CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Ohio State Buckeyes Q&A with Land-Grant Holy Land

Let’s ask an OSU guy the important questions, like how he’d power-rank Jeffrey Dahmer vs. Bo Schembechler

Well friends, after an excruciating 11-day wait following the Irish’s exhilarating 27-24 victory over Penn State, we’re finally here — in just a matter of hours, your Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team will play for a national championship on Monday night in Atlanta.

We of course know the stakes and the storylines — head coach Marcus Freeman faces off against his alma mater and their head coach Ryan Day, who’s gone from an offensive wunderkind to a “he was born on 3rd base” guy to “he can’t beat Michigan, he’s soft, he should be fired, and he has a weird feud with 88-year-old Lou Holtz” all the way to “he’s brought his team to the brink of a national title and is favored by more than a touchdown.” Freeman has faced off against the Buckeyes as a head coach twice already, losing both in his regular season debut in 2022 in Columbus and in a massive 2023 game that the Irish nearly — and really should have — won.

This Ohio State team comes into the game firing on all cylinders, having clobbered Tennessee and Oregon and then running away from Texas late in the semifinals in order to arrive at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for this biggest of all matchups. They have a loaded defense, explosive playmakers galore offensively, some really good coordinators, and the only other transfer QB whom Notre Dame seriously considered last offseason.

And yet even knowing all that, we still felt it was necessary to chat with a true expert on the Buckeyes, to really understand their biggest strengths, potential weaknesses, and plenty of other perspectives from their side of the field. So we reached out to our good friends over at Land-Grant Holy Land and were fortunate enough to talk to Managing Editor Matt Tamanini, asking him all sorts of questions about how they feel about Ryan Day now, how dangerous their offense is, if their defense is capable of shutting Jeremiyah Love and co. down, and much, much more. Matt provided some fantastic insight and some pretty humorous and well-thought-out responses to our goofier questions, so let’s not waste any more time. We’ll dive right in to learn everything we need to know about Ohio State’s squad.

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1. Okay let’s start with everyone’s favorite person, Ryan Day. The dude seemed borderline on the hot seat after yet another loss to Michigan, and now he’s on the verge of winning a national title in the first-ever 12-team Playoff.

Was he ever actually in danger of losing his job if he hadn’t made this run? And what happened in that Michigan game, and how has he managed to get the team to respond the way they have since?

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: Whether or not Ryan Day was ever actually in danger of losing his job, no one will ever know, since only the opinions of A.D. Ross Bjork and university president Ted Carter really matter, but despite what chronically thin-skinned and tone-deaf national media members and local lapdog beat reporters have to say, there was not only a sizable portion of the Ohio State fandom who was ready to move on from Day, but they had legitimate reason to be.

I personally held off on crossing that bridge as long as I could, because I knew that all of the building blocks were there (roster, recruiting, development, culture) for the Buckeyes to be a championship-winning program, and we have seen Day be a masterful coach in spurts and stops throughout his tenure, but there had just felt like he had a mental block of coaching to his team’s strengths in the biggest games.

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

I can only speak for myself, but it wasn’t about four-straight losses to Michigan, it wasn’t about losses at all, because there had been a lot of games that OSU won despite Day’s shortcomings on the strength of the team’s collected talent alone.

However, following the Michigan loss, I finally threw my hands up and conceded that I didn’t think that the head coach was ever going to get over the mental blocks that he had put in his own way. Of course, I noted that because of the expanded playoff they could still win the title and we would cross that bridge when and if we got to it. Well, we are at that bridge, and I, for one, am very happy to have been wrong.

In terms of what changed, I give Day a lot of credit for listening to his players. Reportedly there was a player-led meeting following the rivalry loss where they implored the coaches to trust them and to allow them to do the things that they are capable of. Against Michigan — and even in the two previous games against ND — Day has been so focused on proving that his team was “tough” that he forgot that he didn’t build the roster to win that way.

