Needed Personnel Changes & Bounce Back Week / Ohio State Primetime LIVE 102 Presented By FanDuel

Ohio State Primetime LIVE 102 — Needed Personnel Changes & Bounce-Back Week Presented by FanDuel | Hosts: Garrison Gaddy, Riley Burnett, Denzel Jones OhioStateVOCFB Show Open & Format Notes (0:00–1:25) Garrison welcomes everyone to Ohio State Primetime Live. The show is officially moving to Mondays; Zay is now a permanent part of the rotation. Riley and Garrison are excited about the new setup. Standard plugs: like/share/subscribe, vocfb.com, vocfb.com/shop (koozies, sweatshirts, hats, tees). They preview the Kent State game after recapping Saturday’s loss to Texas. Texas Loss Recap — First Half vs. Second Half (1:25–4:00) Riley’s overarching take: Happy with the first half. The score near the end of the half was huge. Lucky on the opening play and the interception (great ball by Arch, “one-in-a-million”). Second half: offense came out flat and defense came out flat, especially in the third quarter. By the fourth, the defense was gassed after back-to-back three-and-outs. Texas’s physicality and tenacity took over. Offensive game plan was lacking. Biggest individual disappointment: Peyton Pierce — not flying to the ball, not playing alert football. Riley wants the talented younger linebackers used now instead of kept “in the back pocket.” “If it’s the right guy, let’s show our hand.” Denzel notes he already went off on Pierce on the Sunday show. Garrison jokes that Pierce somehow had the highest PFS score (75.9 overall, 71 run D, 67 tackling, 73.9 coverage) — they treat it as a “nothing stat” because doing nothing means you don’t get dinged. Fan Overreactions, Ryan Day Heat, and “Better Team” Debate (5:15–7:50) Garrison addresses the postgame noise: Fire Ryan Day talk, people doxing Day’s house (called “really weird”). He compares his reaction to the 2024 Oregon loss — sat three inches from the TV, hands on hips, “Alright. Cool. Got it.” His view: Ohio State was the better team for 2½ quarters until the fourth. On a neutral field he thinks they beat Texas. “Good teams win, great teams cover” — and they did cover. Riley: Sad after the game but not devastated. Prefers an early loss so coaches actually go back to the film room and make personnel changes (unlike last year’s undefeated season where deficiencies were papered over). He’s been calling for Pierce not to start since before the season. Snap counts shown: Pierce 37, Tarvis 26. They want those snaps split more evenly among the three linebackers. Allegro wasn’t awful but wasn’t great; still better than Pierce. Clip discussion: Riley’s sack while Pierce was hanging out 5–7 yards behind him. Contrast in urgency and violence. “If you’re the middle linebacker you got to be the guy that’s crazy in the middle. You can’t just be hanging out like you’re a fan.” Garrison: A Mike linebacker has to be a field general. Pierce’s energy (or lack of it) reflects on the rest of the defense, especially late. Young Players Who Need Snaps (8:20–14:50) Poll in chat: Do you want coaches playing more young guys on both sides? Names floated: Brock Boyd (needs to rebuild trust after drops last week) Legend Bay — “coaching malpractice” to give him one touch in a game like that. Doesn’t matter that he’s a freshman. Christian Allegro — Garrison has said he belongs on the edge, not at Mike. Fast in a straight line, can rush. Coaches have given him snaps at the S position too. Riley: The two best linebackers on the team are obvious. Play them. Denzel’s wish list: Swap the linebackers Legend Bay at least 5 touches Chris Henry at least one pass a game Chris Henry and Boyd 1–2 targets Solidify RB2 (Jacoby Jackson is a strong runner) Isaiah West hype from the beat writers was not real — “anyone who thought he was challenging Bo needs to repent” Open to Legend Bay as RB2; blocking can be figured out later. He’s an extra weapon who can take it to the house. Garrison wants more crossing routes and slants to get the ball out of Julian’s hands quickly and build confidence. Receivers who can do something after the catch: Jeremiah, Devin McEwen, Brandon Ennis (sure hands, clutch catch in the game). They stress “workability” — elite teams need it on both sides. Position coaches (not just Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia) need to be pushing young talent. Freshman Social Media — “Free Deuce” (14:57–19:20) Riley flagged Instagram stories that have since been scrubbed. Legend Bay posted a sideline photo with “Free Deuce.” Hosts interpret it as a not-so-subtle request for more touches. They compare it to Ezekiel Elliott speaking up after the 2015 Michigan State los