got a good field goal kicker. Maybe they, they hit a couple of long ones to get some points on the board. I don't, I don't know that I see them scoring a touchdown necessarily. I think it's more or less what I, what I said, right? Probably run the ball, keep the, keep building the confidence for the young running backs, but probably hit some explosives. We've not really seen Ohio State like put it on anybody this year. Aside from the Grambling game where it's like just like they score every time they have the ball kind of game. I think this could be that Indiana won 56 to 6 against this team. But even if it is that, like, how many possessions does Ohio State end up with? Like they could still have that, but it's only like an 8 or 9 possession game. Right? So I'll say 42 6. The one thing I'm mildly concerned about in terms of just like total number of points scored is the weather. There might be some thunderstorms and wind Saturday night. So like hopefully, hopefully there's no thunderstorms because we don't need a delay for a game that kicks off at night. But if there's some wind either like around kickoff or after storms move through or whatever, maybe that could make it more of a running game. But I'll just hope that none of that really comes to pass and I'll pick 42.

[A]

6. I'm 45 10. Same idea, same range. We're both over the total. We're both taking Ohio State -31 and a half. I, I'm, I kind of would pick Ohio State not to punt. I think that would be a good bet. I don't know if you can make a punt, no punt bet. I don't Know what they have on the sports books anymore, man. How about these guardians, pitchers getting charged with this throwing the ball in the dirt, first pitch thing. The stuff that you can bet on is bonkers.

[B]

It's crazy. Maybe you just shouldn't be able to bet on that, huh? And then we don't have some issues so hard.

[A]

So 45, 10 and 42, 6. We're in the same range. The defense is bad. That's just to reinforce the defense is bad. I have one touchdown for UCLA because I got Nico doing something. Sure. So maybe get us. He gets out of the house on one 41 yard run. That sets up a touchdown drive or, you know, does one kind of thing where he scrambles around and then the coverage breaks down and hits something over the top. So I think he, he is, he is a kind of an. He's an interesting player to watch and he individually is talented enough to be a test in certain ways for the Ohio State defense. So I think that's a good thing for Ohio State to have a, to have a dude here and by the way, a dude that they played. So there was, I mean, I, I was around a couple defensive players on Wednesday night. Will Smith was talking about a little bit, trying to, you know, people are trying to ask like, oh, what is the diff? And it's just like, you know, we did plan, but the scheme's entirely different. Like, they know what's up with Nico. So the fact that they beat Nico Yamaliaba in Ohio Stadium last season when he was quarterbacking Tennessee does not appear to be like a gigantic storyline for this game. It's like, we get it. We've seen that guy before, but he's on.

[B]

Yeah, I don't think no one was asked about him getting his helmet cracked this week. So I don't think it's really on anybody's mind.

[A]

All right, who's going to be UCLA's next coach? That's where I want to finish this conversation. The odds. I looked again, like a betting site odds. It's like, I don't know, not the, not the prediction market, but a betting site odds. Jed Fish was the favorite, the Washington coach. He was asked about other jobs this week. Tommy Reese, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator, former Alabama offensive coordinator who just took over the play calling for the Cleveland Browns because Kevin Stefanski, who should be fired, gave up play calling because he's a terrible head coach. And so he's calling plays for the Browns now. He, once upon a time was like a pretty hot coordinator. And then he went to Alabama and was there for a year. Then Nick Saban retired. He was like, what? I don't have a job anymore. So that was kind of weird. But when he was at Notre Dame, people are kind of thought he was good and it was kind of a big deal. They left Notre Dame. He's the second favorite. Tony White, who's a former UCLA player who was the defensive coordinator at Arizona State, then Syracuse and did a good job out in Nebraska, got stolen by Florida State. They paid a bunch of money to take him away. He's the third favorite. Pat Fitzgerald's the fourth favorite, Brian Kelly fifth favorite, and James Franklin is sixth favorite. I like James Franklin at ucla.

[B]

I just think it's a bad job.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Like, it's a hard. It's a hard job, but it's a bad job. And I think James Franklin can just kind of do better than ucla. Like, would you rather be the head coach at UCLA or Virginia Tech?

