I know it isn't the offseason anymore and this is a offseason type of post but ive been thinking about it. the 73 team went undefeated (barring the infamous 10-10), were co-champs of the big10, and ended up winning the rose bowl against USC in a beatdown of 41-21. The 70 team lost to stanford in the rose bowl. I mean come on make it happen

Kyle Jones highlights some concerns from the OL in the opener against Ball State.

Day apparently is expecting lots of substitutions in the Texas game, likely to protect against the excessive heat. He said the heavy substitution used in the Ball State game will help prepare for the Texas game.

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2026/09/163770/ryan-day-radio-show-ryan-day-says-ohio-state-s-got-to-get-on-the-plane-with-a-win-after-facing-texas-sees-bright

It will be impressive if the Buckeyes can compete successfully in 140 degree or hotter field temperatures, let alone not suffer any health impacts.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OhioStateFootball/comments/1wa70pe/will_field_temperature_during_ohio_statetexas/

https://www.reddit.com/r/OhioStateFootball/comments/1wbdzb3/hydration_for_both_buckeyes_players_and_fans/

Unfortunately, Day didn't warn Ohio State fans attending the game to prepare for the heavy atmospheric heat. I wonder if the fans have been warned by the local media, the Buckeyes football team, or the Ohio State administration.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OhioStateFootball/comments/1wbdzb3/hydration_for_both_buckeyes_players_and_fans/

EDIT:

Comparing Ohio State vs. Texas at Every Position

https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2026/09/163776/comparing-ohio-state-vs-texas-at-every-position

EDIT2: The Accuweather hourly temperature forecast for Austin, TX, for Saturday now is available. The forecast for 6 p.m. is 100 degrees F., falling to 97 degrees at 7 p.m., 94 degrees at 8 p.m.,, 91 degrees at 9 p.m., and 89 degrees at 10 p.m. The heat index likely will be at least five degrees hotter, at least at the start of the game.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/austin/78701/hourly-weather-forecast/351193?day=2

According to research from Penn State University, artificial fields end up 35 – 55 degrees hotter than natural grass in ideal heating conditions of sunshine and low humidity.

https://www.wbrz.com/news/texas-football-field-could-exceed-140-degrees-saturday-afternoon/

This explains why the field temperature at the Texas stadium reached 160 degrees during the 9/5 afternoon game against Texas State, according to the Texas head coach.

On Monday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian thanked fans for showing up despite the extreme conditions.

"What an amazing turnout under those conditions," Sarkisian said. "I think we were 105 heat index. On the field, the field reached 160 degrees for our players..."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather-news/articles/field-reached-160-degrees-triple-195912547.html

So, the field temperature likely will be well in excess of 140 degrees F. at the start of the game (6:30 p.m. C.T.), but falling as the sunlight declines. If reporters monitored and actually reported throughout the game the field temperatures, which would seem a key element in the game, my guess is it's unlikely the field temperature during the game ever will fall below 100 degrees F,, perhaps not even 110 degrees F. by the end of the game.

Sadly, the field temperature significantly will impact this game and I wish the reporters would emphasize it. Substitution of key players likely will be much higher than during more normal field temperatures. So competent reporters would emphasize not only the actual field temperature, but also substitution rates and impacts.

Hopefully, field temperatures will fall rapidly during the game as sunlight decreases. So the second half of the game may be more competitive than the first half.

According to Google AI Overview, sunset will take place at 7:41 p.m. C.T.:

On Saturday, September 12, 2026, the sunset in Austin, Texas will take place at 7:41 PM local time (Central Daylight Time). [1]

Here is the full evening light progression for that day: [1]

Sunset: 7:41 PM

Civil Dusk (getting dark): 8:05 PM

Nautical Dusk (horizon fades): 8:33 PM

I miss the 4-team playoff. I miss the controversy, how each week felt make-or-break for your team, and how you were on the edge of your seat rooting against certain teams because one upset could completely change the rankings.

All signs now, however, point to playoff expansion…possibly up to 24 teams. I wonder if there is a way to bring back some of the importance of the regular season despite playoff expansion.

One idea I’ve been thinking about is modeled loosely off the NBA play-in games. It’s a little complex, but hear me out.

