Wadcutter said:

5-4, bottom of the 5th, 1 out, nobody on.

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Correct.

Aight, yall know what kind of party this is. Put your keys in the bowl. Jimmy wraps on the counter. Lube on request.

The Dawgs have spent years funneling booster money to accumulate an outrageous amount of talent that only Alabama and Ohio State can match.

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https://www.mgoblog.com/content/georgia-34-michigan-11

Bagmen.

Pottersville ROCKS!

George's confusion, even dismay, is understandable -- it's always a shock when the laws of space and time cease to apply. But if he'd hung out for a while, had a few drinks in the Indian Club, dropped a couple dimes in the dance hall, maybe checked out the action at the burlesque, he would have gotten a whole new take on the situation. Pottersville has its problems -- its bartenders can be undeniably ill-humored, for example -- but compared to the snooze-inducing Bedford Falls, it jumps.

...

And, of course, there are the town's many fine taverns. Alas, we will never know what delights are hidden behind the door of the Indian Club or the Bamboo Room, the Midnight Club or the Blue Moon. But we do have firsthand knowledge of one hostelry -- Nick's, formerly Martini's, the first place into which George and Clarence stumble and from which they are rapidly ejected. And if Nick's is any indication, a night out in Pottersville is not one to forget.

The first thing we see in Nick's is a black piano player, stomping out some righteous honky tonk. A Lauren Bacall-type babe at a crowded table catches the eye. Tough-looking men in fedoras and worldly-wise broads in low-cut dresses are bellied up to the bar. In a word, it's a happening place -- until George and the egregious Clarence come in.

FWIW, Dr. Rex Kern, PhD as a book out:

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Ex-Florida wide receiver Jacob Copeland is transferring to Maryland. The redshirt-junior wideout announced his commitment to the Terrapins Friday afternoon on social media. The news comes just over two weeks after Copeland entered the NCAA transfer portal. Despite his decision to transfer, he elected to play in Florida’s bowl game Thursday night, making two catches for 35 yards in the Gators’ 29-17 loss to UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Copeland finished the season as the Gators’ leading receiver with 41 catches for 642 yards and four touchdowns while appearing in all 13 games and making 12 starts.

"After much thought, prayer and discussion with my friends and family, I have made the decision to enter the Transfer Portal," Copeland wrote in a farewell note on Dec. 9. "This has not been an easy decision or one that I have taken lightly; however, I want to do what is best for my development by pursuing my goals and furthering my career.”

Before the clock strikes midnight, I have to confess this...

Well, doggone it.

Is ok to sell tickets to the game here? Rose Bowl. Ohio State side. Section 13H Row 52. Four (4) tickets together. Face value $185 each. Can transfer tickets immediately. Venmo payment. Email [email protected] or message if interested.

Betting that Cincy will get him. His bet buddy is playing for Cincy, and believe it was his #2(?) before committing to the good guys along with his other buddy Paris Johnson. He'll probably get more minutes with UC, and with them joining the B12, maybe more TV exposure? Anyway, good luck young man.

Gunlife said:

Thats it. For some reason I thought his name was Smith. That qb ran like a scared bitch the rest of the game. Wonder if that would be a penalty today....

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“Roughing” today.

I take the long view, enjoy and relish every single win, and don't focus on the disappointments. Disappointment is the ONLY guarantee in football.
Buckeyes give us a whole lot more great wins every year , and only one bad Saturday or 2, like what happened that day with Clemson, and this year's TTUN. 99.9% of schools fans don't get seasons like we have, dont have something as great as the last 20 years. Look at all the USC, Nebraska, Texas, fan misery. They don't even get to be RELEVANT this past decade. They have REASONS for sadness. TTUN has the most misery this decade probably, (and its mostly cause of us!) Their fans are so demented by suffering, and traumatized by Urban Meyer era, they desperately troll 2021 Jaguars Highlight (Lowlight) reels.
So we don't win it all every year, and TTUN finally got one. You're torrenters hopefully collecting archives; Cherish and re-watch all that glory. Lots are up on Youtube, somebody recently put up the 2012 undefeated season, download them and make rewatching that an offseason project.

BuckBackHome said:

Saban can stop recruiting. Just go to the portal non-stop.

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Saban did warn everyone about this...

Mo Wells is an attorney in Columbus

https://www.vorys.com/wells

wish so

One of the all time classics....

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I just tell ‘em, keep on lookin’ over your shoulder with your ears to the rail, ‘cause a runaway ammunition train us bearing down on you. No enjoyment, just fear until the world is put back in order next November.

cmstophe said:

Is he really going to play the same position that Branch or Nwankpa was going to? I know even those two are different types of players themselves, of course. I dunno.

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Styles was going to play what Nwankpa was. So we’re good there.

But both chose distance and really family. Can’t fault them

FWIW, the "2022 Alumni Season Ticket Window" is now open.

On behalf of the Department of Athletics, we write to thank you for being a loyal Ohio State Football season ticket holder. This is a reminder that your 2022 Ohio State football season ticket invoice is available online beginning today for those interested in renewing early or taking advantage of year-
end tax deductible contributions. The deadline to renew is March 1, 2022. Beginning this season, we are providing various payment plan options to choose from in order to give all ticket holders the opportunity to extend the payments for up to 9 months. Your invoice will include all season tickets, applicable Per-Seat Contributions, season parking permits and parking qualifying contributions.

My season ticket package for 2 tickets/game ($559 x 2 = $1118.00) is actually cheaper than last year ($1404.00) and there is an additional home game in 2022. Now I am just in "Zone 6" though.



Several games last year were not sellouts so maybe they are actually lowering the prices for 2022 to try an fill the stadium to capacity for every game. The Ticketmaster processing fee did go up $5 to $40 for 2022. Here's what they say individual game tickets will cost:

SINGLE GAME PRICE



https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ticke...pJobID=1400425624&spReportId=MTQwMDQyNTYyNAS2

Where does a healthy Justice Sueing fit in Ohio’s State’s lineup?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The return of Ohio State’s third-leading scorer from last season is imminent. Whose minutes will be impacted?

At some point later today, we should have a little more information on both Justice Sueing and Seth Towns’ individual rehab assignments, but what we know for sure is that Ohio State expects both to play at some point this month. Two weeks ago, Chris Holtmann said that both Sueing and Towns are “weeks away.” Prior to the Wisconsin game on Saturday (an Ohio State win), Holtmann specifically ruled both guys out — something he had not done for either player since Sueing re-injured himself between the Niagara and Bowling Green games last month.


While this could be speculation on my end, Holtmann ruling Towns and Sueing out for the Wisconsin game infers that both players are getting close to returning — close enough that their odds to be activated for that Wisconsin game were greater than zero. Towns has been targeting a December-ish return since he had back surgery in September. Sueing’s absence was considered indefinite originally, but Holtmann’s “weeks away” comment inferred that he’d be back sometime this month, hopefully.

It’s unlikely that Towns starts at any point this season. Once healthy, he’ll be one of Ohio State’s go-to bench scorers — adding to a treasure trove of weapons that have already proven to be very useful this season. The Buckeyes’ recent wins over Duke and Towson have largely been thanks to their bench, and Towns will make that bench even deeper. On Monday, Holtmann said that Towns will be Ohio State’s “sixth or seventh” guy.

But during that same radio appearance on 97.1 FM, Holtmann referred to Sueing as “one of our starters” and “our second-best scorer.” That means that once he’s healthy, Sueing will not be used off the bench a la Kyle Young. Perhaps initially while his minutes are being ticked back up he will, but it will not be long until Sueing is back in the starting lineup.

With that said, who gets bumped out? Holtmann mixed a few different lineups early on, but for the last several games it’s been Jamari Wheeler, Malaki Branham, Justin Ahrens, E.J. Liddell, and Zed Key. Clearly, someone is getting bumped to a reserve role once Sueing returns.

Below, I outlined the two most-likely scenarios for when Sueing returns. I also included a third option that almost certainly won’t happen, but we might as well include it — just in case.