[A]

I guess that's the question because I don't think James Franklin. I doesn't feel like anybody thinks he's going to get LSU or Florida. Yeah, I think people think he's a. He's a Florida State candidate, but Florida State's not open yet, and I don't know if people think it is going to open. Maybe an Auburn candidate. Is Auburn definitively better? I mean, it's one of those things, like, to stay in the Big Ten. I'm in the Big Ten. You're. You can kind of operate. It's a big city, but you can operate in the shadows sort of a little bit because USC is there. But I don't think Lincoln Riley is so good that it's like, oh, my God, we're never going to be better than Lincoln Riley. I. I don't know. It. It. Is it a bad job? I don't know. I don't. How do you don't feel like there's some opportunity there? I don't know. Like.

[B]

Like it's definitely. Yeah. Good recruiting ground.

[A]

But Jed Fish at Washington. Jed fish was the OC under Jim Moore at UCLA in 2017, and Jim Moore got fired and he was the interim coach, like the last game of the regular season. That's basically his only connection to ucla. So for him to be the favorite, I would not leave Washington for ucla. Neither would I, but I might take UCLA over Virginia Tech. I don't know if I'd take it over Auburn, but I don't know. I just kind of like James Franklin there. Who. Who's your guy? Who's your guy for ucla?

[B]

I. I kind of think it has to be a guy who's like, got a demonstrated track record of doing more with less. And that, to me, like, it points me toward Pat Fitzgerald.

[A]

That'd be. I think that'd be interesting, too.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Be interesting. And like, you know, again, it's just weird. It's like, oh, and, you know, the Big Ten. And actually. Right. Like, for UCLA to have people there. I mean, Martin Jarmand, who's their ad, knows the Big Ten. He formerly worked at Ohio State. But to have a head coach who knows the Big Ten and knows what this is about, that. I think that would be. Actually be attractive to me for ucla that, like, because there's a lot of people there who still don't know a ton about the Big Ten.

[B]

I would say, like, I don't. I have not seen his name attached to this job, and I don't know that he would leave because he's only been in his current job for. For this one season. Jason Eck, who beat ucla.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

At New Mexico.

[A]

Good.

[B]

He's a really good coach and has been like, he was at. He was at Idaho. Idaho.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And then. And now Mexico. Like, so he kind of. He's from the Big Ten. He played at Wisconsin. But Wisconsin's not firing. Luke Fickle, apparently so.

[A]

Knows the Big Ten. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I would. I would look at Jason Eck, I think.

[A]

Yeah, that's good. I like that. I like that name, too. Okay. You only care this much about that person who is watching and listening to this show. So we're gonna stop there. We're gonna let you go get on with your life. We'll see you Friday for our national picks. We'll see you Saturday for a post game show. It is a late game Saturday night. We're definitely going to do a post game show. It's probably going to be not quite immediately after the game, but pretty soon after the game.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

We're both gonna go. I'm pondering of, like, would I leave and come home, but I think I'm gonna try to do it there anyway. Probably like 20 minutes after the game ends, maybe we'll start this thing. That's sort of the time range we're looking for.

[B]

Yeah. And then again, say a prayer that there's no weather delay.

[A]

Yeah, man. Weather delay was the last weather delay we were part of at Oklahoma for Ohio State in 20.

[B]

The two. The two that stick out to me. Yeah, I guess they're both. That year is at Oklahoma and the game against Tulsa that same year was delayed, I think, like at halftime for like two hours. Yeah.

[A]

That's what you get for playing teams from Oklahoma. It's like a tornado state, and they bring bad weather. All right. So fingers crossed, everybody, if you're going to the game, hope the weather is great. Hope you have a great time. Thanks for being here, for letting us hang out and talk ball with you. We'll see you. If we don't see you Friday, we'll see you Saturday night after the game. We'll see a bunch of you on substack for the Sunday Sound off Sunday morning. And as always, we appreciate you guys being here. For now, he's Bill Landis. I'm Doug Le Maurice. And that was the Bill and Doug Show.