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2034 Futbol World Cup to be in Saudi Arabia
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Australia’s bid to host went down under
www.aljazeera.com
Saudi Arabia set to host 2034 FIFA World Cup as Australia drops out
Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup will go uncontested after Australia dropped out.
LGHL Ohio State should be the No. 1 team in first College Football Playoff rankings
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Ohio State should be the No. 1 team in first College Football Playoff rankings
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 Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Will the committee do the right thing and put them on top of the initial rankings? I have no idea, but they should.
The inaugural College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season are set to be released on Tuesday, Oct. 31 and for Ohio State fans, it should be far more of a treat than a trick. Through eight games, the Buckeyes are undefeated and are currently No. 3 in both the AP and Coaches polls, but when the CFP Committee announces their rankings on Halloween, Ryan Day’s squad should be the No. 1 team. Will they be? I have my doubts, but based on their resume, the Buckeyes have earned the top spot through the first two months of the season.
Obviously, anyone who has watched the Buckeyes knows that they are far from a perfect team, but looking across the landscape of college football this year, it is clear that no dominant team has emerged thus far so whichever team claims the top spot is going to have a few faults. The difference is that despite their struggles offensively, Ohio State has already amassed an impressive number of wins.
The playoff committee has a very specifically prescribed set of criteria when ranking teams that, in my humble reading, sets the Buckeyes up very nicely to be the top team tomorrow night.
The CFP’s website says that, ”The selection committee ranks the teams based on the members’ evaluation of the teams’ performance on the field, using conference championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and comparison of results against common opponents to decide among teams that are comparable.”
For the most part, none of those metrics really apply at this point of the season. There are still eight unbeaten FBS teams, but only five are actually in contention for a playoff berth: Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Florida State, and Washington. So, there are no conference championships won yet, and obviously, none of these teams have played each other, so there are no head-to-head results either.
The Wolverines did beat Indiana more soundly than the Buckeyes did, but OSU played them in Week 1, and Michigan was probably cheating when they beat the Hoosiers anyway. Otherwise, there are no common opponents to draw on. So, the one remaining major factor is strength of schedule.
On the raw strength of schedule metric through nine weeks, Ohio State is No. 15, the top team in contention for a CFP top-four ranking. In fact, most teams even in the discussion for a top-eight seeding are way back; only Alabama is in the top 30 at No. 8, and Penn State — which Ohio State beat two weeks ago — is down at No. 33.
With wins on the road against Notre Dame and Wisconsin and victories at the Horseshoe over Penn State and Maryland, there’s no team in the country that can point to as impressive of a slate of victories this season, especially since Ohio State really has not been in trouble against significantly lesser competition, like many of the other teams in the running for the top CFP spot have been.
Georgia has struggled against South Carolina, UAB, and Auburn; Florida State could have lost to Boston College and Clemson; Washington was in danger against Arizona, Arizona State, and Stanford; Michigan has played nobody... no really, their strength of schedule is currently 111 in all of FBS. While the Buckeyes have not been scoring as many points this season as in the other years of Ryan Day’s, so some scores are closer than normal, the only two games that weren’t decided by double digits were against the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions, two top-10 teams.
UGA is currently No. 100 in strength of schedule, Washington is 75th, and Florida State is a respectable-ish 49th.
Judging by strength of record — which measures how an average top-25 team would do against a specific schedule — the Buckeyes are No. 1. This metric is a bit more helpful in comparative conversations, because it factors in how well you played, not just who you played. So, unsurprisingly, this is a much closer metric.
Florida State is No. 2, Washington is No. 3, Georgia is No. 7, and Michigan is No. 9. Ohio State is still the top team here, but it’s a much closer discussion.
From a more in-depth analytical standpoint, OSU is currently ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s Football Power Index with Michigan at No. 2, Georgia is No. 6, and Florida State is No. 7. In fairness, the gold standard college football analytical model, SP+, has the Bucks at No. 3 behind the Wolverines and Bulldogs, but again, neither team has played no one to warrant the top spot in the CFP rankings, especially when we know that the committee values wins and resumes above all else.
The one thing working against the Buckeyes is that they are the least efficient team on offense that is in the discussion. SP+ has the OSU offense at No. 16, behind Washington (4), Georgia (6), Michigan (7), and Florida State (8).
Granted, the Buckeyes’ defense helps bridge that gap. They come in at No. 3 defensively with Michigan at No. 2, UGA at No. 5, Florida State at No. 16, and Washington at No. 32.
To me, I think that’s all close enough to come out in a wash — with perhaps the exception of UW. So, when you factor in the SOS and SOR metrics, I feel pretty good about the Buckeyes’ place.
While a lot of folks like to portray the CFP committee’s selections as good old boys’ backroom dealings, it is actually fairly regimented and standardized. For years, the CFP has invited journalists to sit in on mock seeding discussions in order for them to understand the processes that go into generating a set of rankings, and because of that, they have gotten very good at predicting how these things will shake out. And, no matter what you think about the media, I’m liking what many of the most esteemed members of the college football beat are picking.
If you watched the Ohio State and Wisconsin game on Saturday night, you know that the official NBC Sports prediction had the Buckeyes at No. 1 followed by Michigan, Florida State, and then Washington, with Georgia on the outside looking in. I’m not sure that I would have UGA at fifth, just because of the gravitas that they carry as the two-time defending national champion, but I’m certainly not mad at it.
Similarly, the NCAA’s official prediction also has the Buckeyes on top. They have FSU and Washington in second and third with Georgia fourth and Michigan fifth (which probably just adds more to the Michigan Man “The NCAA Hates Us” conspiracy theories).
Then Heather Dinich from ESPN, who is quite possibly the most accurate CFP committee prognosticator, also has OSU in the top spot. She has Florida State, Georgia, and Washington rounding out the top four (which probably just adds more to the Michigan Man “The ESPN Hates Us” conspiracy theories).
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 Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Will the committee do the right thing and put them on top of the initial rankings? I have no idea, but they should.
The inaugural College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season are set to be released on Tuesday, Oct. 31 and for Ohio State fans, it should be far more of a treat than a trick. Through eight games, the Buckeyes are undefeated and are currently No. 3 in both the AP and Coaches polls, but when the CFP Committee announces their rankings on Halloween, Ryan Day’s squad should be the No. 1 team. Will they be? I have my doubts, but based on their resume, the Buckeyes have earned the top spot through the first two months of the season.
Will Ohio State Be No. 1 in the First College Football Playoff Rankings of 2023?
Obviously, anyone who has watched the Buckeyes knows that they are far from a perfect team, but looking across the landscape of college football this year, it is clear that no dominant team has emerged thus far so whichever team claims the top spot is going to have a few faults. The difference is that despite their struggles offensively, Ohio State has already amassed an impressive number of wins.
The playoff committee has a very specifically prescribed set of criteria when ranking teams that, in my humble reading, sets the Buckeyes up very nicely to be the top team tomorrow night.
The CFP’s website says that, ”The selection committee ranks the teams based on the members’ evaluation of the teams’ performance on the field, using conference championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and comparison of results against common opponents to decide among teams that are comparable.”
For the most part, none of those metrics really apply at this point of the season. There are still eight unbeaten FBS teams, but only five are actually in contention for a playoff berth: Ohio State, Michigan, Georgia, Florida State, and Washington. So, there are no conference championships won yet, and obviously, none of these teams have played each other, so there are no head-to-head results either.
The Wolverines did beat Indiana more soundly than the Buckeyes did, but OSU played them in Week 1, and Michigan was probably cheating when they beat the Hoosiers anyway. Otherwise, there are no common opponents to draw on. So, the one remaining major factor is strength of schedule.
On the raw strength of schedule metric through nine weeks, Ohio State is No. 15, the top team in contention for a CFP top-four ranking. In fact, most teams even in the discussion for a top-eight seeding are way back; only Alabama is in the top 30 at No. 8, and Penn State — which Ohio State beat two weeks ago — is down at No. 33.
With wins on the road against Notre Dame and Wisconsin and victories at the Horseshoe over Penn State and Maryland, there’s no team in the country that can point to as impressive of a slate of victories this season, especially since Ohio State really has not been in trouble against significantly lesser competition, like many of the other teams in the running for the top CFP spot have been.
Georgia has struggled against South Carolina, UAB, and Auburn; Florida State could have lost to Boston College and Clemson; Washington was in danger against Arizona, Arizona State, and Stanford; Michigan has played nobody... no really, their strength of schedule is currently 111 in all of FBS. While the Buckeyes have not been scoring as many points this season as in the other years of Ryan Day’s, so some scores are closer than normal, the only two games that weren’t decided by double digits were against the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions, two top-10 teams.
UGA is currently No. 100 in strength of schedule, Washington is 75th, and Florida State is a respectable-ish 49th.
Judging by strength of record — which measures how an average top-25 team would do against a specific schedule — the Buckeyes are No. 1. This metric is a bit more helpful in comparative conversations, because it factors in how well you played, not just who you played. So, unsurprisingly, this is a much closer metric.
Florida State is No. 2, Washington is No. 3, Georgia is No. 7, and Michigan is No. 9. Ohio State is still the top team here, but it’s a much closer discussion.
How Does Ohio State Rank in Advanced Analytics?
From a more in-depth analytical standpoint, OSU is currently ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s Football Power Index with Michigan at No. 2, Georgia is No. 6, and Florida State is No. 7. In fairness, the gold standard college football analytical model, SP+, has the Bucks at No. 3 behind the Wolverines and Bulldogs, but again, neither team has played no one to warrant the top spot in the CFP rankings, especially when we know that the committee values wins and resumes above all else.
The one thing working against the Buckeyes is that they are the least efficient team on offense that is in the discussion. SP+ has the OSU offense at No. 16, behind Washington (4), Georgia (6), Michigan (7), and Florida State (8).
Granted, the Buckeyes’ defense helps bridge that gap. They come in at No. 3 defensively with Michigan at No. 2, UGA at No. 5, Florida State at No. 16, and Washington at No. 32.
To me, I think that’s all close enough to come out in a wash — with perhaps the exception of UW. So, when you factor in the SOS and SOR metrics, I feel pretty good about the Buckeyes’ place.
Who Do the Experts Think Will Be No. 1 in First College Football Playoff Rankings of 2023?
While a lot of folks like to portray the CFP committee’s selections as good old boys’ backroom dealings, it is actually fairly regimented and standardized. For years, the CFP has invited journalists to sit in on mock seeding discussions in order for them to understand the processes that go into generating a set of rankings, and because of that, they have gotten very good at predicting how these things will shake out. And, no matter what you think about the media, I’m liking what many of the most esteemed members of the college football beat are picking.
If you watched the Ohio State and Wisconsin game on Saturday night, you know that the official NBC Sports prediction had the Buckeyes at No. 1 followed by Michigan, Florida State, and then Washington, with Georgia on the outside looking in. I’m not sure that I would have UGA at fifth, just because of the gravitas that they carry as the two-time defending national champion, but I’m certainly not mad at it.
Similarly, the NCAA’s official prediction also has the Buckeyes on top. They have FSU and Washington in second and third with Georgia fourth and Michigan fifth (which probably just adds more to the Michigan Man “The NCAA Hates Us” conspiracy theories).
Then Heather Dinich from ESPN, who is quite possibly the most accurate CFP committee prognosticator, also has OSU in the top spot. She has Florida State, Georgia, and Washington rounding out the top four (which probably just adds more to the Michigan Man “The ESPN Hates Us” conspiracy theories).
