Buckeye86 said:

I’m sure Smith designed that play for the lineman to run into each other. Definitely a scheme problem and not the players performing badly.

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Poor execution is a coaching failure.

Buckeneye said:

It's fake. And wasn't even a difficult fake to spot.

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So much garbage content on that platform these days. People consume that shit, allow it to confirm what they already believe about certain people, and then ignore it entirely when someone calls it out as complete trash. It’s gross and it’s fucking everywhere.

I deleted my account a while back because that shit was constantly pushed into my feed. I just wanted to get sports updates, not have an algorithm try to convert me into a fucking proud boy.

BuckeyeNation27 said:

Is it stupid to move him to safety with that size and run stopping ability? Keep him away from WRs that he'll just grab and get him to hit.

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I dont think so bc I had the same thought

Buckeneye said:

It's fake. And wasn't even a difficult fake to spot.

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OK, quite a fake example of FAFO then.

pnuts34 said:

I think the Smith love for using TEs, is quite overblown.
And he had Bijan for his rookie year, its not like he had him for multiple years. Did you expect him to give a rookie RB 300car like he was Derrick Henry? Vrabel/McDaniels barely started Treveyon most of the season and now they're in the SB, using him in a committee, like what Smith did. And you're forgetting his only competent WR was a 2nd year Drake London, so the only other offensive weapons he had were 2 TEs(Pitts and Jonnu Smith). Gotta tell the whole story if you're going to bash the guy.

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If he only stays 2-3yrs, that's a massive success. Saban only kept his OCs for the same amount of time and saw success. Plus it keeps new voices in the room. Coordinators aren't staying for 5-10yrs any longer

1 guy who had never called plays and was only a position coach his entire short career, compared to a guy who literally worked his way up the NFL coaching tree, was an NFL HC and OC. And he called plays while being a HC, so 3 different stops he was an actual OC. I'd say that's an upgrade

But he called the plays, so he was the OC in essence.

Funny, those are 3 things I don't loathe either

Sorry for writing so many, but there were a lot of interesting posts to respond to.

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I really hope I'm wrong. I just don't see what everyone is talking about with Smith being some guru, especially in the run game.

This is the shit we had to watch for two years. The O-line play went from middling under Canada to incompetent with Smith.

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Might it have been the O-line coach? I really hope so. But the drop in execution was very noticeable after Smith came in.

And I don't buy the talent thing. Pickens left and looks like a superstar. Dotson got traded away and immediately turned into a pro-bowler. In 2024 Najee was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on 52% of hand offs. The run game fell off a cliff this year without him setting records for broken tackles.

I'm trying to convince myself it was somehow Tomlin meddling and demanding risk averse gameplans, but I don't think that's the case. More likely Smith just had prime Derrick Henry for a couple years and has coasted on that ever since.

Jagdaddy said:

Quite an example of FAFO.

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It's fake. And wasn't even a difficult fake to spot.

Clowns head coach search when their candidates keep dropping out.

The level of arrogance, thinking that HC interviewees are going to want to write essays, take personality tests, and whatever other hoops the Brain Trust of Haslam and Berry want them to do, thinking their HC vacancy is desired is as much incredibly preposterous as it checks out and makes complete sense for the Browns being the Browns.

BuckeyeNation27 said:

Not attacking you, but look at all the excuses. Rookie Bijan, rookie London, over the hill Rodgers, average Tannehill. At what point are we going to stop and just say he aint it? You ask who can have success with a 2nd year WR? Seattle would say hi, but they're busy preparing for the SB. With what I'm assuming you'd call "average Sam Darnold" if he were to have played under Arthur Smith. Tons of OCs in the NFL would love to have Buckeye fandom defending their failures just because they got (inexplicably) chosen to be on the Ohio State staff for what I hope is just one year.

Think this a good hire, think it's a bad hire....whatever. But when people defend every single thing he does with this much excuse making (not you....everybody as a whole), it makes me wonder if the defense isn't just hopium. I choose to believe that's exactly what it is, because it's one of the things a massive successful fanbase does best.

edit: ah shit....JSN is in year 3. I'll leave it for transparency.

