Gary Danielson previews Akron vs Ohio State | Big Ten on CBS Week 1 | CBS Sports

There's the music. Our first Big Ten on CBS game of the season featuring the number two Ohio State Buckeyes opening up what could be a magnificent season. They are loaded hosting Akron also from the great state of Ohio. 330 Eastern Time on CBS. Also streaming on Paramount Plus. And Brad Nessler will be up in the booth with Gary Danielson, Jenny Dell will be on the field. We are pleased to be joined right now by one of the men on the call, Gary Danielson. Gary this is an Ohio State team filled with star players, but players that have not beaten Michigan, that have not won a Big Ten championship have a lot of pressure on them. This season. How do you sense that they're going to deal with that pressure from the off season? Yeah, I think what's happened with Ohio State the last two years has really built them to this point right now. Remember two years ago when really the de facto national championship game against Georgia, there a field goal away from playing and probably winning the national championship against TCU. And then last year they watched the team up north, as they like to say, run the table and win the national championship. And I think that's really motivated this team. I think the whole Buckeye fan base is motivated and it kind of led to a lot of players coming back and pointing for this team and some great decisions. By Ryan Day. So hey, now there's only one thing left to do. You got to do what Michigan did or Georgia did in the day when they were favored or, you know, Alabama or LSU in 2019. You got to go out and prove it. It's going to be seeing a lot of the Buckeyes on CBS this season. And, you know, from from being in the Big Ten, you're playing days covering the Big Ten for so many years. Ohio State always has elite talent. But Urban Meyer has called this the most talented team on paper he's ever seen. Where will this team excel? The most this seaso? So where will they excel the most? I think their defense is pretty set, and I think as they go into the season, the two areas from 2023 that they're really looking at to be a championship team. We know Ohio State's going to be a great team. I mean, it would be a huge upset if they don't make the playoffs in college football this year. The thing that held them back a little bit last year was a young quarterback in Kyle McCord. He wasn't a bad quarterback, but he was young, inexperienced and to try to win the national championship. And then the second part is the offensive line. They plugged it a little bit with center Seth McLaughlin from Alabama. And now if they get the offensive line and give them time to throw to that receiving corps, with Will Howard coming in, I think they have a team and an offense and take that championship step. They have to play better football on offense and I believe they need to get more physical on offense. They slipped a bit in my mind into becoming a little bit of a finesse football team. Quarterback wide receiver, making the big play, running a lot of draws and misdirections. They got to get back more in that Michigan mode or that Georgia mode or the Alabama mode, where they can run the ball when they have to. Not when they want to in a big game. But late in the game when they have to. I think that's the goal for this Ohio State team. As a quarterback yourself, when you look at Will Howard and compare him to what they had last season and Kyle McCord, what what do they believe Howard is going to do better? What do you believe Howard will do better than McCord? Yeah, I think it's a great match for everybody here for Will Howard. You know, here's a guy that won a championship in the big 12 just two years ago. He put his time in. He's learned the football game. He's grown bigger and stronger. We know he's a good runner. He's a fast runner. But now he gets a chance to prove what he wants to do, prove he can win on the biggest level and prove he can run a pro offense. I mean, his ultimate goal, of course, he wants to win a championship, maybe a little bit like Joe Burrow did at LSU. But he also wants to prove he can be an NFL style quarterback. And I think with Ryan Day's offense blended with Chip Kelly, what he'll bring to the table and his experience, I think is a perfect match for everybody. And Will Howard and Ohio State, you mentioned all the weapons around him, not just, you know, the young guys out at wide receiver and you know, the offensive line in front of him. But that backfield is as good as as any backfield in the country. They've got one of the top transfers in the country. Quinshon Judkins coming in. How do you expect Judkins and Henderson and the running backs to kind of split the snaps in the backfield? This season? Well Chris I think all these young running backs now have looked to the NFL and say, you know, I don't have to carry the ball 35 and 40 times to impress the NFL. What I need to show is that I can make NFL plays and I can do it. Splitting the time, just like the NFL is nowadays. You have very few running backs that get those 35 carries anymore. Those are days in the past, so you need to take advantage when you get on the field. Treveyon Henderson has to show he can stay healthy and Quinshon Judkins needs to show that besides getting the ball 35 times, he can blend into the passing game and show that when he gets his opportunities, he can be that explosive back. We saw in the SEC. I think. I think it's both for great for both guys. I mean, Treveyon has to show he can stay healthy and he'll be a high pick. I think Quinshon just says I've done it in the past. Now I'm going to put a championship team with my talent on my resume. You already mentioned that it would be stunning if Ohio State didn't make the college Football Playoff. There are a couple other teams in the Big Ten that feel like they are playoff teams, like Oregon, like Penn State. How many teams from this conference do you think have a chance to challenge for the CFP? Yeah, I think that it would be a huge upset if Ohio State and Oregon be the story. If either one of those don't make the playoffs and it would be a catastrophe for both teams. I think it would be a good story if Penn State and Michigan make it, and I think they have a good run at it. My next three teams are Iowa and Nebraska because of their schedules this year, I think the improved play at quarterback from Iowa and I think Rutgers, I know they've had an injury lately with their schedule, has a chance to dark horses for different reasons. If USC can get their defense going, I think their offense is good enough. And Wisconsin, we know they'll play defense, but they need to get that offense in their second year to get, you know, they switched a little bit from being just a running team to a passing game. If that raises up a bit I think Wisconsin. So I've got two finishers, two on the outside, one of those two will make it Michigan and Ohio or Penn State. And then what other team? I think nine are legitimately looking that we have a shot at this. And that's really the beauty as we go into this advanced playoff era of teams now just not having to think, o, can I get by Ohio State? Can I get by Oregon? Maybe not, but I can get in the playoffs. And one of those teams you mentioned, Iowa. You're going to be in the great state of Iowa a week from now, because week two, it's the Cy-hawk game. Iowa and Iowa State. But first things first, Gary Danielson on the call with Brad Nessler and Jenny Dale this Saturday, 330 Eastern Time as Ohio State opens the season against Akron. You can see that game on CBS and Paramount Plus. And following that game, we'll have another Big Ten team in action. UCLA is out in Hawaii. That's a 730 eastern time kickoff. That's an interesting game. UCLA is a two touchdown favorite, but Hawaii is already played. They've won by 21. And a little tune up game week zero. That's going to be the nightcap of our doubleheader. But