So, once the players — who Day clearly loves deeply — had their say in an open and direct way, it appears that it lifted all of the nonsense from Day’s decision-making and he has been as locked in as a coach could possibly be since. Obviously, there is more that goes into it, but from where I sit, that’s the nuts and bolts.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

2. Will Howard has had a pretty darn good season since transferring from Kansas State — what does he do well that’s allowed him to find success, and what limitations or weak points in his game could the Irish defense take advantage of?

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: Will Howard doesn’t have the arm strength of Dwayne Haskins, the athletic ability of Justin Fields, or the accuracy of C.J. Stroud, but he does have a little bit of each, and he also has the leadership of J.T. Barrett and the mind of Craig Krenzel. While he is not a perfect quarterback by any means, I do think that short of bringing back Stroud, he might be the perfect guy to lead this specific Buckeye team.

He is not going to blow you away with any one thing, but what he is going to do is make the right play 90% of the time. Then there is 5% where he is going to make a bad play that his playmakers are going to turn into the right play, and then the final 5% is going to result in a maddening (from an OSU fan-perspective) turnover at the most inopportune time imaginable.

Throughout the season, Howard has improved his footwork tremendously, which has allowed him to turn the deep ball into a legitimate weapon for this team. It’s still not perfect, and oftentimes Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, et. al have to slow down or come back for the ball, but when combined with the skill of his wide receivers, it works.

Obviously for ND, if they can pressure him, that is going to lead to problems for Ohio State. While he is capable of scrambling, he is not at Riley Leonard’s level of mobility, and when he is under pressure, that is when the errant throws creep up the most.

3. FAN QUESTION:

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: Ohio State’s offensive line is… fine ¯_(ツ)_/¯. They didn’t start the season as a bright spot for the Buckeyes and since have lost their two best players (left tackle Josh Simmons and Rimington Trophy-winning center Seth McLaughlin). The guys who have stepped up have played admirably. Starting left guard Donovan Jackson has moved to LT and played excellently, last year’s starting center Carson Hinzman has returned to the lineup (he still snaps the ball way too slowly for my taste), and Luke Montgomery has begun to emerge from a three-man rotation at guard to claim the left spot.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has done an excellent job of scheming and play calling around the o-line deficiencies to the point where it hasn’t proven to be nearly the issue that many (myself included) expected it to be in the postseason, especially going up against three teams that either have excellent defensive lines or at least an excellent defensive lineman or two.

In terms of how you attack this line, I would focus on the right side. Right tackle Josh Fryar has been pretty spotty this season and in the CFP, which is disappointing for a guy with as much experience as he has. The right guard spot is still a work in progress as starter Tegra Tshabola is splitting time with Austin Siereveld. It’s a weird arrangement, but it has worked so far. Fingers crossed it continues.

3a. Follow-up from Pat: what makes TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins so dangerous as a duo, and which of the two do you expect to find more success against this ND defense?

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: I think what’s unique about these two backs is that they can both do it all. While Henderson is more likely to hit the home run and Judkins is more likely to run someone over, they are not a “Thunder and Lightning” combo. They will both run between the tackles and both can take the ball around the corner.

During the playoff, Judkins has become more of the short-yardage, goal-to-go, grind-it-out back; while Henderson has been more of the get-the-ball-in-space guy. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t interchangeable in a lot of ways. I would be conscious of Henderson out of the backfield as, well… we saw what that can look like at the end of the first half against Texas.

4. Does Ohio State have any wide receiver talent at all? Really hoping this is another Penn State situation.*

*Please talk me through how good all these 5-star Buckeyes receivers are, and how you think an ND secondary used to playing tons of man coverage should go about trying to slow them down on Monday.

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: The great thing about Ohio State’s wide receivers is that there are so many of them that can both take the top off of a defense, but also make catches in small spaces. Obviously, much of the talk is about Jeremiah Smith, and for good reason. He obliterated all of Cris Carter’s freshman records and did so in fewer games than CC did.

