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'25 GA PF Caleb Wilson (North Carolina Verbal)
- By brodybuck21
- 2011 & Beyond Basketball Recruiting
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247
Rivals
Class: 2025
Position: PF
School: Atlanta (GA) Holy Innocents Episcopal
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 195 lbs
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Rivals
Class: 2025
Position: PF
School: Atlanta (GA) Holy Innocents Episcopal
Height: 6-foot-9
Weight: 195 lbs
Login to view embedded media
LGHL “We are tough enough to handle this”: Ohio State men’s basketball must dig deep to salvage season
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“We are tough enough to handle this”: Ohio State men’s basketball must dig deep to salvage season
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The razor-thin margins of defeat aren’t relevant anymore.
A red-eyed, scratchy-voiced Jake Diebler sat at an elevated stage Friday night, speaking into various recorders and microphones one hour after his team took its third consecutive loss by two-points or less.
Diebler’s first Ohio State team has put two blowout losses in the rearview mirror, and has been competing in tight contests for basically a month straight.
The issue is, they’re not winning those tight contests.
With Friday night’s 77-76 overtime loss to Indiana officially etched into the scorebook, Ohio State is now 10-8 on the season and 2-5 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have Purdue coming up next in Mackey Arena — a venue the program has not won at in nearly eight years.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25836230/usa_today_25109276.jpg "NCAA Basketball: Michigan State at Ohio State")
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
“We’re tough enough to handle this,” Diebler said.
“As a program and across the board, we’re tough enough to handle this. And we’ve got a lot of opportunities left.”
It’s true — Ohio State has 13 Big Ten games remaining, plus an opportunity for extra credit in the Big Ten Tournament, if they qualify. With the conference expanding to 18 teams this season, the bottom three teams will no longer compete in the conference tournament. In essence, those three teams’ seasons will be over.
Right now, Ohio State is in 16th in the Big Ten. If the season ended today, the Buckeyes wouldn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament or the Big Ten tournament.
Contrary to what you might think, Ohio State’s current state of misery is not reflective of a miserable brand of basketball. The Buckeyes lost by two points to a ranked Oregon team, by two points to a ranked Wisconsin team, and now by one point in overtime against Indiana.
Bruce Thornton has upped his level of play from a season ago, as has sophomore forward Devin Royal — who was not available Friday night as he recovered from a wrist sprain. Freshman guard John Mobley hit five three-pointers Friday night after hitting 13 in his last nine games combined.
The metrics that help determine NCAA Tournament seeding have loved Ohio State all year, and even with their eighth loss, still do. Friday night’s loss was OSU’s first non-Quad-1 loss of the season. They’re still No. 33 in KenPom, and don’t expect them to fall much deeper than 40 in the NET on Saturday morning.
Now that Ohio State is in 16th-place in the Big Ten, they cannot afford any more one-point or two-point losses. They can’t spend time after games explaining how “close” they are or how there are “positives to take away’ from yet another one-possession loss that was up in the air until the very final second of the game.
If Ohio State loses their next 13 games by two points, those who watched will know that the Buckeyes are a talented team that seems to make just one too many mental mistakes during each game, that ultimately costs them at the very end.
The people who don’t watch them very often will just know that they’re 2-18.
Is this Ohio State team resilient? Do they have the personalities on this roster to draw a line in the sand and recognize that even though it’s only January, the season is teetering? Diebler seems to think so, but the next two weeks will ultimately answer that.
Diebler was asked Friday night, point-blank: Is this team resilient, or is that still to be determined?
After a long pause, he cleared his throat.
“I do think we’re resilient, I do. Like I said, I think we fight, we play hard, we play tough, we need to play smarter. I think we are resilient, yes. And we’ll see that in the results column when we can play smarter. We’re not in these situations over and over and over again if we weren’t resilient.”
Purdue has not lost at home at all the last two seasons — the Boilermakers are 26-0 in their last 26 games at Mackey, which awaits Ohio State Tuesday. There’s a level of toughness that will be needed to win that game. Jake Diebler seems to think his team has it. Everyone else probably needs convinced.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
The razor-thin margins of defeat aren’t relevant anymore.
A red-eyed, scratchy-voiced Jake Diebler sat at an elevated stage Friday night, speaking into various recorders and microphones one hour after his team took its third consecutive loss by two-points or less.
Diebler’s first Ohio State team has put two blowout losses in the rearview mirror, and has been competing in tight contests for basically a month straight.
The issue is, they’re not winning those tight contests.
With Friday night’s 77-76 overtime loss to Indiana officially etched into the scorebook, Ohio State is now 10-8 on the season and 2-5 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have Purdue coming up next in Mackey Arena — a venue the program has not won at in nearly eight years.
