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00:00The Buckeyes are about to start, and that means Ari Wasserman is joining us on the show.
00:03National football columnist for On 3, also the host of the co-host of Andy and Ari with Andy Staples.
00:09Ari joins us right now on that Wise Heart Right We Make It Right called Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:12Ari, thanks for joining us.
00:14Hey, thanks for having me. I appreciate you guys.
00:16How many losses could this Ohio State team take this year?
00:20It's a very, very, very difficult schedule.
00:23Somebody in this room, not me, said they could be 8-4, and I said that's absolutely crazy.
00:31Yeah, no. When's the last time they lost four games?
00:35Was that the year everyone was suspended in 11?
00:37Oh, no, that would have been, was that, yeah, that was Luke Fickle.
00:41Yeah, it was 2011, and the reason why they lost all those games is because all their best players were
00:46suspended.
00:47Yeah.
00:47And then John Cooper.
00:49So, to me, it's, if you think that they could lose four games this year,
00:53that means that you think they're going to lose, they're going to go 0-4 against the four best teams
00:57on their schedule,
00:58and it's just like, why do you, why would you think that?
01:01Like, that's, that's just my only response to that.
01:03So, like, you know, Ryan Day, during his time as Ohio State's coach,
01:10has certainly had some struggles, especially with Michigan.
01:12But he's done fairly well, especially recently in big-time matchups.
01:18So, like, I don't think it's impossible that they lose four games.
01:21They're, they're playing really good teams.
01:23But if you think that Ohio State is worse than four teams on their schedule, I would probably push back
01:28on that.
01:29And I also think that if they're going to lose games that they shouldn't, I would push back on that.
01:33So, I would actually be very curious what the analysis of four losses would be, because I don't see it.
01:38Yeah, it would have to be, you know, doing poorly in the big games, obviously,
01:43and then doing something they haven't done under Ryan Day or Urban Meyer, really,
01:47which is a slip-up in a game that you wouldn't expect, you know, along the way.
01:53And the only way I could presuppose something like that is if, you know,
01:57that offensive line that struggled in their biggest games last year,
02:01what if they, what if they don't get that fixed?
02:03You know, is that something that we just take for granted,
02:05but in some of the bigger games, we've seen them lay some eggs up front.
02:09I mean, this is by far the hardest schedule that they've had probably since John Cooper's tenure.
02:15So, like, if you think that there's a potential that if things go haywire,
02:19that they pay for it in a way that they just physically would not have paid for it in the
02:23past,
02:23if I could buy into that.
02:25You know, Texas, Iowa's on the road in a much better team than they've been.
02:29IU, USC, Oregon, and Michigan.
02:30Like, I mean, I just have a hard time believing that they would go two and four in that stretch
02:37because I've just, like, never seen that in my entire, like, adult life from anyone.
02:41So, you know, I think that their schedule is good enough where, you know,
02:47they could go nine and three and potentially still make it.
02:50Like, I'm still very much on somebody who's going to be nine and three
02:53and in the playoff one day in that camp.
02:56So, you know, it just depends, too, on what IU is again.
03:00What if USC turns out to be really, really good?
03:03You know, I saw some things from them on Saturday that I was very impressed by.
03:07Iowa, I think, was much better than they were last year.
03:09And I think beating Texas on the road, like, were they favored?
03:12Like, I don't think they should be favored in a road game at Texas for the night game on September
03:1712th.
03:18Like, there are certainly potential pickups in the schedule for sure.
03:21But also, I think it's better.
03:23I've lived and covered too many Ohio State years where 85% of the games are pointless, you know,
03:31blowouts that were boring as hell.
03:33Like, I think that, you know, with challenge makes entertainment.
03:36And at the end of the day, guys, this is an entertainment product.
03:38And my hope is for Ohio State fans who are actually in the only, you know,
03:41half of their games being against teams of the Pulse.
03:44Ari Wasserman with us on the hotline.
03:46I do remember, okay, 2004 with Jim Trestle.
03:49They got destroyed at Kinnick, which was so bizarre.