Where Will Ohio State Rank in the First College Football Rankings of 2023?
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LGHL Ohio State is winning this year with new age of Tressel Ball
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Ohio State is winning this year with new age of Tressel Ball
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Even though it’s not the prettiest at times, it’s hard to argue with wins.
Watching Saturday night’s 24-10 win over Wisconsin was certainly frustrating at times. In the end, it’s hard to find too much fault with a two-touchdown win over the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, especially considering the history of the Buckeyes at Camp Randall since 2002. Ohio State had played six games in Madison entering Saturday night’s contest. The Buckeyes had lost two of those games and their four victories were all decided by seven points or less.
The victory on Saturday night had me thinking that this year’s team is closer to playing Tressel Ball than what we saw over the last few years with Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud at quarterback. Not that there’s a problem with that, since in the end, all that matters is the Buckeyes keep stacking wins ahead of the showdown at the end of November in Ann Arbor with Michigan. Hell, Tressel Ball won Ohio State a national title against one of the most talented teams in college football history.
After seeing Ohio State put up 30 points or more on a regular basis, this year has been a bit of a change for the Buckeyes. Already this season, Ohio State has scored 24 points or less in four of their wins. In the 17-14 win at Notre Dame at the end of September, the Buckeyes saw their record streak of scoring at least 20 points in over 70 games snapped. In the end, fans are going to remember the win over the Fighting Irish, not the streak of scoring at least 20 points in games.
When it comes to quarterbacks, Buckeye Nation has been spoiled. Fields, Stroud, and the late Dwayne Haskins were all NFL first-round draft picks. Just before them, J.T. Barrett set pretty much every school passing record. The recent lineage of quarterbacks might have set expectations a little too high for Kyle McCord. So far this season McCord has been largely fine. We have seen the first-year starter improve throughout the year, but there are also periods of inconsistency from the quarterback. McCord has more of a Craig Krenzel feel to him than that of Fields or Stroud.
One player that would have been fun to transport to some of those Jim Tressel teams would be Marvin Harrison Jr. Even though Tressel did bring some great wide receivers to Columbus, Harrison is better than Ted Ginn Jr., Santonio Holmes, and Michael Jenkins. While Ginn had speed like we had never seen from a receiver when he came to Ohio State, and Holmes and Jenkins possessed great hands and could make some of the clutchest catches ever seen, it’s like Harrison has the best traits of all three, along with the size to go up and grab the football.
There were two areas that really drove home the Tressel Ball similarities when I was watching Saturday night’s game. The first was what we saw from TreVeyon Henderson. You can tell how badly Ryan Day wants his team to be able to run the football so people like Lou Holtz don’t criticize the toughness of Ohio State. The Buckeyes can do just that when they have a healthy Henderson lining up in the backfield. The junior running back carried the football 24 times for 162 yards and a score against the Badgers.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25042267/usa_today_21764842.jpg)
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Nothing against Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams since those two running backs certainly run tough, they just don’t have the vision or the speed of Henderson. The Ohio State offense operates at a whole different dynamic when Henderson is on the field. Somehow Henderson can take the smallest hole and turn it into a 20 or 30-yard gain. When he is on the field, just the presence of Henderson can take a lot of pressure off of McCord, since opposing defenses have to respect Henderson a lot more than they did Trayanum or Williams.
The other area for Ohio State that gives this team more of a Tressel Ball feel is the defense. While there was one drive where the defense looked clueless in the third quarter, other than that they gave up pretty much nothing to Wisconsin, holding the Badgers under 300 yards of offense. After a number of years of fans clamoring for the return of the “Silver Bullets,” now it’s pretty obvious that the group is back.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25044849/usa_today_21773351.jpg "NCAA Football: Ohio State at Wisconsin")
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Unlike past years where the Bosa brothers and Chase Young were the stars of the Ohio State defense, this year’s defense is driven by the secondary. After closing out last year by giving up big plays to Michigan and Georgia, this year’s team has yet to give up a play of at least 40 yards. There are moments when the defense bends, but they have yet to break. So far this season, Ohio State hasn’t given up more than 17 points in a game.
Can this Ohio State win the national championship? Did anybody really think the 2002 team could win the title at this point of the season? If there was ever a year that the Buckeyes could win a championship with new-age Tressel Ball, this would be the year. We still don’t truly know what Michigan was since the Wolverines haven’t played anyone, and things could be a little different now that they don’t have Connor Stalions attending every game he can to try and steal the signs of opponents. So far this year, no team has truly stood out as the dominant team in college football, which works in the favor of the Buckeyes, who have already won two games against top-10 teams and won under the lights in Madison.
Much like teams under Jim Tressel, there are going to be some frustrating games. At the time Buckeye Nation (myself included) will act like the sky is falling. We just have to trust that the team will get things figured out in-game. They did in the win at Notre Dame, and they were able to respond when Wisconsin tied the game in the second half. Responding to adversity is the Tressel Ball way. We just have to learn to embrace it again.
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
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Even though it’s not the prettiest at times, it’s hard to argue with wins.
Watching Saturday night’s 24-10 win over Wisconsin was certainly frustrating at times. In the end, it’s hard to find too much fault with a two-touchdown win over the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, especially considering the history of the Buckeyes at Camp Randall since 2002. Ohio State had played six games in Madison entering Saturday night’s contest. The Buckeyes had lost two of those games and their four victories were all decided by seven points or less.
The victory on Saturday night had me thinking that this year’s team is closer to playing Tressel Ball than what we saw over the last few years with Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud at quarterback. Not that there’s a problem with that, since in the end, all that matters is the Buckeyes keep stacking wins ahead of the showdown at the end of November in Ann Arbor with Michigan. Hell, Tressel Ball won Ohio State a national title against one of the most talented teams in college football history.
After seeing Ohio State put up 30 points or more on a regular basis, this year has been a bit of a change for the Buckeyes. Already this season, Ohio State has scored 24 points or less in four of their wins. In the 17-14 win at Notre Dame at the end of September, the Buckeyes saw their record streak of scoring at least 20 points in over 70 games snapped. In the end, fans are going to remember the win over the Fighting Irish, not the streak of scoring at least 20 points in games.
When it comes to quarterbacks, Buckeye Nation has been spoiled. Fields, Stroud, and the late Dwayne Haskins were all NFL first-round draft picks. Just before them, J.T. Barrett set pretty much every school passing record. The recent lineage of quarterbacks might have set expectations a little too high for Kyle McCord. So far this season McCord has been largely fine. We have seen the first-year starter improve throughout the year, but there are also periods of inconsistency from the quarterback. McCord has more of a Craig Krenzel feel to him than that of Fields or Stroud.
One player that would have been fun to transport to some of those Jim Tressel teams would be Marvin Harrison Jr. Even though Tressel did bring some great wide receivers to Columbus, Harrison is better than Ted Ginn Jr., Santonio Holmes, and Michael Jenkins. While Ginn had speed like we had never seen from a receiver when he came to Ohio State, and Holmes and Jenkins possessed great hands and could make some of the clutchest catches ever seen, it’s like Harrison has the best traits of all three, along with the size to go up and grab the football.
There were two areas that really drove home the Tressel Ball similarities when I was watching Saturday night’s game. The first was what we saw from TreVeyon Henderson. You can tell how badly Ryan Day wants his team to be able to run the football so people like Lou Holtz don’t criticize the toughness of Ohio State. The Buckeyes can do just that when they have a healthy Henderson lining up in the backfield. The junior running back carried the football 24 times for 162 yards and a score against the Badgers.
Nothing against Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams since those two running backs certainly run tough, they just don’t have the vision or the speed of Henderson. The Ohio State offense operates at a whole different dynamic when Henderson is on the field. Somehow Henderson can take the smallest hole and turn it into a 20 or 30-yard gain. When he is on the field, just the presence of Henderson can take a lot of pressure off of McCord, since opposing defenses have to respect Henderson a lot more than they did Trayanum or Williams.
The other area for Ohio State that gives this team more of a Tressel Ball feel is the defense. While there was one drive where the defense looked clueless in the third quarter, other than that they gave up pretty much nothing to Wisconsin, holding the Badgers under 300 yards of offense. After a number of years of fans clamoring for the return of the “Silver Bullets,” now it’s pretty obvious that the group is back.
Unlike past years where the Bosa brothers and Chase Young were the stars of the Ohio State defense, this year’s defense is driven by the secondary. After closing out last year by giving up big plays to Michigan and Georgia, this year’s team has yet to give up a play of at least 40 yards. There are moments when the defense bends, but they have yet to break. So far this season, Ohio State hasn’t given up more than 17 points in a game.
Can this Ohio State win the national championship? Did anybody really think the 2002 team could win the title at this point of the season? If there was ever a year that the Buckeyes could win a championship with new-age Tressel Ball, this would be the year. We still don’t truly know what Michigan was since the Wolverines haven’t played anyone, and things could be a little different now that they don’t have Connor Stalions attending every game he can to try and steal the signs of opponents. So far this year, no team has truly stood out as the dominant team in college football, which works in the favor of the Buckeyes, who have already won two games against top-10 teams and won under the lights in Madison.
Much like teams under Jim Tressel, there are going to be some frustrating games. At the time Buckeye Nation (myself included) will act like the sky is falling. We just have to trust that the team will get things figured out in-game. They did in the win at Notre Dame, and they were able to respond when Wisconsin tied the game in the second half. Responding to adversity is the Tressel Ball way. We just have to learn to embrace it again.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State opens as 18-point favorites over Rutgers
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Ohio State opens as 18-point favorites over Rutgers
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The Buckeyes travel to Piscataway to take on the bowl eligible Scarlet Knights.
Ohio State took down Wisconsin 24-10 at Camp Randall on Saturday, and while the way they’ve gotten there each week definitely hasn't been perfect, the Buckeyes’ record remains unblemished at 8-0. Rutgers, meanwhile, is putting together a fantastic campaign under Greg Schiano, sitting at 6-2 on the year and reaching bowl eligibility with still four games left on the regular season schedule. The two teams will meet this weekend in Piscataway in what should be one of the closer matchups between these programs in their 10th meeting all-time.
All lines courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Despite being now eight games into the season, Ohio State’s offense still doesn’t quite look like the Ohio State offense we have become accustomed to under Ryan Day. The unit isn’t bad by any means, averaging 32.5 points per game — good for 38th in the country — but obviously, more is to be expected. Kyle McCord’s inconsistent play and a lackluster offensive line has played a large role in the team’s shortcomings, but Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson, when healthy, have been two of the best players in the country at their positions. Throw in the hopeful return of Emeka Egbuka this Saturday, and there is still reason to believe the offense can hit a new gear.
Defensively, the Buckeyes have simply been one of the best in the nation. Jim Knowles’ group currently ranks No. 2 in all of FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 10 points per game. All three levels have really thrived this season, with star players like J.T. Tuimoloau, Tommy Eichenberg and Denzel Burke to anchor each group. Ohio State as a whole is allowing less than 100 yards rushing and just 160.3 yards passing per contest, and while they haven’t done a ton in terms of taking the ball away or creating havoc plays, the bend-don't-break style has certainly done its job.
On the other side, this is not your older brother’s Rutgers team! With still four games remaining in the regular season, the Scarlet Knights’ three in-conference victories are tied for the most ever in program history since they joined the Big Ten in 2014. Even if Rutgers were to lose each of its remaining four games — which could happen with Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State and Maryland left on the docket — it would still be the program’s best season since going 8-5 in 2014.
