Tune into the CD1025 Morning Show with Brian Phillips every Friday at 7:40 to hear Baver's thoughts on Ohio State football and other stuff. follow @baverbuckeybag

Colin: Which stat is more important: OSU breaking passing records against UNLV or 0-3 Baylor hanging 41 points on Oklahoma? 

Baver: It’s a hard game to figure out sometimes, isn’t it? Obviously Oklahoma wasn’t up for Baylor like they were against Ohio State. But the Sooners did what good teams do, and still got the “W” despite not having their best stuff. If I had to pick four Playoff teams right now, Oklahoma would still be one of them.

Colin: Do you see any encouraging signs in the Offense that could lead to consistent success against a good defense like say, Penn State? 

Baver: I don’t know; I guess the Buckeye WRs are making some strides and Austin Mack appears to be on his way to big things before he leaves Columbus. JT again was JT with some passes that make you go “wow”…..and not ”wow” in a good way. But he settled down and started throwing the ball well in the 2nd quarter.  And JT is the guy…..there will be no change at QB. We saw why he starts, as Dwayne Haskins looked like a freshman in his first extended action. Can the OSU offense get it done against a good D? I have my doubts. Dedicating 25+ carries to the tailback position against those D’s would help matters.

Colin: Speaking of Penn State, is Barkley the best player in the country and would you prefer the N lions lose to Michigan or come to the Shoe' undefeated. 

Baver: Barkley is ridiculous, and I’m not sure I have ever seen a prototype tailback quite like him. He’s 230 pounds of solid brick, and watching a kid that size juke Iowa defenders in the open field was jaw dropping. I’d rather face an undefeated Penn State team when they come to town. I think Ohio State needs to show the rest of the nation that they are capable of beating a top-5 team…and need to show it sooner rather than later.

Colin: What can you tell me about Ohio State that may not be common knowledge to most Buckeye fans?

Baver: The rumor this past April was that DT Michael Hill was facing a 6-game suspension to start the 2017 season. Urban then told us in early August that Hill would be held out “a few games”. Meyer now says Hill will miss this week’s Rutgers game, which would be the 5th game Hill will have been held out. What else? Multiple off-shore sites have “Games of the Year” lines that they update weekly as the season progresses. 5 Dimes as of today has OSU fav’d by 7 vs Penn St, OSU fav’d by 14.5 at Iowa, and OSU fav’d by 3.5 at Michigan. The bettors think more highly of Ohio St’s chances than OSU fans do.

Colin: Since you appear with notable Washington State fanatic Brian Phillips on his CD1025 morning show every Friday at 7:40 am, what are your thoughts on the Cougs hosting USC and other games and lines you will be keeping an eye on?

Baver: Urban decided to actually pull his starters in the 1st half last week, and that cost me a cover on OSU, but I did hit the 3 other games, so I am 10-4 against the spread overall now including 3-1 on OSU gms. I see nothing I like really spread wise this week, so let’s look at the OSU – Rutgers game and USC’s trip to Pullman to face Brian Phillips’ Wazzu team.

I think Chris Ash has settled in a bit as a head coach, and will see his squad play OSU a bit closer than the 62-3 drubbing they took in the ‘Shoe last year. If Janarion Grant is full-go for the Knights, that will certainly help their cause. I think Rutgers +30 is the play here. The call: OSU 37 Rutgers 10.

USC played their best game against their best opponent this year (Stanford). But that was in the Coliseum, and now USC must travel to Pullman to face an underrated Wazzu team. Washington St D-line with Mata’Afa, Oguayo, and Luvu will make life difficult at times for Sam Darnold. I see this game going down to the wire, making Wazzu plus the 4 the play, but put a gun to my head and I’d say USC finds a way to win another tough one.