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What’s worse.

Having excuses for when he didn’t do well?

Or ignoring his offenses when they were good?

Can’t do both man. You can’t say “you’re making excuses!” And then say “well the stats aren’t telling the story”

It’s probably somewhere in the middle. When Arthur has good players he does well it seems. When he doesn’t have good players he doesn’t do well. Here at OSU he’s going to have the best players so I bet he’ll do great.

This Browns coaching search is like watching WNBA players try to shoot layups. One brick after another. Total shit show.

pnuts34 said:

I think the Smith love for using TEs, is quite overblown.
And he had Bijan for his rookie year, its not like he had him for multiple years. Did you expect him to give a rookie RB 300car like he was Derrick Henry? Vrabel/McDaniels barely started Treveyon most of the season and now they're in the SB, using him in a committee, like what Smith did. And you're forgetting his only competent WR was a 2nd year Drake London, so the only other offensive weapons he had were 2 TEs(Pitts and Jonnu Smith). Gotta tell the whole story if you're going to bash the guy.

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If he only stays 2-3yrs, that's a massive success. Saban only kept his OCs for the same amount of time and saw success. Plus it keeps new voices in the room. Coordinators aren't staying for 5-10yrs any longer

1 guy who had never called plays and was only a position coach his entire short career, compared to a guy who literally worked his way up the NFL coaching tree, was an NFL HC and OC. And he called plays while being a HC, so 3 different stops he was an actual OC. I'd say that's an upgrade

But he called the plays, so he was the OC in essence.

Funny, those are 3 things I don't loathe either

Sorry for writing so many, but there were a lot of interesting posts to respond to.

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Yes I have seen a couple pundits saying the same thing. Makes sense.

buckeyeintn said:

I think they should announce everyone with a valid student ID gets in free tonight.

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FIFW......

brodybuck21 said:

game on!

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Apparently Penn State must have been able to get here (and obviously Ohio State is here) so I guess they might as well go on and play.....

There appears to be a lot of cheap seats available (from $5 and up) on the aftermarket websites.....

Anybody planning on going to the game?

lvbuckeye said:

No. He doesn't. Guys who suck at football don't call the plays for top offenses. Guys who suck at football don't succeed so well as OCs that they get over promoted into head coaching gigs. Guys who suck at football don’t take over the moribund Steelers offense and nearly double their touchdown production with absolutely abysmal personnel.

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Guys who suck but are rich get shit they dont deserve every goddamn day. The NFL is fuckin notorious for hiring shitty coaches and people to be HC. Then when they fail, they get another chance at being a HC because other rich failures like that pumpkin pie haircutted freak in Las Vegas are dumb as a box of fuckin rocks.

Idk if this dude sucks or not. Guess we'll see.

Feels like Day is building his staff for his eventual ascension to the NFL tho.

BuckeyeNation27 said:

Not attacking you, but look at all the excuses. Rookie Bijan, rookie London, over the hill Rodgers, average Tannehill. At what point are we going to stop and just say he aint it? You ask who can have success with a 2nd year WR? Seattle would say hi, but they're busy preparing for the SB. With what I'm assuming you'd call "average Sam Darnold" if he were to have played under Arthur Smith. Tons of OCs in the NFL would love to have Buckeye fandom defending their failures just because they got (inexplicably) chosen to be on the Ohio State staff for what I hope is just one year.

Think this a good hire, think it's a bad hire....whatever. But when people defend every single thing he does with this much excuse making (not you....everybody as a whole), it makes me wonder if the defense isn't just hopium. I choose to believe that's exactly what it is, because it's one of the things a massive successful fanbase does best.

edit: ah shit....JSN is in year 3. I'll leave it for transparency.

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Hopium is all we have. He’s hired. If it’s a failure next year then join the lunatic fringe calling for Days head. If it’s a success then enjoy it.

