Colin: Bad weather conditions and an agitated Badger squad closing to within 3 points in the 2nd half and then... total domination. Thoughts? 

Baver: As October comes to an end, there is no doubt whatsoever that Ohio St has been the best team in America to date. Now, that doesn’t guarantee them anything going forward, but it’s been the most dominating 8-game run I can remember in my 40+ years of being a hardcore Buckeye football addict.

Wisconsin may not be the team we once thought they were, but the Buckeyes scored a touchdown on every 2nd half possession except for the last one....the drive that ended in victory formation. Wisconsin still has a top 10 defense nationally in my opinion, and that was a beatdown. If the weather was better, the beatdown would have been worse.

Colin: Since it’s a bye week, your thoughts on impressive wins by PSU, Mich and the Gophers and what that means for the Buckeyes playoff chances moving forward? 

Baver: PJ Fleck has his kids believing...it’s what he does. The Gophers first four wins of the season were each by 7 pts or less, against less than stellar competition. Their last 4 wins? They beat Illinois by 23, Nebraska by 27, Rutgers by 35, and Maryland by 42. Can they hang with Penn St a week from Saturday? We shall see.

Michigan has now played 6 straight quarters of dominant football against two top opponents, and has a lot of momentum heading into November. Penn St? I still think they are the most talented Big Ten team OSU will face. 

Call it a cliché, but the Buckeyes biggest obstacle now is themselves, not Michigan, Penn St or any other B10 team. A year ago at this time, the 2018 Alabama team was on their way to becoming the greatest college football team of all time. At least, that’s what many in the media were selling. If you watched their final 3 games, that Bama team was nowhere near the team they were in October, and didn’t win the Nat’l Title, much less become the greatest team of all time. Hopefully, Coach Day can help these kids keep their minds right. If they can do that (and stay healthy), OSU will take care of Penn St, Michigan and the B10 West champ, and are Playoff bound.

Colin: Does an Oklahoma loss giving up 48 points combined with another Texas loss give the Buckeyes hope to make the playoff even with one loss? 

Baver: The Bucks would still have a decent shot I think of getting in if they beat PSU but lost to Michigan. OSU would still (likely) be East champs, and would still likely hammer the B10 West champ. There are so many other variables in play if OSU suffers a loss, I guess that’s the only hard take I have right now on a 1-loss Buckeye team making the Playoff.

Colin: Could Chase Young get invited to the Heisman ceremony and have you ever seen a more dominant Buckeye player at any position? (Let’s exclude Orlando Pace to keep interesting) 

Baver: After the clinic he put on against Wisconsin, the national media has jumped on board the Chase Young for Heisman campaign. The effect on the Heisman odds at the sportsbooks? A week ago today, Bovada had 17 players listed with Heisman odds, but no Chase Young. AJ Dillon was their last player listed, having 200 to 1 odds. Checking their live odds just now, Bovada has Chase Young on their board with 8 to 1 odds. An article yesterday noted BetOnline had just added Chase Young to their Heisman odds at 25 to 1. I just checked BetOnline’s live odds, and Chase Young is now listed with 6 to 1 odds. Can Young get an invite to the Heisman ceremony? Yep.

I could go on for a while on this topic, but the most dominating Buckeye player that I’ve seen play? You had to exclude Orlando, didn’t you? Ha....okay, you’ve made it harder. It’s a close call in my mind between Chris Spielman and Chase Young. Spielman wasn’t blessed with the skill set Chase has, but he had instincts like no other defensive player I’ve seen. Let’s definitely revisit in December after Chase finishes the regular season.

Colin: What other games and lines will you be keeping an eye on this week?

Pretty sad slate of games for October? Man alive. But you do have a top 10 matchup in Jacksonville, with Georgia and Florida. The winner of this one still has a shot at the playoff. I like the Gators +6½. The Bulldogs won going away in 2017 & 2018, but I don’t see Dan Mullen getting blown out in this game again this year. I think the Gators hang tough and have decent shot at an upset.

Along the same lines, I like Washington getting the points (3½) at home against Utah. I just do not see Chris Peterson losing his 4th game of the year on the first Saturday of November. The Huskies played Oregon pretty evenly and have had an extra week to prepare for Utah. I like Washington win outright. 

—Brent Baver and Colin Gawel