Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes picked as heavy Big Ten title favorites again
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Buckeyes picked as heavy Big Ten title favorites
Ohio State is no stranger to being the favorite.
The Buckeyes have been the odds-on favorite to win the Big Ten in each season for most of the last decade. This season, with an overhauled defense and new quarterback, the Buckeyes are still expected to dominate the rest of the league. Ohio State is the overwhelming pick to win the Big Ten yet again. The Buckeyes (-220) are ahead of Wisconsin (+500), Iowa (+900) and Penn State (+900).
Michigan will begin the season at +1800 to win the conference.
Ohio State is accustomed to being the heavy favorite in the league. A new signal-caller and revamped defense won’t change that outlook in the Big Ten this fall.
ICYMI: Lettermen Live hosted by Roosters
The Buckeyes have been ramping up padded practices as the competition heats up, and Lettermen Live is back at Roosters on Olentangy River Road in Columbus to break it all down.
Lettermen Row senior writer Austin Ward is joined by former Ohio State quarterback Justin Zwick, former Buckeyes linebacker Bobby Carpenter and Lettermen Row Director of Recruiting Jeremy Birmingham for a huge discussion of big topics.
The crew takes a deep dive into how the depth chart is shaping up, who is emerging as the top gun in certain position battles, Birm is debuting a flashy new haircut to pay homage to the arrival of Quinn Ewers, and these few good men are making all the right moves in dropping a loaded cocktail of Tom Cruise references that you won’t want to miss.
The guys also analyze how Ryan Day is challenging his team by throwing them into some tough situations. That includes a quarterback battle that appears to be near a conclusion as the Buckeyes inch closer and closer to the beginning of the football season in a few weeks.
As always, Lettermen Live is hosted by Roosters on Olentangy River Road in Columbus.
Will Buckeyes hear good news from NCAA soon?
Ohio State is still waiting to hear from the NCAA on whether former five-star and USC play-making linebacker Palaie Gaoteote will be eligible for the season.
With less than two weeks until the Buckeyes play in the season opener at Minnesota, the clock is ticking. Geoteote and the Buckeyes have done what they can. As Lettermen Row’s Austin Ward writes, it’s all on the NCAA now:
Eventually the NCAA owes Gaoteote an answer on his pending waiver for eligibility at Ohio State this season. The program surely deserves an answer as well since it can’t really make plans for how it might use the talented, hard-hitting linebacker without an assurance he’ll be part of the active roster.
The Buckeyes have a growing sense of confidence that Gaoteote will get good news at some point given everything the former five-star recruit has gone through this year. But nothing is ever guaranteed with the NCAA, which certainly doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to make its decision.
READ: Still waiting on NCAA, Buckeyes ‘optimistic’ Palaie Gaoteote will get waiver
Former Buckeyes team up for podcast about 2014 title team
Want to learn more about the 2014 Ohio State national title team? Evan Spencer and Joshua Perry, two former Buckeyes who were on that team, are supplying the inside look.
Perry and Spencer have teamed up to create a podcast, Glory Days: Dreams and Nightmares, to give an insider look at how that team came together to win a title.
“Producing this series allows us to re-live and share this extraordinary year,” Spencer said in a press release. “The conversations are unfiltered and full of intimate details that revisit the challenges, obstacles and opponents we overcame to capture the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship.”
The 11-part documentary podcast will launch Aug. 25 at 9 a.m. and will chronicle that magic Ohio State season, which ended with wins over Alabama and Oregon.
“Glory Days: Dreams and Nightmares is a destination for anybody who wants to be brought inside one of the most tumultuous and magical college football seasons ever,” Perry said in the release. “We bring fans on a journey of game-breaking moments, adversity, tragedy and perseverance that was powered by a firm belief that teamwork and brotherhood would prevail.”
Want a trailer for the podcast? Make sure to check it out below and get set for the release of Glory Days: Dreams and Nightmares.
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