Nebraska-Ohio State Preview with Eric Boggs of The OHIO Podcast

Author

TJ Birkel
October 24, 2024

T.J. Birkel

Coming off the dreadful loss to Indiana, the Huskers face another daunting task as they travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State. The Buckeyes are currently #4 in both major polls, and they are coming off a one-point loss to Oregon (currently #1 in both polls). This will be a stiff test for Nebraska, as Ohio State has had a bye week to ruminate on what went wrong against the Ducks, and will be looking for a strong bounce-back performance. 

I talked to Eric Boggs, host of The OHIO Podcast, to get the Ohio State perspective on the upcoming game. 

Interview with Eric Boggs, Host of The OHIO Podcast

Ohio State is coming off an instant classic, one-point loss to the now #1 ranked Oregon Ducks. What's the mood in Buckeye Nation after that game? 

Buckeye Nation is currently going through the stages of grief. After the initial shock wore off, a large and vocal portion of the fanbase turned to anger, calling for Ryan Day to be fired. The expectations for this team, whether fair or not, were to go undefeated during the regular season, avenging the last three losses to TTUN (That Team Up North), win the Big Ten, and get to a National Championship. The loss in Eugene, Oregon solidified for some what they had already thought about Ryan Day, calling him John Cooper 2.0. Cooper famously went 2-10-1 against our rival and had a Bowl record of 3-8. Safe to say, Day is on the hot seat in the minds of at least half of the fanbase.

Ryan Day is 61-9 since taking over as head coach at Ohio State in 2019. He's won two conference titles and made the college football playoffs three times. He's also lost to Michigan three years in a row, and so far, a national championship has eluded him. We know something about outsized expectations at Nebraska, and we know they are notoriously high at OSU. How is Coach Day viewed by Buckeye fans right now? 

There is a saying that you never want to be the man who replaces a legend, but you would rather be the man who replaces the man who replaced the legend. Ryan Day seems to be the former in this scenario. There is a lot to like about Day. How he carries himself as a man, a father, what he does in the community, and for the most part, how he runs a very clean and respectable program are all things to be admired. However…