Bucknuts’ Steve Helwagen hosted his weekly Chat on Monday night. The transcript is below.

Programming Note: Steve will again participate in Ohio State Buckeyes Live on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Check out The Front Row after 11 a.m. Wednesday for access details.

TritonK: Due to how many first time starters we have how much better do you see this team being by the end of the season? Is the ceiling as high or higher than last year?

Helwagen: That is hard to quantify. I do think there is room to grow and improve. For instance, will the pass rush be as good when they’re facing better teams? We don’t know. They absolutely have to improve the running game and become more consistent in that aspect, certainly.

Last year’s team found a fifth gear after the loss to Michigan and they just refused to lose. We don’t know about the make-up of this team just yet. What they did against Texas in the opener was fantastic. But will that be the high point of the season. This team has to rise to the occasion when the time comes. It could be Illinois or Penn State or Michigan. Who knows when it will be. But there will be a time where they have to go to that next level. Some teams do, most teams do not. And that’s hard to predict. But you like where they have started on this journey so far.

TritonK: Early season scouting report for the game? Can our defense hold up against the run and confuse Underwood? Can we move the ball and get in the end zone against their defense? Which player is the X factor?

Helwagen: Oh, I honestly just had the Michigan game on in passing last Saturday. Impressive certainly to go into that stadium and get a win like that. They gutted it out. Stopping the run is the big issue. Haynes and the back from Cincinnati looked great on those long runs. OSU hasn’t done it four straight years vs. Michigan, so we will see if they can. I think OSU will be able to move the ball against whoever they play. That passing game seems undeniable. Got to get the run game going with it.

X factor is probably a tight end who breaks free underneath for a big play or a DB who victimizes the young QB for a critical INT.

Garwood72: Steve loved the basketball update and gets my basketball juices flowing , love football but follow hoops very closely since I was a tyke ,any true predictions on where we finish in the Big ? I feel anywhere 4-6 and with positive lick a spot or two higher

Helwagen: Lindy’s magazine is out. They have OSU No. 38 nationally so one-and-done in NCAA Tournament and ninth in the Big Ten. They were 10th last year. I think personally they will be somewhere in that fourth to seventh range. It is dog eat dog, though, in this Big Ten with so many great programs across the board and the coast to coast travel mixed in, too.

I think 21 wins overall and 12-8 or 11-9 in Big Ten seems about right. Need the big 7-8 to stay healthy and produce like they are capable.

Crickybear: Steve- looking at Big Ten schedules this year – and it is such a joke to see how Michigan’s compares to a team like Indiana’s.   My question would be – how do you think the CFP would look upon a two loss Michigan vs. a two loss Indiana team?   Indiana has upper echelon teams Oregon and PSU still to come, while Michigan has just OSU.   As things play out, I see Oregon and OSU in the Big Ten Championship – with a possible two loss Penn State being the third CFP team….  If four are chosen, that could leave Michigan (1 Big Ten loss) and Indiana vying for position #4.    We all know Michigan is the media darling (see NCAA Advanced Scouting punishment); Do you think Michigan would get the nod over Indiana – whose only losses were two other CFP teams, both within the Big 10?

Thank you.

Helwagen: Yeah, there is so much football to be played. It is way too premature to start plotting out how teams are going to weigh out at the end. I get where you’re coming from. Michigan should get credit for playing at Oklahoma, even if it was a loss. That’s better than beating Old Dominion by 2 TDs, in my book, or scoring 70 against an FCS team. That’s meaningless to me.

I trust the committee will make the right decisions. It’s all apples to oranges comparing Big Ten to SEC and comparing teams within the same conference that don’t play each other. I think they weighed it out last year and got the right teams in there. But if there is a tie between 10-2 teams the one that played the tougher schedule in the 12-game season should be in.

I liked their approach last year that conference title game losers were not penalized. They will get it right. The best teams will be in. Hey, like Alabama last year, if you have to argue a case to get in as the 11 or 12 seed, you’re really not good enough to win the national championship anyway.

JoeZipp: Watched some of the Apple Cup Saturday. Huskies offense is really good; not impressed with their defense. Huskies only had the ball 24 minutes and put up 59 points on 48 plays. WOW. The line opened at -13.5 and now down to -9.5 for our game. What are your thoughts on key player matchups?  Who is going to spy Williams?  Do you have a feel for the maximum points Washington can score on our D?  This game has gotten a lot more interesting after 3 games versus pre-season hype while the Illinois game got less interesting. I am more worried about Washington than Illinois.  What say you?  THANKS STEVE.

Helwagen: I need to sit down and watch the game. I was flipping between 2-3 games. I think Washington State is real bad, so I don’t put much stock in that game and what Washington did. It was a 7-point game after 3 quarters then 28-0 Washington in fourth quarter with a pick-six that took all the wind out of Wazzu’s sails.