Ahrens out, Sueing in

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

From a traditional standpoint, this makes the most sense. Sueing takes Ahrens’ spot, the guards stay the same, and Key continues to anchor everything down low. A career 31% three-point shooter, Sueing is nowhere close to the same threat Ahrens is from outside (42% 3PT), but he can score in more ways than his fellow left-handed teammate.

Sueing is a passable outside shooter, but more importantly he’s great at driving to the basket and then picking where to pull up from that 6-10-foot range versus where to attack all the way to the rim (54% shooter from two-point range). He’s also a reliable free throw shooter and an above-average rebounder (5.5 rebounds per game last season). Sueing is also a better all-around defender than Ahrens, even taking into consideration the huge strides the latter has made this season on defense.

Overall, Sueing just brings more to the table than Ahrens does. That’s not a knock on Justin — he is still a solid player — but them’s the facts.

Branham out, Sueing in

Nicolas Galindo/The Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Personally, this is what I believe would be the best — and most interesting — switch. Sueing is not a traditional guard (on or off-ball) at 6-foot-7, but we saw last season that Holtmann trusts him to at least get the ball past half court without incident. That goofy behind the back turnover against Michigan lingers in a lot of folks’ minds, but for the most part he was pretty passable.

Also: what has Malaki Branham done so far this season that Sueing can’t do? Branham is going to be a star, but right now he’s young and still figuring things out. In 21.8 minutes per game as a starter, he’s scoring 6.3 PPG to go along with 3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 turnovers per night. He’s shooting 38.8% overall and 33% from three-point land. None of these stats are great, and some are subjectively bad. Again, I think Branham is going to be a star very soon, — probably an NBA draftee eventually.

But if the position listed on the roster next to a guy’s name is why you think Branham needs to stay in the lineup, think again. Sueing can do everything Branham has so far, but much more efficiently. A lineup of Wheeler, Sueing, Ahrens, Liddell, and Key has some serious thump to it, and after a 2-0 start in B1G play, the Buckeyes should slam their foot on the gas pedal and try to keep that streak alive.

Just play your best five guys!

Sueing comes off the bench

Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

I had to include this because there’s an off-chance it happens, I suppose. Kyle Young has been super efficient off the bench so far, and it’s looking like that’s where he’ll stay for the duration of this season. While having your sixth through eighth guys in the rotation be Sueing, Young, and Towns would be menacing for opposing teams, holding all three back just seems silly.

Both Branham and Ahrens have some very obvious flaws in their game still, and so does Key. Ohio State is one of the deepest teams in the nation, but keeping Sueing on the bench and starting Ahrens and Branham over him seems silly. If Holtmann truly thinks Sueing is his second-best scorer, he needs to be in that starting lineup.

But hey, Young is coming off the bench, and Holtmann has the utmost confidence in both Branham and Ahrens. So who knows!

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Reviewing the early signing period for the Buckeyes and their 2022 class
Caleb Houser 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

Ohio State had a rather uneventful early signing period, but did unfortunately lose one member of the class on a flip to another program

Wednesdays of course marked the beginning of early signing period for the 2022 class. With the fax machine being watched by the entire Ohio State coaching staff all morning, the Buckeyes had a relatively easy early signing day, as they officially welcomed 17 players to the fold in the current cycle. Now before fans get too worried, yes, there are 18 current guys in the fold and the coaches firmly expect to accept the signature of in-state linebacker, Gabe Powers, this coming Friday, as he is doing a special ceremony to commemorate the moment to complete the list of guys who were already committed.