“We’re tough enough to handle this,” Diebler said.
“As a program and across the board, we’re tough enough to handle this. And we’ve got a lot of opportunities left.”
It’s true — Ohio State has 13 Big Ten games remaining, plus an opportunity for extra credit in the Big Ten Tournament, if they qualify. With the conference expanding to 18 teams this season, the bottom three teams will no longer compete in the conference tournament. In essence, those three teams’ seasons will be over.
Right now, Ohio State is in 16th in the Big Ten. If the season ended today, the Buckeyes wouldn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament or the Big Ten tournament.
Contrary to what you might think, Ohio State’s current state of misery is not reflective of a miserable brand of basketball. The Buckeyes lost by two points to a ranked Oregon team, by two points to a ranked Wisconsin team, and now by one point in overtime against Indiana.
Bruce Thornton has upped his level of play from a season ago, as has sophomore forward Devin Royal — who was not available Friday night as he recovered from a wrist sprain. Freshman guard John Mobley hit five three-pointers Friday night after hitting 13 in his last nine games combined.
The metrics that help determine NCAA Tournament seeding have loved Ohio State all year, and even with their eighth loss, still do. Friday night’s loss was OSU’s first non-Quad-1 loss of the season. They’re still No. 33 in KenPom, and don’t expect them to fall much deeper than 40 in the NET on Saturday morning.
Now that Ohio State is in 16th-place in the Big Ten, they cannot afford any more one-point or two-point losses. They can’t spend time after games explaining how “close” they are or how there are “positives to take away’ from yet another one-possession loss that was up in the air until the very final second of the game.
If Ohio State loses their next 13 games by two points, those who watched will know that the Buckeyes are a talented team that seems to make just one too many mental mistakes during each game, that ultimately costs them at the very end.
The people who don’t watch them very often will just know that they’re 2-18.
Is this Ohio State team resilient? Do they have the personalities on this roster to draw a line in the sand and recognize that even though it’s only January, the season is teetering? Diebler seems to think so, but the next two weeks will ultimately answer that.
Diebler was asked Friday night, point-blank: Is this team resilient, or is that still to be determined?
After a long pause, he cleared his throat.
“I do think we’re resilient, I do. Like I said, I think we fight, we play hard, we play tough, we need to play smarter. I think we are resilient, yes. And we’ll see that in the results column when we can play smarter. We’re not in these situations over and over and over again if we weren’t resilient.”
Purdue has not lost at home at all the last two seasons — the Boilermakers are 26-0 in their last 26 games at Mackey, which awaits Ohio State Tuesday. There’s a level of toughness that will be needed to win that game. Jake Diebler seems to think his team has it. Everyone else probably needs convinced.
Continue reading...
LGHL Three prop bets worth taking a look at in the national title game
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Three prop bets worth taking a look at in the national title game
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Quinshon Judkins seems like a reliable money maker on Monday night.
I don’t know about you, but I have been thoroughly enjoying the College Football Playoff thus far, especially all three of Ohio State’s games. And with only one game left in the season, I am planning on enjoying it as much as humanly possible. Obviously, the Buckeyes winning the national title would bring the most enjoyment, but to juice things up, I have a bit of money riding on the game.
In January, I placed a $100 bet on the Buckeyes to win the national total getting +450 odds. Not a bad payday if that one comes in. Then, I’ve also got a parlay that’s a bit of a longshot, but something I could see happening. I’ve got under 46 points, OSU -2.5 in the first quarter, -7.5 in the first half, and -8 for the game. That first half number has me the most worried, but I was definitely betting with my heart instead of my head. It’s got +525 odds, so if it pays off, I will turn my $50 bet into $312.50, which would be a nice bonus on top of a Buckeye victory.
However, if you are looking for a few more exotic bets to tickle your fancy, I was poking around FanDuel’s sportsbook and found some fun prop bets that might be worth putting some money down on to give you a little extra enjoyment from Monday night’s festivities.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25836063/Screenshot_2025_01_17_at_10.41.25_PM.png)
It is fascinating to me that the Vegas bookmakers have three Buckeyes scoring touchdowns before the first Irish player on the board. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who was thoroughly stymied by the Texas Longhorns in the semifinals, less the way at -135.
That means that if you want to win $100 on J.J. scoring a touchdown, you have to bet $135. Similarly, OSU’s goal-line running back Quinshon Judkins is at -105. However, Treveyon Henderson — who we know can score from anywhere — is at +105. That means that if you bet $100 and Trey does score, you will profit $105 (in addition to getting your initial bet back).
Notre Dame’s top player on the board is running back Jeremiyah Love at +135. While he makes the most sense if you are going to bet on an ND player, he has been beat up in recent weeks and only rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries against Penn State, although he did find the end zone once.