Rutgers has been one of the best rushing teams in the Big Ten, thanks largely in part to Kyle Monangai’s 744 yards and seven touchdowns and the dual-threat ability of quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, but the Scarlet Knights have not passed the ball well, averaging less than 150 yards through the air per game. Still, they have found a way to get on the scoreboard, averaging 28.1 points per contest to rank fifth in the B1G. That being said, they did struggle against the two best teams they’ve played thus far, scoring just seven points in a 52-7 blowout loss to Michigan and 13 in a 24-13 loss to Wisconsin.
The Scarlet Knights have been surprisingly sturdy on defense, although I guess that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given Greg Schiano’s background. Rutgers is actually No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing yards allowed, giving up just 156.3 yards per game through the air — slightly better than Ohio State! Top cover corner Max Melton will likely be in charge of trying to slow down Harrison Jr. on Saturday, but Robert Longerbeam is no slouch in that secondary either. Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey have led the charge up front, as the duo as combined for six sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
The series between Ohio State and Rutgers has never been close, with the Buckeyes winning all nine meetings by an average margin of 41 points. As indicated by the spread, this matchup has the potential to be the closest game these two teams have played yet. Ohio State is still favored by three scores and should ultimately win the game, but it likely won't be another 58-0 or 56-0 final like we saw back in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The smallest margin between the two teams to this point has been 22 points in a 49-27 win for OSU in 2020 during the COVID-shortened season, and Rutgers should be competitive yet again this time around.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The Buckeyes travel to Piscataway to take on the bowl eligible Scarlet Knights.
Ohio State took down Wisconsin 24-10 at Camp Randall on Saturday, and while the way they’ve gotten there each week definitely hasn't been perfect, the Buckeyes’ record remains unblemished at 8-0. Rutgers, meanwhile, is putting together a fantastic campaign under Greg Schiano, sitting at 6-2 on the year and reaching bowl eligibility with still four games left on the regular season schedule. The two teams will meet this weekend in Piscataway in what should be one of the closer matchups between these programs in their 10th meeting all-time.
All lines courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread: Ohio State -18
Despite being now eight games into the season, Ohio State’s offense still doesn’t quite look like the Ohio State offense we have become accustomed to under Ryan Day. The unit isn’t bad by any means, averaging 32.5 points per game — good for 38th in the country — but obviously, more is to be expected. Kyle McCord’s inconsistent play and a lackluster offensive line has played a large role in the team’s shortcomings, but Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson, when healthy, have been two of the best players in the country at their positions. Throw in the hopeful return of Emeka Egbuka this Saturday, and there is still reason to believe the offense can hit a new gear.
Defensively, the Buckeyes have simply been one of the best in the nation. Jim Knowles’ group currently ranks No. 2 in all of FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 10 points per game. All three levels have really thrived this season, with star players like J.T. Tuimoloau, Tommy Eichenberg and Denzel Burke to anchor each group. Ohio State as a whole is allowing less than 100 yards rushing and just 160.3 yards passing per contest, and while they haven’t done a ton in terms of taking the ball away or creating havoc plays, the bend-don't-break style has certainly done its job.
On the other side, this is not your older brother’s Rutgers team! With still four games remaining in the regular season, the Scarlet Knights’ three in-conference victories are tied for the most ever in program history since they joined the Big Ten in 2014. Even if Rutgers were to lose each of its remaining four games — which could happen with Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State and Maryland left on the docket — it would still be the program’s best season since going 8-5 in 2014.
Rutgers has been one of the best rushing teams in the Big Ten, thanks largely in part to Kyle Monangai’s 744 yards and seven touchdowns and the dual-threat ability of quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, but the Scarlet Knights have not passed the ball well, averaging less than 150 yards through the air per game. Still, they have found a way to get on the scoreboard, averaging 28.1 points per contest to rank fifth in the B1G. That being said, they did struggle against the two best teams they’ve played thus far, scoring just seven points in a 52-7 blowout loss to Michigan and 13 in a 24-13 loss to Wisconsin.
The Scarlet Knights have been surprisingly sturdy on defense, although I guess that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given Greg Schiano’s background. Rutgers is actually No. 2 in the Big Ten in passing yards allowed, giving up just 156.3 yards per game through the air — slightly better than Ohio State! Top cover corner Max Melton will likely be in charge of trying to slow down Harrison Jr. on Saturday, but Robert Longerbeam is no slouch in that secondary either. Aaron Lewis and Wesley Bailey have led the charge up front, as the duo as combined for six sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
The series between Ohio State and Rutgers has never been close, with the Buckeyes winning all nine meetings by an average margin of 41 points. As indicated by the spread, this matchup has the potential to be the closest game these two teams have played yet. Ohio State is still favored by three scores and should ultimately win the game, but it likely won't be another 58-0 or 56-0 final like we saw back in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The smallest margin between the two teams to this point has been 22 points in a 49-27 win for OSU in 2020 during the COVID-shortened season, and Rutgers should be competitive yet again this time around.
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State women’s basketball 2023-24 player preview: Faith Carson
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Ohio State women’s basketball 2023-24 player preview: Faith Carson
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes add a freshman big to the roster this year. Can she earn minutes in a crowded restricted area?
Entering the 2023-24 season, the Ohio State women's basketball team added two out-of-state freshmen. Point guard Diana Collins joined from Georgia, and the second is a top recruit head coach Kevin McGuff picked up from Michigan.
That other freshman is Faith Carson, a 6-foot-4 center who brings a heralded high school career to a Buckeyes team that has struggled defensively and grabbing rebounds in the paint. Carson might be the answer to that problem for years to come.
Name: Faith Carson
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
High School: Buchanan High School (Buchanan, Michigan)
2022-23 Stats: N/A
Carson played her final season of high school last year for Buchanan High School, in the southwest corner of Michigan 25 minutes north of South Bend, Indiana. With the Bucks (ironically), Carson averaged 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per game, Unfortunately for Buchanan High School, it didn’t end in a state title like Collins’ final game in Georgia.
The Bucks fell in the quarterfinals in a shock upset to Unheralded Hart. It wasn’t a poor game by Carson that did Buchanan in either. The center had an outstanding night, scoring 22 points and pulling in 15 rebounds, both above her season averages. Of those 22 points, 10 came in the fourth quarter, including hitting a shot with less than a minute remaining to tie the game.
An illustrious basketball career put Carson as the No. 1 ranked prospect in the state for the past four years. A four-star recruit, Carson didn’t only excel on the basketball court, as she was a two-sport athlete, leading Buchanan on the volleyball court too and lettering after a four-year career.
Put Carson in the paint and she’ll work like a center. The new Buckeye scores points in the paint, grabs a lot of rebounds and makes things difficult for opponents hoping to make their presence known underneath the basket. She can hit midrange shots too. Carson draws attention in the paint but doesn’t need to post up and force her will. Instead, the center can draw that attention away.
The center isn’t a top-100 prospect in the country, likely in part due to playing at a Division III school. However, the skills are there. Look at forward Taylor Thierry, another name from the Division III level of high school basketball. With that though, there’s going to be a time of adjustment for Carson, and the minutes might not come this year.
Ohio State is top heavy in upperclassmen at the No. 5 role, with four leaving NCAA basketball following this season. That means the position Carson plays has steep competition. In front of the freshman are three graduate seniors who are likeliest to receive all the minutes in Rebeka Mikulášiková, Eboni Walker and Taiyier Parks.
So, Carson has a year to learn the system and watch three different power forwards play what might be her eventual starting spot. That doesn’t mean Carson won’t make it onto the court this year. Like fellow freshman Collins needing some time this year to fill in once multiple starters leave the backcourt, the more time Carson has to adjust to NCAA play the better.
Those minutes are likely to come in non-conference home games against non-power five schools, which the Buckeyes have a few. Will Carson’s outstanding high school form transition quickly to the college game?
Here’s a compilation put together by Carson herself. It shows not only the range of shooting but the defensive work near the basket and mobility to go on fast breaks. Also, some impressive transition passing that goes with outstanding rebounding ability.
Miss a player preview? Here’s who you can read about so far:
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
John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Buckeyes add a freshman big to the roster this year. Can she earn minutes in a crowded restricted area?
Entering the 2023-24 season, the Ohio State women's basketball team added two out-of-state freshmen. Point guard Diana Collins joined from Georgia, and the second is a top recruit head coach Kevin McGuff picked up from Michigan.
That other freshman is Faith Carson, a 6-foot-4 center who brings a heralded high school career to a Buckeyes team that has struggled defensively and grabbing rebounds in the paint. Carson might be the answer to that problem for years to come.
Name: Faith Carson
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
High School: Buchanan High School (Buchanan, Michigan)
2022-23 Stats: N/A
Last Season
Carson played her final season of high school last year for Buchanan High School, in the southwest corner of Michigan 25 minutes north of South Bend, Indiana. With the Bucks (ironically), Carson averaged 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per game, Unfortunately for Buchanan High School, it didn’t end in a state title like Collins’ final game in Georgia.
The Bucks fell in the quarterfinals in a shock upset to Unheralded Hart. It wasn’t a poor game by Carson that did Buchanan in either. The center had an outstanding night, scoring 22 points and pulling in 15 rebounds, both above her season averages. Of those 22 points, 10 came in the fourth quarter, including hitting a shot with less than a minute remaining to tie the game.
An illustrious basketball career put Carson as the No. 1 ranked prospect in the state for the past four years. A four-star recruit, Carson didn’t only excel on the basketball court, as she was a two-sport athlete, leading Buchanan on the volleyball court too and lettering after a four-year career.
What to Expect
Put Carson in the paint and she’ll work like a center. The new Buckeye scores points in the paint, grabs a lot of rebounds and makes things difficult for opponents hoping to make their presence known underneath the basket. She can hit midrange shots too. Carson draws attention in the paint but doesn’t need to post up and force her will. Instead, the center can draw that attention away.
The center isn’t a top-100 prospect in the country, likely in part due to playing at a Division III school. However, the skills are there. Look at forward Taylor Thierry, another name from the Division III level of high school basketball. With that though, there’s going to be a time of adjustment for Carson, and the minutes might not come this year.
Prediction
Ohio State is top heavy in upperclassmen at the No. 5 role, with four leaving NCAA basketball following this season. That means the position Carson plays has steep competition. In front of the freshman are three graduate seniors who are likeliest to receive all the minutes in Rebeka Mikulášiková, Eboni Walker and Taiyier Parks.
So, Carson has a year to learn the system and watch three different power forwards play what might be her eventual starting spot. That doesn’t mean Carson won’t make it onto the court this year. Like fellow freshman Collins needing some time this year to fill in once multiple starters leave the backcourt, the more time Carson has to adjust to NCAA play the better.
Those minutes are likely to come in non-conference home games against non-power five schools, which the Buckeyes have a few. Will Carson’s outstanding high school form transition quickly to the college game?
Highlights
Here’s a compilation put together by Carson herself. It shows not only the range of shooting but the defensive work near the basket and mobility to go on fast breaks. Also, some impressive transition passing that goes with outstanding rebounding ability.
Miss a player preview? Here’s who you can read about so far:
- Jacy Sheldon
- Rebeka Mikulášiková
- Diana Collins
- Taiyier Parks
- Rikki Harris
- Taylor Thierry
- Kennedy Cambridge
Continue reading...