03:52And they had that really rough stretch where they lost three in a row.
03:54And Todd Beckman was their quarterback.
03:55I remember, yeah.
03:56Yeah, Ted Ginn.
03:57Was it Northwestern one of them?
03:58Yeah, yes.
03:59And Ted Ginn, I think, was one of the quarterbacks in the bowl game at the Alamo Bowl that year.
04:06So, all right.
04:07So, I do want to ask just college football step outside a little bit.
04:11And we've been talking about whether or not you'll be more invested in games.
04:16You know, we had wondered forever, if they kept expanding the playoffs, would it somehow
04:22make the regular season a little less important?
04:25And so, have you seen yet where fans are kind of out on the regular season compared to the
04:30life or death way that we used to treat regular season games yet?
04:34Or is that not really kicked in?
04:38I don't think it's kicked in, but I think that when it gets to 24, it's going to happen.
04:41Like, I wrote an article a few months ago when I went to the CFP meetings here in the Dallas
04:47area.
04:48And there is a line in the sand that you can't cross.
04:53And the people who are going to potentially expand it to 24 don't know where that line is.
04:58It's a visible line in the sand.
04:59But if you cross it, there's negative returns.
05:03Because if you do get to a place where a four-loss team or, you know, maybe a five-loss
05:07team,
05:07depending on how math goes, could make a 2014 playoff, then there's no consequences for
05:12losing and thus no reason to watch the game.
05:14So, I do think that people will still watch football because ultimately people just want
05:19to watch football.
05:20I heard you guys talking about week zero before I came on.
05:23Like, you know, there were a lot of people on Saturday watching Memphis UNLV because they
05:28like watching football on television.
05:30But, you know, big-time matchups will always be what it is.
05:34But my entire thing is that it is not as fun.
05:37Everybody likes, you know, recourse for losing.
05:39Everybody likes consequences.
05:42And the one thing that I know for sure is that they're excited about the postseason added
05:46inventory, all these extra games at the end of the year with the 2014 playoff that didn't
05:50exist in the past.
05:50Well, A, there's no more bowls.
05:52And B, if people stop watching games in September and October, like college basketball, and start
05:57back-loading in November because none of the results of the first two months really matter,
06:02then there's danger in that.
06:04So, I don't know what's going to happen.
06:05I'm not a TV executive or somebody who's done the math on my own.
06:09But all I know for sure is that, you know, if a team loses or is upset in week two
06:15in
06:15a 2014 playoff, it's not necessarily run to the microphone.
06:18And let's go live and talk about this right now anymore.
06:21Well, it's also...
06:22It's cool, different, but I don't know if it's impactful.
06:24Well, Ari, I'll tell you this, though.
06:25Like, anytime I've ever thought anything like, hey, be careful.
06:29Like, you don't want to, you know, water it down so much.
06:31It's just like, well, they still, they kick off at noon and we still all watch.
06:35And then they kick off at 3.30 and we still all watch.
06:37Like, there seems to be no consequence when it comes to the game of football.
06:40Like, watch, what about people like my dad who checks in because it's a big game?
06:46What about the casual viewer who doesn't watch for 12 straight hours?
06:49I think, like, there's this idea that, like, everybody who loves football sits down there
06:53on their ass on the couch at noon on Saturday and watches till midnight every night.
06:57And it's just like, that's not the normal person.
06:59Normal people...
07:00God, I wish it was.
07:01My wife won't let me do that anymore.
07:02Like, if we're in this business, we're on the higher spectrum of committed to the bit
07:08of watching football.
07:09But, like, what about people who would tune in for Texas-Ohio State because they wanted
07:15to see who's going to miss the playoff this year or who's going to be put into a bad spot
07:19who are like, oh, I'll catch the next one.
07:21Like, I think there's more people who are, like, casual fans that make a large number of...
07:27They're a large impact on the number than people think.
07:31Yes, a lot of people will still watch no matter what.
07:33They could...
07:34There are people who will watch if it was a 100-team playoff.
07:37I get that.
