Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes don't expect Alliance to have schedule impact

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Buckeyes don’t expect Alliance to have schedule impact

Don’t expect Ohio State to stop being aggressive in its football scheduling anytime soon.

And don’t think the Buckeyes are only going to schedule schools in the new three-conference alliance with the Pac 12 and ACC.

No, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith made it quite clear Wednesday that future matchups with Alabama, Georgia and Texas, among others, won’t be hampered by the three-league agreement. The Buckeyes don’t want to cut the Big Ten schedule to eight games or hinder their ability to schedule whoever they want.

“That’s the reason right there,” Smith said. “We talked about it, but I just don’t see philosophically for us, a [Alliance] scheduling model that’s really worked for us, where we would be supportive of making that change. And nine [conference games] makes sense to us. We’re still willing to listen to eight, but even if we go to eight, I’m not so sure we’re going to mess around the schedule. We’re gonna play whoever it is, it might be a Pac 12 or ACC school. It might be. Washington’s on our schedule down the road. But I don’t see us making any changes that way. Those games a huge, like Notre Dame. What is this, the sixth time we’ve played Notre Dame in a regular season? So that’s the coolest thing. So yeah, I don’t see us making the change.”

The Alliance allows the three leagues that are a part of it to help each other. But in scheduling? The Buckeyes are just fine making their own schedule.

Top Buckeyes target Luke Montgomery commits to Ohio State

And though it took the four-star offensive line prospect from Findlay (Ohio) High School a bit longer than some would have expected, Ohio’s top-ranked player is right where he always wanted to be.

Luke Montgomery committed to the Buckeyes on Thursday over Michigan, Clemson, Oklahoma, USC, Georgia, Notre Dame and almost 30 other schools.

When Ryan Day and Ohio State offered Montgomery in February of 2021, it was quickly assumed that he’d pick the Buckeyes. He never denied his affinity for the program. Montgomery openly admitted that the “dream school” was the team to beat in his recruitment. Still, there was never a moment when Ohio State took his recruitment for granted, and that was important to Luke Montgomery and his family.

Even as Ohio State turned Montgomery into priority one, there were twists and turns in this fight. It wasn’t until recently that the 6-foot-4, 265-pound athlete fully committed to the idea of playing on the offensive line. That issue was complicated by the firing of Greg Studrawa and subsequent hiring of offensive line coach Justin Frye. The Buckeyes had to make sure their new position coach made a big impression. He did.

ICYMI: Special edition of Tim May Podcast

John Johnson, a former assistant coach under Woody Hayes and manager for boxing legend Buster Douglas, joined the Tim May Podcast to share plenty of stories.

Johnson and Tim May talk about Ohio State under Woody Hayes, what Hayes was like as the head coach and how the Buckeyes were so successful during the Hall of Fame coach’s long tenure with the Buckeyes.

But that’s only the beginning of the conversation. Tim and John talk about the legendary boxing match between Buster Douglas and Mike Tyson as the anniversary of that famous fight in Tokyo just passed. Johnson talks about Douglas, how he was able to pull off one of the greatest upsets in the history of boxing and what it was like to work first-hand with Douglas.

Of course, May was in Tokyo for that fight and covered it in the Tokyo Dome. And he has been covering Ohio State for decades. So the stories of Douglas and his fighting — and Hayes with the Buckeyes — made for a fun episode for sports fans.

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