Eric Boggs
Nico must have heard The OHIO Podcast’s theme song and immediately got flashbacks to having his helmet cracked the last time he walked into the Shoe. You can click the link and listen for yourself, but apparently the rhythm alone was enough to send him right back into self-preservation mode.
According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, UCLA’s quarterback—yes, the only quarterback who has thrown a single pass for the Bruins this season—won’t be suiting up Saturday night in Columbus. Officially, he’s out with a concussion suffered in last week’s loss to Nebraska. Unofficially? Well, Ohio State fans might say he saw the Horseshoe on the schedule, felt a little tingle, and remembered how the last visit went when he was at Tennessee.
Symptoms reportedly didn’t show up until after that game, but the timing sure makes for some eyebrow-raising chatter in Buckeye Nation. This matchup was supposed to be Nico’s grand return to the place where Ohio State turned his helmet into modern art during last year’s College Football Playoff. Instead, UCLA will be trotting out redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan for his first career start—against a defense that has been devouring quarterbacks like late-night pizza.
Duncan hasn’t attempted a pass this year. In fact, he hasn’t attempted a pass in his entire UCLA career. That’s right: the Bruins are showing up to the Horseshoe with a quarterback whose stat line looks like a test pattern. Meanwhile, Ryan Day’s defense is currently playing like a group of wolves who skipped breakfast.
So while the nation tunes in on NBC at 7:30 p.m., Ohio Stadium will be buzzing, the lights will be bright, and the Buckeyes will be seeing an unfamiliar quarterback for the second straight year—just not the one they originally planned on cracking helmets with again.
UCLA walks into the Shoe hoping for a miracle. Ohio State walks in licking its chops. And Nico? Well, he walks in nowhere near campus. Probably listening to The OHIO Podcast’s OHIO STATE vs UCLA theme song… from a safe distance.
