Episode #396
OHIO STATE - Illinois Post Game Show
Ohio State Postgame Live — Illinois OhioStateVOCFB | Garrison Gaddy & Denzel Jones Result: Ohio State 42, Illinois 19 (home) 0:00–1:17 — Open Sunday postgame after OSU’s home win over Illinois. Plug: vocfb.com / vocfb.com/shop. Jump straight to defense. Offense “we all kind of know what it was.” Defense is the conversation. 1:17–6:00 — Defense overview Stats they hammer: ~462 yards allowed, 19 points. 263 passing yards; 6.9 yards per pass (they note “good” is 7.2, so they held under that). 199 rushing yards, 6.0 YPC — ~7.5 YPC if you take sacks out. Garrison: “unacceptable.” Garrison cares more about points than yards, but 6 YPC “leads to something else.” Illinois credit: QB Caden Houser (Coastal Carolina / Michigan State / high school teammate of Eppie) was good. Dixon good; “number two receiver” also had a day. Tone: Denzel: defense “looked like trash.” Too many explosives. “You can win games, but you can’t win games against good teams with that many explosives.” Secondary looked much worse once Jay Timmons went out. Denzel: Timmons is the best DB on the team; one play he can really ding him on. 6:00–11:30 — Secondary / Devin Sanchez Mixed unit: good plays and bad plays from Sanchez, J. McClain, Timmons. Devin Sanchez sequence: two near-consecutive PIs, then a TD they pin on assignment/communication. Garrison: coming in talking All-America swagger, you have to know your assignment. No help in that area — “he should have just went back anyway.” Denzel: Sanchez “went brain dead” on the stop-route / hands / hips play. Jermaine Matthews: “great yesterday.” Pressed their best WR, followed him. Earl Little Jr.: playing like an All-American; name barely called = good. Jalen McClain: should be the QB of the secondary after three years of snaps. Still slipping some without Caleb Downs as the eraser. Made PBUs that saved him. Hauser missed a wide-open TD up the middle (McClain/Calhoun area). Cam Calhoun: Denzel did not like him as next man up — beat 3–5 times. If McClain doesn’t break up two balls, those are Calhoun busts. Denzel’s CB3: Dominic (not Calhoun). Practice vs. game player debate. Scheme note: Sanchez giving 6–8 yards of cushion. Denzel hates playing that far off. Garrison puts that on Matt Patricia / staff , not on Sanchez choosing it. Poll Garrison ran on X: Is this defense closer to the Texas game or the Illinois game? Denzel: more energy for Texas; Sanchez tighter vs Texas even with the TD allowed. 11:30–22:30 — Front seven, Patricia, rotations Linebackers Riley Pettyjohn: decent; “good plays / bad plays.” Early-season “running around making plays without knowing what they’re doing” look with Alford — full speed, but won’t fly vs big-time teams. Christian Allegro looked lost after a solid start to the year. Peyton Pierce: tired of seeing him. Out of position, going the wrong way on runs, lost confidence. Not just getting bullied anymore — assignment issues. Denzel’s LB plan: Pettyjohn never comes off. Rotate Allegro and TJ Alford. Pierce off the 70% snap share. D-line John Walker III: consistent, week in week out. James Smith: best game so far; solid. Edrick Houston: Denzel — “looks like trash.” Quay Russo: playing way too much, not setting the edge, missing a lot. “Lettuce” (effort/want-to) isn’t translating. Edges folded; middle “okay.” Denzel almost never uses “soft” — used it here. Prefers calling them soft over effortless (“if you’re not giving effort, get off”). Missed sacks / fly-by’s: Timmons missed a sack and got hurt on a rough angle; Russo didn’t hit the other edge. Patricia / coaching blame Garrison: Patricia did dial stuff up; guys flew at the QB and then flew off the screen. Won’t blame Patricia for missed tackles, Sanchez technique, or getting blown off the ball. Lazy to only blame the DC and skip position coaches + players. Denzel (D-line coach background): DC still owns rotation. Some blame has to hit Patricia. Both: Kerry Wilder should be in more. Every time he’s in, he gets pressure. Somebody (Larry Johnson / Day / Patricia) owns that. Source talk on Wilder (Garrison, via FaceTime / high school coach family tie): Struggles with the playbook / “the why,” always has. Freak athlete; hard to keep off the field. Can’t be a 265–270 DT at the next level; DE asks for more mentally. Staff won’t put him out down-to-down if they can’t trust him. Denzel: Kent State was the lab. Unlosable game — get him wrong