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Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
For a lot of folks in Buckeye Nation, Saturday’s win over Nebraska was the peak of their frustration level so far this season — not to mention the nadir of their enthusiasm level. We Ohio State fans are nothing if not an emotional and fickle group, so our feelings on the team tend to ebb and flow a bit more volatilely than most normal, well-adjusted humans.
So, now that a few days have been allowed to pass, we wanted to check in with members of our beloved fanbase in order to see where they were in terms of the Optimism-Pessimism Scale.
Check out the two questions in our weekly fan survey below and let us know how you are feeling about the team and what you think is going to happen in Saturday’s game against Penn State. So, check out the two questions below and then vote in the survey underneath. If you want to write-in options that we didn’t include, or add context to your pick, feel free to hit the comments at the bottom of the page.
Question 1: What is your level of optimism/pessimism heading into Penn State?
Look, as a life-long Buckeye fan, I know that we have never been the most level-headed and even-keeled group, so the extreme opinions inside the OSU community are no surprise to me. But it does feel like we are reaching an anti-Ryan Day fevered pitch. I tend to try to be as passionate of a fan as I can be while being as dispassionate in my analysis here at LGHL as possible.
But it’s become harder and harder to excuse the shortcomings that this coaching staff — and by extension the team — seem in capable of remedying. I am still optimistic that they can get this ship righted before they blow yet another massively talented roster on an underachieving season, but I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out that hope.
Question 2: What do you think is the margin of victory against Penn State this week?
When the FanDuel SportsBook opened the Ohio State vs. Penn State game for bettering on Sunday, they installed the Buckeyes as 3.5-point favorites, and that is where the line currently sits — although you can find up to 4 points at other books. The gold-standard college football analytics model SP+ projects OSU to win 25-24.
I don’t know for sure, but I think that in my nine seasons covering the Buckeyes here at Land-Grant Holy Land, I’ve only ever picked Ohio State to win games — with a few caveats. In some College Football Playoff games, I have picked the Buckeyes with my heart, but either Georgia or Clemson with my head.
However, while I reserve the right to change my pick up until Saturday morning when I officially publish it in the LGHL Experts Prediction article and on the “Tailgate” podcast, I’m not sure that I can even muster a based, homer, heart pick.
I might be overreacting to what I saw against Nebraska, but the legitimate issues that OSU’s coaching staff has put itself in on the offensive line is incredibly concerning, and I’m just not especially confident that they will be able to overcome it… but man, do I hope that I am wrong.
Share your thoughts here:
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.