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LGHL B1G Thoughts: The Big Ten’s running back renaissance
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B1G Thoughts: The Big Ten’s running back renaissance
JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
The Big Ten is loaded with running backs, plus USC’s ‘welcome to the Big Ten’ moment.
Every week after the Big Ten games, I will bring you some B1G thoughts on everything that happened! This will include analysis, stats, key players, moments, and more. With the Big Ten expanding from 14 teams to 18 teams in 2024 we will have a bunch of storylines to follow.
Ryan Day and Ohio State are all in for the 2024 season. Is Oregon a national championship contender or will they stumble in their first Big Ten season? How do the former members of the Big Ten West fair in the new divisionless format? We track all these storylines and more as the Big Ten hopes to win back-to-back national championships.
Check out the I-80 Football Show for more in-depth analysis and to preview the next week of B1G games.
The Big Ten has the deepest running back room in the country. Ashton Jeanty is probably the best individual back in the country, but if you were to rank the top five or even the top 10 after him, it would heavily include the Big Ten.
Looking at the national leaderboards, Kaleb Johnson at Iowa and Kyle Monangai at Rutgers are second and third in yards per game with 171 and 152, respectively. Ohio State doesn’t have the stats, but you could argue that they have the two most talented running backs in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.
Judkins had an 80-yard touchdown on Saturday, and had another 60-plus yarder that was called back the game prior. On Saturday, Tre and Quinshon ran for 249 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries.
Michigan’s Kalel Mullings is breaking out and just beat USC by breaking two tackles en route to a 63-yard run that put Michigan in position to score. I still haven’t mentioned Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen at Penn State, Woody Marks at USC, or Jordan James at Oregon.
Almost every team in the conference has a draftable running back — and some have two. This conference is going to be won by running the ball. Maybe you prefer stud quarterbacks, but this is the year of the running back!
If you want to know the difference between the Big Ten and the Pac-12, you could see that in USC vs. Michigan this past Saturday.
It is clear that USC is a better team defensively than in year’s past. It’s maybe not a good defense, but better — maybe the best that Riley has had at USC. It’s also clear that USC’s offense is pretty good. Miller Moss is not Caleb Williams, but he is an above-average quarterback who can make almost every throw and has a good mastery of Riley’s offense.
This USC team would be a major contender in last year’s Pac-12 with a defense that could play complimentary football with its offense. In the Big Ten, it lost a game to a Michigan team that threw for 32 yards. USC should not have lost that game, but Riley was not prepared for the Michigan rushing attack, and one offseason with a real defensive coordinator is not enough to rid the program of its defensive deficiencies.
Riley’s offense was vanilla and could’ve learned more from the Texas tape, and while their defense was good for the third and most of the fourth quarter, they could not dictate the game to a limited Michigan offense. Michigan is only one team on USC’s schedule who can do this, and while the Wolverines may have the more top-end talent, Alex Orji is maybe the worst quarterback in the conference.
USC may escape next week with Wisconsin on its back up quarterback, but Michigan just proved that USC can still be beat on the lines and that Moss will make mistakes if pressured. This team is not a legit contender in the Big Ten. They may be in the future, but not this season.
Michigan, welcome to the Tony Alford experience. You’ll become accustomed to the frustration that comes with watching a running back get fewer carries despite being better than the starter. You may not have much in common with Ohio State fans, but ask them how they feel about Dallan Hayden transferring despite looking like the best running back on the roster for stretches last season.
This isn’t the first time this has happened either. Alford doesn’t explain his rotation, but it doesn’t make sense. It has been four games, and through the first three games it was clear that Kalel Mullings was the best running back on the team, but Alford insisted on treating Donovan Edwards like the starter.
On Saturday, Mullings had to put the team on his back for a victory that may not have been so hard to get if he was getting all the carries. Against USC, Edwards ran for 74 yards on 14 carries, which is good for 5.3 yards per carry — a solid number and better than his average. But Mullings averaged 9.4 yards per carry, including the game-winning 63-yarder.
Over four games Mullings, has 53 carries for 429 yards, good for eight yards per carry and 107 yards per game. Over the same four games, Edwards has 50 carries for 224 yards, which is 4.48 yards per carry and 56 yards per game. It’s clear to everyone that Mullings is better, but Alford is continuing to split carries and it may cost Michigan a game.
Let’s see if he’s learned from past mistakes, but the trend seems to say otherwise.
Indiana is good. I know that they haven’t played anyone, but the mark of a good team is making bad teams look worse, and they’re doing that.
The schedule gets harder in the Big Ten, but not by much. We could be looking at a 9-3 or 10-2 Indiana at the end of the season. They play Ohio State and Michigan, but it’s no longer safe to assume that Michigan is a guaranteed loss anymore with all of the struggles the Wolverines are facing.
While looking at the future is fun and predicting what will happen is impossible, what we know for sure is that Indiana is 4-0, but they are not ranked. Even the Big Ten branding couldn’t get them ranked despite being behind five teams with at least one loss.
This is the problem that I have with the AP ranking. Outside of preconceived notions, how do we know that Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M or Boise State are better than Indiana? The only thing separating these teams is that the voters thought those teams would be good, and so they’re clinging to that hope while leaving undefeated teams out.
Is Indiana at Top 25 team in the nation? I don’t know, but I also don’t care. What I know is they’ve played and won four games by an average score of 51-9. This early in the season the top 25 should reward the teams that have won, not the teams who we expected to win but have early season losses.