To me to say someone is a success or failure in their role is to have established criteria for that determination.

As we discuss Smith, what will the criteria be for determining his success as the OC? Will it be stats for the offense, will it include ability to adjust in game (not sure how that is determined), will the ability to game plan for an opponent be included (knowing what the U’s line will bring), wins/losses, or some sort of combo?

pnuts34 said:

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Going once...
Going twice...

To Miami.....

The 8 Power 4 programs who are in college football hell heading into the 2026 offseason​

I don’t say “hell” lightly. I try not to say it at all, but hey, sometimes, it just fits.

As it pertains to college football, “hell” can’t be confused with purgatory. Some teams exist just fine in purgatory and don’t ever necessarily feel like the situation is dire enough to start throwing around the “H-word.” To be in college football hell, one must understand context. It’s more than just bad vibes. It’s vibes that feel like a certain form of torture is imminent. Whether that’s having an under-performing coach on an insane contract or having a team that can’t seem to get out of its own way, college football hell comes in a variety of forms.

To get out of hell, one can get a breakthrough season or hire the right coach. Indiana was firmly in college football hell for decades, but it hired Curt Cignetti and found a way to replace apathy with dominance. Kentucky was in college football hell the last couple years of the Mark Stoops era, but hiring an offensive-minded, 30-something coach who has dominated the transfer portal has changed the offseason mood in Lexington. Michigan was in college football hell, then Kyle Whittingham bailed the Wolverines out.

Talk to a fan of a team in college football hell, and you’ll probably confirm that notion within the first minute of that conversation. A groan, an exasperated sigh, a Hail Mary plea to the college football gods, etc. You get it. You can smell the desperation on them.

For these 8 Power Conference teams, college football hell is all too real:

Arkansas​

Cincinnati​

Clemson
You had me at “he hired Chad Morris to run his offense.” Ask aforementioned Arkansas or recently hell-departed Auburn (promising new coach) about that. That alone would make Clemson a worthy inclusion of this list, but the Tigers are in hell because the team that Dabo Swinney bragged about breaking Clemson out of its 2020s funk couldn’t even win 8 games. Mind you, that was after it started at No. 1 in the FBS in percentage of returning production. Clemson didn’t pay $60 million to fire Swinney after his disastrous 2025 season. Even worse, he repeatedly defended his ways and all but dared AD Graham Neff to fire him by declaring that he’d find work elsewhere if his time was up. It’s not. Instead, Swinney still has the power to do things like … hire Morris. Clemson fans will defend Swinney to the ends of the earth for those 2 titles, but deep down, they know what everyone else does — the game has passed him by....

Florida State​

Mississippi State

Nebraska

UNC

Wisconsin

And keep an eye on Tennessee and USC

Just sayin': Dabo would probably sell his soul to the devil for a #11 ranking......

BuckeyeNation27 said:

Not attacking you, but look at all the excuses. Rookie Bijan, rookie London, over the hill Rodgers, average Tannehill. At what point are we going to stop and just say he aint it? You ask who can have success with a 2nd year WR? Seattle would say hi, but they're busy preparing for the SB. With what I'm assuming you'd call "average Sam Darnold" if he were to have played under Arthur Smith. Tons of OCs in the NFL would love to have Buckeye fandom defending their failures just because they got (inexplicably) chosen to be on the Ohio State staff for what I hope is just one year.

Think this a good hire, think it's a bad hire....whatever. But when people defend every single thing he does with this much excuse making (not you....everybody as a whole), it makes me wonder if the defense isn't just hopium. I choose to believe that's exactly what it is, because it's one of the things a massive successful fanbase does best.

edit: ah shit....JSN is in year 3. I'll leave it for transparency.

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Not taking it as an attack. Were just having a discussion, and honestly I may be talking myself into the hire. But where youre saying "excuses", im saying caveats or youre not telling the whole story. Just using DK(or even Pickens) as examples but not mentioning the QB is being disingenuous. Saying he didnt use Bijan is correct, but also saying he was only a rookie is also correct. Saying he hasn't done much in a passing game is correct, but ignoring the QBs he had is being disingenuous. Darnold is better than Mariota, Ridder and Tannehill, and Id even take him over Rodgers. Darnell is still an above average QB. Smith has never even had an above average QB. Let's be honest here.