But as we saw against Texas, if a defense decides to dedicate three defenders to him on every play, there are other guys capable of making plays. Usually, it is the veteran Emeka Egbuka, but against the Longhorns, it was sophomore Carnell Tate. All three (along with WR4 Brandon Inniss, tight end Gee Scott Jr., and Henderson out of the backfield) are capable of being major focal points for the OSU offense.

I don’t expect Al Golden to just go one-on-one, press-man against Smith, because regardless of how good any one Irish defender is, that is a situation that Ryan Day, Chip Kelly, Will Howard, and Smith himself will exploit. But, I also don’t imagine that the Irish will go to the lengths that Texas did to blanket Smith.

So, it will be a fun little chess match to see if Smith is able to get enough space for Howard to get the ball in his general vicinity, or if ND forces him to look elsewhere. I imagine Smith will be a focal point of the offense either way because you can’t go into the biggest game of the year and not do everything possible to get your best player involved.

5. This Ohio State defense scares me, especially as Irish offensive linemen continue to get hurt and after we saw what a one-armed Abdul Carter could do against them in the semifinals.

How have teams like Oregon, and to a lesser extent Texas, found success against this Buckeyes defense — do you think Notre Dame has the players/offensive philosophy to do anything similar? And which OSU defensive players are the most likely to be game wreckers against the Irish on Monday night?

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: Ohio State leads the country in scoring defense, allowing just 12.2 points per game. That total has unsurprisingly gone up a bit during the playoff, as competition increases, but they are only giving up 17.3 points per game in the postseason, which was impacted greatly by the early runaway leads over Tennessee and Oregon.

The only time that OSU has given up more than 21 points this season (which was in that quarterfinal blowout of Oregon) was in mid-October against the Ducks. Since then, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has radically changed the Buckeye D. The first major change is that the defensive line has been allowed to focus more on getting into the backfield rather than being schemed to eat up blocks for linebackers to make plays.

That has resulted in Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, and Tyler Williams being frequent threats to pressure and sack opposing quarterbacks.

The other significant change is that OSU has changed its safety alignment from having Caleb Downs as the deep man to rotating Lathan Ransom and Jordan Hancock (who had been playing nickel) into the back of the defense, often in a two-high look.

From there, Downs has been able to freelance a little bit more and just attack the ball, whether that is on a run or a pass. Downs, in my opinion, is the best defensive player in the country and I would imagine he will play a big part in trying to keep Riley Leonard from making plays with his legs. I’d also keep an eye on linebacker Cody Simon who has been wracking up tackles and was a spy on Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava.

6. FAN QUESTION:

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: I like where your head’s at with this question, but unlike with Ryan Day, my belief in Brutus has never wavered. That dastardly sucker punch by the Little Brother Bobcat was not emblematic of Brutus’ glass jaw, but rather the villainy and insecurity of a program that knows it will never live up to the power and majesty of the state’s most beloved mascot.

Also, Mr. Peanut could only hope to be a shell of the mascot that Brutus is… see what I did there?

7. It’s time for Ryan Day and Lou Holtz to settle this rivalry once and for all, the old-fashioned way — the two decide to face off in a karaoke competition.

What song does each coach sing, who’s got the best charisma/stage presence, the best dance moves, and the most beautiful voice, and then who ultimately wins the competition after they use an Applause-o-meter to measure the crowd’s support for each performer? Please assume the crowd is 50% Michigan fans and 50% USC fans.

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: Look, there is plenty of tape on Coach Holtz to know that he has no shame — I mean, do you remember some of the ridiculous segments he did on “College Football Final” with the laughably irrelevant Mark May? So I’d say Sweet Lou takes the charisma (or at least lack-of-shame) battle.

However, he is an octogenarian who seems to struggle to get around, so score one for Day in the dance-moves column.