The middle class has disappeared both in the economy and the Big Ten. For years the Big Ten was led by two to three top-tier programs nationally, and then a bunch of bottom feeders. It has led to the SEC being deemed the top conference, and a further separation between the two conferences.
Yes, winning all the national championships helped, but it was also the belief that the teams four through 10 in the SEC would beat everyone in the Big Ten outside of maybe Ohio State and Michigan. I would argue and have argued that that was not the case, but without the teams playing on the field and Big Ten teams not challenging for New Years Six bowl games, there was no way to prove whose middle class was better.
In the new era of college football with the 12-team playoff, we will finally have a chance for these teams to play. On queue, the middle class of the Big Ten is stepping up. The conference added USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA to increase the number of schools at the top who could compete for national championships. The depth of the conference in the middle was not necessarily the concern, but a rising tide raises all ships.
In the two years we were waiting for USC and UCLA to enter the conference, Nebraska, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan State all fired coaches and paid huge buyouts. Rutgers and Illinois went to known quantities with Greg Schiano and Bret Bielema before the change, but both schools are now multiple years into their rebuild and it is creating a conference that is strong in the middle.
Heading into Week 5, the only team with a losing record is UCLA, while Illinois, Indiana, and Rutgers are undefeated with big out-of-conference wins. Nebraska’s only loss came in overtime to Illinois, and Michigan State played a close game with Boston College.
For the first time in a long time, there are really good coaches in the conference and it is paying instant dividends. We thought the conference was getting harder because of Oregon and USC, but it actually may be that the conference finally has competent teams in the middle.
This season is going to be fun to watch, starting with undefeated Illinois’s bid to upset Penn State this weekend.
Follow The I-80 Football Show on YouTube: @JordanW330.
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JordanW330 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
The Big Ten is loaded with running backs, plus USC’s ‘welcome to the Big Ten’ moment.
Every week after the Big Ten games, I will bring you some B1G thoughts on everything that happened! This will include analysis, stats, key players, moments, and more. With the Big Ten expanding from 14 teams to 18 teams in 2024 we will have a bunch of storylines to follow.
Ryan Day and Ohio State are all in for the 2024 season. Is Oregon a national championship contender or will they stumble in their first Big Ten season? How do the former members of the Big Ten West fair in the new divisionless format? We track all these storylines and more as the Big Ten hopes to win back-to-back national championships.
Check out the I-80 Football Show for more in-depth analysis and to preview the next week of B1G games.
It’s the Year of the Running Back
The Big Ten has the deepest running back room in the country. Ashton Jeanty is probably the best individual back in the country, but if you were to rank the top five or even the top 10 after him, it would heavily include the Big Ten.
Looking at the national leaderboards, Kaleb Johnson at Iowa and Kyle Monangai at Rutgers are second and third in yards per game with 171 and 152, respectively. Ohio State doesn’t have the stats, but you could argue that they have the two most talented running backs in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.
Judkins had an 80-yard touchdown on Saturday, and had another 60-plus yarder that was called back the game prior. On Saturday, Tre and Quinshon ran for 249 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries.
Michigan’s Kalel Mullings is breaking out and just beat USC by breaking two tackles en route to a 63-yard run that put Michigan in position to score. I still haven’t mentioned Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen at Penn State, Woody Marks at USC, or Jordan James at Oregon.
Almost every team in the conference has a draftable running back — and some have two. This conference is going to be won by running the ball. Maybe you prefer stud quarterbacks, but this is the year of the running back!
Welcome to the Big Ten, Lincoln
If you want to know the difference between the Big Ten and the Pac-12, you could see that in USC vs. Michigan this past Saturday.
It is clear that USC is a better team defensively than in year’s past. It’s maybe not a good defense, but better — maybe the best that Riley has had at USC. It’s also clear that USC’s offense is pretty good. Miller Moss is not Caleb Williams, but he is an above-average quarterback who can make almost every throw and has a good mastery of Riley’s offense.
This USC team would be a major contender in last year’s Pac-12 with a defense that could play complimentary football with its offense. In the Big Ten, it lost a game to a Michigan team that threw for 32 yards. USC should not have lost that game, but Riley was not prepared for the Michigan rushing attack, and one offseason with a real defensive coordinator is not enough to rid the program of its defensive deficiencies.
Riley’s offense was vanilla and could’ve learned more from the Texas tape, and while their defense was good for the third and most of the fourth quarter, they could not dictate the game to a limited Michigan offense. Michigan is only one team on USC’s schedule who can do this, and while the Wolverines may have the more top-end talent, Alex Orji is maybe the worst quarterback in the conference.
USC may escape next week with Wisconsin on its back up quarterback, but Michigan just proved that USC can still be beat on the lines and that Moss will make mistakes if pressured. This team is not a legit contender in the Big Ten. They may be in the future, but not this season.
The Tony Alford Problem
Michigan, welcome to the Tony Alford experience. You’ll become accustomed to the frustration that comes with watching a running back get fewer carries despite being better than the starter. You may not have much in common with Ohio State fans, but ask them how they feel about Dallan Hayden transferring despite looking like the best running back on the roster for stretches last season.
This isn’t the first time this has happened either. Alford doesn’t explain his rotation, but it doesn’t make sense. It has been four games, and through the first three games it was clear that Kalel Mullings was the best running back on the team, but Alford insisted on treating Donovan Edwards like the starter.
