Silver Bullets Podcast: Illinois rewind, Franklin fired, and Wisconsin preview

Ohio State went to Champaign and posted a comfortable win that never really seemed in doubt, although a conservative game plan on the offensive side and some OSU red zone struggles allowed the Fighting Illini to tighten things up early in the third quarter. The Buckeyes pulled away, worked on some things, and even got some backups into the game on the road, handling the No. 17 team in the nation, 34-16. We discussed all the key moments, plays, and players in the game, checked on our picks to click to see how our chosen Buckeyes performed at Illinois, and compared notes on our score predictions, which were both extremely close to the actual final score. After our Ohio State-Illinois rewind, we discussed Penn State firing James Franklin after a second consecutive shocking loss — this time at home to Northwestern at Homecoming. The Nittany Lions also lost quarterback Drew Allar for the season, so it has been a rough few weeks for a Penn State team that is now 0-3 in Big Ten play. Following our Franklin discussion, we looked around the rest of the Big Ten to see how other teams made out in Week 7. It wasn’t just a bad week for Penn State, as Wisconsin got throttled at home by Iowa, Michigan State got blasted at home by UCLA, and Michigan was mauled at USC. Nebraska won a tight battle over Maryland, and Minnesota squeaked past Purdue. Indiana got the marquee win at Oregon. Oh, and the Huskies beat Rutgers on Friday. We also looked ahead to the matchups coming up this weekend. Washington at Michigan might be the best game to keep an eye on, while USC has a huge non-conference rivalry game at Notre Dame. Also, we think Purdue might win. Finally, we previewed the Ohio State game at Wisconsin. Camp Randall is always a great atmosphere, but it doesn’t seem like the Badgers are likely to hang around in this one without some unbelievable defensive play, a few turnovers, and maybe even a big special teams play or two. But that doesn’t mean the Buckeyes can take Wisconsin lightly. Nothing is certain in this sport. We would love to hear from you, so please reach out with your feedback and questions below in the comments section or send us an email at [email protected]. Any questions directed toward us will be answered on our next show. Be sure to subscribe, rate, review, share, and follow the show over on Twitter at @SilvrBulletsPod. As always, thanks for listening! 0:20 - The Buckeyes got the job done and brought the Illibuck Trophy back to Columbus, where it belongs. 28:22 - The James Franklin era is over in Happy Valley. We discuss Franklin’s firing before going around the Big Ten to see how everyone else made out. We also previewed the upcoming matchups this weekend. 1:03:30 - The Wisconsin Badgers of 2025 are not like many of the previous teams Ohio State has faced in Madison. We expect a comfortable win, but it’s college football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices