Game Day Skull Session: Get Dumped Then, Northwestern

But it’s a bad day to be a Wildcat, which means he’s public enemy No. 1 on Saturday, just like his team. I’ll talk more about that in a second.

Let’s have a good Saturday, okay?

LIVE IN REALITY. Ryan Day and Ohio State are going to win today, and everyone knows it, even Fitzgerald. While the Northwestern head coach didn’t explicitly say so in his midweek statement to local media, his comments indicated how he thinks Saturday’s game will play out.

“When you jump on the board and dive deeper, it’s a complete team,” Fitzgerald said of Ohio State this week. “Coach Day and his team have done a phenomenal job recruiting. They have depth everywhere and explosiveness in all three phases. After a hard-fought game at Penn State, it was impressive to watch. … We’ll have our hands full.

Indeed, Northwestern will have their hands full on Saturday, or – perhaps more accurately – there will be too much for the Wildcats’ hands (paws?) to carry. While the weather in Evanston should add intrigue to this game, it won’t stop Ohio State from putting in a dominating performance on the road. Because even with the rain and the wind, what flaws do the Buckeyes have that the Wildcats can exploit?

Fitzgerald sees no weakness his team could take advantage of this afternoon.

“On tape, no, I didn’t see anything. But we haven’t mowed the grass at Ryan Field since our last home game,” Fitzgerald said with a laugh. “So it will be between 2 and 4 feet high. Maybe the sprinkler system will come on at 7 a.m. and then at 10 a.m. … I do not know. It’s a great team, man.

Fitzgerald’s comments were refreshingly honest – the main reason he’s one of my favorite coaches in the Big Ten. He understands his program better than anyone and is comfortable admitting his team has no chance against a superior opponent.

Do I expect him to tell his players they’re going to lose in the pre-game talk? No. But does he understand that he is talking to the same players who lost a game against Miami (Ohio) and FCS Southern Illinois? Yes. You don’t lose to teams like that, then you magically turn around and beat the No. 2 team in the country. It doesn’t happen.

The bottom line is that everyone at Ryan Field this afternoon expects this game to end with Ohio State leading. That said, the Buckeyes’ primary focus should be to come in and get a win quickly while maintaining the health of starters and critical depth players at multiple positions. If they do, it will be a successful mission in Evanston. I hope that’s what we’re talking about on Monday.

Prediction: Ohio State 52, Northwestern 7.

MENU OF THE DAY. There’s a juicy slate of games in college football this weekend, including two huge matchups in the Southeastern Conference.

Can Tennessee storm into Athens and beat Georgia, vindicating their No. 1 ranking in the first college football playoff standings, or will the Bulldogs defend their turf? Will Alabama defeat (an inexplicably No. 10 ranked) LSU in Death Valley, or will the Tigers come away with a surprise?

It’s college football! Everything can happen!

Here’s the full list of games, with the day’s top games listed in bold:

Match	Time (ET)	Television/Mobile
Air Force vs. Army (in Arlington, TX)	11:30 a.m.	SCS
19 Tulane in Tulsa	12:00 p.m.	ESPNU
Iowa to Purdue	12:00 p.m.	FS1
2 State of Ohio to the Northwest	12:00 p.m.	ABC
WKU in Charlotte	12:00 p.m.	CBSSN
17 North Carolina to Virginia	12:00 p.m.	ACCN
Minnesota to Nebraska	12:00 p.m.	ESPN2
Maryland to Wisconsin	12:00 p.m.	BTN
Texas Tech at 7 TCU	12:00 p.m.	FOX
Kentucky to Missouri	12:00 p.m.	SECN
Florida to Texas A&M	12:00 p.m.	ESPN
Georgia Tech to Virginia Tech	12:30 p.m.	RSN/ESPN3
USF at the temple	2:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Marshall at Old Dominion	2:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Georgia State at Southern Miss	15:00	ESPN+
Middle Tennessee at Louisiana Tech	15:00	ESPN+
Baylor in Oklahoma	15:00	ESPN+
UTSA at UAB	3:30 p.m.	Stadium
25 UCF in Memphis	3:30 p.m.	ESPN2
Washington State at Stanford	3:30 p.m.	P12N
State of Michigan to 16 Illinois	3:30 p.m.	BTN
15 Penn State to Indiana	3:30 p.m.	ABC
20 Syracuse to Pitt	3:30 p.m.	ACCN
New Mexico to Utah State	3:30 p.m.	CBSSN
West Virginia at Iowa State	3:30 p.m.	ESPN+
18 State of Oklahoma in Kansas	3:30 p.m.	FS1
1 Tennessee to 3 Georgia	3:30 p.m.	SCS
8 Oregon in Colorado	3:30 p.m.	ESPN
Freedom in Arkansas	4:00 p.m.	SECN
Navy in Cincinnati	4:00 p.m.	ESPNU
Southern Alabama to Georgia Southern	4:00 p.m.	ESPN+
CRF North Texas	4:00 p.m.	ESPN+
State of Texas at ULM	5:00 p.m.	ESPN3
Troy in Louisiana	5:00 p.m.	ESPN+
Houston at SMU	7:00 p.m.	NFLN
BYU at Boise State	7:00 p.m.	FS2
6 Alabama to 10 LSU	7:00 p.m.	ESPN
24 Texas to 13 Kansas State	7:00 p.m.	FS1
UNLV at San Diego State	7:00 p.m.	CBSSN
Arizona at 14 Utah	7:30 p.m.	P12N
Auburn in the State of Mississippi	7:30 p.m.	ESPN2
4 Clemson at Notre Dame	7:30 p.m.	NBC/Peacock
South Carolina at Vanderbilt	7:30 p.m.	SECN
James Madison in Louisville	7:30 p.m.	ESPNU
Florida State in Miami (FL)	7:30 p.m.	ABC
5 Michigan at Rutgers	7:30 p.m.	BTN
21 Wake Forest at 22 NC State	20:00	ACCN
12 UCLA at Arizona State	10:30 p.m.	FS1
Hawaii to Fresno State	10:30 p.m.	FS2
Colorado State to San Jose State	10:30 p.m.	NBCS Bay Area
California at 9 USC	10:30 p.m.	ESPN