On Saturday, Mullings had to put the team on his back for a victory that may not have been so hard to get if he was getting all the carries. Against USC, Edwards ran for 74 yards on 14 carries, which is good for 5.3 yards per carry — a solid number and better than his average. But Mullings averaged 9.4 yards per carry, including the game-winning 63-yarder.
Over four games Mullings, has 53 carries for 429 yards, good for eight yards per carry and 107 yards per game. Over the same four games, Edwards has 50 carries for 224 yards, which is 4.48 yards per carry and 56 yards per game. It’s clear to everyone that Mullings is better, but Alford is continuing to split carries and it may cost Michigan a game.
Let’s see if he’s learned from past mistakes, but the trend seems to say otherwise.
Rank Indiana, you cowards!
Indiana is good. I know that they haven’t played anyone, but the mark of a good team is making bad teams look worse, and they’re doing that.
The schedule gets harder in the Big Ten, but not by much. We could be looking at a 9-3 or 10-2 Indiana at the end of the season. They play Ohio State and Michigan, but it’s no longer safe to assume that Michigan is a guaranteed loss anymore with all of the struggles the Wolverines are facing.
While looking at the future is fun and predicting what will happen is impossible, what we know for sure is that Indiana is 4-0, but they are not ranked. Even the Big Ten branding couldn’t get them ranked despite being behind five teams with at least one loss.
This is the problem that I have with the AP ranking. Outside of preconceived notions, how do we know that Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas A&M or Boise State are better than Indiana? The only thing separating these teams is that the voters thought those teams would be good, and so they’re clinging to that hope while leaving undefeated teams out.
Is Indiana at Top 25 team in the nation? I don’t know, but I also don’t care. What I know is they’ve played and won four games by an average score of 51-9. This early in the season the top 25 should reward the teams that have won, not the teams who we expected to win but have early season losses.
Bringing back the middle class
The middle class has disappeared both in the economy and the Big Ten. For years the Big Ten was led by two to three top-tier programs nationally, and then a bunch of bottom feeders. It has led to the SEC being deemed the top conference, and a further separation between the two conferences.
Yes, winning all the national championships helped, but it was also the belief that the teams four through 10 in the SEC would beat everyone in the Big Ten outside of maybe Ohio State and Michigan. I would argue and have argued that that was not the case, but without the teams playing on the field and Big Ten teams not challenging for New Years Six bowl games, there was no way to prove whose middle class was better.
In the new era of college football with the 12-team playoff, we will finally have a chance for these teams to play. On queue, the middle class of the Big Ten is stepping up. The conference added USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA to increase the number of schools at the top who could compete for national championships. The depth of the conference in the middle was not necessarily the concern, but a rising tide raises all ships.
In the two years we were waiting for USC and UCLA to enter the conference, Nebraska, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan State all fired coaches and paid huge buyouts. Rutgers and Illinois went to known quantities with Greg Schiano and Bret Bielema before the change, but both schools are now multiple years into their rebuild and it is creating a conference that is strong in the middle.
Heading into Week 5, the only team with a losing record is UCLA, while Illinois, Indiana, and Rutgers are undefeated with big out-of-conference wins. Nebraska’s only loss came in overtime to Illinois, and Michigan State played a close game with Boston College.
For the first time in a long time, there are really good coaches in the conference and it is paying instant dividends. We thought the conference was getting harder because of Oregon and USC, but it actually may be that the conference finally has competent teams in the middle.
This season is going to be fun to watch, starting with undefeated Illinois’s bid to upset Penn State this weekend.
Follow The I-80 Football Show on YouTube: @JordanW330.
Subscribe to the podcast: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
Connect with me on Twitter: @JordanW330
Follow I-80 Football Show on Instagram: @I80FootballShow
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UNLV Rebels (Official Thread)
- By ScriptOhio
- College Football
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UNLV QB leaves program, hints at NIL dispute
UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced Tuesday night on social media that he will not play in any more games this season.
QB Matthew Sluka to exit UNLV, says 'representations' not upheld
UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka said he will not play any more games this season for the undefeated Rebels, citing "certain representations" not being upheld by the program.Sluka announced his decision in a social media post late Tuesday night and added that he will use his redshirt this year.
"I committed to UNLV based on certain representations that were made to me, which were not upheld after I enrolled," Sluka posted on X. "Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program."
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Sluka did not detail the reasons behind his decision, but college athletes are now routinely being paid for their name, image and likeness by companies or third-party organizations called collectives, which serve a particular school's athletes.
NCAA redshirt rules allow players to retain a year of eligibility if they play four or fewer games in a season. Sluka, who played four seasons (2020-23) at Holy Cross before transferring to UNLV this past offseason, still has one more year of eligibility that he could use at another school next season.
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LGHL You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State player needs to show improvement in Big Ten play?
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You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State player needs to show improvement in Big Ten play?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Ohio State has faced little resistance during the three games of their non-conference schedule, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 157-20 over the three games. The competition will start to ramp up a bit for the Buckeyes now that they are in Big Ten play. This week Ohio State will hit the road for the first time this season, heading to East Lansing to take on Michigan State, followed by contests against Iowa and Oregon before they have their second bye week of the season.
So far this season there have been a lot of great performances from Ohio State players through the first three games. There also have been a few players that haven’t lived up to expectations so far. If the Buckeyes want to make a deep run in the College Football Player, they are going to need everyone at the top of their game. As the famous proverb goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link.
