The Ryen Russillo Podcast
Ohio State Is the Champ: The Buckeyes' Unprecedented Run and Ryan Day’s Redemption. Plus, Ben Johnson to the Bears With David Pollack.
Tue, 21 Jan 2025
Russillo starts the show with his reaction to Ohio State’s victory over Notre Dame and his broader thoughts on college football (0:50). Then, he’s joined by David Pollack to recap the national championship game, discuss Will Howard’s future, and preview where college football will go from here (16:55). Finally, Ceruti and Kyle join for Life Advice (69:12)! How do I move on from the girl I thought was perfect for me? Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, livestreams, and more at https://www.youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Ryen Russillo Guest: David Pollack Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, and Mike Wargon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What was Ryen Russillo's reaction to Ohio State's victory?
Ohio State's your national chance for the 24th season as we finish up in 25. What does it mean for Ryan Day? What's up with that field goal? And everything else with David Pollock. We're going to play Could You Beat Up This Former Teammate as well. We've got a really good life advice for you today. Ohio State fans, you are national champions. It's got to be fun.
Do you still order the Sports Illustrated stuff? The DVD? The book? The commemorative book? You guys look at those a lot? You have a Red Sox one from 2013? I think I do. Anyway. How about that first drive? That wasn't very much fun, Buckeyes. First drive, 945. Riley Leonard, nine carries. Converted a third, a fourth, a third, and another fourth down.
Seven zip, 18 plays, which meant 18 commercials in the second quarter. And you're just like, man, is this actually going to happen? Because, look, I have been talking about sports for a long time, over two years. And even when you're like, hey, look, this doesn't feel like a game. Nothing on paper tells me that this would be a game.
Nothing with the talent disparity and the momentum of what Ohio State has been doing against really good football teams. There's nothing that tells me. But is it that night? Is it going to be one of those special nights that brings us back all the time?
And for whatever, with that 30-minute drive and how long it took to start this football game, you're sitting there and you're going, could tonight be one of those special nights? Nope. Then it was 31-7. 31 straight points for your Buckeyes.
If you want to get creative with the math, if you take out the first drive and take the game from that point on, Ohio State's first possession, the possession preceding the 7-0 score for the Irish, Ohio State outgained Notre Dame 321 to 38 yards over the combined next nine possessions.
Ohio State was getting pressure with four, which is like if there's one thing you wish you could do as a football team, can we get pressure with four? Because if you can get pressure with four, you can do a lot of things. You're probably going to be a good football team as the Giants against the undefeated Pats.
And Riley Leonard does not really stretch the field, or at least that was not the plan. He does not throw deep shots. He does not throw it outside the numbers. He's a terrific story. He's not that guy. And you could see that when the game was kind of in the balance. It's like, well, there's just either not enough time to get those routes going or they're just never really even looking there.
I'd imagine the secondary probably got bored during the stretch of the game for Ohio State. Will Howard started 13 to 13. Felt like He could do whatever he wanted. It felt like Ohio State could call any play in the playbook. Chip Kelly could just be like, let's try this. Oh, that worked again. Because they have Jeremiah Smith. Because they have Ibuka. They have Tate. They have Judkins.
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Chapter 2: What are the key moments from the national championship game?
of getting two two-point conversions on top of the two touchdowns that you're going to get against Ohio State's defense that is just horrifying to deal with down there, on top of the two throws that you just saw from Riley Leonard that didn't make any sense whatsoever, and you're not running a keeper from nine yards out. I think Freeman saw those throws.
I think he knew the chances of his talent separating in a short part of the field. He knew Ohio State's history. And then it's like, well, if I get the field goal, Even though that sucks and it's 31-18, I don't need two two-point conversions on top of the two touchdowns.
And I really don't like my chances on fourth and nine against an Ohio State defense where when Texas was lined up at the one-yard line, Texas looked hopeless. Texas is down 21-14. It's at the one-yard line, and you're like, yeah, I don't really like their chances. That seems insane. So... Look, I think sometimes it's not the math. It's knowing your team.
So they missed the field goal, which made it even better, right? But they score again. They get the two-point conversion. And it leads to Ohio State facing third and 11. And Notre Dame sends all sorts of pressure. Something they had struggled with all night long. Which leaves Jeremiah Smith one-on-one at the bottom of the screen against Gray. He's a terrific football player. But you saw it on TV.
You, like me, probably going, uh-oh. And Howard clearly sees it. And then it's a matter of, is there any way you can get pressure there quick enough before the route develops?