reps, correct on film, take a step. Using “playbook” as an excuse at this level is on Johnson/Patricia. Kenyatta Jackson: hasn’t taken the step (Denzel wanted ~9.5–10 sacks; Garrison thought 12). NFL scouts (same source) thought he should have come out last year, sit 1–2 years in the league; draft stock likely doesn’t rise unless the rest of the year is huge. Would have gone before Caden Curry; Combine would have helped him. Curry’s production/hustle always showed even behind Sawyer/JTT. Garrison’s three non-negotiables on defense: whereabouts, tackling, effort. If juniors/seniors/5th-years won’t give effort, play the young ones: Zion Grady, Kerry Wilder, Eppie. Jason Moore: nobody starts over him except Walker III. Patricia-as-NFL-DC problem: small NFL roster, you know who plays. College depth + position coaches need to be told: find your best 4 / best 2 and only sit them for a breather. Would right personnel have stopped 500 yards? Denzel: Pettyjohn 70% + Pierce not at 70% kills a lot of those runs. D-line was soft on the edges (Russo). Alford got “turnt” in the A-gap on a run that was right there. 22:30–30:12 — Defense wrap Illinois is a real offense; 19 points isn’t a blowup in isolation. 462–500 yards is . Last year OSU 34–16. “On par” in score, not in yards. Secondary is still the best unit if it plays consistent high-level ball (Day’s QB word applied to DBs). 30:12–36:00 — Offense open: Jeremiah Smith Box they read: Jeremiah Smith: 12 rec, 217 yards, 4 TDs (all of Julian Sayin’s TDs). Julian Sayin: 27-of-36, 367 yards, 10.2 Y/A, 4 TDs. Jacoby Jackson: 10-56-1 TD. Bo Jackson: 11-53. Isaiah West: 2-15 and a 12-yarder; they want to talk him. Sayin rushing: 7-29-1 TD, 4.1 YPC, long of 8. Jeremiah: “From here on out, if it ain’t C.C. / Chris Carter, if it ain’t Orlando Pace, I don’t want to hear anybody else’s name” for OSU Mount Rushmore talk (Archie debate tabled; Garrison won’t put him over Eddie; second Heisman historical aside). Denzel: different than Marvin Harrison Jr. — high-point, body control, catch-point, toe-tap TD. “It just looks different.” Thankful he’s on this team. Route that “turned him completely around”; freeze-frame of the DB looking one way while Jeremiah looks at him like “where are you going?” Can you win big games as a one-WR show? Garrison: Saban/Julio comps get shut down — those Bama teams also had 1st-round RBs. OSU doesn’t. Stack the box and you still have to play what OSU wants… unless the other WRs come along. ~36:00–58:00 — Rest of offense / “kid gloves” (middle of show is Jeremiah film + supporting cast) 51 new players. Garrison handling the roster with kid gloves through the first month / first third. Championship standard is November, not Week 4. Just get better. After Jeremiah: Brandon Inniss, Kyle Parker (still somewhat injured), Devin McEwen, Phillip Bell (excited about development; likes him on punt return — “stop letting the ball bounce”). Then straight freshmen. Guilford (Fort Wayne kid, Denzel soft spot). Need Brock Boyd and Chris Herron Jr. to come along. Someone disagreed; Garrison doubled down. Kid gloves coming off: Iowa next. 58:00–59:40 — Illinois context / close OSU game Some overreaction to 19 points. Illinois had a plan. Brett Bielema’s O-line is his calling card; Illinois a likely 8-win team. Defense looked like hot garbage at times, then “got together when they needed to.” Yards still the problem. 59:40–1:06:10 — Iowa 37, Michigan 31 (the “best game”) Garrison’s dad after the final: “I am so happy right now. I hate them so much.” Late drive, push-out-of-bounds penalty, clock, injury stoppage. Zeke Berry: “buffoon” for shoving a player already out of bounds — no reason. Michigan run game not good; neither back averaging 50+ rush YPG. Jacoby Jackson has more rush yards than both. Bryce Underwood: best game of his career; don’t put the loss on him. Last TD (escape + create) looked real. Development bump. The walk-away from the QB coach: both hated the attitude (“get out of my face”). Authority/respect rant — $12M NIL, still a “broke boy on that field” vs the coach they brought in for him. Sidearm screen that should have been a first down; inch left and it’s a pick-six. Don’t cape him because of Jason Beck’s play-calling on that snap. Last 91-yard Iowa drive: “how much had to go wrong” (Ohio State–Texas energy). Injury to John Henry Daly stopped the clock; Michigan was about to run a different play that Garrison doesn’t think works. Feels bad for Daly (Achilles history, compensation injuries). Disgusting that some Wolverine fans blamed the loss on him. “I would have hobbled off.” Hank Brown / the throw and catch: money. 