An "improvement week" for the Ohio State football team doesn't mean fans suffer

After only two games, the first of two open weeks falls on Ohio State's schedule. For Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, this open week, dubbed an "Improvement Week", will allow the coaches and players to focus on designated areas of improvement.

When asked about Improvement Week, Day said, "We only feel like we're three weeks into the season, so we feel like we've got a lot to improve on. Trust me, there's a lot on the film that we've got to get better at...Everybody else in the country is playing this week for the most part, so we have to as well. We’ve got to get each other better. And so each player is going to be given things that they need to improve on from their position coach. We're going to work hard to go out there and practice and work on our fundamentals but also look at things that we may need to project out that we may need on both sides of the ball and all three phases.”

While Ryan Day, Chip Kelly, Jim Knowles, and the other coaches will use this "Improvement Week" to focus on specific areas that concern them, what does that leave for the fan base? After all, Ohio State fans are understandably going to be antsy about a lack of activity this coming Saturday.

Fear not, Ohio State football fans. Just because Ohio State is focusing upon "Improvement Week" does not mean that this coming weekend has to become "Irrelevant Week". Look at this weekend as an opportunity to channel surf throughout the day, as several upcoming Ohio State opponents will be on throughout the day.

12pm ET: Arkansas State at Michigan, BTN/Alabama at Wisconsin, FOX/Central Michigan at Illinois, Peacock

You may notice how I wrote the order of the games that I will be watching. I can hear you saying, "Minnich, are you crazy? You are telling me that you are going to prioritize watching Arkansas State at Michigan over Alabama at Wisconsin?". Yes, that is correct. Here is why ~

Remember, Ohio State is definitely going to play Michigan at the end of the season. The only way Ohio State will wind up playing either Wisconsin or Illinois is if either of those teams wins enough conference games to qualify for The Big Ten Championship Game. I would rather focus on doing some scouting and assessment of the definite opponents, versus the possible opponents.

Will I be watching during commercial breaks of Arkansas State/Michigan to see how Wisconsin is able to match up with Alabama? Certainly, but it would be fair to say that I have my healthy share of doubts, considering how I have seen Wisconsin struggle in the first two weeks of the season versus Western Michigan and South Dakota.

Getting back to Michigan, the Wolverines are favored by 23 points against Arkansas State. While I expect Michigan to win, I will be curious to see how the Wolverines look offensively, considering how they have sputtered against Fresno State and Texas. If the Wolverines do not get their offense untracked, it could be a long season up in Ann Arbor, which will be a delicious glass of schadenfreude to enjoy.

3:30pm ET: Oregon at Oregon State, FOX/Prairie View A&M at Michigan State, BTN/Notre Dame at Purdue, CBS

Here is another example of prioritizing, as Ohio State is scheduled to play all three B1G teams at some point this season. In the case of Oregon, the Ducks have not looked sharp, and this is a traditional rivalry game that is now a non-conference affair, versus an Oregon State team that ranks 5th in the country in rushing with nearly 300 yards per game. It could give Ohio State an idea as to how best to attack Oregon when the Buckeyes make the trek out west next month.

With regards to Michigan State, the Spartans have demonstrated that they have improved after the first two weeks of the season, and this home game versus the Panthers should allow the Spartans to build upon those strong initial efforts.

With Purdue, the Boilermakers are a 10-point underdog at home to an embarrassed Notre Dame that is coming off a 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois. Ohio State does not play Purdue until November 9th, while the Buckeyes will travel to face the Spartans (September 28th) and the Ducks (October 12th), so my focus will be primarily on those two games during my channel surfing for the 3:30 pm ET contests.

7:30pm ET: Indiana at UCLA, NBC/Northern Iowa at Nebraska, BTN/Eastern Illinois at Northwestern, BTN

As the evening progresses, these three games also provide Ohio State fans opportunities to watch three upcoming opponents. With respect to the Northern Iowa at Nebraska and Eastern Illinois at Northwestern games, both games are scheduled to appear on BTN, and both are playing FCS opponents. Similar to my reasoning from up above, Ohio State plays Nebraska on October 27th, while the Buckeyes do not face the Wildcats until November 16th.

On the other hand, Indiana will be playing at new B1G member UCLA for the first time, and I wrote about UCLA's transition to The B1G back in July. The Hoosiers are 2-0 under new head coach Curt Cignetti, while the Bruins did not look overly impressive in their season opener at Hawaii on August 31st. Indiana is a slight 3-point favorite, and this is the kind of game that both teams need to win to get to the magic number of 6 wins to qualify for a bowl game.

Is an "Improvement Week" something that Ohio State fans should necessarily be happy about in week three? Not at all. But at least the college football scheduling powers have provided ample options for Ohio State fans to entertain themselves channel surfing on September 14th until the Buckeyes return to the gridiron against Marshall on September 21st.