LGHL You’re Nuts: What will be the result of Michigan’s sign stealing scandal?
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- 0 Replies
You’re Nuts: What will be the result of Michigan’s sign stealing scandal?
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Bing AI Image Generator
Will Jim Harbaugh still be coaching the Wolverines in 2024?
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison this past Saturday, however, nobody seems to care all that much. And I guess I understand the apathy. I mean, it was sort of a lackluster victory for the Buckeyes. But a Big Ten road win is still impressive, right? And OSU’s defense was amazing. As were TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr. Still, I feel as if the Scarlet and Gray are taking a back seat to the hot new name in college football.
And who would that be? Well, Connor Stalions, of course. This guy is the latest rage for good reason: He has an awesome name. He served his country in the military. He’s a writer. Of a manifesto, no less! And on top of all that, Stalions is... Oh, what’s that? He was running a “super-secret” spy operation for Michigan football? He would film opponents’ sideline signals and attempt to translate them for future matchups? Well, shoot, that’s unfortunate. Now he and the UM program just seem like a bunch of cheaters. Allegedly.
With that in mind, Gene and I thought that we would take it upon ourselves to lay out exactly what would happen as a result of this salacious scandal. How the Big Ten and the NCAA will investigate these accusations and allegations? What the precise penalty will be for Stalions, Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football, etc.? How it will impact the future of college football. And also how the Wolverines’ last few seasons will ultimately be viewed via revisionist history.
Or we’ll just make fun of Michigan, call the entire program filthy, filthy cheaters, predict whether the NCAA will show any competence in carrying out and closing an investigation, and share our suggested punishment(s) if these allegations are proven to be true... Yep, that sounds right up our alley.
I will start by saying this: Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Everything that we have heard thus far – from several reputable media sources – leads me to believe that there was and has been some serious line-crossing going on in Ann Arbor for the past few years. Stealing signals is fair game(smanship), but sending paid randos to future opponents’ games, for the sole purpose of recording sidelines, is not kosher in my book. That is some ‘Spygate’ sh*t.
It’s also against the rules. In-person, in-season advanced scouting of opponents was banned nearly 30 years ago. And using technology to film opponents’ sidelines is even worse! These alleged behaviors go well beyond normal gamesmanship. They cross the line into cheating, plain and simple. I would have the same opinion if roles were reversed and OSU was accused.
Moving past the ‘legality’ of it all, there is no way that Stalions was acting as some rogue agent. Getting footage wasn’t easy or cheap. Nor was breaking it down and deciphering. Then we’re supposed to believe that he approached U-M staff and said something like “Hey fellas, I know what those hand signals mean. I’m really great at puzzles and charades, and I figured them out from watching a game on Big Ten Network last week!” Give me a break.
I am of the belief that members of TTUN’s staff had to have known something. How else do you explain a low-level member of the recruiting staff standing next to coaches and coordinators on the Michigan sideline, speaking directly into their damn ear(s) when/while calls were being made?
And let’s not gloss over the fact that the supposed timeline of this cheating coincides with Harbaugh and Co. finally starting to win some big games. It seems like ‘Operation Don’t Let Jimbo Lose His Job’ really kicked into gear in 2021. Around the same time, his Wolverines started smashing Big Ten teams, despite very little change in talent, coaching, recruiting, etc. But oddly enough, U-M hasn’t won a bowl game in forever. It’s almost like they don’t have some mysterious advantage over teams not in their geographical footprint. Hmm...
So what does this all mean? Probably very little. At least for now. I actually don’t have much to say regarding predicted punishment and whatnot, because I have little-to-no faith in the NCAA. I just wanted to vent for a while. I mean, what have they (the NCAA) done to give anyone any confidence in their ability to investigate these accusations, do so in a timely manner, and then hand down appropriate punishment? I say nothing, Gene.
But if I were in charge, here is how I would punish Harbaugh and the Michigan program:
Above all else, whichever rumors about how deep Michigan’s sign-stealing operation goes are true or not, the one thing about his whole situation that is certain: It is hilarious.
The way I see it, regardless of the outcome, Ohio State fans win. Even if there are no punishments levied against Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines program, TTUN’s two wins in The Game over the last two years are completely tarnished. Could Michigan have beaten the Buckeyes in 2021 and 2022 without cheating? Maybe, but we’ll never know, because they did. And that is the beauty of the whole situation. Any of the success Ohio State’s biggest rival has had over the last two years is now completely meaningless, and that is a beautiful thing.
As I said, we still don't know the full extent of how deep this operation went, but at the very least we know for certain it did happen. Michigan did, for a fact, send staffers to opposing schools to film their sidelines and steal their signals. They attended several Ohio State games over the last few years, and there is video from last year’s edition of The Game of Stalions looking over at Ryan Day’s sideline and letting his defensive coordinator know what is coming. There are pictures of his laminated sheet of hand signals acquired via what we know are illegal methods. That much happened, and it would be hard for Harbaugh and his staff to say otherwise.
What’s pretty damning to me is that Michigan’s meteoric rise to power came with virtually no increase in recruiting talent. The Wolverines’ classes ranked No. 22 in 2018, No. 10 in 2019, No. 12 in 2020, No. 13 in 2021 and No. 12 in 2022. Where in there am I supposed to believe that the team got exponentially better and suddenly started beating Ohio State — a team they had not beaten since 2011 — by multiple scores both at home and on the road? Did Harbaugh suddenly put together a magical coaching staff perfectly built to beat the Buckeyes? Survey says: No.
At the end of the day, Harbaugh got bullied so badly by Urban Meyer that he needed to abandon his core principles and cheat in order to finally get a win over his biggest rival. Even in doing so, all they got in return was a pair of wins against Ohio State that have lost any of their respect, a pair of tainted Big Ten titles, and losses to Georgia and TCU in the College Football Playoff. They cheated the system and went above and beyond to get a leg up on the competition, and it still wasn’t good enough to win a national title — even with teams that were really talented on their own without the sign stealing.
I’m honestly not sure what the outcome of this whole ordeal will be. It seems like each day we learn another piece of information about the operation, and every time it gets worse and worse for Michigan. The NCAA won’t actually be able to punish the Wolverines, if they intend to, until next season anyway, but the Big Ten could do something about it as soon as they’d like. I think that with a handful of big brands joining the conference next year, they cannot afford to look soft and give Michigan a pass simply because of their brand. That would look incredibly weak to teams like Oregon, Washington, and USC — and of course, Ohio State — and send a message that these types of things will be tolerated in the future.
I could very well see all those wins from the 2021 and 2022 seasons vacated, as well as a Big Ten title ban for the next season or two. It sucks to punish the players that didn’t have a hand in the actual cheating, but simply forcing out Harbaugh wouldn’t be enough. It’s hard to get a real grasp of the ramifications, as there is no prior precedent to draw off. There really hasn’t been anything like this that has happened before in college football history, so punishments could range from hardly anything to severe depending on the full findings of the investigation(s). At a minimum, I would be surprised if Harbaugh is still coaching the team in 2024, and I can’t imagine the Wolverines keep those wins they earned via cheating.
And of course, if anything we’ve said above turns out to be untrue, this is all parody and we’re completely kidding...
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Bing AI Image Generator
Will Jim Harbaugh still be coaching the Wolverines in 2024?
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
This week’s topic: What will be the result of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal?
Josh’s Take:
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison this past Saturday, however, nobody seems to care all that much. And I guess I understand the apathy. I mean, it was sort of a lackluster victory for the Buckeyes. But a Big Ten road win is still impressive, right? And OSU’s defense was amazing. As were TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr. Still, I feel as if the Scarlet and Gray are taking a back seat to the hot new name in college football.
And who would that be? Well, Connor Stalions, of course. This guy is the latest rage for good reason: He has an awesome name. He served his country in the military. He’s a writer. Of a manifesto, no less! And on top of all that, Stalions is... Oh, what’s that? He was running a “super-secret” spy operation for Michigan football? He would film opponents’ sideline signals and attempt to translate them for future matchups? Well, shoot, that’s unfortunate. Now he and the UM program just seem like a bunch of cheaters. Allegedly.
With that in mind, Gene and I thought that we would take it upon ourselves to lay out exactly what would happen as a result of this salacious scandal. How the Big Ten and the NCAA will investigate these accusations and allegations? What the precise penalty will be for Stalions, Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football, etc.? How it will impact the future of college football. And also how the Wolverines’ last few seasons will ultimately be viewed via revisionist history.
Or we’ll just make fun of Michigan, call the entire program filthy, filthy cheaters, predict whether the NCAA will show any competence in carrying out and closing an investigation, and share our suggested punishment(s) if these allegations are proven to be true... Yep, that sounds right up our alley.
I will start by saying this: Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Everything that we have heard thus far – from several reputable media sources – leads me to believe that there was and has been some serious line-crossing going on in Ann Arbor for the past few years. Stealing signals is fair game(smanship), but sending paid randos to future opponents’ games, for the sole purpose of recording sidelines, is not kosher in my book. That is some ‘Spygate’ sh*t.
It’s also against the rules. In-person, in-season advanced scouting of opponents was banned nearly 30 years ago. And using technology to film opponents’ sidelines is even worse! These alleged behaviors go well beyond normal gamesmanship. They cross the line into cheating, plain and simple. I would have the same opinion if roles were reversed and OSU was accused.
Moving past the ‘legality’ of it all, there is no way that Stalions was acting as some rogue agent. Getting footage wasn’t easy or cheap. Nor was breaking it down and deciphering. Then we’re supposed to believe that he approached U-M staff and said something like “Hey fellas, I know what those hand signals mean. I’m really great at puzzles and charades, and I figured them out from watching a game on Big Ten Network last week!” Give me a break.
I am of the belief that members of TTUN’s staff had to have known something. How else do you explain a low-level member of the recruiting staff standing next to coaches and coordinators on the Michigan sideline, speaking directly into their damn ear(s) when/while calls were being made?
And let’s not gloss over the fact that the supposed timeline of this cheating coincides with Harbaugh and Co. finally starting to win some big games. It seems like ‘Operation Don’t Let Jimbo Lose His Job’ really kicked into gear in 2021. Around the same time, his Wolverines started smashing Big Ten teams, despite very little change in talent, coaching, recruiting, etc. But oddly enough, U-M hasn’t won a bowl game in forever. It’s almost like they don’t have some mysterious advantage over teams not in their geographical footprint. Hmm...
So what does this all mean? Probably very little. At least for now. I actually don’t have much to say regarding predicted punishment and whatnot, because I have little-to-no faith in the NCAA. I just wanted to vent for a while. I mean, what have they (the NCAA) done to give anyone any confidence in their ability to investigate these accusations, do so in a timely manner, and then hand down appropriate punishment? I say nothing, Gene.
But if I were in charge, here is how I would punish Harbaugh and the Michigan program:
- All wins from the 2021 and 2022 seasons are vacated, plus any Big Ten victories from September and October of 2023
- Three-year bowl ban
- 10-year show-cause for Jim Harbaugh, erasure of his stats as a player and coach for UM
- Reduction of 10 scholarships per season for the next three
- Removal of the words “honor” and “integrity” from any U-M literature
- Name Connor Stalions head coach of TTUN’s football team and force him to stay in-role for 10 years... I kinda want to see if his manifesto has any teeth to it.
Gene’s Take
Above all else, whichever rumors about how deep Michigan’s sign-stealing operation goes are true or not, the one thing about his whole situation that is certain: It is hilarious.