However, the word relatively was used earlier to describe how “easy” the day went, but there was one major negative to the day when Ohio State’s highest-ranked cornerback in the class, Terrance Brooks, flipped to Texas to stay close to home. Making it back to back classes where the Buckeyes lose out on their top corner in the class, Ryan Day even said in his press conference that the staff was not expecting the move, but rumblings all over social media just hours before and the late push made by the Texas staff seemed to be too prevalent, and of course where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

Before getting too worked up about the flip by Brooks, it’s important to note than even with only 18 members in the class, the Buckeyes still boast the nation’s fourth-best class per the 247Sports class rankings. What makes it more impressive is seeing that the school in the top five with the closest number of players in comparison to Ohio State’s 18 is Alabama with 24. A whopping six more guys in their class, that should show how talented this Buckeyes’ group is in terms of individual rankings for each guy in the fold. Fortunately, Day and the rest of the staff fully expect to sign three or four more players by time February rolls around, which will only further increase this class score.

Overall, the 2022 recruiting class is another top five group, and will keep the Buckeyes right at the top of the country in terms of having the most talented rosters in college football. There are still high profile players that Ohio State is in a great spot with, and while this class isn’t completely over yet, the coaching staff knows who they have to focus in on and also have time to really hammer the transfer portal for players that fill needs for the next season. In addition, the 2023 class will see a little more attention now that they’re the major priority moving forward. As you know, recruiting never stops.

Ohio State sends out offer to 2023 offensive tackle


You would think the Ohio State coaching staff would be a little preoccupied with the 2022 early signing day, and of course they were, but they still had time to do some recruiting on Wednesday when they sent out their latest offer. Taking to his Twitter account to share the update, 2023 offensive line prospect Olaus Alinen was the latest player on the receiving end of an Ohio State offer, and showed his excitement that the Buckeyes had now entered the race for his services.

A monstrous 6-foot-7, 315 pound offensive tackle, Alinen already has college-ready size, but amazingly still has a full year to develop his game and get stronger, which is pretty scary considering all that he brings to the table currently as a high school junior. Ranked as the 12th-best offensive tackle in the 2023 class, Alinen is also considered to be the top player in his home state of Connecticut, and the 125th-best player nationally all per the 247Sports Composite.

With over 30 offers to his name already, it’s almost a little surprising the Buckeyes had yet to offer this elite tackle prospect considering how important the position is in each recruiting class. Already in the fold are most of the top college programs in the country. Schools such as Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, USC, and several more have already thrown their hat in to the ring, but with Ohio State now in the running, the Buckeyes will look to make up for some lost time. Fortunately, their offer as mentioned was welcomed, and had Alinen excited to start a relationship with the Buckeye coaches.

Quick Hits

• There was some more defensive back news yesterday as Elias Ricks, the one time five-star cornerback announced his plans to transfer to Alabama from LSU. A Buckeye consideration originally, developments took place that Ohio State took their name out of the running for his commitment. Whether it be due to the rumored “red flags” surrounding Ricks, the injury history, or even wanting to keep current guys on the roster at the same position happy, he is no longer an option.

Where Ohio State goes from here is a little bit unknown, but there does look like there’s a clear need at cornerback with the Brooks flip to Texas. Maybe the staff will stick with what they already have in the position room, but whatever the case, there needs to be some serious development of younger guys this offseason.


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Column: Does Ohio State have to be worried about Penn State’s off-the-field moves?
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Happenings off the field may shift the balance toward the Nittany Lions.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons might be the best rookie in the league. He’s already getting compared to Lawrence Taylor and, according to Parsons himself in speaking to Sports Illustrated, he doesn’t, “really think the NFL is hard.”

Truth is, the former Penn State star is making it look pretty easy. Through 13 games, Parsons has had a dozen sacks and three forced fumbles. Jevon Kearse holds the rookie sack record at 14.5 — a mark Parsons looks poised not only to break, but to demolish. Most recently against the Washington Football Team, Parsons had two sacks, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

Micah Parsons opted out of the entire 2020 college football season due to COVID-19, but still managed to be a first-round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, with the Cowboys taking him 12th overall. His time at Penn State had been plenty impressive, and it was clear the Nittany Lions missed him as James Franklin’s team dropped their first five games of the 2020 season without their best player on the field. Parsons was a consensus All-American in 2019, and brought home the Butkus-Fitzgerald award honoring the Big Ten’s best linebacker.