The quarterbacks in the game — both of whom can run — are in the next pack with Notre Dam QB Riley Leonard at +140, given how important his running abilities are in the Irish offense and OSU’s Will Howard is at +320. Now, keep in mind that touchdown passes do not count to win this bet. It has to be the person who possesses the ball in the end zone.
If I just wanted to win some money and didn’t care about how much or the implied value of the bet, I would go with Judkins. He has become the back that Ryan Day and Chip Kelly turn to in goal-to-go situations, and I feel confident that the Buckeyes will have at least a couple of those in this game.
But, if I was looking for something with a little longer odds to make the bet worth my financial while, I would go with the Ohio State defense at +650. Obviously, we remember Jack Sawyer’s game-sealing strip sack-fumble-recovery-touchdown run in the Cotton Bowl against Texas, but there’s more to it than that.
While Leonard has thrown a respectable eight interceptions this season, against Penn State’s stout defense in the Orange Bowl, he threw it away twice on fairly ugly plays. So, given how aggressive Jim Knowles’ defense has been in the playoffs at generating pressure on quarterbacks, I think there’s a bet to be made on that one, especially given the potential return on investment.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25836135/Screenshot_2025_01_18_at_12.12.16_AM.png)
What I like about these props is that like the OSU defense scoring a touchdown prop above, all of the odds are long enough to make it interesting. Sure, you can take the safe bets like “Will Ohio State score a touchdown?”, but where’s the fun in that (ok, I will concede that making any money in sports betting is fun, but I want moooore fun).
Like above, if I was going to go with the player that I thought gave me the best chance of jus making money, I would stick with Judkins. I think Smith has a great shot as well, but we saw that a defense can effectively eliminate him from the game if they so choose, I don’t think the same can be said for Quinshon.
The Ole Miss transfer has scored two TDs in each of the last two games and is running with a ferocity that makes him invaluable in short-yardage situations.
But, again, if I’m looking to spice things up, I’d go with Carnell Tate. While Emeka Egbuka is probably a better bet to get two TDs against Notre Dame, Tate’s number is twice that of Egbuka’s. The senior wide receiver is set at +950 while the sophomore is +1900.
In the Cotton Bowl game against Texas, when the Horns put three guys on Smith on nearly every pass play, that opened things up for Tate to be the team’s leading receiver with seven targets for 87 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, but we know that if Al Golden’s Irish defense decides to key in on the freshman phenom, we know that Will Howard will feel very comfortable going to Tate; and that makes these odds intriguing. If you want to play it safe, you can bet just $10 to take home $200 (including your initial bet back). A $50 bet would get you a payout of $1,000.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25836069/Screenshot_2025_01_17_at_10.44.10_PM.png)
When it comes to what the Fighting Irish have been able to do on their early possessions in the postseason, a fairly obvious trend has emerged. Against the Indiana Hoosiers in the opening round in South Bend, Leonard threw an interception on the opening drive, before ND scored touchdowns on its next two possessions.
Then in the Sugar Bowl, Notre Dame punted on its first two drives before kicking a field goal, punting, and kicking another field goal. The Irish then closed out the first half with a touchdown. And finally, against Penn State, they went punt-interception-punt before getting on the board at the end of the first half with a field goal.
So, to me, it seems pretty clear that the play to make here is “Punt.” Again, at -145, that’s not going to bring you much profit unless you bet it big, but given that Ohio State has not allowed a touchdown in the first 25 minutes of any playoff game thus far, I’d feel fairly comfortable putting some dollar dolla bills, y’all on this one.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Quinshon Judkins seems like a reliable money maker on Monday night.
I don’t know about you, but I have been thoroughly enjoying the College Football Playoff thus far, especially all three of Ohio State’s games. And with only one game left in the season, I am planning on enjoying it as much as humanly possible. Obviously, the Buckeyes winning the national title would bring the most enjoyment, but to juice things up, I have a bit of money riding on the game.
In January, I placed a $100 bet on the Buckeyes to win the national total getting +450 odds. Not a bad payday if that one comes in. Then, I’ve also got a parlay that’s a bit of a longshot, but something I could see happening. I’ve got under 46 points, OSU -2.5 in the first quarter, -7.5 in the first half, and -8 for the game. That first half number has me the most worried, but I was definitely betting with my heart instead of my head. It’s got +525 odds, so if it pays off, I will turn my $50 bet into $312.50, which would be a nice bonus on top of a Buckeye victory.
However, if you are looking for a few more exotic bets to tickle your fancy, I was poking around FanDuel’s sportsbook and found some fun prop bets that might be worth putting some money down on to give you a little extra enjoyment from Monday night’s festivities.