To get 11 yards downfield past a six with Jeremiah Smith is not going to take a long time, especially when really all he has to do, you know how hard it is to cover even like a mid receiver one-on-one when he knows what he's doing and the quarterback knows what he's doing. I despise those like high school football camp clips of some receiver lighting up a corner and then staring him down.
It's like, oh, cool. You ran an in route. and beat the guy one-on-one, you're awesome. We'll see you at Middle Tennessee. No offense to Middle Tennessee. I just had to pick a non-Power 4 school. So, look, they score again at 31-23, the third and 11, right? He hits Jeremiah Smith 56 yards. The game is over.
What I loved about this, too, is that Smith ran just a really subtle, perfect route where you're freaked out if you're at the corner to begin with. It's the best receiver in college football. He's a beast. When he caught the ball, it looked like he may not even ever go down. I've never seen a freshman. I don't know that I've seen. Maybe. Maybe I have.
But just at least last night, it's like, how does it look like it's physically unfair and he's the freshman? But he ran this subtle route where he just veers inside a little bit. which is going to give him more space to the sideline.
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Chapter 3: What did David Pollack think about Ohio State's performance?
Henderson getting a touch. Mbuka getting a touch. Howard getting a touch. Jeremiah Smith getting a touch. You know, Quinshot Judkins getting a touch. And it's just like, hey, let's just spread this around a little bit. We got a bunch of guys that can beat you.
And so I think you kind of knew, man, after Ohio State just kept scoring on every possession and Notre Dame was just so limited, it was like, dadgum, this is an uphill fight. And Notre Dame's just had a huge talent discrepancy.
So on that first drive, is that a matter of
scripted because, you know, I don't know how you're scripting in the fourth down keepers as well. So I'm sure there's probably more structure to what that first drive is because then for a really long time, Notre Dame looked completely lost.
And the thing that I would point out in the beginning that I'll share with you is you talk about an offense stretching the field and making you defend every inch of it. They're not throwing anything outside the numbers. Nothing was downfield. They had a crosser, I think, to one of the tight ends that Leonard completely airmailed.
So I don't know what that was because obviously there was more structure in that first drive. But did you see defensive adjustments or once it was left to going play by play that for Leonard it was going to be a lot harder?
Ohio State definitely started to bring more pressure. They were okay trying to be themselves on that first drive. Then you see more big bodies. You see them bring more pressure. But here's the thing. I just think Notre Dame thought, we can't do this. Riley Leonard can't have 36 carries because he had nine on the first drive. And I think that was more about like – he's going to die.
He's physically going to be so exhausted and not be able to do this and not be able to throw the football because, again, with these running quarterbacks, this is why I marveled at Cam Newton until the cows come home. I've never seen anything like it. Run, run, run, and then you've got enough conditioning to sit back there in the pocket and then make a throw when you need to.
And Riley Leonard, you could see the exhaustion. So I think it was just more about that, man. They didn't think they could keep that up. I would have. I would have done the same script. I would have tried to run the football again continuously because the most important thing that happened on that first drive was you shrunk the game. You gave yourself a chance to stay in the game longer.
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Chapter 4: How did Ryan Day's coaching impact the championship win?
And he couldn't in the first half when he needed to. Now, listen, he settled in. Ohio State got conservative. Ryan Day, almost Ryan Day, by the way. I was sitting there going, dude, You made this change and you made this shift and you said, we're going chips in the middle. We're going aggressive. And you throw the ball five times in the second half.
And I was like, man, this might come back to bite them. It didn't because their defense and they're a complete team as opposed to years past. But I think Riley Leonard's ability to win in the pocket, even when unprotected, you know, early in the first half is what let the game get out of hand.
When you're talking about the talent on how many guys for Notre Dame would start with Ohio State, it's a good exercise, right? It's a good exercise. And Jeremiah Love, a running back, I think you can make an argument. I'd rather have him healthy over either of the Ohio State running backs.
he had four carries last night for three yards that's not why like notre dame wasn't going to solve last night by getting jeremiah love the football a lot more and we know he's been dealing with injury but it was 11 days off so you probably thought there was going to be something else there is that strictly a hey it's a bad matchup for us we're not even even if we he's such a talented player maybe you got to figure out a way to get the ball out to him um
in the flat, but it's two catches for five yards there as well. I think if you're an Irish fan, you'd like to see a little bit more, but you're probably lying to yourself a little bit if you think that that would have turned the tide of last night's game because it wouldn't have.