Like Chase Young, Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa have done for DE in both the college and NFL ranks, seeing Parsons have such monster success as a rookie is a boon for Penn State on the recruiting front. With the Early Signing Period today, that influence will surely help as the Nittany Lions lock in a star-studded class.

That recruiting benefit will no doubt be aided by Manny Diaz getting brought in as defensive coordinator, as well as James Franklin’s massive contract extension this season, which locks him in with the Nittany Lions for the next decade. Led by Diaz, the Hurricanes ranked 11th in the recruiting for the class for 2021 and 17th in 2020.

Now, Penn State has signed one of the nation’s top classes, sitting at fifth nationally for the class of 2022 (including one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in Drew Allar). Last year, the Nittany Lions were 21st for the class of 2021, with no five-star recruits.

Franklin, the offensive-minded coach who cut his teeth coaching receivers, has effectively transformed Penn State’s offense from something that looks like what we think of when we think Iowa football to one that has a propensity to put up points — this season’s performance against Illinois notwithstanding. However, that offensive bend sways somewhat from the tradition of Penn State which, like Iowa, is known for stout defense and not much else.

Diaz is a big name to replace Brent Pry, who left the Nittany Lions to fill the head coaching vacancy at Virginia Tech. Diaz is an incredible addition for many tangible reasons, like recruiting the fertile South Florida region, but also for intangible ones, such as the panache he brings to a program that may have been perceived as shifting its philosophy to scoring points rather than stopping them.

But, the thing is, Penn State’s defense has not actually been bad (in fact, it’s been really good), and the addition of Diaz, combined with the success of Parsons, means that Penn State presents a balanced team that has a reputation for being elite on both sides of the ball.

What do these changes in Happy Valley mean for Ohio State? Unfortunately, it means the Buckeyes are no longer the talk of the town in every football-related category. Sure, they’ve got offense on lockdown (another shoutout to another Heisman Trophy finalist at quarterback), but the trends on defense have been troubling.

Until facing Alabama last season in the College Football Playoff finals, the Buckeyes, like Penn State, boasted an elite defense. This season, that defense was regularly exploited. The passing defense finished 12th in the Big Ten, giving up 247 yards per game through the air. There were also those games against Minnesota, Oregon and Michigan where the Buckeyes allowed 200+ yards on the ground in each matchup.

These shifts felt like they’ve been in the works for some time, though. In the 2021 NFL Draft, for the first time since 2015, the Buckeyes did not have a defensive player taken in the first round of the draft. It was a far cry from just a few years before when, for instance, Ohio State had three defensive backs taken in the first round alone, or three seasons where defensive ends were taken within the top-three picks.

However, is one very poor season of performances on defense enough to press the panic button? The Buckeyes have made their own moves at defensive coordinator, bringing on Oklahoma State’s Jim Knowles. While not a name like Diaz (because he’s never been a head coach at a Power Five program), his Cowboys gave up under 17 points per game this season. In theory, that shift should solve many of the on-field challenges we’ve seen from the defense in the last year.

When it comes to pro-level talent, there’s also a degree of the NFL being something of a numbers game which, unfortunately, is not as skewed in favor of the Buckeyes as one might think: Ohio State has 44 players on NFL rosters currently to Penn State’s 33. Further, there are many notable Nittany Lions at many positions: Allen Robinson and Chris Godwin at wide receiver, Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders at running back, heck, even Robbie Gould at kicker. And of course, Micah Parsons.

Ohio State finished this season ranked 50th in scoring defense nationally and seventh in the Big Ten. For a brand that’s prided itself for years on developing NFL-caliber talent, that’s bad, especially when one of the teams well ahead — Penn State, which was seventh nationally and third in the conference — has had such vivid performances from former players and made such high-profile offseason moves.

For several seasons in recent memory, Penn State rose to become the most threatening team on Ohio State’s schedule, but the Nittany Lions have fallen off somewhat in the last three seasons. Now, however, Penn State’s success in the NFL, elite recruiting and premier coaching staff have created a competing brand in the Big Ten East — and one the Buckeyes will have to watch out for on the recruiting trail and the football field alike.

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