Any Time Touchdown Scorer
It is fascinating to me that the Vegas bookmakers have three Buckeyes scoring touchdowns before the first Irish player on the board. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who was thoroughly stymied by the Texas Longhorns in the semifinals, less the way at -135.
That means that if you want to win $100 on J.J. scoring a touchdown, you have to bet $135. Similarly, OSU’s goal-line running back Quinshon Judkins is at -105. However, Treveyon Henderson — who we know can score from anywhere — is at +105. That means that if you bet $100 and Trey does score, you will profit $105 (in addition to getting your initial bet back).
Notre Dame’s top player on the board is running back Jeremiyah Love at +135. While he makes the most sense if you are going to bet on an ND player, he has been beat up in recent weeks and only rushed for 46 yards on 11 carries against Penn State, although he did find the end zone once.
The quarterbacks in the game — both of whom can run — are in the next pack with Notre Dam QB Riley Leonard at +140, given how important his running abilities are in the Irish offense and OSU’s Will Howard is at +320. Now, keep in mind that touchdown passes do not count to win this bet. It has to be the person who possesses the ball in the end zone.
If I just wanted to win some money and didn’t care about how much or the implied value of the bet, I would go with Judkins. He has become the back that Ryan Day and Chip Kelly turn to in goal-to-go situations, and I feel confident that the Buckeyes will have at least a couple of those in this game.
But, if I was looking for something with a little longer odds to make the bet worth my financial while, I would go with the Ohio State defense at +650. Obviously, we remember Jack Sawyer’s game-sealing strip sack-fumble-recovery-touchdown run in the Cotton Bowl against Texas, but there’s more to it than that.
While Leonard has thrown a respectable eight interceptions this season, against Penn State’s stout defense in the Orange Bowl, he threw it away twice on fairly ugly plays. So, given how aggressive Jim Knowles’ defense has been in the playoffs at generating pressure on quarterbacks, I think there’s a bet to be made on that one, especially given the potential return on investment.
To Score 2+ Touchdowns
What I like about these props is that like the OSU defense scoring a touchdown prop above, all of the odds are long enough to make it interesting. Sure, you can take the safe bets like “Will Ohio State score a touchdown?”, but where’s the fun in that (ok, I will concede that making any money in sports betting is fun, but I want moooore fun).
Like above, if I was going to go with the player that I thought gave me the best chance of jus making money, I would stick with Judkins. I think Smith has a great shot as well, but we saw that a defense can effectively eliminate him from the game if they so choose, I don’t think the same can be said for Quinshon.
The Ole Miss transfer has scored two TDs in each of the last two games and is running with a ferocity that makes him invaluable in short-yardage situations.
But, again, if I’m looking to spice things up, I’d go with Carnell Tate. While Emeka Egbuka is probably a better bet to get two TDs against Notre Dame, Tate’s number is twice that of Egbuka’s. The senior wide receiver is set at +950 while the sophomore is +1900.
In the Cotton Bowl game against Texas, when the Horns put three guys on Smith on nearly every pass play, that opened things up for Tate to be the team’s leading receiver with seven targets for 87 yards. He didn’t find the end zone, but we know that if Al Golden’s Irish defense decides to key in on the freshman phenom, we know that Will Howard will feel very comfortable going to Tate; and that makes these odds intriguing. If you want to play it safe, you can bet just $10 to take home $200 (including your initial bet back). A $50 bet would get you a payout of $1,000.
Notre Dame’s First Drive Result
When it comes to what the Fighting Irish have been able to do on their early possessions in the postseason, a fairly obvious trend has emerged. Against the Indiana Hoosiers in the opening round in South Bend, Leonard threw an interception on the opening drive, before ND scored touchdowns on its next two possessions.
Then in the Sugar Bowl, Notre Dame punted on its first two drives before kicking a field goal, punting, and kicking another field goal. The Irish then closed out the first half with a touchdown. And finally, against Penn State, they went punt-interception-punt before getting on the board at the end of the first half with a field goal.
So, to me, it seems pretty clear that the play to make here is “Punt.” Again, at -145, that’s not going to bring you much profit unless you bet it big, but given that Ohio State has not allowed a touchdown in the first 25 minutes of any playoff game thus far, I’d feel fairly comfortable putting some dollar dolla bills, y’all on this one.
Continue reading...
LGHL Visiting Locker Room: The Daily Collegian discusses Penn State women’s basketball
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Visiting Locker Room: The Daily Collegian discusses Penn State women’s basketball
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Penn State’s student newspaper takes time to talk a Nittany Lions team with a new focal point with offseason transfers out of University Park
The Penn State Nittany Lions lost a good bit in the personnel department in the offseason. Five-year Nittany Lion star guard Makenna Marisa ran out of eligibility, Ashley Owusu graduated without looking like she did as an All-American at Maryland and both Shay Czeki and Leilani Kapinus transferred to other power conference schools.