Since everything can’t be sunshine and rainbows, today we want to look a little deeper at those who have underperformed so far this season. This isn’t meant to be mean-spirited and to get Buckeye Nation to start scrutinizing every little thing a player does wrong and call for them to never see the field again in the scarlet and gray. Look at this more of identifying some of the very few weaknesses some areas of the team have shown this year. If we can see it, there’s no question the coaching staff has also seen it and are working to try and correct some of the subpar play that has been shown at times during the first three games of the season.
While I know the question asks for one player, the tight ends as a whole have been disappointing, so it only feels fair to call out a number of them for their play.
Anyone playing tight end for Ohio State this year is going to have huge shoes to fill as they have to take over for Cade Stover, who was one of the best tight ends in school history. Out of the tight ends that have recorded a reception this year, the leading receiver among the tight ends is Ohio transfer Will Kacmarek, who has three receptions. Gee Scott Jr., Jelani Thurman, Bennett Christian, and Patrick Gurd all have one catch each. Christian actually has the best play from a tight end this season, taking a Julian Sayin throw 55 yards for a touchdown late in the shutout of Western Michigan.
With so many talented wide receivers and running backs on the field, it’s understandable why the tight ends don’t see many balls thrown their way. The biggest responsibility of the group is to help in pass protection and run blocking. Still, there have been a number of plays I have seen where tight ends have dropped a couple of easy throws during the first three games. Ohio State might be able to get away with these types of mistakes against Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall. The tight ends will have to tighten up their play against the likes of Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan.
If there is anyone in the group that I have some high hopes for the rest of the season, I’d put my money on Will Kacmarek since he does have plenty of experience after catching over 20 passes in each of the last two years for Ohio. Heading into the season I thought we could see a bit of a breakout from Gee Scott Jr. since he did find the end zone a couple of times over the last two years, but it feels like something isn’t clicking for Scott. At this point, I’d like to see more playing time for Bennett Christian since I think he has the most potential of all the tight ends on the roster currently. Christian might be a starter right now if he wasn’t suspended for the 2023 season because of testing positive for a banned substance.
It’s tough for me to pinpoint one specific player who needs to step up as we enter the conference portion of the schedule. The team has, objectively, been excellent, but as any analytical fan can tell you, the Buckeyes have not yet found perfection. So, as I go through Ohio State’s stats, there’s one guy who stands out as having room to improve that I think the team will need as the competition level increases and the Big Ten foes get tougher; linebacker Sonny Styles.
Now, Styles absolutely deserves a lot of grace when it comes to his play this season, and you had to anticipate that there would be something of a learning curve this fall. Styles is playing linebacker for the very first time having spent the rest of his career at safety. So despite all of the work and preparation that he has clearly done, he just lacks the game reps that many of the other players have.
So, I fully anticipate that he will continue to grow as the season progresses if for no other reason than that he will have a much larger sample of experiences to draw from. But, with the experiences that he has accumulated thus far, the Buckeyes will absolutely need better production as the level of competition improves.
Through three games, Styles is fourth on the defense in terms of total snaps (most for a non-defensive back), but he doesn’t have a lot to show for it statistically. He has a total of 10 tackles (three of which are solo) and none for loss. He has only been credited with one quarterback pressure on the season and has given up receptions 50% of the time that he was in coverage.
Against Marshall, inarguably the best of OSU’s three non-conference opponents, the younger Styles brother had the lowest pressure grade on the team and the third-lowest tackling grade after he missed tackles on three of his 10 opportunities on Saturday.
What makes the lack of production from one of your starting linebackers even more concerning is that moving into the Big Ten slate, the defensive line has not proven to be especially productive either. So, in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’s safety-focused defense, there are only two linebackers. The idea is that the front four should be able to take on the offensive line, leaving the linebackers to clean up everything else while the DBs are in coverage.
If the Buckeyes are going to compete against — and hopefully beat — the likes of Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan, they will need a fully functioning defense, especially if their best defensive lineman Tyleik Williams continues to be unavailable.
Sonny Styles has all the physical skills in the world, but he doesn’t have much experience at the position he is being asked to play. He will obviously get more of the latter with every game, but we just have to hope that’s enough to get him ready for the toughest tasks ahead.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
Ohio State has faced little resistance during the three games of their non-conference schedule, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 157-20 over the three games. The competition will start to ramp up a bit for the Buckeyes now that they are in Big Ten play. This week Ohio State will hit the road for the first time this season, heading to East Lansing to take on Michigan State, followed by contests against Iowa and Oregon before they have their second bye week of the season.
So far this season there have been a lot of great performances from Ohio State players through the first three games. There also have been a few players that haven’t lived up to expectations so far. If the Buckeyes want to make a deep run in the College Football Player, they are going to need everyone at the top of their game. As the famous proverb goes, you’re only as strong as your weakest link.
Since everything can’t be sunshine and rainbows, today we want to look a little deeper at those who have underperformed so far this season. This isn’t meant to be mean-spirited and to get Buckeye Nation to start scrutinizing every little thing a player does wrong and call for them to never see the field again in the scarlet and gray. Look at this more of identifying some of the very few weaknesses some areas of the team have shown this year. If we can see it, there’s no question the coaching staff has also seen it and are working to try and correct some of the subpar play that has been shown at times during the first three games of the season.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State player do you think needs to show improvement in Big Ten play?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: The tight-end conglomeration of Gee Scott Jr., Jelani Thurman, and Will Kacmarek
While I know the question asks for one player, the tight ends as a whole have been disappointing, so it only feels fair to call out a number of them for their play.
