Ohio State Preseason Superlatives and Why Connor Stalions’ Story Doesn’t Add Up

Ohio State’s first game of the 2024 season is just three days away and Connor Stalions has broken his silence.On this week’s episode of Real Pod Wednesdays, we preview Ohio State’s season opener against Akron and share our thoughts on Netflix’s Connor Stalions documentary while also making some big-picture predictions for the Buckeyes’ 2024 season.In the first 20 minutes of the show, we discuss what we’re most eager to see from the Buckeyes in their first game of the year after eight months of hype and make our predictions for whether Ohio State will cover the 48.5-point spread.In the middle segment of the show, we hand out some preseason superlatives by making our predictions for who will be the Buckeyes’ team MVP, All-Americans, breakout stars (other than Jeremiah Smith) and unsung heroes this season.In the final third of the show, we give our opinions on what Stalions had to say about his role leading Michigan’s sign-stealing operation and why his story doesn’t add up, with a shoutout to Eleven Warriors’ own Brohio for his role in “Untold: Sign Stealer.”The full rundown for our opening-week edition of RPW:0:00 Intro0:38 What We’re Most Eager to See in Ohio State’s Season Opener3:16 Everything Must Be Kept in Perspective in A Season Opener Against Akron9:16 How Early Should The Backups Come In If The Game Becomes A Blowout?13:30 Balancing Rotation and Experimentation with Building Rhythm and Chemistry18:29 Why We Think Ohio State Will Cover the Spread21:32 The Unanimous 11W Pick: Ohio State over Georgia in the National Championship Game24:03 Team MVP Picks: Caleb Downs and Denzel Burke27:12 How Many First-Team All-Americans Will Ohio State Have This Season?32:30 Breakout Stars: Sonny Styles and Josh Simmons37:04 Unsung Heroes: Lathan Ransom and Ty Hamilton42:14 Why Connor Stalions’ Story Doesn‘t Add Up51:41 Recognition for Brohio and Other Investigators in the Eleven Warriors Community54:38 Now We Await Michigan’s Sanctions (Which Likely Won’t Come Until 2025)