1:06:10–1:08:00 — Cam Coleman / Texas trolling Cam Coleman season: 12-208-4. Yesterday: 1-30. Hasn’t had over 61 yards in a game. “One A / one B with Jeremiah” talk is dead. Texas skill: mid except the RBs and LT. Ryan Wingo (Thorpe) and Coleman not that guy. Garrison asked if Coleman is better than Charlie Becker; people said he was crazy. “Looks like somebody over here knows ball.” Losing to Texas / blowing the 4Q lead still sucks. Most people still think OSU is better than Texas. “Even when Stark gets a win, it doesn’t matter.” 1:08:00–1:12:30 — Oregon–USC / Dante Moore Shoutout Dante Moore (Ohio kid; Denzel saw him in HS). Hit turned Garrison’s stomach. Usually sides with the defender on momentum. Not this play: Moore already in the air and into the slide; No. 8’s shoulders still square, hadn’t started the tackle process. Targeting ≠ helmet-to-helmet. Chris Simms / Scott Van Pelt “wasn’t helmet to helmet” = don’t know the rule. Michigan fans also don’t know the out-of-bounds-and-pushed-back-in rule. After the hit, air came out of USC. Maiava too involved emotionally; missed throws after looking good before. Dylan Raiola (DR8) comes in, gets the dub. First-play read + rhythm throw; “moon ball.” Oregon QB development (Lanning / whoever) has been elite even if league translation is mixed. Bo Nix “all right.” 1:12:30–1:17:30 — Minnesota at Washington / P.J. Fleck Denzel has been on Minnesota since the offseason; Mississippi State loss felt like getting “bamboozled.” Minnesota goes into night Washington (elite defense) and wins. Drake Lindsey good; ran at will. Impressive. P.J. Fleck bloody-face locker room: Twitter said weird. Both get it. Gladiator / testosterone sport. Players run through a wall. “Anything he says, I’m believing.” Earned the room after winning at one of the hardest places. 1:17:30–1:20:00 — Wisconsin–Penn State / UCLA–Maryland / Northwestern–Indiana Wisconsin down 7.5, wins 2H, 14 in the 4th, beats No. 13 Penn State at Penn State , 3-1. Fickell’s biggest win. Garrison was down on PSU preseason (ranking too high, hadn’t played anybody). Teams “very even.” UCLA 54, Maryland 3. Garrison: UCLA is real; had them ~9-3 / 4th in his mind. Fire Mike Locksley. Talent + Malik Washington (“would be good at Ohio State”) + solid D/edges — can’t get nuked like that in the “bring it together / win eight” year. Indiana–Northwestern: Indiana almost lost. Chip Kelly dialing; Aiden Gilardi looked like a 1st-round QB “finally.” Northwestern will beat teams in their range — Denzel even says they’d beat Texas A&M. Hoover mention. Garrison: comfortable saying OSU is the best team in the Big Ten. Denzel: top two until they play a complete game; pissed at how easily yards/TDs came (Pierce wrong way, nobody there). 1:20:00–1:28:20 — Garrison’s Week 4 Big Ten power rankings debate Fluid ranking: consistency + better team + neutral field. Denzel pushes: Wisconsin not better than Penn State. Iowa too low — top five Big Ten / at least 6. Beat Michigan. Beat Penn State on a neutral. Beat Nebraska. Garrison’s Iowa skepticism: Kick-return / fluke / “act of God” last drive + Michigan undiscipline ≠ Iowa identity you can replay. Doesn’t believe in Iowa’s O-line or D-line. Defense “executes” but Underwood shredded them; two Michigan WRs over 100. Schedule walk-through (they land around 8 or 9–3 in Denzel’s version): vs OSU — belt. at Washington — toss-up / Garrison lean UW. at Minnesota — split (Denzel yes Iowa, Garrison no). vs Wisconsin — Denzel Iowa. at Northwestern — Garrison NW. Purdue — Iowa. at Illinois — Garrison Illinois (points). vs Nebraska — Denzel Iowa. Denzel’s closer: Iowa always gets to eight (kick return, pick-six, fumble, “defense scored more than the offense” year). Garrison: this weekend told him nothing except Michigan sucked. Still hates watching Iowa. “You ain’t lying.” 1:28:20–end — Out Thanks / like-share-sub. Pit Boss grill plug. Monday 7 p.m. Ohio State Primetime Live with Denzel, Riley, Garrison. O-H / I-O. One-line show thesis Offense is Jeremiah + Sayin and everyone else is still catching up; defense won 42–19 and still failed the “no explosives / no 6-YPC / play your best four” test — Iowa is next and the kid gloves are off. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