The way I see it, regardless of the outcome, Ohio State fans win. Even if there are no punishments levied against Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines program, TTUN’s two wins in The Game over the last two years are completely tarnished. Could Michigan have beaten the Buckeyes in 2021 and 2022 without cheating? Maybe, but we’ll never know, because they did. And that is the beauty of the whole situation. Any of the success Ohio State’s biggest rival has had over the last two years is now completely meaningless, and that is a beautiful thing.
As I said, we still don't know the full extent of how deep this operation went, but at the very least we know for certain it did happen. Michigan did, for a fact, send staffers to opposing schools to film their sidelines and steal their signals. They attended several Ohio State games over the last few years, and there is video from last year’s edition of The Game of Stalions looking over at Ryan Day’s sideline and letting his defensive coordinator know what is coming. There are pictures of his laminated sheet of hand signals acquired via what we know are illegal methods. That much happened, and it would be hard for Harbaugh and his staff to say otherwise.
What’s pretty damning to me is that Michigan’s meteoric rise to power came with virtually no increase in recruiting talent. The Wolverines’ classes ranked No. 22 in 2018, No. 10 in 2019, No. 12 in 2020, No. 13 in 2021 and No. 12 in 2022. Where in there am I supposed to believe that the team got exponentially better and suddenly started beating Ohio State — a team they had not beaten since 2011 — by multiple scores both at home and on the road? Did Harbaugh suddenly put together a magical coaching staff perfectly built to beat the Buckeyes? Survey says: No.
At the end of the day, Harbaugh got bullied so badly by Urban Meyer that he needed to abandon his core principles and cheat in order to finally get a win over his biggest rival. Even in doing so, all they got in return was a pair of wins against Ohio State that have lost any of their respect, a pair of tainted Big Ten titles, and losses to Georgia and TCU in the College Football Playoff. They cheated the system and went above and beyond to get a leg up on the competition, and it still wasn’t good enough to win a national title — even with teams that were really talented on their own without the sign stealing.
I’m honestly not sure what the outcome of this whole ordeal will be. It seems like each day we learn another piece of information about the operation, and every time it gets worse and worse for Michigan. The NCAA won’t actually be able to punish the Wolverines, if they intend to, until next season anyway, but the Big Ten could do something about it as soon as they’d like. I think that with a handful of big brands joining the conference next year, they cannot afford to look soft and give Michigan a pass simply because of their brand. That would look incredibly weak to teams like Oregon, Washington, and USC — and of course, Ohio State — and send a message that these types of things will be tolerated in the future.
I could very well see all those wins from the 2021 and 2022 seasons vacated, as well as a Big Ten title ban for the next season or two. It sucks to punish the players that didn’t have a hand in the actual cheating, but simply forcing out Harbaugh wouldn’t be enough. It’s hard to get a real grasp of the ramifications, as there is no prior precedent to draw off. There really hasn’t been anything like this that has happened before in college football history, so punishments could range from hardly anything to severe depending on the full findings of the investigation(s). At a minimum, I would be surprised if Harbaugh is still coaching the team in 2024, and I can’t imagine the Wolverines keep those wins they earned via cheating.
And of course, if anything we’ve said above turns out to be untrue, this is all parody and we’re completely kidding...
Continue reading...
2025 FL RB Donovan Johnson (ttun Signee)
- By brodybuck21
- Football Recruiting
- 1 Replies
247
Rivals
HUDL
ON3
Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Running Back
School: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 205 lbs
I have a lot of love for Coach Tony Alford. He is my dog. We talk all the time and I love what he has done over the last decade with the running backs he has coached. We have that great relationship and I working to get there for a game this season.”
Login to view embedded media
Rivals
HUDL
ON3
Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Running Back
School: Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 205 lbs
I have a lot of love for Coach Tony Alford. He is my dog. We talk all the time and I love what he has done over the last decade with the running backs he has coached. We have that great relationship and I working to get there for a game this season.”
Login to view embedded media
LGHL Four-star RB includes Ohio State among top five schools
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- 0 Replies
Four-star RB includes Ohio State among top five schools
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star RB Donovan Johnson | Andrew Ivins, 247Sports
The Buckeyes continue to see positive momentum in the 2025 class.
Ohio State is a perfect 8-0 as we reach the two-thirds mark of the 2023 college football season. The Buckeyes’ coaching staff is focused on maintaining that zero in the loss column through the end of the year, but they also have to keep up the efforts on the recruiting trail in order to keep up the high standards set in Columbus.
While Ryan Day and company were out earning a win on the field on Saturday with a 24-10 victory over Wisconsin, they also inched closer to earning a win off the field this weekend when 2025 four-star running back Donovan Johnson included the Buckeyes among his top five schools.
With nearly 30 offers to his name, cutting the list down to just five is no easy task, but shows that Johnson is really moving along in the recruiting process and has a handful of schools that have really stood out above the rest to this point. Ohio State was one of those programs, joining the likes of Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee and USC. Johnson spoke to On3 about his final five schools and why each of them made the cut. Here is what he had to say about the Buckeyes:
“I have a lot of love for Coach Tony Alford. He is my dog. We talk all the time and I love what he has done over the last decade with the running backs he has coached. We have that great relationship and I working to get there for a game this season.”
Johnson is currently rated as the No. 9 running back in the country and the No. 113 player overall in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite. Originally a native of Savannah, GA, Johnson transferred to prep powerhouse IMG Academy in Florida ahead of his sophomore season. The 6-foot, 205-pound RB received his official Ohio State offer all the way back in May of 2022, and attended a camp in Columbus later that June.
Also a track athlete, Johnson qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics and has been clocked running a 22.47 in the 200 and a 51.58 400 as a freshman in spring of 2022. The talented ballcarrier made his varsity team as a freshman, totaling 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 8.1 yards per carry — good enough to earn him a spot in the FBU Freshman All-American Bowl. Ohio State has had some prior success recruiting IMG players, most recently landing wide receiver Carnell Tate in the 2023 class.
While there is no timetable set for a decision just yet, and it sounds like Johnson will want to take his official visits before making his pledge, he has not ruled out a commitment coming prior to the spring.
“Anything could happen at any time,” Johnson told On3. “I am searching for that family atmosphere. It is about my bond with the staff, how I feel around the head coach and running back and what culture fits me best. The academics will be important too. I want to major in engineering, so the overall development on and off the field will help me make my decision.”
As a native of Georgia, the Bulldogs would probably be considered the slight favorite as of right now, but with no Crystal Ball predictions logged and Ohio State making Johnson’s top five schools, you certainly can’t count out the Buckeyes in this recruitment.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
2025 four-star RB Donovan Johnson | Andrew Ivins, 247Sports
The Buckeyes continue to see positive momentum in the 2025 class.
Ohio State is a perfect 8-0 as we reach the two-thirds mark of the 2023 college football season. The Buckeyes’ coaching staff is focused on maintaining that zero in the loss column through the end of the year, but they also have to keep up the efforts on the recruiting trail in order to keep up the high standards set in Columbus.
While Ryan Day and company were out earning a win on the field on Saturday with a 24-10 victory over Wisconsin, they also inched closer to earning a win off the field this weekend when 2025 four-star running back Donovan Johnson included the Buckeyes among his top five schools.
BREAKING: Elite 2025 RB Donovan Johnson is down toSchools!
The 6’1 215 RB from Savannah, GA is ranked as a Top 50 Player in ‘25 (No. 3 RB)
Where Should He Go? https://t.co/rDqwmH1VAM pic.twitter.com/7YmxMgDkAw
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 29, 2023
With nearly 30 offers to his name, cutting the list down to just five is no easy task, but shows that Johnson is really moving along in the recruiting process and has a handful of schools that have really stood out above the rest to this point. Ohio State was one of those programs, joining the likes of Georgia, Florida State, Tennessee and USC. Johnson spoke to On3 about his final five schools and why each of them made the cut. Here is what he had to say about the Buckeyes:
“I have a lot of love for Coach Tony Alford. He is my dog. We talk all the time and I love what he has done over the last decade with the running backs he has coached. We have that great relationship and I working to get there for a game this season.”
Johnson is currently rated as the No. 9 running back in the country and the No. 113 player overall in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite. Originally a native of Savannah, GA, Johnson transferred to prep powerhouse IMG Academy in Florida ahead of his sophomore season. The 6-foot, 205-pound RB received his official Ohio State offer all the way back in May of 2022, and attended a camp in Columbus later that June.
Also a track athlete, Johnson qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics and has been clocked running a 22.47 in the 200 and a 51.58 400 as a freshman in spring of 2022. The talented ballcarrier made his varsity team as a freshman, totaling 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 8.1 yards per carry — good enough to earn him a spot in the FBU Freshman All-American Bowl. Ohio State has had some prior success recruiting IMG players, most recently landing wide receiver Carnell Tate in the 2023 class.
While there is no timetable set for a decision just yet, and it sounds like Johnson will want to take his official visits before making his pledge, he has not ruled out a commitment coming prior to the spring.
“Anything could happen at any time,” Johnson told On3. “I am searching for that family atmosphere. It is about my bond with the staff, how I feel around the head coach and running back and what culture fits me best. The academics will be important too. I want to major in engineering, so the overall development on and off the field will help me make my decision.”
As a native of Georgia, the Bulldogs would probably be considered the slight favorite as of right now, but with no Crystal Ball predictions logged and Ohio State making Johnson’s top five schools, you certainly can’t count out the Buckeyes in this recruitment.
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LGHL If This Were A Movie: Beating Wisconsin looked like ‘Child’s Play’
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If This Were A Movie: Beating Wisconsin looked like ‘Child’s Play’
Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
TreVeyon Henderson comes back, much like a famous doll in “Bride of Chucky.”
Each week, we’ll analyze the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games as well) through the lens of a sports movie. If this game were the next “Remember the Titans,” “Space Jam” or “The Sandlot,” what storylines would keep us talking? What would make us laugh, reach for the box of tissues, or have us on the edge of our seats? Grab your popcorn and get ready for pop culture references, a hint of snark, and a trip back in time to the Blockbuster Video days.
It’s a tale of two killers, one of whom has recently been revived.
There are a few differences between our on-screen duo and our real-life one.
For starters, the stakes are different. In the movie “Bride of Chucky,” Tiffany Valentine is trying to revive Chucky—a doll possessed by a serial killer—so they can be together. Chucky, for his part, traps Tiffany inside a doll so she can feel his pain, but when they cross that minor hurdle, they work in tandem as a killer team set on winning the ultimate prize—becoming human again.
On the field, our duo is trying to win an ultimate prize of their own, with their sights set on an Ohio State National Championship berth.
Now, our real-life killers aren’t dolls, of course.
In terms of ferocity, however, Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson aren’t all that different from Tiffany and Chucky.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is a man on a mission—and much like Tiffany, he takes that mission extremely seriously. It’s as if he will go through anyone who stands in the way of his goals, outsmarting his opponents at every turn.
He’s making a strong case for himself as a Heisman contender (perhaps the only non-quarterback who seriously belongs in the conversation), and Saturday was no exception. Harrison helped remain undefeated in their 24-10 road win over Wisconsin with six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Wisconsin is just the latest victim of Harrison’s talent. Last week, he had 162 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions in the Buckeyes’ 20-12 victory over Penn State.
There was something different this week, though. Harrison no longer had to act alone.