The following names were who fans wanted during the process: JT Barrett(just because hes a former player, but has never called plays so he'd be like bringing back Hartline in having no play calling experience), Joe Moorhead(gotten worse during his coaching tenure and Day didnt seem interested), Brian Daboll(sticking with the NFL), Mike McDonald(a failed HC like Smith, but did less with all the talent he had), Kliff Kingsbury(same as McDonald), Chip Kelly(Day had no interest in him).

I mentioned him before, but Josh McDaniels at one time was considered an overrated OC who was riding Belichek and Bradys coattails and was a terrible HC. And now hes in the SB. Were all just talking and speaking our minds until actual games are played. You're entitled to your opinion and others are entitled to there's. But I dont think this hire will be as bad as you think if Smith can correct some of the issues in the run game, especially short yardage. And have more creativity in the offense as a whole. Which we didnt a lot of last year with the 1st year OC who looked in over his head at times

OHSportsFan said:

*Pro Bowler, Shadeur Sanders.

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What the...?

His QBR was 18.9. The lowest QBR listed is Cam Ward at 33.1. This is all from the ESPN site.

Uncle Rico or whatever his name is (personally, I couldn't stand that movie) probably has an equivalent QBR.

College football first-year coach grades: Bill Belichick gets 'D' after rough season at North Carolina​

How did the first-year coaches grade out after their debut campaigns in 2025?​

The biggest hire of the coaching carousel didn't work out nearly as well as expected.

It was a relatively quiet coaching carousel a year ago, at least at the Power Four level where only six programs made changes leading into the 2025 season. There wasn't a big marquee opening the way there was the year prior (Alabama, Michigan) or the following year (LSU, Florida, Penn State and Michigan). Instead, it was North Carolina that made the splash of the cycle when it lured eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick to Chapel Hill.

Unfortunately for UNC, Belichick and his team made more waves off the field than it did on it. It was another much less heralded hire in North Carolina that fared considerably better.

With the 2025 season officially in the books now, here is the full list of grades on the Year 1 performances of every first-year Power Four head coach.

North Carolina - Bill Belichick: D​

Purdue - Barry Odom: D​

Stanford - Frank Reich: C-​

UCF - Scott Frost: C+​

Wake Forest - Jake Dickert: A​

There were questions about fit as Jake Dickert had spent his entire career out West, but he quickly showed why AD John Currie believed he could win in Winston Salem. Dickert was the best hire of the cycle, taking over where Dave Clawson left off and guiding the Demon Deacons to wins over SMU, Virginia and North Carolina. It was only the fourth time in school history it recorded nine or more wins, quite the accomplishment for a first-year coach. The future looks bright at Wake Forest under Dickert. Record: 9-4

West Virginia - Rich Rodriguez: C-​

Just sayin': The post season review of the power 4 teams making coaching changes for 2026 should be a lot more interesting....

Key 2026 Power 4 Head Coaching Changes:

• LSU: Lane Kiffin (from Ole Miss)
• Florida: Jon Sumrall (from Tulane)
• Washington State: Kirby Moore (from Missouri)
• Penn State: Matt Campbell
• Virginia Tech: James Franklin
• Michigan: Kyle Whittingham

pnuts34 said:

..
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He prefers to use 1 primary WR, and then the #2 WR and TE then become the next receiving weapons, but depending on the personnel, a RB could move into a top 3 role. I don't see that happening at OSU with all of the WR and TE talent, but Smith likes using his RBs in the passing game, A LOT! So get used to see screens, wheel routes and slants to Bo, Ja'Kobi, Isaiah and company.
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And if I'm wrong on all of this, PLEASE quote this and laugh in my proverbial face

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All I could see was a combo of Bo and Legend when I read this highlighted section.