Anyone playing tight end for Ohio State this year is going to have huge shoes to fill as they have to take over for Cade Stover, who was one of the best tight ends in school history. Out of the tight ends that have recorded a reception this year, the leading receiver among the tight ends is Ohio transfer Will Kacmarek, who has three receptions. Gee Scott Jr., Jelani Thurman, Bennett Christian, and Patrick Gurd all have one catch each. Christian actually has the best play from a tight end this season, taking a Julian Sayin throw 55 yards for a touchdown late in the shutout of Western Michigan.
With so many talented wide receivers and running backs on the field, it’s understandable why the tight ends don’t see many balls thrown their way. The biggest responsibility of the group is to help in pass protection and run blocking. Still, there have been a number of plays I have seen where tight ends have dropped a couple of easy throws during the first three games. Ohio State might be able to get away with these types of mistakes against Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall. The tight ends will have to tighten up their play against the likes of Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan.
If there is anyone in the group that I have some high hopes for the rest of the season, I’d put my money on Will Kacmarek since he does have plenty of experience after catching over 20 passes in each of the last two years for Ohio. Heading into the season I thought we could see a bit of a breakout from Gee Scott Jr. since he did find the end zone a couple of times over the last two years, but it feels like something isn’t clicking for Scott. At this point, I’d like to see more playing time for Bennett Christian since I think he has the most potential of all the tight ends on the roster currently. Christian might be a starter right now if he wasn’t suspended for the 2023 season because of testing positive for a banned substance.
Matt’s answer: Sonny Styles
It’s tough for me to pinpoint one specific player who needs to step up as we enter the conference portion of the schedule. The team has, objectively, been excellent, but as any analytical fan can tell you, the Buckeyes have not yet found perfection. So, as I go through Ohio State’s stats, there’s one guy who stands out as having room to improve that I think the team will need as the competition level increases and the Big Ten foes get tougher; linebacker Sonny Styles.
Now, Styles absolutely deserves a lot of grace when it comes to his play this season, and you had to anticipate that there would be something of a learning curve this fall. Styles is playing linebacker for the very first time having spent the rest of his career at safety. So despite all of the work and preparation that he has clearly done, he just lacks the game reps that many of the other players have.
So, I fully anticipate that he will continue to grow as the season progresses if for no other reason than that he will have a much larger sample of experiences to draw from. But, with the experiences that he has accumulated thus far, the Buckeyes will absolutely need better production as the level of competition improves.
Through three games, Styles is fourth on the defense in terms of total snaps (most for a non-defensive back), but he doesn’t have a lot to show for it statistically. He has a total of 10 tackles (three of which are solo) and none for loss. He has only been credited with one quarterback pressure on the season and has given up receptions 50% of the time that he was in coverage.
Against Marshall, inarguably the best of OSU’s three non-conference opponents, the younger Styles brother had the lowest pressure grade on the team and the third-lowest tackling grade after he missed tackles on three of his 10 opportunities on Saturday.
What makes the lack of production from one of your starting linebackers even more concerning is that moving into the Big Ten slate, the defensive line has not proven to be especially productive either. So, in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’s safety-focused defense, there are only two linebackers. The idea is that the front four should be able to take on the offensive line, leaving the linebackers to clean up everything else while the DBs are in coverage.
If the Buckeyes are going to compete against — and hopefully beat — the likes of Iowa, Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan, they will need a fully functioning defense, especially if their best defensive lineman Tyleik Williams continues to be unavailable.
Sonny Styles has all the physical skills in the world, but he doesn’t have much experience at the position he is being asked to play. He will obviously get more of the latter with every game, but we just have to hope that’s enough to get him ready for the toughest tasks ahead.
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LGHL What Will Howard’s interception against Marshall tells us about the Buckeyes
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What Will Howard’s interception against Marshall tells us about the Buckeyes
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
In his first turnover of the season, we learned more about the Buckeyes’ strength than their weakness. That’s a good thing.
Ohio State starting quarterback Will Howard threw his first interception of the season this week against Marshall, and seemingly everywhere I look, Buckeye fans seem dismayed by it.
I’m not usually a glass-half-full kind of girl (it’s the Chicago sports fan in me), but in this instance, I think this interception actually speaks volumes about not just Will Howard but this whole Buckeye offense.
For those who missed the game, the play in question was a deep ball intended for Jeremiah Smith. From the looks of it, Smith never expected the ball to come his way, and when the unexpected pass was then underthrown, it opened the door for Marshall’s defensive back Josh Moten to make a play.
Was it the Buckeyes’ best moment of the season? No, of course not. Could Will Howard’s accuracy and arm on deep balls use some work? Yes, certainly.
But in spite of the fact that Howard hasn’t quite mastered this deep ball facet of the job, the interception tells us more good things about this Buckeye offense than bad ones.
You see, this is a Buckeye offense with so much depth, so many weapons, that they have the opportunity to play quick, aggressive, ram-it-down-the-field football. For the most part, their success rate with this style of play has been high this season.
It still comes with an element of risk, though.
Ryan Day himself said as much, telling cleveland.com, “We wanted to play fast today. We felt like that was the right approach and we did. When you do that and you’re creating explosive plays but then turn the ball over quickly, too, things like that can happen. That’s the risk.”