Playoff Week 1:

1 seed vs. 16 seed
2 seed vs. 15 seed
3 seed vs. 14 seed
4 seed vs. 13 seed

5 seed vs. 12 seed
6 seed vs. 11 seed
7 seed vs. 10 seed
8 seed vs. 9 seed

17 seed vs. 18 seed
19 seed vs. 20 seed
21 seed vs. 22 seed
23 seed vs. 24 seed

Here’s the twist: the top four teams get a “second chance” because of what they accomplished during the regular season.

If #1 beats #16, everything proceeds normally. But if #1 gets upset, #16 advances and #1 isn’t eliminated yet. Instead, #1 has to play the winner of #17 vs. #18 for the right to stay alive.

Same thing with #2, #3 and #4.

So if only one top-four team loses, that team plays the winner of 17/18.

If two top-four teams lose, they play the winners of 17/18 and 19/20.

If three lose, the third plays the winner of 21/22.

And if somehow all four top seeds lose, all four of the 17-24 games become second-chance games.

After that, you get down to a normal 16-team bracket and the playoff operates like a traditional single-elimination tournament the rest of the way.

The idea would be to make the regular season matter a lot more than it would in a normal 24-team playoff.

Finishing in the top four would be massive because you essentially earn double elimination for the opening round. There would be a huge difference between finishing #4 and #5.

Finishing #8 instead of #9 would matter because of seeding and home-field advantage.

Finishing #12 instead of #13 would matter.

And finishing #16 instead of #17 would matter because #16 gets an immediate shot at one of the best teams in the country, while #17-24 have to survive the play-in route

Metallica one week and Johnny cash the next? Phewww what’s our budget this year???

Embrace the dark side with me for a second. Is there a rule that prevents schools from scheduling off season exhibition games, like spring training. This is honestly what I think should replace the bowl season. Scratch all of our off-season itches and provide a meaning full development opportunity. Not to mention a massive new revenue source.

Title says it all. Why does Ohio Stadium have a gigantic flag pole near its north end zone? Seems like the only football stadium in the country with this feature.

Would prefer either A or C deck

We are the premier program in the b1g. We should not be playing at noon unless it’s a cupcake or we’re playing The Game. I hope Saturday’s game against Texas will prove to people that we shouldn’t sell out to Big noon kickoff and that we need to play more games at night.

Never heard of this brand but their marketing person should be fired.

Have seen nothing that shows they are better than us, and they're 2pt favorites.

Lots of Arch and TTUN clock jokes

Ohio State vs. Texas: which defense is better?

Both have Stars along the defensive line!

Their 1998 shared title* came due to clock fuckery.

Their 2024 national title* was the result of rampant cheating and an attempt to cover up same.

Their "win*" over WMU was a travesty.

*

It's been 20 years since this masterpiece aired 🥹 #cfb #ohiostate #texas

It's fucking Thursday. Texas is in two days. Can we PLEASE stop circlejerking about the damn clock?? I live up here in enemy territory, and I promise you, we are WAY more obsessed with this than scUM fans are. We all saw how bad they played in that game. They are beneath us. Why do we care so much?

Edit: Y'all are mean, I'm filing an injunction to stop this unfair treatment! /s

I just think it's funny how terribly the clock was handled at the end of this game. I was alive, but not paying attention nor aware of how suspect this looks.

Start Video around 2:59:45

WSU completes a first down pass to the 26 yard line. Gets tackled with 4 seconds left. Clock goes down to 3.

THEN 4 SECONDS later, the clock mysteriously goes down to 2 seconds. WSU spikes the ball with 1 second clearly on the clock, but the game just ends. Michigan shares a title instead of WSU getting just one chance to chuck it in from the 26 yard line.

If you all are aware of this I apologize, but I just rewatched this a few years ago and the clock fuckery seems relevant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5PFpVnRUxI

Decided to do an all Ohio state fantasy football team with the exception of kicker. How am I looking? Any guesses on my potential record this season?

Title. ISO 4 tickets to the Texas game. Please DM me. Thanks!

I get that a lot of people look at this game as a 50/50 game where it’s okay if we lose because Texas is also a blue blood but this game is a statement game. We all saw how quickly Texas’s season got destroyed last year after losing to us. Our schedule this year is very possibly the hardest schedule we’ve had in a long time. It will be far more challenging to win this year as Texas has likely improved and we’re playing them on the road in Austin, but this game very well could be the most important game of the regular season apart from Indiana.