The QB and the RB have been great so far this season. But so has Ohio State’s offense. Let’s see who can establish the run and set the offense up for success.

Oregon game last year was 32-31. I’m not sure I envision something that high scoring, maybe in the 34-20 range for OSU. But I want to dial in on it to know for sure.

foxr2001: Trivia question for you: what CFB teams have won 3 national championships under 3 consecutive coaches (not counting Fickell’s interim year)? I don’t know the answer other than OSU but I’m curious if you know of other schools to accomplish what Tressel/Meyer/Day have done. Bonus if you can answer this without googling it! (ok, no real bonus but if you can it will be very impressive)

I’ll probably be back with other questions later.

Helwagen: Man, that’s a great question. Maybe Miami in the 1980s with Schnellenberger, Johnson and Erickson maybe. Or the last 2 and whoever followed Erickson.

LSU had Saban, Miles and Ed Orgeron. Those would be my top two guesses.

It is revisionist history, by the way, to refer to Fickell as interim or acting coach for 2011. They announced he was the head coach period for that season. He had a chance to hang on to the job had it gone better, but with the personnel available after the suspensions etc. he was set up to only fail.

ursinsports: Like Joe Zipp, I watched a lil of the Apple Cup game. It’s obvious they have a good offense. Keeping the QB limited will be a good challenge. I would hope coach P stresses the outside containment. Will be interesting to see the various schemes coach P shows in pre snap.  Do u think they will go majority with 3LBs sets to stop their run attack with dual QB and a hard running RB?

Helwagen: There may be some 3 LB but my guess is they play their 4-2-5 base and adapt from there. Downs is almost like having a third LB with the way he supports the run. OSU has done a good job of hemming in the opposing QBs and not letting them break contain. Washington is going to put stress on the Ohio State defense and make some plays. But can OSU keep them out of the end zone in the red zone. That will be the deciding factor in that match-up. The QB is not real big so they need to get some contact on him and see how he handles that. Patricia had a great plan for Texas and so we will see what he dials up here.

bucksgrad: Hi Steve !

How much credence to you give the talk that Underwood got $10M from tcun?

Helwagen: You know, we are not privy to any contracts that would tell us the actual numbers. There will probably be some court battles over the NCAA allowable revenue share money because those are, by definition, public funds if paid out by a public university. Now some schools will try and circumvent that by creating “athletic associations” they claim will be private and so on.

I was told whatever numbers you hear be skeptical. Agents will tout and float certain numbers so they look better to potential new clients. But you can’t believe everything you read. Up until when the House settlement was ratified by the judge, schools and the collectives were going wild west and offering tons of money. But now they have to push everything beyond rev share through the clearinghouse on NIL. Can the schools control their spending? Is any of this legal? I’m going to say the answers to those two questions will be no and no.

Snoke5: Hi Steve, how do you see Saturdays matchup between Penn State and Oregon going? Also now that the season is a few weeks in the books how do you see the Big Ten playing out? Indiana looks a little better and Illinois looking not quite as good as previously ranked. USC could be a tough out. I personally feel Ohio State and Oregon will face each other in the B1G 10 championship.

Thank you for your thoughts!

Helwagen: Yeah, Penn State has not lived up to expectations. They may need the PSU defense to hold down the Oregon offense this Saturday. But PSU should be motivated to win that game after the Big Ten title game last year. PSU just doesn’t seem to win big games under Franklin. Not sure where I am leaning on that one just yet. I think it will be a one score game but could literally go either way. It should be one hell of a game just like the Big Ten title game was last year. If Penn State can’t win this one at home, when and where will they ever win a game like this with this coach? Hmmmm.

TritonK: Basketball question if we miss the tournament again this season will Bjork move on from Diebler? How long of a rope does he have? Is he a better x and o coach or recruiter?

Helwagen: Tough question there. He has a university friendly buyout so if it happens they don’t make it, I suppose they could move on. They need to make it this year. They have a talented and deep roster, just have to go and win those toss-up games. Over the last three seasons, they are 13-20 in games decided by six points or less. Flip that to 20-13 and that’s two NCAA bids they probably have.

Xs and Os? I’d say he is OK there and he has good support from his staff. The issue is managing those late game situations. They always seem to leave it to Thornton or sometimes Mobley. I think I’d rather have it in the hands of a guy like Parrish last year who could get into the lane and score or draw a foul. Bruce seemed to get bottled up and settle for 22 foot jumpers in those situations. Yeah, he did hit the one (forget against who) but the record above speaks for itself.

Recruiting? You’re only as good as your checkbook. Who can you outbid in this climate? Can you afford to pay a legit national top 10 player like Anthony Thompson, who is an Ohio guy in the 2026 class? We don’t know what his budget is, other than basketball is not the main priority at Ohio State. We do know that.