In terms of voice, Day has a nice, rich baritone that works well if you pick the right song, but it’s so easy to fall into the tenor trap in karaoke. You think, “Oh, I can sing most of this song, the high note won’t be too difficult,” and then WHAM! You are cracking on stage. So it all comes down to song choice. And in terms of voice… we’ve all heard Squeaky Lou speak for the past four decades, we know what we’re getting there. Point: Day.

For song choice, I imagine Holtz will go with “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” by the Crash Test Dummies because he’s getting old and it is already difficult to understand what the hell is coming out of his mouth, so he’s playing to his strength.

Then, Day will go with a stirring rendition of George Thorogood & The Destroyers’ “Bad to the Bone” that not only highlights the lower register of his voice and gets the crowd amped up for the ultimate competition on the field, but also reveals the hidden depths found within the lyrics and illuminates the personal pathos that the coach has gone through this season, only to come out stronger on the other end.

“Now when I walk the streets / Kings and queens step aside / Every woman I meet / They all stay satisfied” indeed, Coach Day. Indeed.

8. Please power-rank these notable Ohio State alumni/former students:

– Jeffrey Dahmer (serial killer and cannibal who left the school after one quarter with a 0.45/4.00 GPA)

– Robert Bales (former US Army soldier responsible for the Kandahar massacre — did not graduate)

– James Howard Snook (gold medal at 1920 Antwerp Olympics, inventor of the “snook hook” surgical instrument, executed in February 1930 for murder)

– Glenn E. “Bo” Schembechler (former Michigan head coach)

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: In fourth place is Dahmer, he bolted for the transfer portal as soon as times got tough. So we don’t even acknowledge him as a Buckeye.

In third is Bales. Thank you for your service, but also, no thank you for your service.

Second is Snook. As Buckeyes we inherently will overlook all of the other garbage that guys bring to the table if they can win — for example, there are still OSU fans who want Urban Meyer back as the football coach.

And in first place is Bo. Look, if the almighty Woody Hayes can continue a lifelong friendship with Schembechler after their coaching rivalry is over, who am I to argue with that?

9. Alright, let’s get down to it — who wins on Monday night, what’s the final score, and how do you think that happens?

Matt Tamanini, Land-Grant Holy Land: On a personal note, and I talked about this with Mike Golic Jr. in our podcast, obviously, I want Ohio State to win, but if they were to lose a national title to anyone, I would want it to be Marcus Freeman. Not just because he is a former Buckeye, but because he is a genuinely good human who has done tremendous things with this Notre Dame program. I am ecstatic about what he has been able to accomplish in three seasons and am excited to see everything that he can do moving forward… after this game.

But back to the game: I think this one will look similar to the Ohio State and Texas game, with both defenses playing well throughout. Perhaps it is my scarlet-and-gray-colored glasses, but I don’t see a situation where the Buckeyes score less than 24 points, and I don’t see a situation where the Irish score more than 24 points—barring a situation similar to what we saw against the Vols or Ducks.

So I am going to go with Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 17, and Ryan Day saying, “I’d like to know where Lou Holtz is right now,” as soon as Rece Davis puts the microphone in his face on the championship podium. Of course, I do reserve the right to change my score prediction up until Land-Grant’s official predictions article goes live on Monday morning, so check this space for any updates (but I don’t imagine they would go in ND’s favor)

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Alrighty, folks — I want to give a Jack Sawyer-sized shoutout to Matt for all of his excellent insight and taking the time to give such thorough, thoughtful, hilarious responses to our laundry list of questions heading into the final game of the 2024-2025 college football season. I highly recommend you all head over to the Land-Grant Holy Land site to check out some fantastic coverage they have going on over there heading into this big game.

Furthermore, make sure you give both the site account and Matt some follows on Twitter, as I’m positive that will help enliven your timelines with all sorts of insights, analysis, and quick-reactions to anything and everything happening before, during, and after this matchup.

Otherwise, that’s it for this week, and for this season of football opponent Q&As — as always, I’ll leave you with the biggest and loudest “GO IRISH, BEAT BUCKEYES!” I can possibly muster. Let’s do this, y’all.