So, on Sunday when Ohio State women’s basketball arrives in Happy Valley, it won’t be the same kind of team that Buckeye fans are used to seeing, so Land-Grant Holy Land wanted to learn more from the experts at The Daily Collegian.
Noah Aberegg is the Collegian’s women’s basketball reporter and he talked about the emergence of transfer center Gracie Merkle, a familiar Big Ten name who swapped Michigan State green for Penn State blue, and if the currently winless in conference play Lions have any shot at the 15-team Big Ten Tournament field.
Land-Grant Holy Land: Head coach Carolyn Kieger had Marisa and Czeki for the past two seasons, and the Nittany Lions lived on their shooting, with Kapinus cleaning up rebounds and playing more inside. Now, Kieger’s team seems to focus on Gracie Merkle, the 6-foot-6 center who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. What does Merkle do for this side and how have teams slowed her down?
LGHL: A by-product of having that kind of interior presence is Moriah Murray excelling from deep. The sophomore had a lot of guards in front of her last season with the aforementioned leaders of that past side. How has she grown in her role?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25836445/usa_today_22555615.jpg "NCAA Womens Basketball: Penn St. at Maryland")
Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
LGHL: Gabby Elliot has not had a chance to really shine in the last three seasons, due to injury. The former Spartan is playing the most minutes of her career starting for the Nittany Lions. How has she filled in gaps left by transfers and graduation?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25836447/usa_today_25197206.jpg "NCAA Womens Basketball: Penn St. at UCLA")
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
LGHL: Penn State is one of the last remaining teams in the conference without a win, but to be fair they’re on a blistering stretch of games right now. They almost pulled out the comeback against the Oregon Ducks but then took the toughest road trip in college sports, going to Los Angeles to play two of the top five teams in the nation. Now they come back home only to get the No. 9 Buckeyes. Do you see Penn State picking up enough wins to earn a spot in the Big Ten tournament, with only 15 of the 18 sides going to Indianapolis? Which games are winnable from here on out for Penn State?
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Penn State’s student newspaper takes time to talk a Nittany Lions team with a new focal point with offseason transfers out of University Park
The Penn State Nittany Lions lost a good bit in the personnel department in the offseason. Five-year Nittany Lion star guard Makenna Marisa ran out of eligibility, Ashley Owusu graduated without looking like she did as an All-American at Maryland and both Shay Czeki and Leilani Kapinus transferred to other power conference schools.
So, on Sunday when Ohio State women’s basketball arrives in Happy Valley, it won’t be the same kind of team that Buckeye fans are used to seeing, so Land-Grant Holy Land wanted to learn more from the experts at The Daily Collegian.
Noah Aberegg is the Collegian’s women’s basketball reporter and he talked about the emergence of transfer center Gracie Merkle, a familiar Big Ten name who swapped Michigan State green for Penn State blue, and if the currently winless in conference play Lions have any shot at the 15-team Big Ten Tournament field.
Land-Grant Holy Land: Head coach Carolyn Kieger had Marisa and Czeki for the past two seasons, and the Nittany Lions lived on their shooting, with Kapinus cleaning up rebounds and playing more inside. Now, Kieger’s team seems to focus on Gracie Merkle, the 6-foot-6 center who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. What does Merkle do for this side and how have teams slowed her down?
LGHL: A by-product of having that kind of interior presence is Moriah Murray excelling from deep. The sophomore had a lot of guards in front of her last season with the aforementioned leaders of that past side. How has she grown in her role?
LGHL: Gabby Elliot has not had a chance to really shine in the last three seasons, due to injury. The former Spartan is playing the most minutes of her career starting for the Nittany Lions. How has she filled in gaps left by transfers and graduation?
LGHL: Penn State is one of the last remaining teams in the conference without a win, but to be fair they’re on a blistering stretch of games right now. They almost pulled out the comeback against the Oregon Ducks but then took the toughest road trip in college sports, going to Los Angeles to play two of the top five teams in the nation. Now they come back home only to get the No. 9 Buckeyes. Do you see Penn State picking up enough wins to earn a spot in the Big Ten tournament, with only 15 of the 18 sides going to Indianapolis? Which games are winnable from here on out for Penn State?
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LGHL Uncut: Jake Diebler after third consecutive close loss, “This is a resilient group.”
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Uncut: Jake Diebler after third consecutive close loss, “This is a resilient group.”
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Mike Woodson also spoke to the media and how he hasn’t heard any of the “outside noise” about his job status.