TritonK: Hartline was quoted saying he needs to get more WR’s PT. Do you think this is lip service like we always hear or does he really want to get 5 or 6 guys in? Hes always had a short rotation.

Helwagen: His actions say this is strictly lip service. Rodgers has 2 catches and Graham has 1 and they’ve won one game 70-0 and another 37-9. You tell me.

Heck, they’re taking Inniss off the field half the time for a second tight end. I’m not trying to be cute or mean here, but if three comes off how do you expect to get four, five, six or seven any meaningful work?

TritonK: Recruiting wise it seems like we have stalled a bit. Starting to look at in state seniors for easy flips. Are there any big national guys they have a shot to flip? Seems like they should be combing through ucla, Florida, Wisconsin, and Clemson along with other programs with coaches on the hot seat or who could be?

Helwagen: Yeah, good point. They are going for low hanging fruit. I guess if they come up with ways to pay for top recruits, they will flip some top recruits. They do have six national top 100 players in the class, so it is not devoid of talent. They have two good OL just outside the top 100, too, so they didn’t get the one kid Sanders they are still getting some good players like the Akron Hoban kid Sam Greer to develop them.

Parting Shot: Hey everybody, thanks so much for reading and participating. Please carve out 11 a.m. Wednesday to watch Ohio State Buckeyes Live. It is a one hour interactive show where we talk nothing but Ohio State football and take questions from those online. See you then!!

One of the longest tenured head coaches in the power conferences was finally shown the door today as Oklahoma State’s longtime head coach Mike Gundy was fired today.

Despite a 170-90 overall record, 10 top-25 seasons and a conference title in 2011, the team finally had enough after a 1-2 start and a 4-11 record since 2024.

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With Gundy now gone though, fans have turned their attention to another coach with a losing record and all the pressure in the world on him this season: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.

In the mere minutes since Gundy’s firing was reported, college football fans immediately took to social media and stated that they expect – if not predict – that Swinney will (or should) be next:

“Should’ve been fired years ago. Dabo is next…” one user wrote in response to the news.

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“As a Sooner fan. I always had a soft spot for Mike Gundy. But it’s simply time to end the era because it needs to be done. The next HC of that nature who’s era will inevitably end shorty will be Dabo Swinney. The NIL space has made their strengths obsolete and its not coming back,” wrote another.

“Him not adapting is what bit him. Dabo is next if he’s not careful,” a Clemson fan declared.

“He should’ve left a few years ago when the program was strong and successful just like Bob stoop did at OU. He did a lot for the program and should’ve known better the NIL was going to change football forever. Next coach to get fire that isn’t fond of NIL will be Dabo.”

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That being said there are far more contrasts than parallels between the careers of Gundy and Swinney, not the least of which is the national championship and consistent in-conference success that Swinney has enjoyed. It’s a fact that Swinney has repeatedly reminded people of whenever there are questions over his ability to keep his job.

That being said, it’s been well over a decade since he had a losing season at Clemson. He might ultimately wind up being a victim of his own success.

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Gundy’s Legacy

Mike Gundy was one of the longest‐tenured and most successful coaches in Oklahoma State history, having taken over as head coach in 2005. A former OSU quarterback (1986-89), Gundy returned to his alma mater after several years as an assistant and coordinator elsewhere. Over his time, he transformed the Cowboys into a consistent winner: he led them to eight seasons with 10 or more wins, compiled an overall record of about 170-90, and won multiple Big 12 Coach of the Year honors (2010, 2021, 2023). His peak came in 2011 when Oklahoma State won the Big 12 title outright and delivered a dramatic Fiesta Bowl victory over Stanford, ending that season ranked among the top 3 nationally.

However, in recent years Gundy’s program saw a sharp decline. The Cowboys went 3–9 in 2024, including a winless Big 12 conference run, and began the 2025 season with losses that intensified criticism of his leadership. His legacy remains one of sustained success, stability, and elevating Oklahoma State’s national profile, even though the program’s most recent struggles overshadowed much of the momentum built in earlier years.

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This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving to a nine-game league schedule for football while having teams play at least 10 games against power-conference opponents, though there will be variables due to the league’s odd number of football-playing member schools.

Commissioner Jim Phillips announced the decision in a statement Monday, saying athletic directors had “overwhelmingly supported” the move after “incredibly intentional” discussions about scheduling options.

Going from an eight- to a nine-game model would align the ACC with its power-conference peers in the Big 12, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences after unbalanced scheduling between the conferences had been a topic of discussion, and disagreement, when it came to access for the College Football Playoff.

READ MORE | “Clemson’s Swinney says Tigers must reset goals following 1-3 start to the season.”