But you're right. The dude is a freak. And we saw him 11 days ago jumping on that leg and landing on that leg and making great plays. So I think you need to see him more. But here's the bigger issue. They couldn't block him up front. The reason they had success on that first drive is you take that running back and he's a lead blocker and you get the plus one advantage that they had to have.
They weren't good enough up front to push Notre Dame around without having an extra blocker. Push Ohio State, right. Yeah, against Ohio State. Sorry. Because if the quarterback turns and hands it off, the quarterback stands there. But if the running back leads up and blocks, like now you get an extra blocker in the mix, and they needed it.
Because Ohio State's run defense was the best in the country, and you saw it all year long. Like goal line stands against Nebraska defensively. Penn State, Texas to end the game in the semifinals game. This is what they do. That's who they are. They're really, really good at it. I think you just needed those extra numbers. But I was impressed with Notre Dame when they aired it out.
Here's the thing. There was only one weakness of Ohio State's defense. One. And that's at corner. That was the only spot that I literally said, I can make plays here. And Ryan... Depending on how the refs call the game, they could call a flag every play on those guys. A lot of those are assault in several states. What they do out wide, they're so handsy. They're going to give up plays.
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Chapter 5: What does Ryan Day's success mean for Ohio State football?
And that's where I think like when you want to do all this math equation and stuff, like when to go for two, when not, who am I playing? Like, am I outnumbered? Am I outclassed? Is their offense really, really good? Yeah. Have I stopped them? Okay. I'm going to come out next possession and I'm going to have to be really aggressive and play zero coverage. How is that going to work?
It worked out not well with Jeremiah Smith. So I just thought, I love Freeman all year long. I love his physicality. I love his mentality. I thought he just kind of played it safe in that moment when it was clear, like we needed to push the gas to the floor. And yes, we still needed to get a two-point conversion, but we needed a touchdown there.
Yeah, I understand. But I think too often we look at the math and the probabilities and we don't look at the matchup in football. And whether it's fourth and nine against Ohio State defense, And as much as, you know, I like Evans tight end. I love great house. I mean, great house had a great run in the playoffs. I mean, he was the only thing
The only thing that – I don't know if it's scaring opposing defense, but you just got to account for him because on the other side, you're not even thinking about it. You said something, though, that I definitely want to follow up on here is the Ryan Day, almost Ryan Days. Because to start the game, it's a reminder of the toys. It's a reminder of how insane the Michigan game is.
You can talk rivalry all you want, but how – how do you not outscore that offense with all of these guys? And was that game a reset of like, this is what we're capable of. The Jeremiah Smith touchdown route was just so beautiful. Like just to make you think he's going in motion or coming back or staying in a block. And it's like, All I had to do was go the wrong way, and now I'm wide open again.
What do you think was going on there? Is that a day called the chip? Is that them? Because then they were trying to run clock, but then they're snapping the ball with too much time left, which is another pet peeve of mine where it's like, are you running clock or are you not running clock? Because if you're running clock, run clock.
And then it's like they almost the offense gets impatient when they break the huddle and they'll be like, oh, we'll just snap it now because we're bored. So there's a lot that I threw at you there. So give us give us the big in-depth thing of your thoughts on that kind of momentum loss there.
First of all, I've never seen an offense evolve like Ohio State did. Never. I've never seen an offense evolve late in the season and go, this is what we do schematically scheme wise. This is how we block it up front to completely shredding that like Ohio State. was a team that literally they were not a gap scheme team.
And I'm not going to nerd out on you too much with this stuff, but they, they lose their center. They lose their tackle their best two linemen. The biggest thing about the scheme that they were running is it, you run a zone scheme and stuff. It takes a lot of communication and a lot of guys that have played together for a long time. You got new guys in there. So it was like, all right,
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Chapter 6: How does the Big Ten's future look in college football?
You can tell me scheme, scheme, scheme. You got to tell me more than that. You got to be my shrink when things are going on. You got to motivate me. You got to bring me up. You got to bring me down when I need to be brought down. And there's just a lot to manage that's more than calling plays.
Where are you on Ryan Day?
I mean, a top three coach in football now, right? Like you talk about a night that changes your destination. I mean, the dude's number three all time in the history of the game of winning coach. You know that, right?
Number three.
There's another way.
Yeah, right. You could do 80 games and he's number two.