Throughout the season, Land-Grant will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
A little over an hour after Ohio State took its third consecutive loss by two points or fewer, a red-eyed and scratchy-voiced Jake Diebler spoke to the media about his team and the task at hand moving forward.
Diebler said that he does think that his team is resiliency, but that ultimately how resilient they are will show up in the win column in the coming weeks. He also said that he learned Devin Royal — Ohio State’s second-leading scorer — was not going to be available earlier on Friday. He said Ohio State missed his effort and tenacity on the glass.
Micah Parrish also spoke, saying that Ohio State has an opportunity on Tuesday to “show that we can win these types of games” when the Buckeyes go play Purdue at Mackey.
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson also spoke, dismissing criticism of his team’s recent results and saying he does not listen to the outside noise. He pointed to IU’s 14-5 record and said they’ve played “some good ball.”
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Mike Woodson also spoke to the media and how he hasn’t heard any of the “outside noise” about his job status.
Throughout the season, Land-Grant will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
A little over an hour after Ohio State took its third consecutive loss by two points or fewer, a red-eyed and scratchy-voiced Jake Diebler spoke to the media about his team and the task at hand moving forward.
Diebler said that he does think that his team is resiliency, but that ultimately how resilient they are will show up in the win column in the coming weeks. He also said that he learned Devin Royal — Ohio State’s second-leading scorer — was not going to be available earlier on Friday. He said Ohio State missed his effort and tenacity on the glass.
Micah Parrish also spoke, saying that Ohio State has an opportunity on Tuesday to “show that we can win these types of games” when the Buckeyes go play Purdue at Mackey.
Indiana head coach Mike Woodson also spoke, dismissing criticism of his team’s recent results and saying he does not listen to the outside noise. He pointed to IU’s 14-5 record and said they’ve played “some good ball.”
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
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LGHL Three keys to Ohio State beating Notre Dame for the national title
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Three keys to Ohio State beating Notre Dame for the national title
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
From playing fast to playing clean, there are some areas that the Buckeyes need to focus on to complete this magical season.
It is a battle of heavyweights, it is a battle of blue-bloods. On Monday, Jan. 20, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off in the championship game of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Through the first three rounds, Ryan Day’s Buckeyes have looked dominant on defense and explosive on offense.
For former OSU great Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish, the recipe for success has been all about leaning on a suffocating defense and a gritty, physical offense. While it is difficult to imagine either team going through dramatic changes in the week and a half since they last played, there are some things that the Buckeyes will need to do to hoist the trophy in Atlanta late on Monday night.
While Ohio State ranks as the No. 12 scoring offense in college football, the Buckeyes' approach to that side of the ball has changed dramatically this season. With a mind set on a deep playoff run, Day and strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti worked out a plan to keep the guys as healthy as possible for as long as possible. And it seems to have been relatively healthy as the team rolls into its 16th game of the season — a first in FBS football history — the Buckeyes are relatively healthy.
One reason Ohio State has gotten through the season fairly unscathed — save for the two major offensive line injuries — is that the offense slammed its metaphorical and metaphysical foot on the break. This season, Ohio State ranks 123 out of 134 FBS teams in terms of the number of plays per game, at 62.7. They are only ahead of offensively challenged teams like Navy, Purdue, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Army, Michigan, and a few other also-rans.
To accomplish that, Day and Chip Kelly have only rarely utilized any no-huddle or up-tempo game plans, reserving those almost exclusively for the ends of halves. While the strategy has been frustrating to watch at times — and counterproductive in others — the methodical nature of the offense has gotten the team to the precipice of a national title with the vast majority of its roster intact.
But now that they are here, there isn’t really any reason to keep the restrictor plate on. We have seen the Buckeyes execute impressive two and four-minute drills to end first halves this season, and while you can’t go with that speed for an entire 60-minute game, given OSU’s offensive weapons, it could allow them to surprise the Notre Dame defense, get them into advantageous matchups, and wear down a thinned out ND roster.
Beyond the schematic benefits that this would give the Buckeyes, Notre Dame is dealing with more substantive injuries than OSU is. In addition to the Irish’s leading sacker Rylie Mills being out for the season, the offensive line and starting running back are beat up. So, the faster Ohio State can go — and the less time they can give ND to rest — the better things will be for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State won the Cotton Bowl against Texas by a seemingly dominant score of 28-14. However, the Buckeyes benefitted from some timely big plays. But, the game could also have gotten out of hand early on had the Buckeyes not figuratively shot themselves in the foot early in the first half.
In the game, OSU was flagged nine times resulting in 75 penalty yards. That included a devastating unsportsmanlike penalty on TreVeyon Henderson that brought the Buckeyes’ promising second drive to a halt. Then a hold on Emeka Egbuka stalled OSU’s third drive.