The ACC would join the SEC — which announced its move from eight to nine last month — as the only leagues playing 10 games against Power Four opponents as a baseline in the so-called “9+1 model.”

Still, the ACC being the only power conference with an odd number of football-playing members (17) means there are wrinkles.

A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that most league teams will transition to the nine-game slate next year, though multiple teams will play eight league games and two against Power Four opponents — an “8+2 model” — to accommodate nonconference games already on the books.

READ MORE | “Clemson falls to Syracuse for worst start to season of Dabo Swinney era.”

By 2027, the person said, 16 of the 17 teams will play a “9+1 schedule,” while one team will have to play an “8+2” slate.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the league hasn’t publicized specifics of the model. Phillips said the league will present the plan to its faculty athletic representatives for formal adoption.

“There will be additional discussions and more details to be determined, but Monday’s decision showcases the commitment and leadership of our ADs in balancing what is best for strengthening the conference and for their respective programs,” Phillips said in his statement.

READ MORE | “Georgia Tech hits game-ending 55-yard FG as time expires to stun No. 12 Clemson 24-21.”

The ACC had used an eight-game football schedule since Florida State’s arrival for the 1992 season, the outlier being a 10-game schedule in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That included Notre Dame giving up its cherished independent status for one year and playing a full ACC schedule, losing to Clemson in the league championship game.

The Fighting Irish, a member of all other league sports, typically play four to six football games per year against ACC schools and those would fit into the nonconference column in the “9+1” or “8+2” scheduling models.

Phillips had discussed the possibility of going to a nine-game schedule publicly in July during the ACC’s preseason football media days, noting it had been discussed internally multiple times. He said then that he “liked where our league is” and that playing marquee nonconference matchups had been good for the league, but added: “We’ll adjust if we have to.”

The change could theoretically get trickier now with one less spot available for teams to schedule outside of league play, though ensuring 10 games against power-conference opponents — either inside or outside the ACC schedule — would add another selling point when it came to teams’ CFP résumés.

Some teams had already been hitting that 10-game target through traditional means, such as Clemson playing nonconference games against now-No. 4 LSU to open the year and its annual instate rivalry game with South Carolina out of the SEC to cap the regular season.

Others had taken some creative routes to 10, such as N.C. State scheduling a nonconference game against longtime ACC member Virginia this month to go with next month’s trip to Notre Dame as part of the league’s scheduling partnership with the Irish.

Playing nine league games and 10 against power-conference teams could potentially lead to a financial boost with the league’s revenue-distribution model being revised to factor TV viewership ratings into the payouts. That change offers the league’s biggest brands in football and men’s basketball to make more money with higher ratings against top-tier opponents, coming as the league has spent years battling a revenue gap behind the Big Ten and SEC.

By: Fred Perdue

Quarterbacks are staying in college longer than ever, and NIL deals are a big reason why. In the 2024 NFL Draft, 56 players aged 24 or older were selected—up from just 16 in 2021—highlighting a new trend where experience and preparation outweigh youth.

Take Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr., for example. Nix, 25, was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 12th overall pick, while Penix, 24, went to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 (Yahoo Sports, 2024). Their paths illustrate how NFL teams are increasingly valuing readiness, leadership, and production over the traditional measure of age.

Name, Image, and Likeness rights have played a key role in this shift. College athletes can now earn substantial income without giving up eligibility. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers reportedly turned down an $8 million NIL offer to stay in school (Goss Law Group, 2023). For many quarterbacks, the choice to remain in college means refining skills, developing chemistry with teammates, and increasing draft stock while also earning off-field revenue.

“It’s a whole new dynamic,” said draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “Players can now balance earning with development. Teams are seeing quarterbacks arrive in the league more polished, more prepared. For franchises, that’s worth more than youth alone.”

This trend has also led to fewer early entries. Before NIL, roughly 130 underclassmen declared for the NFL Draft annually. By 2025, that number had dropped to just 58 (CBS Sports, 2023), reflecting a growing preference for staying in college longer.

Quarterbacks, with their leadership roles and need for experience, are the clearest beneficiaries. Older players like Nix and Penix demonstrate that additional college seasons can improve decision-making, durability, and overall readiness. NFL teams are adapting by placing greater emphasis on experience and leadership, signaling that older quarterbacks may become the new standard.

Looking ahead to the 2025 draft, expect this trend to continue. Players may remain in college longer, leveraging NIL deals and extended eligibility to maximize both development and financial gain. NFL teams, in turn, will likely adjust scouting strategies, increasingly valuing experience over age for quarterback prospects.

“Players today have more control over their careers than ever before,” Jeremiah added. “It’s changing how we evaluate talent and when players are ready to step into the league.”

The era of younger quarterbacks leaving early may be fading. Instead, college football is entering a period where maturity, preparation, and strategic timing define the next generation of NFL signal-callers.