Yeah, I mean, an active coach, he's got the highest win percentage. But, you know, there's always been something about, like, Day, when you're with him and when you're around him, like, And again, there might be some of this that's media, like the media not liking the media and the people that are around, the things you have to do. But it just feels a little rigid. It feels a little bit different.
And when you're relating to kids, you've got to be able to relate to them. And I don't know that he's the greatest at that. But when you talk about a mind, a football mind, he's got all the football stuff. There's no doubt about that. But I think the weird thing about his personality that I don't necessarily always buy into is, are you demanding it? Are you physical? It's one thing to talk it.
It's another thing to live it and do it. And I think they proved it this year and they got to the mountaintop. And listen, he's recruiting at an elite level and he's put his ego aside. He's hired great coaches. So he's definitely a top five coach in the sport. He's just got that Michigan thing that I know everybody in Ohio is pissed about. you're holding a trophy. That's all that really matters.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the SEC's dominance in college football?
As a family, you got to learn, don't read it, bro. Like, don't read it. Don't talk about it. Like, let's just keep this out. And whatever system works for you, if you need to be off social media, if you need to take certain people out of your life, do it. And I think Ryan Day growing into himself, being more comfortable, like win or lose your way, man. And you can sleep at night.
But when you try to be somebody you're not, man, it's hard to get people to follow you.
I'm happy for him, as I said in the opening for this, because I think I became more defensive of him, knowing that, like, hey, look, I know you're losing that Michigan game every year now for straight years, but this is supposed to... I like the self-monologue you got back.
You just, you know, well, I kind of... It's a good thing I don't have guests over all that often.
All right, last thought here. The shift. Like, this was always the thing with the SEC for me, is I'm like, you know how many teams deep I can go to where it's like, Hey, if this team won a national championship, it wouldn't be met by laughter. Right? So it's, it's Bama, it's Georgia, it's LSU. You go back, it's Florida. You got cam season, which I love that you brought up.
Cause I think it's the single best season from a college football player that I've seen in my lifetime of like carrying a team. Cause that was not some stacked Auburn team. They went international championship. Um, So the list of teams that you could see like, yeah, that makes sense. Like that team could win a national championship. And with the Big Ten, it was hard for me to get to five.
And now we have back-to-back Big Ten winners. Ohio State, Michigan, makes sense. The expansion makes this exercise easier for the Big Ten to accomplish because Oregon's played in national championships. Washington played in one last year. They were in a playoff against Bama not that long ago. It's not ancient history. And Penn State's a game away.
Who knows if Great House doesn't beat a defensive back that falls down, maybe Penn State's playing for it. So With the Big Ten expansion, it feels cheating like a little bit because it's not like, hey, we have to go to Michigan State and Iowa for winning a national championship.
But do you feel like the shift that we have evidence that is happening is happening in a direction where the SEC is going to have down years?
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Chapter 8: What life advice did the hosts give towards the end of the episode?
But the pure happiness on his face is what really sends me. You're so happy in this picture. It's not even really good resolution. I guess, yeah, you could see a little smirk. It's artsy. I love it. So if you could post that for your followers, your handle again is Tom shady 300.
Yes, it is. I think the red bus tour has to start just going by frolic room on a regular basis. Kyle in the wild more often.
They have a, they have a drop off, get on spot right there. You know, Pantages. I don't know. Maybe frolics part of the equation why they do that, but probably not. Um, so yeah, there's a little, there's a little free pub for the big red bus store and for fans of three 11.
Uh, you're going to post that picture. We should post that picture.
however you guys want to do it.
That's fine. I just learned it exists this morning.
So no, that's what I'm saying. It's so good. It is so good. It has to be posted. And I just love, if you've ever wanted to see just joy with four limbs, this is your chance. The man in his element, you know,
yeah so what do we got here we got a oh college planning follow-up good afternoon gentlemen i'm a certified financial planner and have some thoughts on the predicament you addressed the 529 is after-tax money that grows tax-free it is used for college kind of like a roth ira but for college some states offer a state income tax deduction for contributing that very state by state in theory putting some money in the college plan for each kid is a great idea
But it sounded like the 10K wouldn't even cover all the credit card debt. Therefore, they really should pay down the debt with this cash. You can finance college at a much lower interest rate than credit card debt. If they insist on putting this into the college fund, then a 40-30-30 split seems fair. Yeah. He's the guy that does it for a living. So maybe you'll listen to him.
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