Ohio State’s Top Competition in First Year of 18-Team Big Ten

06/26/24 • 65 min

The Big Ten will officially expand to 18 teams next week.

Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA will officially become members of the conference on Monday, bringing in a new era for what’s traditionally been a Midwest-based conference. From a football standpoint, the Big Ten’s newest round of expansion should immediately make the conference more competitive as Oregon enters 2024 as a major College Football Playoff contender while Washington is the defending national runner-up and USC has a history of competing for championships.

With that in mind, we thought this week would be a good time to take a look at how the Big Ten stacks up entering the 2024 season with a focus on the conference’s new teams and the teams that we expect to be Ohio State’s toughest competition for the conference title this year.

Both of us agree that Oregon will be Ohio State’s biggest challenger for the Big Ten championship this year while Penn State and Michigan round out the conference’s top tier of teams entering the 2024 season. Iowa, USC, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Rutgers – yes, Rutgers – are among the teams to watch in the second tier of the conference while Washington and Indiana are other teams we’ll be keeping an eye on in the Big Ten this year.

We spent the first 42-minutes of the show breaking down Ohio State’s competition in the Big Ten before concluding this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesday with some discussion about what’s been a very successful month of June for Ohio State on the recruiting trail.

The rundown for this week’s show:

0:00 Intro
1:25 Expansion Sacrifices Regionality But Makes Big Ten More Competitive
12:36 Oregon Will Be A Major Big Ten Contender in Year One
15:57 Penn State Has the Third-Best Roster in the Big Ten
18:38 Michigan Should Take A Step Back But Can’t Be Overlooked
22:55 USC Unlikely to Be Big Ten Championship Contender Right Away
25:49 Iowa, Nebraska Among Second-Tier Teams That Could Make Noise
29:11 Thanks to Schedules, Rutgers Could Finish Ahead of Wisconsin
33:32 Washington Lost A Lot of Talent But Shouldn’t Be Written Off
35:36 Indiana Has Potential to Make A Jump Under Curt Cignetti
36:39 Our Big Ten Championship Game Prediction
39:09 Our Big Ten Picks to Make the CFP
41:21 Why Ohio State vs. Michigan Could Have Very High Stakes on Both Sides
42:38 Ohio State is “Cooking” on the Recruiting Trail
43:59 Ryan Day Building His Best Defensive Recruiting Class
46:46 David Sanders Jr. is the Recruit Ohio State Must Land
51:26 Justin Hill, Dorian Brew, Defensive Tackles Among Ohio State’s Other Priorities
55:39 Taking More Chances on In-State Prospects Can Pay Off for Ohio State

The Big Ten will officially expand to 18 teams next week.

The rundown for this week’s show:

0:00 Intro
1:25 Expansion Sacrifices Regionality But Makes Big Ten More Competitive
12:36 Oregon Will Be A Major Big Ten Contender in Year One
15:57 Penn State Has the Third-Best Roster in the Big Ten
18:38 Michigan Should Take A Step Back But Can’t Be Overlooked
22:55 USC Unlikely to Be Big Ten Championship Contender Right Away
25:49 Iowa, Nebraska Among Second-Tier Teams That Could Make Noise
29:11 Thanks to Schedules, Rutgers Could Finish Ahead of Wisconsin
33:32 Washington Lost A Lot of Talent But Shouldn’t Be Written Off
35:36 Indiana Has Potential to Make A Jump Under Curt Cignetti
36:39 Our Big Ten Championship Game Prediction
39:09 Our Big Ten Picks to Make the CFP
41:21 Why Ohio State vs. Michigan Could Have Very High Stakes on Both Sides
42:38 Ohio State is “Cooking” on the Recruiting Trail
43:59 Ryan Day Building His Best Defensive Recruiting Class
46:46 David Sanders Jr. is the Recruit Ohio State Must Land
51:26 Justin Hill, Dorian Brew, Defensive Tackles Among Ohio State’s Other Priorities
55:39 Taking More Chances on In-State Prospects Can Pay Off for Ohio State

Previous Episode

Gene Smith Discusses His Ohio State Career, College Sports Changes and Upcoming Retirement

Gene Smith is ready for the next chapter of his life.