On the risk-reward scale, I’ll take the occasional turnover if it means on the whole, the Buckeyes’ offense is wreaking havoc on opposing defenses. That kind of aggression is going to backfire at times, but as long as it doesn’t become a consistent problem, a turnover here and there isn’t really cause for concern, especially when, more often than not, a play like that is going to pay off for a team with this many guys to throw the ball to.
You also have to trust that the Buckeyes understand when they can afford to be a little risky. The pass to Smith on Saturday was one of those times. Maybe Howard would do something different in a critical, end-of-game situation against, say, Penn State or Oregon. Early against Marshall, Howard could afford a little risk.
Howard isn’t making a pattern of it. It’s the first time it’s happened in three games, and he countered it by going 16-for-20 with 275 yards, two touchdowns in the air, and a rushing touchdown, bringing his season totals to 795 yards and six touchdowns to just this single interception (an interception that, for what it’s worth, also taught us a lot about Howard’s ability to maintain his composure even when errors happen).
Turnovers can kickstart a downward spiral if players let it get under their skin too much, but while Howard is not going around attempting to throw interceptions for fun, he managed to regroup quickly and then keep the Buckeye train rolling.
In post-game interviews, he seemed unfazed—not in a blasé or flippant way, but in a very level-headed and matter-of-fact one.
“It’s part of the game, and it’s about how you respond. I think we responded really well,” he said in a post-game press conference.
Howard, who is in his fifth year, is seasoned enough to shake it off. Mistakes happen to Heisman winners and first-round draft picks. They happen from the most consistent, reliable guys on the field. Everyone is going to make one from time to time.
He doesn’t want to make a habit of it, but he also wasn’t going to sweat it so much that it affected his mental game. That speaks volumes about his leadership.
It also speaks to the immense trust Howard has for his teammates, particularly Smith. Howard spoke to this in post-game interviews as well, saying, “I’m gonna trust No. 4 every day of the week, and he’s gonna go make that play.”
The reality is, this is a Buckeye team with so much manpower on the field, more often than not, that exact play is going to wind up in some ESPN highlight reel or Top 10 moments rather than resulting in an interception. It’s always going to be a bit of a gamble, so again, you don’t want to consistently put your defense in a sticky spot if turnovers become a regular thing.
But Howard knows Smith is a freak of nature. He knows he has guys like Smith, Emeka Egbuka, or Carnell Tate who will make the play. And he knows that on the rare occasion that balls end up in the hands of the other team, he can count on one of the best defenses in the country to do some clean-up.
One interception does not a crisis make. In fact, I’ll be more concerned about this team the day the Buckeyes start to play it safe with a team this loaded. Until then, let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill on a single turnover. It speaks more to this team’s strengths than its weaknesses.
Continue reading...
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
In his first turnover of the season, we learned more about the Buckeyes’ strength than their weakness. That’s a good thing.
Ohio State starting quarterback Will Howard threw his first interception of the season this week against Marshall, and seemingly everywhere I look, Buckeye fans seem dismayed by it.
I’m not usually a glass-half-full kind of girl (it’s the Chicago sports fan in me), but in this instance, I think this interception actually speaks volumes about not just Will Howard but this whole Buckeye offense.
For those who missed the game, the play in question was a deep ball intended for Jeremiah Smith. From the looks of it, Smith never expected the ball to come his way, and when the unexpected pass was then underthrown, it opened the door for Marshall’s defensive back Josh Moten to make a play.
Was it the Buckeyes’ best moment of the season? No, of course not. Could Will Howard’s accuracy and arm on deep balls use some work? Yes, certainly.
But in spite of the fact that Howard hasn’t quite mastered this deep ball facet of the job, the interception tells us more good things about this Buckeye offense than bad ones.
You see, this is a Buckeye offense with so much depth, so many weapons, that they have the opportunity to play quick, aggressive, ram-it-down-the-field football. For the most part, their success rate with this style of play has been high this season.
It still comes with an element of risk, though.
Ryan Day himself said as much, telling cleveland.com, “We wanted to play fast today. We felt like that was the right approach and we did. When you do that and you’re creating explosive plays but then turn the ball over quickly, too, things like that can happen. That’s the risk.”
On the risk-reward scale, I’ll take the occasional turnover if it means on the whole, the Buckeyes’ offense is wreaking havoc on opposing defenses. That kind of aggression is going to backfire at times, but as long as it doesn’t become a consistent problem, a turnover here and there isn’t really cause for concern, especially when, more often than not, a play like that is going to pay off for a team with this many guys to throw the ball to.
You also have to trust that the Buckeyes understand when they can afford to be a little risky. The pass to Smith on Saturday was one of those times. Maybe Howard would do something different in a critical, end-of-game situation against, say, Penn State or Oregon. Early against Marshall, Howard could afford a little risk.
Howard isn’t making a pattern of it. It’s the first time it’s happened in three games, and he countered it by going 16-for-20 with 275 yards, two touchdowns in the air, and a rushing touchdown, bringing his season totals to 795 yards and six touchdowns to just this single interception (an interception that, for what it’s worth, also taught us a lot about Howard’s ability to maintain his composure even when errors happen).
Turnovers can kickstart a downward spiral if players let it get under their skin too much, but while Howard is not going around attempting to throw interceptions for fun, he managed to regroup quickly and then keep the Buckeye train rolling.