TreVeyon Henderson returned for his first game since OSU faced Notre Dame more than a month ago, and he ran for 162 yards and a touchdown, giving a much-needed boost to the Buckeyes’ struggling run game.
It was reminiscent of Chucky, revived (in doll form, after being cut up into pieces) when Tiffany performs a magic ritual that reinstates him to the full force of his power.
The difference in Ohio State’s backfield was immediately apparent. Without Henderson, the Buckeyes had struggled to establish any sort of run game that seemed it could hold up.
They ran for just 79 total rushing yards against Penn State (though to the Nittany Lions’ credit, they knew going in that they’d need to win that game through the air given how good PSU’s defense is).
Yesterday, albeit against a different defense, they more than doubled their Penn State performance with 181 yards total rushing. This feels even more impressive because even in Wisconsin’s rockiest seasons, they often turn up the heat when Ohio State comes to town, and they’re a particularly challenging team to play on the road.
Henderson and Harrison were up for the challenge. Together, they worked in tandem to get the Buckeye offense one step closer to their long-term goals, in the same way, Tiffany and Chucky set out on the road to find a magical amulet that will restore their human form.
Without spoiling the ending for those who want to add “Bride of Chucky” to their spooky watchlist this week, it’s important to know that Chucky and Tiffany are undeterred by obstacles, with Chucky at one point declaring, “I ALWAYS come back.”
After allowing Wisconsin to tie the game in the third, Harrison answered with a 19-yard touchdown, unshaken by Wisconsin’s turnaround, and the Buckeyes stayed in the lead for good.
That’s not to say the game wasn’t without its challenges for OSU. Quarterback Kyle McCord (who went 17 of 26 for 226 yards) threw two interceptions—his first since the season opener—and lost a fumble. Harrison and Henderson carried on.
The Ohio State defense remains steady as ever, so if the offense can rally to reach its peak, the Buckeyes should be in business as we edge closer to playoff time.
Harrison and Henderson will play key roles, and if they can channel the unstoppable energy of Chucky and Tiffany the way they did this weekend, running through everyone in their wake, Ohio State is in pretty good shape heading into November.
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Jami Jurich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
TreVeyon Henderson comes back, much like a famous doll in “Bride of Chucky.”
Each week, we’ll analyze the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games as well) through the lens of a sports movie. If this game were the next “Remember the Titans,” “Space Jam” or “The Sandlot,” what storylines would keep us talking? What would make us laugh, reach for the box of tissues, or have us on the edge of our seats? Grab your popcorn and get ready for pop culture references, a hint of snark, and a trip back in time to the Blockbuster Video days.
It’s a tale of two killers, one of whom has recently been revived.
There are a few differences between our on-screen duo and our real-life one.
For starters, the stakes are different. In the movie “Bride of Chucky,” Tiffany Valentine is trying to revive Chucky—a doll possessed by a serial killer—so they can be together. Chucky, for his part, traps Tiffany inside a doll so she can feel his pain, but when they cross that minor hurdle, they work in tandem as a killer team set on winning the ultimate prize—becoming human again.
On the field, our duo is trying to win an ultimate prize of their own, with their sights set on an Ohio State National Championship berth.
Now, our real-life killers aren’t dolls, of course.
In terms of ferocity, however, Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson aren’t all that different from Tiffany and Chucky.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is a man on a mission—and much like Tiffany, he takes that mission extremely seriously. It’s as if he will go through anyone who stands in the way of his goals, outsmarting his opponents at every turn.
He’s making a strong case for himself as a Heisman contender (perhaps the only non-quarterback who seriously belongs in the conversation), and Saturday was no exception. Harrison helped remain undefeated in their 24-10 road win over Wisconsin with six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Wisconsin is just the latest victim of Harrison’s talent. Last week, he had 162 yards and a touchdown on 11 receptions in the Buckeyes’ 20-12 victory over Penn State.
There was something different this week, though. Harrison no longer had to act alone.
TreVeyon Henderson returned for his first game since OSU faced Notre Dame more than a month ago, and he ran for 162 yards and a touchdown, giving a much-needed boost to the Buckeyes’ struggling run game.
It was reminiscent of Chucky, revived (in doll form, after being cut up into pieces) when Tiffany performs a magic ritual that reinstates him to the full force of his power.
The difference in Ohio State’s backfield was immediately apparent. Without Henderson, the Buckeyes had struggled to establish any sort of run game that seemed it could hold up.
They ran for just 79 total rushing yards against Penn State (though to the Nittany Lions’ credit, they knew going in that they’d need to win that game through the air given how good PSU’s defense is).
Yesterday, albeit against a different defense, they more than doubled their Penn State performance with 181 yards total rushing. This feels even more impressive because even in Wisconsin’s rockiest seasons, they often turn up the heat when Ohio State comes to town, and they’re a particularly challenging team to play on the road.
Henderson and Harrison were up for the challenge. Together, they worked in tandem to get the Buckeye offense one step closer to their long-term goals, in the same way, Tiffany and Chucky set out on the road to find a magical amulet that will restore their human form.
Without spoiling the ending for those who want to add “Bride of Chucky” to their spooky watchlist this week, it’s important to know that Chucky and Tiffany are undeterred by obstacles, with Chucky at one point declaring, “I ALWAYS come back.”
After allowing Wisconsin to tie the game in the third, Harrison answered with a 19-yard touchdown, unshaken by Wisconsin’s turnaround, and the Buckeyes stayed in the lead for good.
That’s not to say the game wasn’t without its challenges for OSU. Quarterback Kyle McCord (who went 17 of 26 for 226 yards) threw two interceptions—his first since the season opener—and lost a fumble. Harrison and Henderson carried on.
The Ohio State defense remains steady as ever, so if the offense can rally to reach its peak, the Buckeyes should be in business as we edge closer to playoff time.
Harrison and Henderson will play key roles, and if they can channel the unstoppable energy of Chucky and Tiffany the way they did this weekend, running through everyone in their wake, Ohio State is in pretty good shape heading into November.
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LGHL The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Ohio State’s 24-10 win over Wisconsin
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Ohio State’s 24-10 win over Wisconsin
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
The Buckeye defense was again brilliant, but the offense remains inconsistent.
In what has become a theme for Ohio State this season, a strong defensive effort was once again the key to victory in the Buckeyes’ 24-10 win over Wisconsin on Saturday. Ryan Day’s offense was not at its best, but TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr. shouldered the load as the scarlet and gray outlasted the Badgers at Camp Randall. Coming away with a win in likely the toughest remaining game on the schedule ahead of Nov. 25, Ohio State remains undefeated as the campaign continues to speed towards a battle of 11-0 teams in Ann Arbor to end the regular season.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s victory over Wisconsin
TreVeyon Henderson
Ohio State was thrilled to finally get TreVeyon Henderson back on Saturday, and he produced in a big way in his first action since the Notre Dame game after sitting out the previous three contests. The Buckeye tailback put up huge numbers at Camp Randall, rushing for 162 yards on 24 carries (6.8 yards per attempt) while scoring what was virtually the game-sealing touchdown with five minutes remaining. Henderson also added 45 yards through the air on four receptions, showcasing his ability to make plays in the passing game out of the backfield.
A healthy Henderson completely changes Ohio State’s rushing attack, as the junior running back consistently made guys miss and tacked on extra yardage even when the offensive line gave him little space to work. Overall, given the way the game played out and the quality of opponent, this was arguably Henderson’s best game as a Buckeye. Obviously his 270-yard, three-TD performance against Tulsa as a freshman would be tough to beat, but putting up 207 yards of total offense against Wisconsin in a tight game on the road when his team needed him most is a more impressive feat to me.
Marvin Harrison Jr.
Honestly, I could really just write Marvin Harrison Jr.’s name in pen in the ‘Good’ section of this recap each and every week before the games are even played and then just come back and fill in his exact totals later. The nation’s No. 1 wide receiver has looked like the best player in all of college football week in and week out, and Saturday's performance against the Badgers was his fourth-straight game passing the century mark in receiving yards and scoring a touchdown in the process. His final line reads six catches for 123 yards and two TDs, and on what was a tough day for Ohio State’s quarterback — which we will get to shortly — Marv was everything Ryan Day and Brian Hartline could ask for.
Even with a pair of quiet games on his ledger against Indiana and Notre Dame, these last four weeks of dominance have rocketed Harrison Jr. up near the top of the statistical leaders nationally. His 889 yards rank him first in the Big Ten, 327 yards ahead of the next-highest player, and sixth in the country overall. His eight receiving TDs have him tied for 10th nationally (second in the B1G to Michigan’s Roman Wilson, who has 10) and his 18.5 yards per catch are the most of any player in FBS with more than 40 receptions. Simply put, Marvin Harrison Jr. should be a shoe-in for the Biletnikoff Award, and if the Heisman Trophy is truly supposed to go to college football’s best player, that should be his as well.
The Whole Defense
Another game, another dominant performance for Jim Knowles’ defense. Outside of really one good drive by Wisconsin’s offense to open up the second half, the Silver Bullets were once again lockdown, and all three levels played exceptionally well even despite guys getting banged up throughout the contest. Overall, the Buckeyes allowed 259 yards of total offense and 10 points, and without that 75-yard touchdown drive to begin the third quarter, those numbers drop to 184 total yards and just three points allowed. As a unit, Ohio State’s defense tallied two sacks, four tackles for loss, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Knowles’ group did a really good job of containing Braelon Allen before he left the game with an injury, as the star running back’s longest run went for 11 yards and averaged just 4.3 yards on his other nine carries of the night. Ohio State made life difficult for quarterback Braedyn Locke as well, allowing him to complete less than half his passes (18-of-39) for 165 yards and the one score. The Buckeye defense did allow an uncharacteristic amount of big plays, with six completions of more than 15 yards and a long 29-yard run by Locke, but they continued to bend and not break as they kept the Badgers out of the end zone for the majority of the contest.
Kyle McCord
There’s really no way to sugarcoat it: It was a bad night for QB1. Kyle McCord was lucky he had teammates like Harrison Jr. and Henderson to pick him up, because the poor play of McCord really hamstrung Ohio State’s offense in this game. The final numbers don't look too bad, finishing the game with 226 yards passing and two TDs, but he also threw a pair of really bad interceptions, fumbled the ball on the Buckeyes’ opening drive, was called for intentional grounding twice, and was overall largely inconsistent with his accuracy. Really the only success he had was throwing the ball to Harrison Jr., as he and Henderson combined for 330 of OSU’s 407 total yards.
The tools for McCord to succeed are clearly there, but inconsistency has been the story of the season for Ohio State’s quarterback. The first-year starter has had stretches of greatness, including that last drive at Notre Dame and a handful of big second halves, but the slow starts are becoming a concerning trend, and against the Badgers McCord was never able to find it. McCord made a handful of really nice throws on Saturday, but for every perfectly placed ball, there were one or two severe overthrows or underthrows to wide open receivers on plays that just have to be made. His pocket presence is also still an issue, failing to step up in the pocket or feel the rush all too often.
Ohio State only has a handful of games left in the regular season, and while we’re all still waiting for this offense to break out, they can only go as far as their quarterback play will allow.
3rd Down/Red Zone Offense
These issues weren’t as egregious against Wisconsin as they have been in games earlier this season or in year’s prior, but short yardage and the red zone continue to be Ryan Day’s biggest enemy. Ohio State converted 50% of its third down tries against the Badgers, going 6-of-12 on the day. They were also surprisingly good on 3rd-and-short, converting six of eight tries needing less than four yards to move the chains. However, they were 0-for-4 on third and medium (five to eight yards) and the red zone struggles reared their ugly head again with both a turnover and a field goal from inside the 10-yard line.