That is extremely out of character for this Buckeye squad. On the year, they are 15th nationally giving up only 39.7 penalty yards per game, nearly half of what they gave away against the Horns. Notre Dame is an incredibly tough team, so giving away possessions via penalties could come back to bite them, especially since the NCAA has apparently passed a a new rule that says that Ohio State is incapable of drawing penalties, especially of the holding variety.
On the season, OSU ranks dead last in FBS in terms of opposing penalties per game. At 29.1 yards per game, there is more than a 10-yard difference between the penalty totals, meaning that the Buckeyes are giving away an entire first down every game, despite being one of the most disciplined teams in the country.
Hidden yardage — penalties, special teams, trick plays — will likely be very important in determining the winner of this game, and the Buckeyes can’t afford unnecessary penalties in a game of this magnitude.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has rushed for 1,122 yards this season, but due to a knee injury suffered against Georgia, he was severely hampered in the semifinal against Penn State, rushing for only 49 yards on 11 carries. That means that ND quarterback Riley Leonard’s running ability became even more important to the offense, even if the numbers didn’t necessarily show it.
While the total rushing stats don’t look good for Leonard (18 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown), that factors in the yards lost on Penn State’s sacks. So in total, Leonard had 15 carries for 45 yards — admittedly still not great, but on the season, Leonard has 866 non-sack adjusted rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
While the transfer quarterback can throw the ball, he is probably even more dangerous as a runner, either on designed keepers — which are a staple of this year’s ND offense — or on busted plays, as evidenced by many of these regular season highlights.
Now, Ohio State is no stranger to running quarterbacks, as the trio of playoff QBs Nico Iamaleava, Dillon Gabriel, and Quinn Ewers are all capable runners. Jim Knowles’ defense has done a couple of things against those guys to attempt to keep their running proclivities under control. One of those things is a natural evolution of the defense. Throughout the season, the Buckeyes have begun to move Caleb Downs closer and closer to the line of scrimmage with Lathan Ransom and Jordan Hancock handling the deeper safety responsibilities.
This has allowed the best defensive player in the country to use his athleticism to become more active and physical in both run and pass plays. This positioning — along with his vision, speed, and grit — allowed him to blow up Texas’ critical second-and-goal stretch run to the boundary that led to Jack Sawyer’s now-iconic scoop and score two plays later.
But it has also allowed him to keep contain on QBs, which I imagine he (and Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau) will be cognizant of at all times on Monday night.
The other thing that Knowles has done in these types of situations is allow linebacker Cody Simon to spy QBs who were likely running threats. We saw that against Iamaleava in the first-round matchup and it worked fairly well. Leonard is athletic but not a Justin Fields-level open-field runner. He is more of a physical, hard-nosed running QB. So I think this would actually be a better situation for Simon to spy than either of the first two quarterbacks OSU has faced in the playoffs.
However the Buckeyes decide to attack the Irish offense, it will be important that they make sure that Leonard isn’t able to escape pressure and extend drives using his legs. If OSU can confine him to the pocket — and make him pay when he leaves it — it becomes difficult to envision how Notre Dame would be able to sustain drives and score on the top-rated Silver Bullet defense.
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From playing fast to playing clean, there are some areas that the Buckeyes need to focus on to complete this magical season.
It is a battle of heavyweights, it is a battle of blue-bloods. On Monday, Jan. 20, the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will face off in the championship game of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Through the first three rounds, Ryan Day’s Buckeyes have looked dominant on defense and explosive on offense.
For former OSU great Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish, the recipe for success has been all about leaning on a suffocating defense and a gritty, physical offense. While it is difficult to imagine either team going through dramatic changes in the week and a half since they last played, there are some things that the Buckeyes will need to do to hoist the trophy in Atlanta late on Monday night.
Play Fast
While Ohio State ranks as the No. 12 scoring offense in college football, the Buckeyes' approach to that side of the ball has changed dramatically this season. With a mind set on a deep playoff run, Day and strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti worked out a plan to keep the guys as healthy as possible for as long as possible. And it seems to have been relatively healthy as the team rolls into its 16th game of the season — a first in FBS football history — the Buckeyes are relatively healthy.
One reason Ohio State has gotten through the season fairly unscathed — save for the two major offensive line injuries — is that the offense slammed its metaphorical and metaphysical foot on the break. This season, Ohio State ranks 123 out of 134 FBS teams in terms of the number of plays per game, at 62.7. They are only ahead of offensively challenged teams like Navy, Purdue, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Army, Michigan, and a few other also-rans.