07:38But there's a lot of fringe people out there that are certainly...
07:41You know, like, think about you and other sports.
07:43Think about me and other sports.
07:44I watch the World Cup.
07:45I don't watch soccer.
07:46But I watch the World Cup because it was cool and it was interesting and there were stakes.
07:50You know, I watch certain UFC fights when everyone's hyping them up.
07:53I don't watch everyone.
07:55I watch a lot of other sports that I don't watch every single day when the stakes are high.
08:00I tune in and the numbers are better.
08:02There's a lot of people like that in college football.
08:05Ari Wasserman joining us here on the Wise Heart Right.
08:07We Make a Right Call Call Right Hotline.
08:09Jeremiah Smith, is he, because of his loyalty, because of the...
08:12I mean, obviously he's not doing it for free, but they definitely would have offered him money
08:16at other places, or more money even.
08:18Is he the last, if things keep going the way they are, the last beloved college football player
08:24by a program's fan base?
08:28The last one?
08:30Yes.
08:31I don't know.
08:32I'm sure Ohio State will sign another five-star that's really good who stays his whole career
08:35again, don't you?
08:36Stays his whole career?
08:37I don't know, man.
08:38I think it's harder and harder.
08:39Why would you leave Ohio State if things were going well?
08:41If you already won a national championship.
08:43I think there were plenty of other people wondering why you didn't leave in the first place.
08:47Yeah, I don't know.
08:48I think that when you're at Ohio State, you're probably already getting paid towards the top
08:52of the spectrum.
08:53And when things are going well, you're at a place that you know you're going to get selected
08:56high in the NFL draft.
08:57I do think that there are some people out there that might be stupid enough to go try
09:01to get an extra $1.5 or $2 million on the top of the thing.
09:04I think there's way more stupid people than you may think.
09:06You may think.
09:07I know, but I also think that most people, or at least half of the people, aren't stupid
09:11and will stay and become beloved.
09:13I don't think that this is the last time this is ever going to happen.
09:16But I do think that you're correct in the idea that people will look at him and view
09:21him and feel a closeness to him in a way that they don't with other players because he
09:25came through the high school ranks, because he stayed, because he won a championship.
09:29Like, this is a rare instance.
09:31Back in the day, you know, you used to, like, follow recruiting and watch kids' high school
09:35highlight reel.
09:36And then he would come into the program and not play for two years.
09:39And then he would emerge and be awesome.
09:40And you had a connection to them because for two years, they were an anonymous student on
09:44the campus that you went to and ate at your restaurants and went to your bars.
09:47Now it's like Will Howard comes in and has never been to Columbus, Ohio in his life and
09:51then wins a national title.
09:52Like, there's no connection there.
09:53I know people appreciate him, but there's no connection the way that you used to, you
09:58know, the way that people felt with Ted Ginn Jr., somebody you mentioned earlier in the
10:02show.
10:02He went to Cleveland Glenville and, you know, went to Ohio State.
10:05Troy Smith went to Glenville.
10:06He was the last player, you know, taken in Jim Trestle's whatever, was it, 03 class or 04
10:12class and Ted Ginn Jr. or Sr. told him to take him and, you know, he went and became a
10:18Heisman winner.
10:18Like, those stories are going to be fewer and far between, especially now that it's
10:21just a, you know, cattle sale.
10:24But, like, you know, it's just, it's not the last time it's going to happen, though,
10:29because people who are having success on the field tend to not want to leave.
10:35Ari, Indiana, they are number six in the AP poll.
10:39They're both, actually, in both polls.
10:41And I asked this question to other Buckeye fans.
10:44Why is it that I don't hate Indiana yet?
10:47They are a threat to our excellence.
10:49They are a threat to us winning the national championship and all the things we want to
10:54do.
10:54They are in our way and, you know, have been for the last two years.
10:59Obviously, we know what happened a couple years ago and then last year we lose to them.
11:04Do you hate Oregon?
11:05Shouldn't this, do I hate Oregon?
11:06No, not really.
11:07When will I start to hate?