MY CHOICES. Folks, I got positive with my picks last week as North Carolina and TCU covered against Backyard Brawl teams Pitt and West Virginia, respectively. The only selection that didn’t land is Georgia, which beat Florida by 22 points with a 23.5-point lead. Pain! I was so close to a 3 for 3 day.

RECORD 2022: 11-12

Here are my picks for this week:

• Texas Tech at TCU No. 7 (-9.5): Texas Tech is coming off a blistering 45-17 loss to Baylor that sent the Red Raiders down 4-4. Now they’re looking at Max Duggan, Kendre Miller and the rest of TCU’s big-game offense. Not well, people, not good. Gus Johnson will spend a day in the field calling TDs for Horned Frogs all day as they head for cover.
• No. 1 Tennessee (+8) to No. 3 Georgia: Tennessee is fun, but Hendon Hooker will be Heisman’s favorite over CJ Stroud if the Volunteers beat Georgia in Athens, which isn’t fun. Both teams are good and the Bulldogs have home field advantage, but I don’t think that’s enough to beat a talented Tennesee team by more than 8 points. I’ll take Tennessee to cover but hope (?) to lose. I don’t know, people, tell me how I should feel about this one.
• No. 4 Clemson at Notre Dame (+4): For how bad the Irish have been this season, I think Marcus Freeman can and will redeem the poor start to his tenure with an upset win over Clemson on Saturday. Remember: this is college football! Everything can happen! Why not Notre Dame?! It would be incredibly fun to see Dabo Swinney’s season fall apart at the hands of Freeman while making Ohio State’s victory over Notre Dame that much better. Please give me the Irish to cover and win.

BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. JK Johnson can do it all. Besides being one of the best cornerbacks at Ohio State, the sophomore Buckeye is a pretty talented videographer. This video from the football team’s Twitter proves it:

we let JK film the best Fridays in college footballthe results speak for themselves pic.twitter.com/YNTAtLyRwD

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 4, 2022

A few thoughts:

1. Football’s best Fridays look like a lot of fun – they always have been and always will be.

2. Coach Day saying “Sup, Brother” to Johnson is hilarious. Is it Hulk Hogan?

3. Brian Hartline seems to be enjoying the opportunity to compete against some of the Buckeyes.

4. Mickey Marotti, man, you gotta stick with shot put because those grips need a little work (Please don’t hurt me, Coach Mick).

That’s all for me on this beautiful Saturday, except for the song of the day and Them Links. Be sure to stay tuned for our coverage throughout the day on the website and on social media. See you all on Monday.

SONG OF THE DAY. Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park”.

CUT TO HUNTING. Alcohol Death Toll Rises, According to US Government Reports… From ‘Enola Holmes’ to ‘Extraction’, Netflix Bets on Sequels… Senators For Sale, Buyer Must keep the team in Ottawa… Powerball jackpot wins $1.6 billion – a world record… The richest person who ever lived possessed unimaginable wealth.

DO NOT FORGET : Vote for Ohio State women’s ice hockey defenseman Sophie Jaques to win the AAU James E. Sullivan Award (Click Here).