To accomplish that, Day and Chip Kelly have only rarely utilized any no-huddle or up-tempo game plans, reserving those almost exclusively for the ends of halves. While the strategy has been frustrating to watch at times — and counterproductive in others — the methodical nature of the offense has gotten the team to the precipice of a national title with the vast majority of its roster intact.
But now that they are here, there isn’t really any reason to keep the restrictor plate on. We have seen the Buckeyes execute impressive two and four-minute drills to end first halves this season, and while you can’t go with that speed for an entire 60-minute game, given OSU’s offensive weapons, it could allow them to surprise the Notre Dame defense, get them into advantageous matchups, and wear down a thinned out ND roster.
Beyond the schematic benefits that this would give the Buckeyes, Notre Dame is dealing with more substantive injuries than OSU is. In addition to the Irish’s leading sacker Rylie Mills being out for the season, the offensive line and starting running back are beat up. So, the faster Ohio State can go — and the less time they can give ND to rest — the better things will be for the Buckeyes.
Play Clean
Ohio State won the Cotton Bowl against Texas by a seemingly dominant score of 28-14. However, the Buckeyes benefitted from some timely big plays. But, the game could also have gotten out of hand early on had the Buckeyes not figuratively shot themselves in the foot early in the first half.
In the game, OSU was flagged nine times resulting in 75 penalty yards. That included a devastating unsportsmanlike penalty on TreVeyon Henderson that brought the Buckeyes’ promising second drive to a halt. Then a hold on Emeka Egbuka stalled OSU’s third drive.
That is extremely out of character for this Buckeye squad. On the year, they are 15th nationally giving up only 39.7 penalty yards per game, nearly half of what they gave away against the Horns. Notre Dame is an incredibly tough team, so giving away possessions via penalties could come back to bite them, especially since the NCAA has apparently passed a a new rule that says that Ohio State is incapable of drawing penalties, especially of the holding variety.
On the season, OSU ranks dead last in FBS in terms of opposing penalties per game. At 29.1 yards per game, there is more than a 10-yard difference between the penalty totals, meaning that the Buckeyes are giving away an entire first down every game, despite being one of the most disciplined teams in the country.
Hidden yardage — penalties, special teams, trick plays — will likely be very important in determining the winner of this game, and the Buckeyes can’t afford unnecessary penalties in a game of this magnitude.
Keep Riley Leonard Contained
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has rushed for 1,122 yards this season, but due to a knee injury suffered against Georgia, he was severely hampered in the semifinal against Penn State, rushing for only 49 yards on 11 carries. That means that ND quarterback Riley Leonard’s running ability became even more important to the offense, even if the numbers didn’t necessarily show it.
While the total rushing stats don’t look good for Leonard (18 carries for 35 yards and a touchdown), that factors in the yards lost on Penn State’s sacks. So in total, Leonard had 15 carries for 45 yards — admittedly still not great, but on the season, Leonard has 866 non-sack adjusted rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
While the transfer quarterback can throw the ball, he is probably even more dangerous as a runner, either on designed keepers — which are a staple of this year’s ND offense — or on busted plays, as evidenced by many of these regular season highlights.
Now, Ohio State is no stranger to running quarterbacks, as the trio of playoff QBs Nico Iamaleava, Dillon Gabriel, and Quinn Ewers are all capable runners. Jim Knowles’ defense has done a couple of things against those guys to attempt to keep their running proclivities under control. One of those things is a natural evolution of the defense. Throughout the season, the Buckeyes have begun to move Caleb Downs closer and closer to the line of scrimmage with Lathan Ransom and Jordan Hancock handling the deeper safety responsibilities.
This has allowed the best defensive player in the country to use his athleticism to become more active and physical in both run and pass plays. This positioning — along with his vision, speed, and grit — allowed him to blow up Texas’ critical second-and-goal stretch run to the boundary that led to Jack Sawyer’s now-iconic scoop and score two plays later.
But it has also allowed him to keep contain on QBs, which I imagine he (and Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau) will be cognizant of at all times on Monday night.
The other thing that Knowles has done in these types of situations is allow linebacker Cody Simon to spy QBs who were likely running threats. We saw that against Iamaleava in the first-round matchup and it worked fairly well. Leonard is athletic but not a Justin Fields-level open-field runner. He is more of a physical, hard-nosed running QB. So I think this would actually be a better situation for Simon to spy than either of the first two quarterbacks OSU has faced in the playoffs.
However the Buckeyes decide to attack the Irish offense, it will be important that they make sure that Leonard isn’t able to escape pressure and extend drives using his legs. If OSU can confine him to the pocket — and make him pay when he leaves it — it becomes difficult to envision how Notre Dame would be able to sustain drives and score on the top-rated Silver Bullet defense.
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