11:09But Indiana beat us.
11:10You know, I know Oregon beat us in a regular season and, you know, we got them in the
11:13playoff.
11:14But shouldn't this be a team in Signetti that I absolutely despise?
11:18Is this just something that takes time?
11:20I think it probably takes time.
11:23Like, if Indiana beats Ohio State, knocks them out of the playoff this year, I think people
11:26are going to be, they'll probably be, okay, I don't know if it's a Signetti love fest.
11:30You know, like, I don't know.
11:34But he's an inherently likable person despite the fact that he's blunt and brash, right?
11:38Like, for some reason, he's been able to strike the perfect balance of cocky but lovable.
11:44Like, there's not a lot of people who can do that, especially considering the fact that
11:47I think Americans respect the fact that he talked his trash and he backed that stuff
11:52up.
11:52You know what I mean?
11:53Like, everything that he said, they did at the highest of high levels.
11:57Everything that he said from the beginning, they did on year one, even when they lost
12:00in the playoff.
12:00And then he came back and made better on it.
12:02You know, and I do think that, you know, Hollywood has built a lot of sports movies where people
12:09do something remarkable.
12:10And I think to this point that, you know, it's one of the most remarkable things that's
12:13ever happened in college football.
12:14It's not the number one most remarkable thing.
12:17The question I have with Signetti now is, is this a unique unicorn-type situation or did the
12:22new rules of college football and the way that people build their rosters mean that more
12:25teams are going to come out of nowhere and do what they did?
12:28Like, I think that in 10 years, we'll have more context of how truly special that was.
12:33But in terms of Ohio State's stature, you know, they didn't knock him out of the playoff
12:39last year, so it probably didn't hurt that much.
12:42You know, they didn't knock him, they didn't end their season a year ago.
12:45You know, I think it's a little bit different now, especially considering the fact that five
12:49teams from the conference can get in the championship, like there are no actual real
12:52direct, inherent threat of Ohio State the way that Michigan was for the last 100 years.
12:57Ari, one final one for me.
12:59Since we have a lot of people from all over the country that tune in to hear Shador Sanders
13:04talk, I want to ask about his father and his college coach, Dion.
13:10Is he hanging by a thread in Boulder?
13:1316-21 in his time.
13:16They're 9-18 in the conference.
13:19I didn't even realize he doesn't even, like, hang out in the town outside of the season.
13:24Like, he's, I've never heard of that from a college coach.
13:27Like, he's not even in Boulder.
13:29What is the expectation for him this year?
13:31And what do you make of everything that has transpired there since he stepped foot on that
13:37campus?
13:37Okay, before you let me go, can I please ask a question about the Browns that I'm dying
13:41to ask to people who know?
13:43All right.
13:43I'll answer your question first, but then on the next one, can I ask you?
13:46Yeah.
13:47Okay.
13:47Deal?
13:49It's kind of bizarre because Dion Sanders, you know, in the moment doesn't seem popular and
13:55in the moment doesn't, isn't moving the needle.
13:59But I think people forget that they were in a playoff race in November two years ago.
14:02They have a player who won the Heisman Trophy, you know, like they've done things at Colorado
14:07that the last, you know, decades of coaches weren't able to do.
14:12So the question here is like, it's an analysis that's a little bit different from like Ohio
14:17State or somebody else.
14:20Because you think that you're judging a coach's performance based on wins and losses, but
14:25like Colorado financially has done remarkable with it.
14:28So I think that the, the, the math here isn't, is Dion Sanders living in Boulder and the
14:33steward of the program and, and doing things that typical coaches do.
14:37He's done nothing that typical coaches do.
14:40I think that, you know, I have a strong opinions about the way that he recruits.
14:43And I think that his number one qualification for being Colorado's coach when he got the job
14:47was being famous.
14:48And the fact that he never walked into high school hallways, I think is a huge miscalculation
14:52on his part.
14:52Like, I think they could have recruited high school better and they, they really didn't try
14:55that hard, which is bizarre to me.
14:58He's a rock star in every, every high school hallway in America.