A lot of these struggles can be attributed to a lackluster day from McCord, but these areas have been a problem for Day now spanning multiple seasons with multiple different QBs and offensive personnel. The Buckeyes, for whatever reason, have gone away from the mesh concept offenses that worked so well for them when Dwayne Haskins was at the helm. They’ve run the crossing route to MHJ twice in the last two weeks against both Penn State and Wisconsin, and both times it resulted in a touchdown. Those easy routes over the middle of the field would seemingly make life easier for Ohio State in both short yardage spots and in the red zone, but they remain buried deep in the play book.
Injuries
There is obviously nobody to blame here — although I do think that if Ohio State had a real strength and conditioning coach rather than one insistent on utilizing outdated methods and training his players to be body builders rather than football players they could cut down on many of these soft-tissue injuries — but injuries were a common theme of the game on Saturday. While the Buckeyes got both Henderson and Denzel Burke back on the field, it was another game without Emeka Egbuka, who was reported as ‘available’ but did not take a snap against the Badgers.
In addition, Ohio State lost a handful of really important players throughout this game, and while none of them appear to be serious and almost all of the guys that got banged up later returned to the field, you never want to see valuable contributors hobbling off to the sideline. At various points in this game, both J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer had to come out of the game with an apparently injury, as did Julian Fleming and Lathan Ransom. Three of the four would re-enter the game at some point aside from Ransom, who was carted to the locker room but later came back to the sideline without his helmet and appeared to be testing out his leg on the sideline but ultimately did not return to the field.
It will be worth monitoring these guys moving forward, as the Buckeyes now have a handful of what should be very winnable game against Rutgers, Michigan State and Minnesota before their big showdown in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25.
Parker Fleming
I’m just going to leave this loser in this section every week until Ryan Day finally does what he should have done after last season and fires the ‘Alex Grinch of special teams.’ The unit has been an absolute nightmare every single game under Fleming’s watch, and while nothing totally disastrous happened against Wisconsin on Saturday, they did still allow a 35-yard punt return to give the Badgers fantastic field position at Ohio State’s own 36-yard line — where the defense ultimately got the stop, leading to a missed field goal — as the unit currently ranks 122nd in the country in punt return defense, among other poor areas of the special teams.
There is no reason to have a full-time dedicated special teams coach on your staff, especially one that is actively bad at the job. Most of the best teams in the country do not have a full-time special teams coordinator, and those that do aren’t playing man down with one less assistant on the side of the ball opposite the expertise of the head coach. Simply fire Fleming and promote James Laurinaitis as a linebackers coach. This shouldn’t be this difficult.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
The Buckeye defense was again brilliant, but the offense remains inconsistent.
In what has become a theme for Ohio State this season, a strong defensive effort was once again the key to victory in the Buckeyes’ 24-10 win over Wisconsin on Saturday. Ryan Day’s offense was not at its best, but TreVeyon Henderson and Marvin Harrison Jr. shouldered the load as the scarlet and gray outlasted the Badgers at Camp Randall. Coming away with a win in likely the toughest remaining game on the schedule ahead of Nov. 25, Ohio State remains undefeated as the campaign continues to speed towards a battle of 11-0 teams in Ann Arbor to end the regular season.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from Ohio State’s victory over Wisconsin
The Good
TreVeyon Henderson
Ohio State was thrilled to finally get TreVeyon Henderson back on Saturday, and he produced in a big way in his first action since the Notre Dame game after sitting out the previous three contests. The Buckeye tailback put up huge numbers at Camp Randall, rushing for 162 yards on 24 carries (6.8 yards per attempt) while scoring what was virtually the game-sealing touchdown with five minutes remaining. Henderson also added 45 yards through the air on four receptions, showcasing his ability to make plays in the passing game out of the backfield.
A healthy Henderson completely changes Ohio State’s rushing attack, as the junior running back consistently made guys miss and tacked on extra yardage even when the offensive line gave him little space to work. Overall, given the way the game played out and the quality of opponent, this was arguably Henderson’s best game as a Buckeye. Obviously his 270-yard, three-TD performance against Tulsa as a freshman would be tough to beat, but putting up 207 yards of total offense against Wisconsin in a tight game on the road when his team needed him most is a more impressive feat to me.
Marvin Harrison Jr.
Honestly, I could really just write Marvin Harrison Jr.’s name in pen in the ‘Good’ section of this recap each and every week before the games are even played and then just come back and fill in his exact totals later. The nation’s No. 1 wide receiver has looked like the best player in all of college football week in and week out, and Saturday's performance against the Badgers was his fourth-straight game passing the century mark in receiving yards and scoring a touchdown in the process. His final line reads six catches for 123 yards and two TDs, and on what was a tough day for Ohio State’s quarterback — which we will get to shortly — Marv was everything Ryan Day and Brian Hartline could ask for.
Even with a pair of quiet games on his ledger against Indiana and Notre Dame, these last four weeks of dominance have rocketed Harrison Jr. up near the top of the statistical leaders nationally. His 889 yards rank him first in the Big Ten, 327 yards ahead of the next-highest player, and sixth in the country overall. His eight receiving TDs have him tied for 10th nationally (second in the B1G to Michigan’s Roman Wilson, who has 10) and his 18.5 yards per catch are the most of any player in FBS with more than 40 receptions. Simply put, Marvin Harrison Jr. should be a shoe-in for the Biletnikoff Award, and if the Heisman Trophy is truly supposed to go to college football’s best player, that should be his as well.
The Whole Defense
Another game, another dominant performance for Jim Knowles’ defense. Outside of really one good drive by Wisconsin’s offense to open up the second half, the Silver Bullets were once again lockdown, and all three levels played exceptionally well even despite guys getting banged up throughout the contest. Overall, the Buckeyes allowed 259 yards of total offense and 10 points, and without that 75-yard touchdown drive to begin the third quarter, those numbers drop to 184 total yards and just three points allowed. As a unit, Ohio State’s defense tallied two sacks, four tackles for loss, four pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Knowles’ group did a really good job of containing Braelon Allen before he left the game with an injury, as the star running back’s longest run went for 11 yards and averaged just 4.3 yards on his other nine carries of the night. Ohio State made life difficult for quarterback Braedyn Locke as well, allowing him to complete less than half his passes (18-of-39) for 165 yards and the one score. The Buckeye defense did allow an uncharacteristic amount of big plays, with six completions of more than 15 yards and a long 29-yard run by Locke, but they continued to bend and not break as they kept the Badgers out of the end zone for the majority of the contest.
The Bad
Kyle McCord
There’s really no way to sugarcoat it: It was a bad night for QB1. Kyle McCord was lucky he had teammates like Harrison Jr. and Henderson to pick him up, because the poor play of McCord really hamstrung Ohio State’s offense in this game. The final numbers don't look too bad, finishing the game with 226 yards passing and two TDs, but he also threw a pair of really bad interceptions, fumbled the ball on the Buckeyes’ opening drive, was called for intentional grounding twice, and was overall largely inconsistent with his accuracy. Really the only success he had was throwing the ball to Harrison Jr., as he and Henderson combined for 330 of OSU’s 407 total yards.
The tools for McCord to succeed are clearly there, but inconsistency has been the story of the season for Ohio State’s quarterback. The first-year starter has had stretches of greatness, including that last drive at Notre Dame and a handful of big second halves, but the slow starts are becoming a concerning trend, and against the Badgers McCord was never able to find it. McCord made a handful of really nice throws on Saturday, but for every perfectly placed ball, there were one or two severe overthrows or underthrows to wide open receivers on plays that just have to be made. His pocket presence is also still an issue, failing to step up in the pocket or feel the rush all too often.
Ohio State only has a handful of games left in the regular season, and while we’re all still waiting for this offense to break out, they can only go as far as their quarterback play will allow.
3rd Down/Red Zone Offense
These issues weren’t as egregious against Wisconsin as they have been in games earlier this season or in year’s prior, but short yardage and the red zone continue to be Ryan Day’s biggest enemy. Ohio State converted 50% of its third down tries against the Badgers, going 6-of-12 on the day. They were also surprisingly good on 3rd-and-short, converting six of eight tries needing less than four yards to move the chains. However, they were 0-for-4 on third and medium (five to eight yards) and the red zone struggles reared their ugly head again with both a turnover and a field goal from inside the 10-yard line.
A lot of these struggles can be attributed to a lackluster day from McCord, but these areas have been a problem for Day now spanning multiple seasons with multiple different QBs and offensive personnel. The Buckeyes, for whatever reason, have gone away from the mesh concept offenses that worked so well for them when Dwayne Haskins was at the helm. They’ve run the crossing route to MHJ twice in the last two weeks against both Penn State and Wisconsin, and both times it resulted in a touchdown. Those easy routes over the middle of the field would seemingly make life easier for Ohio State in both short yardage spots and in the red zone, but they remain buried deep in the play book.
The Ugly
Injuries
There is obviously nobody to blame here — although I do think that if Ohio State had a real strength and conditioning coach rather than one insistent on utilizing outdated methods and training his players to be body builders rather than football players they could cut down on many of these soft-tissue injuries — but injuries were a common theme of the game on Saturday. While the Buckeyes got both Henderson and Denzel Burke back on the field, it was another game without Emeka Egbuka, who was reported as ‘available’ but did not take a snap against the Badgers.
In addition, Ohio State lost a handful of really important players throughout this game, and while none of them appear to be serious and almost all of the guys that got banged up later returned to the field, you never want to see valuable contributors hobbling off to the sideline. At various points in this game, both J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer had to come out of the game with an apparently injury, as did Julian Fleming and Lathan Ransom. Three of the four would re-enter the game at some point aside from Ransom, who was carted to the locker room but later came back to the sideline without his helmet and appeared to be testing out his leg on the sideline but ultimately did not return to the field.
It will be worth monitoring these guys moving forward, as the Buckeyes now have a handful of what should be very winnable game against Rutgers, Michigan State and Minnesota before their big showdown in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25.
Parker Fleming
I’m just going to leave this loser in this section every week until Ryan Day finally does what he should have done after last season and fires the ‘Alex Grinch of special teams.’ The unit has been an absolute nightmare every single game under Fleming’s watch, and while nothing totally disastrous happened against Wisconsin on Saturday, they did still allow a 35-yard punt return to give the Badgers fantastic field position at Ohio State’s own 36-yard line — where the defense ultimately got the stop, leading to a missed field goal — as the unit currently ranks 122nd in the country in punt return defense, among other poor areas of the special teams.
There is no reason to have a full-time dedicated special teams coach on your staff, especially one that is actively bad at the job. Most of the best teams in the country do not have a full-time special teams coordinator, and those that do aren’t playing man down with one less assistant on the side of the ball opposite the expertise of the head coach. Simply fire Fleming and promote James Laurinaitis as a linebackers coach. This shouldn’t be this difficult.
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LGHL Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Welcome back Trey! Ohio State’s RB and defense carry the load against Wisconsin
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Hangout in the Holy Land Podcast: Welcome back Trey! Ohio State’s RB and defense carry the load against Wisconsin
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Josh and Chuck give CFP and Heisman thoughts, before recapping the Buckeyes’ lackluster victory in Madison.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
On this episode of “Hangout in the Holy Land,” Josh and Chuck attempt to predict this week’s initial College Football Playoff rankings, before discussing a less-than-stellar outing from their Ohio State Buckeyes.
