SEC Network analyst Peter Burns explains why he’s picking Texas to beat Ohio State
By Luke Greco
Published:
ESPN’s Peter Burns picked Texas over Ohio State while recently talking with Chris Doering on SiriusXM’s SEC This Morning. However, Burns’ reasoning for picking Texas is not because of the players on the field.
It’s not because of the head coaches or where they are playing. Burns has concerns with Ohio State’s inexperienced college coordinators when going up against a talented team like Texas.
“The reason why I’m picking Texas to win is not necessarily because of the players and not necessarily because of the head coach or where they’re playing, but the coordinators and the consistency that Texas has that Ohio State doesn’t,” Burns said. “Matt Patricia hired, brand-new defensive coordinator, who’s never been a defensive coordinator in college, and Brian Hartline, who is going to be calling plays for the first time in his career.”
Matt Patricia is a longtime defensive coordinator who rose to the top during his time with the New England Patriots from 2012 to 2017. Patricia had a short stint as the head coach of the Detroit Lions before he went back to focusing on the defensive side of the ball. This is Patricia’s first college coaching job since he was an offensive graduate assistant for Syracuse from 2001 to 2003.
Brian Hartline has been with Ohio State since 2017, where he first started as a graduate assistant. Hartline made a name for himself as the wide receivers coach, where he developed talent such as Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave, and, most recently, Marvin Harrison Jr. In 2020, Hartline was named “National Recruiter of the Year” by 247Sports. This will be his first time calling plays as the offensive coordinator.
Texas is set to face Ohio State on Aug. 30 at noon ET.