Less than two weeks away from his retirement, Ohio State’s athletic director says he isn’t having any second thoughts about his decision to move on at the end of the month. After 19 years leading OSU’s athletic department, Smith feels ready to move to Arizona, play more golf and spend more time with his grandchildren.

Before leaving Columbus, however, Smith joined us for nearly 30 minutes on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays to talk about how he’s helped Ohio State prepare for the future and reflect on his career in Columbus.

Following our conversation with the athletic director, we shared our thoughts on what Smith had to say about the changes that could be required for Ohio State to continue funding 36 sports in the revenue-sharing era, how OSU is prioritizing the success of its football program and what we believe Smith should be most remembered for.

The rundown of our conversation:

0:00 Intro
0:07 Gene Smith is Ready for Retirement
3:54 Why and How Smith Went All In on Ohio State Football in His Final Offseason on the Job
7:31 Gene Smith Expects First-Year Challenges But Long-Term Success for Jake Diebler
10:24 Gene’s Advice for Ross Bjork: “Pause and Don’t Press”
13:06 How Ohio State is Preparing for Revenue Sharing in College Sports
17:03 Ohio State Committed to Keeping 36 Sports, But Funding for Some Sports Will Change
18:22 How Ohio State Teaches Financial Literacy to Its Athletes
21:36 Smith Concerned About Academic Ramifications of Transfers
23:37 Why Helping Athletes Off the Field Was So Important to Gene
26:34 Football and Wrestling National Championships Among Gene’s Proudest Accomplishments
29:52 Reaction to Gene’s Comments About Football Investment, Funding for Other Sports
37:56 How We’ll Remember Gene Smith’s Tenure as Athletic Director

Next Episode

Ohio State President Ted Carter Discusses First Six Months on the Job, What Sports Mean to Him

Sports have always played an important part in Ted Carter’s life, but he’s come to understand just how much they mean to Ohio State fans in his first six months as OSU’s president.

Just before the halfway point of his year as the leader of The Ohio State University, Carter sat down with us for a 30-minute conversation last week to talk about his first six months on the job, what sports mean to him as a former Navy hockey player, the athletic director transition from Gene Smith to Ross Bjork, how Ohio State is preparing for a new era of college sports and more.

We bring you that conversation in its entirety on this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.

The rundown of what we talked about with Carter:

0:00 Intro
0:27 What Sports Mean to Ted Carter
1:49 Carter’s First Six Months as President Have Been “Awesome”
2:40 How Sports Have Helped Shape Carter’s Approach as President
4:12 Working with Gene Smith A “Privilege” for Carter
6:06 Why Carter Hired Ross Bjork as Athletic Director
7:11 OSU Expects Athletics to Remain Self-Sufficient, But Won’t Cut Sports
9:22 Carter Wants Athletes to Remain Students, Not Employees, in Revenue Sharing Era
12:51 How Carter Balances His Many Duties as OSU President
16:54 What West Coast Expansion Will Add to Big Ten
18:29 How Naval Career Prepared Carter to Embrace Change
19:59 Carter Learning Just How Much People Care About OSU
21:16 Carter “Very Impressed” with Ryan Day
21:58 Miracle on Ice Jersey, Blue Angels Helmet Among Carter’s Prized Possessions
24:58 Women’s Hockey National Title An Early Highlight of Carter’s Presidency
25:21 Carter Expects Ohio State Football to “Be Really Good This Year”
25:46 Carter Already A Columbus Blue Jackets Fan
26:46 Carter’s Favorite Moment from His Own Hockey Career
29:12 Becoming OSU President Beyond Carter’s “Wildest Imagination”