In post-game interviews, he seemed unfazed—not in a blasé or flippant way, but in a very level-headed and matter-of-fact one.
“It’s part of the game, and it’s about how you respond. I think we responded really well,” he said in a post-game press conference.
Howard, who is in his fifth year, is seasoned enough to shake it off. Mistakes happen to Heisman winners and first-round draft picks. They happen from the most consistent, reliable guys on the field. Everyone is going to make one from time to time.
He doesn’t want to make a habit of it, but he also wasn’t going to sweat it so much that it affected his mental game. That speaks volumes about his leadership.
It also speaks to the immense trust Howard has for his teammates, particularly Smith. Howard spoke to this in post-game interviews as well, saying, “I’m gonna trust No. 4 every day of the week, and he’s gonna go make that play.”
The reality is, this is a Buckeye team with so much manpower on the field, more often than not, that exact play is going to wind up in some ESPN highlight reel or Top 10 moments rather than resulting in an interception. It’s always going to be a bit of a gamble, so again, you don’t want to consistently put your defense in a sticky spot if turnovers become a regular thing.
But Howard knows Smith is a freak of nature. He knows he has guys like Smith, Emeka Egbuka, or Carnell Tate who will make the play. And he knows that on the rare occasion that balls end up in the hands of the other team, he can count on one of the best defenses in the country to do some clean-up.
One interception does not a crisis make. In fact, I’ll be more concerned about this team the day the Buckeyes start to play it safe with a team this loaded. Until then, let’s not make a mountain out of a molehill on a single turnover. It speaks more to this team’s strengths than its weaknesses.
Continue reading...
K Austin Snyder (Official Thread)
- By ScriptOhio
- Buckeye Football
- 1 Replies
AUSTIN SNYDER, #98
- Position: Kicker
- Height: 5-7
- Weight: 194
- Hometown: Groveport, Ohio
- Last School: Groveport Madison/Findlay
- Year: Senior
• Austin is in his second season with the Ohio State program
• He enrolled in classes at Ohio State in June of 2023 after transferring from the University of Findlay
More on Austin
• Austin played three seasons at Findley where he was coached by Rob Keys, who currently is a special teams quality control coach for the Buckeyes
• Appeared in 29 games for the Oilers between 2020-22
• Made 31 of 40 career field goals with a long of 51 yards and was 105 of 111 on extra points
• Named first-team All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) in 2022 after making 15 of 20 field goals; the 15 field goals made set a Findley and GMAC record
• Had season-long kick of 48 yards vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
• Led the GMAC with 83 points scored (15 field goals, 38 extra points)
• Recorded 17 touchbacks on 63 kickoff attempts
• Twice named the GMAC Special Teams Player of the Week
• Was a second team All-GMAC performer as both a freshman and sophomore
• Earned 12 varsity letters at Groveport-Madison H.S.: four in football, four in soccer, three in baseball and one in bowling
• He set the school soccer scoring record with 61 goals, including 27 as a senior when he led the team to its first league championship
• Recorded 17 touchbacks on 63 kickoff attempts
• Twice named the GMAC Special Teams Player of the Week
• Was a second team All-GMAC performer as both a freshman and sophomore
Ohio State adds in-state kicker Austin Snyder from transfer portal
An Ohio native takes one step closer to returning home. #GoBucks
sports.yahoo.com
Ohio State adds in-state kicker Austin Snyder from transfer portal
May 15, 2023Ohio State football stayed busy in the offseason this weekend by adding an in-state kicker from the transfer portal. Austin Snyder, who spent the past three seasons at Division II Findlay, announced his decision to join the Buckeyes via his personal Twitter account.
Snyder grew up in the south suburbs and attended Groveport Madison High School where he was a multi-sport star earning varsity letters in four sports.
At the end of his senior year of high school, Snyder had heard from a few Division I schools but ultimately felt at home at the University of Findlay and with head coach, Rob Keys. However, in the spring of 2022 Keys took a position on Ohio State’s staff as a quality control coach. Snyder will be reunited with his former head coach in Scarlet and Gray.
LGHL Big Ten Top 10: Ohio State leads 3 conference schools in latest poll
- News
- 0 Replies
Big Ten Top 10: Ohio State leads 3 conference schools in latest poll
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 Jason Mowry/Getty Images
The official SB Nation Big Ten writers poll is the only truly unbiased poll any college football fan could ever need.
AP Poll? Shmay Pee Poll! Coaches Poll? We all know that coaches don’t have time to fill out a weekly survey, let alone watch enough games to make informed choices! That’s why your friendly neighborhood Big Ten writers from across the SB Nation universe have banded together to come up with the only fair, accurate, non-biased poll in all of college football.
Every week, a writer from the 16 sites covering specific B1G schools (lowly UCLA and USC don’t have SBN sites) will submit their picks, and O Basse from Michigan State site The Only Colors will compile them into the official SBN Big Ten Writers Poll
.
I will keep you updated on our selections here on Land-Grant Holy Land, and I will let you know how I vote every week because we believe in truth, justice, and transparency in journalism here in Buckeye Country.
There will also be a Player of the Week selected by the Big Ten writers and a Heisman Trophy leaderboard. So, without further ado, here is the post-Week 4 SB Nation Big Ten Writers Poll.
These rankings coincide with my Top-12 picks every week on the “No Fall Weddings” podcast in the Land-Grant Podcast Network feed, which you can subscribe to anywhere you get your favorite audio entertainment.
