For much of the regular season, Ohio State’s offensive line lived up to the billing. The big fellas up front gave quarterback Julian Sayin plenty of time to throw, and as the season progressed, the run game picked up. But in the Big Ten Championship Game against top-seed Indiana, the Buckeyes o-line fell flat. Indiana tallied five sacks and nine tackles for loss. 

For as good as the Hoosiers defensive line was in that game (and has been all season), I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the Hurricanes front provides a unique set of challenges. From superstars Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor down to the rotation players, this unit is big, athletic, and spearheaded by DC Corey Hetherman, who’s proven he can unleash his junkyard dogs in big spots.

The Buckeyes offensive line is a good unit—they ranked top 10 in lowest pressure rates during the regular season—but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have questions heading into this matchup. Protecting Sayin will be a challenge. So too will be trying to run the football. 

One potential strategy to alleviate pressure on the Ohio State offensive line is to implement quick passes and screens, especially on early downs. Even if Ryan Day can plant a few small seeds of hesitation or doubt into Miami’s front, that could be the difference in keeping Sayin upright or on his backside. On longer passing downs, perhaps Ohio State could try to chip one of Bain Jr. or Mesidor.

This is a matchup littered with stars all over the field. But it might be the Ohio State unit with the fewest amount of well-known stars that makes all the difference in hitting high gear on offense. 

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson has felt every corner of the 2025 college football season, from belief to doubt and back again.

During the Crimson Tide’s midseason, four-game stretch against top 16 opponents, Simpson led his team to victory, looking every bit the part of a potential NFL draft pick. But in games or halves against Auburn, Georgia, and Oklahoma twice, he looked like a quarterback seeing ghosts. You only have to go as far back as December 19th against the Sooners to see the duality of Simpson’s season.

This time around, Simpson and Alabama will face their biggest test yet when they square off against undefeated Indiana. Last season, the Hoosiers were a feel-good story. Now? Indiana is a team with infinite swagger and the play to back it up. And, in a weird twist of fate, Alabama is the team looking to play spoiler. The margins feel thin for an upset, but if there’s a world where it happens, Simpson needs to have the game of his life.

In the rematch with Oklahoma, Simpson pulled his team from a 17-point hole in the second quarter and converted on Sooner miscues to go on a 34-7 scoring run. Against Indiana, he’ll need to do it from the opening whistle.

Though it took a bit to get things figured out, Georgia eventually owned the lines of scrimmage in its first meeting with Ole Miss on October 18th.

Georgia dominated in the run game with 221 yards and possessed the ball for almost 38 minutes. The offensive line, which struggled to start the season, looked like bona fide road graders by the end of the game, mowing down Rebel defenders and opening holes for rushers Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens, and quarterback Gunner Stockton.

Soon, we’ll see the second installment of this matchup. For my money, winning at the lines of scrimmage remains paramount if Ole Miss hopes to get revenge.

In the first matchup, a wild 43-35 comeback win for the Dawgs, Lacy was held to 2.6 yards per carry and was mostly gobbled up by Georgia’s interior defensive line. The Rebels never found an effective way to get him in space where he could showcase his speed and athleticism. 

They’ll need to figure it out this time. A one-dimensional attack against an improved Georgia defense won’t get it done. Likewise, Ole Miss needs a solution for a Dawgs rushing attack that diced them up earlier in the year.

Ole Miss can play with Georgia. And have proven they can build a lead. But when the rubber meets the road this time of year, winning at the lines of scrimmage becomes that much more important. I can’t wait to see if Ole Miss can find ways to win up front or if Georgia will own that area of the field and win the game.

If I were to pick nits about the 2025 Texas Tech football team, it would be that the Red Raiders have struggled to finish off drives in the red zone. 

In five games against teams with winning records, the Red Raiders have scored touchdowns on just 32% of drives that reach the red zone. The math comes out to 13 field goals and five touchdowns in 25 opportunities. That percentage against winning teams ranks fourth-worst in the FBS. In the two matchups against BYU—arguably the best team the Red Raiders have faced this season—they settled for 11 field goal attempts.

Oregon will be the toughest defense the Red Raiders have faced to this point. The Ducks defense ranks near the top 30 in both EPA/Rush and EPA/Pass. The group has fearsome defensive linemen, good linebackers, and a coordinator in Tosh Lupoi who isn’t afraid to crank up pressure.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that if Texas Tech settles for as many field goals as it did against BYU, they’re in trouble

Of course, the counterpoint is that Red Raiders boast one heck of a defense of their own. And perhaps they’ll be able to mitigate some of what Oregon does on offense with a ferocious front seven that generates the most havoc plays of any linebacker unit in the country.

But the question of whether Texas Tech can convert in crunch time is front of mind. Against Oregon, the difference between a program-altering win and a frustrating 60 minutes may come down to scoring seven instead of three.

The CFP Quarterfinals are upon us! In this episode, Dan returns from vacation and Ty bounces back from a Christmas illness to discuss the next four games of the College Football Playoff. We've got four bangers in store for us as Miami plays Ohio State in Cotton Bowl, Oregon battles Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, Alabama takes on Indiana in the Rose Bowl and Ole Miss plays a rematch with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. We talk through our biggest questions, keys to victory, and random observations that will make or break the next round of the CFP. Plus, we start off by recapping the news that former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was tabbed by Michigan as its next head football coach.

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