For the fourth straight year, News-Herald sports editor Mark Podolski joins the show to talk bowl games. The slate is a little lackluster this year, so The Nail’s traditional New Year’s Six preview is getting trimmed down to only the games anyone actually cares about – the College Football Playoff semifinals (Clemson vs. Notre Dame and Alabama vs. Oklahoma) and Ohio State’s surprisingly rare Rose Bowl appearance. Is another Alabama-Clemson championship game inevitable? Does Washington stand a chance in Urban Meyer’s last game on the Buckeyes’ sideline? And is it surprising that Dwayne Haskins is actually playing on New Year’s Day?
For the second straight year, Ohio State won the Big Ten championship, but missed out on the College Football Playoff, which, also for the second straight year, will include Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma. Being left out of the playoff field wasn’t a surprise, but also finishing behind two-loss Georgia this year? That’s a little more dubious. The guys discuss the selection committee’s wonky logic, the Big Ten’s struggle to get its champion into the playoff, and the value of a do-or-die regular season vs. an expanded playoff that lets in all worthy contenders.
Plus: A half-baked Fox vs. ESPN TV rights conspiracy theory and Dwayne Haskins’ Heisman odds.
Ohio State and Michigan meet on Saturday with the Big Ten East Division title on the line. Bill Bender of The Sporting News will be in the press box at Ohio Stadium this weekend, but first, he’s back on The Nail to break down The Game, from the dynamic abilities of Buckeyes QB Dwayne Haskins to the disastrous big plays allowed that have plagued a depleted OSU defense. Does Jim Harbaugh have a team capable of giving Michigan its first win in the Horseshoe since 2000? … Plus: LeBron James is back in The Q on Wednesday night, but his old team, the Cavs, are in a state of disarray. The guys discuss the grim stories of LeBron’s departure and disgruntled veterans that have made headlines this week, and the trouble with a front office rapidly losing its team’s trust.
Ready or not (and judging by the chants at FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday night, it seems most people in Cleveland fall into the category of “ready”), the Baker Mayfield show has arrived in Browns Town. The guys relive Mayfield’s electric debut, the circumstances that made it happen earlier than the Browns were steadfastly planning for, and where the rejuvenated franchise goes with its QB of the future apparently set to take the reins full-time. Plus, the Browns’ Color Rush jerseys join Cleveland sports’ history of special uniforms for big games and the NFL’s imperfect, yet intoxicating on-field product.
Even before the regular seasons for the Browns and Buckeyes kick off, it has been an interesting month for football fans in Northeast Ohio. Ben Axelrod of WKYC has had a front row seat for much of it, and he joins The Nail to discuss the storylines of “Hard Knocks” vs. reality at training camp in Berea, the Browns on the verge of becoming a relevant and interesting NFL franchise for the first time in years, the players making it happen like Myles Garrett—and those who apparently won’t. (Sorry, Mychal Kendricks.)
Meanwhile in Columbus, it has been a turbulent preseason for the Ohio State football program. Axelrod explains the challenges of covering the Zach Smith/Urban Meyer scandal and making the transition back to on-the-field matters, where the Buckeyes figure to be in the mix for the Big Ten title and another berth in the College Football Playoff. Plus: Players to watch and potential CFP sleeper teams.
