Dance with the one you ‘brung….I would expect the Buckeyes to lean on their talented receiving core more (Emeka Egbuka, above) than they did in the loss to Michigan. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Requests for another opinion about Saturday’s football playoff game with Tennessee…and surprising as it may sound, come New Year’s day the NCAA baseball season is just six weeks away. And people are writing.
Visiting with sponsors this week, one of them…with us since 2012…paid Buckeye beat writer Jeff Gilbert this compliment.
“Jeff Gebhart really does a great job writing about Ohio State football.”
Nodding appreciation for his words, I mumbled, “It’s Gilbert. Jeff Gilbert…not Gebhart.” He didn’t seem to notice.
Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and the Buckeyes for Press Pros Magazine.
“Well,” he added. “I enjoy his work. But tell me what ‘you’ think. Do you think they (the Buckeyes) can beat Tennessee? I think they got outcoached against Michigan.”
Whether they got outcoached or not…it’s important to remember that the Buckeyes probably outcoached a few of their own this year, if you want my opinion – Nebraska, Penn State, and Indiana. And if you believe that Michigan and Oregon got ’em, they’re still up a game in the ‘outcoached’ department.
Do I think they’ll play that way again? No, while I do believe that they were trying to prove something against Michigan.
Ryan Day has never struck me as a ‘power’ football personality. He prefers to spread the field with all those receivers and let them run after the catch, and that’s what I would expect them to do come Saturday night. So if they can that’s their best football, and that helps with the running game – Tre’Veyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. I know it’s ‘coach speak’, but that’s how the game is played.
Do I believe they have a home field advantage? Well, they haven’t had one in the past against big-game opponents – Oklahoma, Oregon, and Michigan. Not like you’d expect.
But that said, at this level of competition it’s pretty much check and check mate. If you execute, just like in chess, you usually win. And we’re soon to see if this is the best team money can buy!
The real advantage could be weather – the cold – and a team like Tennessee having to play in 24-degree temperatures (chill factor). That’s a mental, as well as physical reality and I believe that if Ohio State can get it going, get a lead, and the momentum…yes, I believe they can win.
The obvious disadvantage – the offensive line has been a patchwork project due to injuries. But the replacements were recruited for a reason.
If you read the ‘Friday Picks’ page all fall, you know that I got about 8.5 out of every 10 games correct. But that was Tipp City and Lehman…more confident then than now.
This is just ‘coach speak’.
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With appreciation for those who are writing to ask about Ohio State baseball – insights for their upcoming season…I’m as anxious as you. But here are the stark realities.
Regarding personnel, I recently wrote that having lost six highly-valued pieces from last year’s team (Henry Kaczmar, Landon Beidelschies, Josh Stephenson, Ike Cadena, Gavin DeVooght, and Zach Brown), those six represent more than most college baseball teams can overcome in one off-season – talent and experience.
Not that first-year coach Justin Haire and staff haven’t tried. Because I’ve seen some people in fall baseball that I think could have, and would have, played for the 2024 team.
But I haven’t seen them play against Indiana, or Nebraska, or Iowa yet, and until I do I’ll reserve judgment on wins and losses.
They’ll score runs. Top hitter Tyler Pettorini (.309, 9 homers, 49 RBIs) returns to anchor the middle of the Buckeyes batting order.
Do I think they can score runs? Yes, I do. They have athletes.
Do I think they can prevent runs? The reality is this. They have to pitch better than last year, collectively, and no one can predict until they see the elephant come February 14 – the opening weekend against hard-hitting Arizona State, in Tempe.
Even then I reserve judgment on the season based on just one weekend. But their first month – the non-con part of the schedule – is going go be brutal with NC State, Alabama, Coastal Carolina, followed by the Texas Classic tournament in Arlington, Texas (Auburn, Baylor, and Oregon State). Prove to me that you can pitch against those dudes and I’ll take my chances with Michigan, Michigan State, and Maryland. And it all starts in a matter of weeks!
Optimism? Skepticism? We’ll know soon enough.
But the reality of baseball at any level is this. If a team shows it can pitch it’s going to win games, and so goes the Buckeyes.
Again I say, there’s talent. And yes, some of that talent has seen the elephant at their previous school. But they haven’t seen ‘this’ elephant.
Am I ready for some baseball? You bet, just like you. Hope springs eternal and we all love to see it come together when that one player emerges that no one saw coming.
Even better…when there’s more than one.
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