At the top of the show, the Hangout boys banter about where teams should be ranked in the CFP, as well as which players should be in the Heisman conversation. The guys disagree on rankings, but only because Josh believes that the CFP selection committee will do whatever it wants in the last year of the four-team playoff.
Conversely, the hosts have nearly identical Heisman thoughts. Chief among them is the fact that Marvin Harrison Jr. should be considered one of the current favorites.
As for Ohio State's win over Wisconsin... Well, at least the Buckeyes have Marv, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jim Knowles. The Hangout guys were disappointed in OSU’s ‘other’ guys, but a win is a win.
However, if Ryan Day’s squad is to eventually hoist a CFP trophy, they will need much better play from QB Kyle McCord, as well as his offensive line and supporting cast.
Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter: @ctholmes3
Continue reading...
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Josh and Chuck give CFP and Heisman thoughts, before recapping the Buckeyes’ lackluster victory in Madison.
The latest episode of Land-Grant Holy Land’s flagship podcast is here! Join LGHL’s Josh Dooley and Chuck Holmes as they discuss Ohio State football, recruiting, and much, much more! Come for the hot takes, stay for the warm ones.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
On this episode of “Hangout in the Holy Land,” Josh and Chuck attempt to predict this week’s initial College Football Playoff rankings, before discussing a less-than-stellar outing from their Ohio State Buckeyes.
At the top of the show, the Hangout boys banter about where teams should be ranked in the CFP, as well as which players should be in the Heisman conversation. The guys disagree on rankings, but only because Josh believes that the CFP selection committee will do whatever it wants in the last year of the four-team playoff.
Conversely, the hosts have nearly identical Heisman thoughts. Chief among them is the fact that Marvin Harrison Jr. should be considered one of the current favorites.
As for Ohio State's win over Wisconsin... Well, at least the Buckeyes have Marv, TreVeyon Henderson, and Jim Knowles. The Hangout guys were disappointed in OSU’s ‘other’ guys, but a win is a win.
However, if Ryan Day’s squad is to eventually hoist a CFP trophy, they will need much better play from QB Kyle McCord, as well as his offensive line and supporting cast.
Please make sure to like, rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast! And as always, Go Bucks!
Connect with the pod
Twitter: @HolyLandPod
Connect with Josh Dooley
Twitter: @jdooleybuckeye
Connect with Chuck Holmes
Twitter: @ctholmes3
Continue reading...
LGHL Minnich’s Musings about Ohio State at Wisconsin
- News
- 0 Replies
Minnich’s Musings about Ohio State at Wisconsin
Chip.Minnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Often frustrating, Ohio State was able to overcome mistakes to win at Camp Randall Stadium
8-0, and the calendar is going to flip from October to November this week. Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel often said, “September is for pretenders, November is for contenders.” Ohio State is assured of a winning record for the 2023 season, but the true test remains over the next few weeks.
Ohio State passed another test by going to Camp Randall Stadium for the first time since 2016 and beating a not-surprisingly pesky and determined Wisconsin team, 24-10. Luke Fickell’s Badgers fell to 5-3 on the season, and are in a four-way tie(!) for The Big Ten West Division lead with Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
The frustrating aspect for Ohio State’s coaches, players, and fans is that this victory could have been easily secured. Ohio State only led 10-3 at the half, and could have been leading by at least two more scores, were it not for self-inflicted mistakes. Even more fortunate for Ohio State, Wisconsin was not able to truly capitalize upon those mistakes by the Buckeyes.
Below are some random thoughts about the win at Wisconsin, and what Ohio State needs to focus on as they prepare to travel to New Jersey next week to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights...
Kyle McCord played his worst game as Ohio State’s starting quarterback
McCord has been a slow starter, but the game at Wisconsin went beyond any first-quarter blahs. McCord’s final statistics wound up with him completing 17 of 26 passes for 226 yards, 2 touchdowns (more on that momentarily), and 2 costly interceptions, which I alluded to above in the area of dealing with frustration. Throw in a fumble after he was sacked on Ohio State’s opening drive of the evening, and perhaps you will understand why I wrote that this was his worst game.
On the positive side, McCord was able to get past his problems and helped the Buckeyes secure a win that keeps the team’s goals within reach. McCord suffered an ankle injury that nearly brought backup quarterback Tristan Gebbia into the game, but McCord was able to persevere through to complete the game.
For those of you clamoring for Tristan Gebbia or true freshman quarterback Lincoln Keinholz, allow me this quick moment. Riddle me this, Batman - do you believe Ohio State head coach Ryan Day would suddenly open up the offense, and let either Gebbia or Keinholz just let it rip, or do you think Day might become even more conservative in his play calling, on the road, against a talented Luke Fickell-coached team? I think we all know the answers to that one. With Devin Brown out for the foreseeable future, Ryan Day does not truly have another option at quarterback and will be sticking with McCord from here on out.
My point is that yes, McCord’s play regressed. Both interceptions were from McCord forcing the ball into coverage, trying to get the ball to Marvin Harrison, Jr. (more on him momentarily). I have every confidence that Day and Ohio State quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis is going to be grilling McCord on making better decisions this week in practice, as those interceptions were the type of plays that could lead to an Ohio State loss. The return of a healthy Emeka Egbuka can only help the passing offense.
The media are starting to hype him, and even Ryan Day has been saying, “I believe he’s the best football player in the country”. While wide receivers traditionally do not win the Heisman Trophy, Harrison has been demonstrating that he is the best player in the country, regardless of position. It may not be a flashy Heisman Trophy campaign, comparable to other players around the country, but Harrison is making his case to earn a trip to New York City in December.
Wisconsin had their moments of making it a game, coming back to tie the game up, 10-10. Keeping any team to only 10 points is impressive, but there were a few moments in the game where an Ohio State defender would go for a “highlight hit”, versus wrapping their arms around the player, and bringing them to the ground. A better team would make Ohio State pay for that mistake. Ohio State fans are just now getting back onto the Jim Knowles bandwagon, so it would be terrific to avoid the defensive swoon that afflicted this team last November.
Similar to what I wrote about how a better team would make Ohio State pay for its mistakes by not wrapping up on defense, the punt coverage against Wisconsin was poor. Chimere Dike had a 35-yard return that he nearly took for a touchdown. Ryan Day has to have a stern conversation with Parker Fleming about the play of the coverage units.
Frustrating, and often ugly, but a win is a win. Considering how Kansas upset Oklahoma, how Washington nearly lost to Stanford, and how USC was only a failed two-point conversion from losing to California, some perspective is needed by Ohio State fans. Here is to fixing what ails this team, and getting people back healthy for the November stretch run.
Continue reading...
Chip.Minnich via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Often frustrating, Ohio State was able to overcome mistakes to win at Camp Randall Stadium
8-0, and the calendar is going to flip from October to November this week. Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel often said, “September is for pretenders, November is for contenders.” Ohio State is assured of a winning record for the 2023 season, but the true test remains over the next few weeks.
Ohio State passed another test by going to Camp Randall Stadium for the first time since 2016 and beating a not-surprisingly pesky and determined Wisconsin team, 24-10. Luke Fickell’s Badgers fell to 5-3 on the season, and are in a four-way tie(!) for The Big Ten West Division lead with Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
The frustrating aspect for Ohio State’s coaches, players, and fans is that this victory could have been easily secured. Ohio State only led 10-3 at the half, and could have been leading by at least two more scores, were it not for self-inflicted mistakes. Even more fortunate for Ohio State, Wisconsin was not able to truly capitalize upon those mistakes by the Buckeyes.
Below are some random thoughts about the win at Wisconsin, and what Ohio State needs to focus on as they prepare to travel to New Jersey next week to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights...
Kyle McCord played his worst game as Ohio State’s starting quarterback
McCord has been a slow starter, but the game at Wisconsin went beyond any first-quarter blahs. McCord’s final statistics wound up with him completing 17 of 26 passes for 226 yards, 2 touchdowns (more on that momentarily), and 2 costly interceptions, which I alluded to above in the area of dealing with frustration. Throw in a fumble after he was sacked on Ohio State’s opening drive of the evening, and perhaps you will understand why I wrote that this was his worst game.
On the positive side, McCord was able to get past his problems and helped the Buckeyes secure a win that keeps the team’s goals within reach. McCord suffered an ankle injury that nearly brought backup quarterback Tristan Gebbia into the game, but McCord was able to persevere through to complete the game.
For those of you clamoring for Tristan Gebbia or true freshman quarterback Lincoln Keinholz, allow me this quick moment. Riddle me this, Batman - do you believe Ohio State head coach Ryan Day would suddenly open up the offense, and let either Gebbia or Keinholz just let it rip, or do you think Day might become even more conservative in his play calling, on the road, against a talented Luke Fickell-coached team? I think we all know the answers to that one. With Devin Brown out for the foreseeable future, Ryan Day does not truly have another option at quarterback and will be sticking with McCord from here on out.
My point is that yes, McCord’s play regressed. Both interceptions were from McCord forcing the ball into coverage, trying to get the ball to Marvin Harrison, Jr. (more on him momentarily). I have every confidence that Day and Ohio State quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis is going to be grilling McCord on making better decisions this week in practice, as those interceptions were the type of plays that could lead to an Ohio State loss. The return of a healthy Emeka Egbuka can only help the passing offense.
Marvin Harrison, Jr. is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate
The media are starting to hype him, and even Ryan Day has been saying, “I believe he’s the best football player in the country”. While wide receivers traditionally do not win the Heisman Trophy, Harrison has been demonstrating that he is the best player in the country, regardless of position. It may not be a flashy Heisman Trophy campaign, comparable to other players around the country, but Harrison is making his case to earn a trip to New York City in December.
The Ohio State defense needs to wrap up better
Wisconsin had their moments of making it a game, coming back to tie the game up, 10-10. Keeping any team to only 10 points is impressive, but there were a few moments in the game where an Ohio State defender would go for a “highlight hit”, versus wrapping their arms around the player, and bringing them to the ground. A better team would make Ohio State pay for that mistake. Ohio State fans are just now getting back onto the Jim Knowles bandwagon, so it would be terrific to avoid the defensive swoon that afflicted this team last November.
The Ohio State special teams were a problem again
Similar to what I wrote about how a better team would make Ohio State pay for its mistakes by not wrapping up on defense, the punt coverage against Wisconsin was poor. Chimere Dike had a 35-yard return that he nearly took for a touchdown. Ryan Day has to have a stern conversation with Parker Fleming about the play of the coverage units.
Frustrating, and often ugly, but a win is a win. Considering how Kansas upset Oklahoma, how Washington nearly lost to Stanford, and how USC was only a failed two-point conversion from losing to California, some perspective is needed by Ohio State fans. Here is to fixing what ails this team, and getting people back healthy for the November stretch run.
Continue reading...
2025 FL OL Solomon Thomas (LSU Signee)
- By brodybuck21
- Football Recruiting
- 3 Replies
247
Rivals
HUDL
ON3
Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Offensive Line
School: Jacksonville (FL) Raines
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 280 lbs
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Rivals
HUDL
ON3
Class: 2025 (high school)
Position: Offensive Line
School: Jacksonville (FL) Raines
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 280 lbs
Login to view embedded media