15:00He should be like cleaning up high school classes and stacking for the future.
15:04But, you know, I think that he's made Colorado relevant in a way that maybe no one else could
15:10have.
15:10They've sold more tickets than they've ever sold.
15:13You know, they were competitive in a way two years ago because of their son and Travis
15:17Hunter that made them fun to watch.
15:19But in terms of like future hopes that like Colorado is going to make the playoff, like I would
15:25have, I, you could have convinced me when he got hired that they could build a national
15:31championship caliber roster.
15:32Cause when he got hired NIL hadn't gone completely off the rails yet, Colorado doesn't have as
15:36much money as, as other teams do.
15:39So like they're limited in that factor.
15:40But I thought like traditionally speaking, they can sign top 10 classes for, you know, five,
15:44six, seven years, you know, hire some really cool assistants from the NFL or people like
15:49Warren Sapp or people that could, you know, bring some juice and then get in the playoff
15:53and make a run.
15:54I mean, Indiana just won a championship saying Colorado would win a championship five years
15:58ago.
15:58It doesn't seem quite as crazy as that would have been.
16:01And then none of that happened.
16:03So losing the best players in the portal, you know, there's his son left and is with
16:06the Browns now.
16:07And like the juice isn't there.
16:09Now, Juju Lewis is an exciting player.
16:10We'll see how good he is.
16:12But they don't have Travis Hunter.
16:13I think it was one of the most unique and best college players all around.
16:17I know there's some debate about whether he should play receiver or DB in the NFL and,
16:21you know, whether he was worth the, I think the Browns made a good trade.
16:24No opinion there.
16:26In college, his aspect was insane.
16:28Ari, my producer is going to come choke me out.
16:30What did you want to say about the Browns?
16:32What did you want to say?
16:32Somebody who follows the Browns every day and talks about the Browns every day.
16:35Give me one reason that I can't push back on that Deshaun Washington start.
16:40They're like, what's the benefit of him starting football games this year?
16:44You want to do that?
16:45Where have you been Ari for the last month?
16:47Where have you been?
16:48Why haven't you listened?
16:49Yeah.
16:49You forget about us?
16:50I'm not listening to a lot of NFL stuff right now because I've got a job in college,
16:54but I've been trying to think.
16:56Like, well, if they're trying to tank, they can tank with someone else.
16:58All right.
16:59Owen just said.
17:00Because they've got a new coach, and if they would have had Kevin Stefanski,
17:02Shador Sanders would be your starting quarterback for week one.
17:04All right.
17:05Owen's going to send you about 1,000 hours of radio just so we can get you up to speed.
17:08Okay.
17:08Yeah.
17:09I don't think there's a single identifiable reason why that human being should even be on the team
17:13little and starting.
17:13You called him a human being.
17:15That's a step up from what most people call him.
17:17You're going to get a Columbia house.
17:19You're going to get a subscription for just a penny, a CD.
17:23You're going to get 1,000 hours of radio.
17:25If you're going to the next offseason, knowing you're going to draft a quarterback,
17:28shouldn't you make that decision knowing 100% what you have in your room?
17:31There's zero football reason for him to start.
17:34I'm not even talking about the morality of it.
17:35There's zero football reason.
17:36He's not a part of the future.
17:38He's not good.
17:38Then why would he start, Ari?
17:41I don't know.
17:43Because you hired a new head coach, and he thinks he gives him the best chance to win.
17:48That's why.
17:49He stinks.
17:50I'm not arguing with you.
17:52You don't want to make you think that.
17:53I'm not.
17:53I don't think that.
17:55I don't think that, Ari.
17:56I don't think that neither does Tone.
17:59I had more fun watching Kalen Green run the offense the other night.
18:02Well, so did everybody else.
18:03Okay.
18:03Goodbye, Ari.
18:04Have a great day.
18:05Bye, guys.
18:05Bye.
18:05Ari Wasserman, National College Football Columnist for On 3 Sports.
18:09Yeah, I know.
18:10I know.
18:11We feel the same way.