New episodes come out every Wednesday afternoon. “No Fall Weddings” is your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about the Buckeyes and the rest of the college football world.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25637251/usa_today_24290666.jpg "NCAA Football: James Madison at North Carolina")
Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Those numbers are eye-popping. The James Madison Dukes out of the Sun Belt Conference, outscored the ACC’s North Carolina Tar Heels 70-50 on Saturday, and their quarterback Alonza Barnett III had a week to remember.
He went 22-for-34 for 388 passing yards and 5 touchdowns, while also running for 99 yards and 2 more scores on the ground. The beatdown was so epic that Mack Brown told his team that if he couldn’t get things fixed, he would step down... which means that he will likely be the coach in perpetuity in Chapel Hill, cause dude ain’t ever retiring.
Others receiving votes:
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
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
The official SB Nation Big Ten writers poll is the only truly unbiased poll any college football fan could ever need.
AP Poll? Shmay Pee Poll! Coaches Poll? We all know that coaches don’t have time to fill out a weekly survey, let alone watch enough games to make informed choices! That’s why your friendly neighborhood Big Ten writers from across the SB Nation universe have banded together to come up with the only fair, accurate, non-biased poll in all of college football.
Every week, a writer from the 16 sites covering specific B1G schools (lowly UCLA and USC don’t have SBN sites) will submit their picks, and O Basse from Michigan State site The Only Colors will compile them into the official SBN Big Ten Writers Poll
.I will keep you updated on our selections here on Land-Grant Holy Land, and I will let you know how I vote every week because we believe in truth, justice, and transparency in journalism here in Buckeye Country.
There will also be a Player of the Week selected by the Big Ten writers and a Heisman Trophy leaderboard. So, without further ado, here is the post-Week 4 SB Nation Big Ten Writers Poll.
SB Nation Big Ten Writers Poll | Week 4
My Personal Top-10 Rankings | Week 1
These rankings coincide with my Top-12 picks every week on the “No Fall Weddings” podcast in the Land-Grant Podcast Network feed, which you can subscribe to anywhere you get your favorite audio entertainment.
New episodes come out every Wednesday afternoon. “No Fall Weddings” is your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about the Buckeyes and the rest of the college football world.
Player of the Week | Alonza Barnett III, James Madison
Those numbers are eye-popping. The James Madison Dukes out of the Sun Belt Conference, outscored the ACC’s North Carolina Tar Heels 70-50 on Saturday, and their quarterback Alonza Barnett III had a week to remember.
He went 22-for-34 for 388 passing yards and 5 touchdowns, while also running for 99 yards and 2 more scores on the ground. The beatdown was so epic that Mack Brown told his team that if he couldn’t get things fixed, he would step down... which means that he will likely be the coach in perpetuity in Chapel Hill, cause dude ain’t ever retiring.
Others receiving votes:
- Kaleb Johnson | Iowa, Running Back
- Kalel Mullings | Michigan, Running Back
- Blake Horvath | Navy, Quarterback (my pick)
Heisman Trophy Leaderboard
Continue reading...
LGHL Uncut: Ryan Day thinks ‘nobody should feel good’ about Ohio State’s team
- News
- 0 Replies
Uncut: Ryan Day thinks ‘nobody should feel good’ about Ohio State’s team
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
I think he might be embracing the Saban dark side a little too much here.
Throughout the year, the Land-Grant Podcast Network 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 | iHeart Radio
On today’s episode of “Land-Grant Uncut,” we are bringing you unedited audio from the Tuesday, Sept. 24 press conferences featuring Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and starting quarterback Will Howard.
During the media availability, Day gave a quick update on the day-to-day status of starting defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, provided his thoughts on OSU’s 49-14 win over Marshall, and then gave the quote that got Buckeye Twitter talking, when he said, “I don’t feel good about anything. Nobody should feel good about anything.”
Next up, Knowles discussed why he chose not to award a Defensive Player of the Game on Saturday, then got into his thoughts on his linebackers and defending running quarterbacks. Will Howard wrapped up by talking about his first interception as a Buckeye and his leadership role on the team.
Contact Matt Tamanini
Authorly: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
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
I think he might be embracing the Saban dark side a little too much here.
Throughout the year, the Land-Grant Podcast Network 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 | iHeart Radio
On today’s episode of “Land-Grant Uncut,” we are bringing you unedited audio from the Tuesday, Sept. 24 press conferences featuring Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and starting quarterback Will Howard.
During the media availability, Day gave a quick update on the day-to-day status of starting defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, provided his thoughts on OSU’s 49-14 win over Marshall, and then gave the quote that got Buckeye Twitter talking, when he said, “I don’t feel good about anything. Nobody should feel good about anything.”
Next up, Knowles discussed why he chose not to award a Defensive Player of the Game on Saturday, then got into his thoughts on his linebackers and defending running quarterbacks. Will Howard wrapped up by talking about his first interception as a Buckeye and his leadership role on the team.
Contact Matt Tamanini
Authorly: https://authory.com/MattTamanini
Music by: www.bensound.com
Continue reading...
2026 NV DB Jett Washington (Verbal Offer)
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 5 Replies
247
Rivals
Twitter
HudL
Class: 2026
Position: S
School: Las Vegas(NV) Bishop Gorman
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 200lbs
Login to view embedded media
Rivals
HudL
Class: 2026
Position: S
School: Las Vegas(NV) Bishop Gorman
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 200lbs
Login to view embedded media
