Week 8 primer: Wisconsin’s next tough test? At rival Iowa
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Week 8 features all 14 teams in action in seven games. And all eyes will be on two games, one from each division that will go a long way in shaping the races: Ohio State at Penn State in the East and Wisconsin at Iowa in the West.

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Seeing a lot of non buckeye stuff come through with the tBBC tag on it. Any idea whats going on?

Senators Trade Zibanejad to the Rangers for Brassard
TDS Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


CALGARY, CANADA – FEBRUARY 27: Mika Zibanejad #65 of the Ottawa Senators celebrates his hat trick goal in the third period with Mike Hoffman #68 during their NHL game against the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on February 27, 2016 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

It seemed like it was just a few weeks ago that Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was singing Mika Zibanejad’s praises.


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Oh.

Apparently, that next step will have to come in New York because yesterday the Senators announced that they’ve traded Zibanejad and a 2018 second round pick to the New York Rangers for Derick Brassard and a 2018 seventh rounder.

For all the talk this offseason about how much Dorion liked the composition of his top-six forwards, he shook it up by making a deal that should, in theory, make the Senators better in the interim (and for those of you who aren’t enamoured with the trade and are looking for some silver lining, well, at least it wasn’t a move that brought in Dan Girardi).

Brassard is a known commodity who played in junior under Guy Boucher and he is coming off a season in which he tallied 27 goals and 58 points. The season before, he set a career high by notching 60 points. Put in the relative context of Zibanejad’s production, and the young Swede has failed to reach or surpass either of those point thresholds.

Then again, it’s not really that uncommon for a top-six centre who has been in the league for nine seasons to have better numbers at some point in his career than a centre who only turned 23 years of age this past April.

In fairness to Zibanejad however, it’s not like he’s far off Brassard’s career-best point totals either. Despite the fact that he’s almost six years younger than Brassard, who will turn 29 years old this September, Mika already has two 20+ goal seasons under his belt to Brassard’s one and although Brassard’s point production has taken a step forward these past two seasons, he does only have three 45+ point seasons in his career to Zibanejad’s two.

Here’s a closer look at their rate stats over the years via HockeyAnalysis.com:

Derick Brassard Mika Zibanejad
Age Pts/60
2012-13 1.69
2014-15 1.88



Looking at the production totals alone, Brassard’s been the better player, but Zibanejad has been the more productive of the two at even strength.

On the power play, it’s a different story.

Over the past two seasons, Brassard has averaged 5.39 points per 60 minutes of power play ice time. Of the forwards who have played 100 minutes or more on the power play during this time, he has the 32nd highest point rate. (As an aside, Brassard was 21st in points per 60 of power play time last season with 5.82 points per 60.)

Conversely, Zibanejad has only averaged 3.66 point per 60 – which puts him tied for the 136th highest rate. Considering the Senators’ shortcomings on the power play, having Brassard around should provide a boost. Then again, as Andre Tourigny pointed out on Ottawa radio after his dismissal, the Senators had one of the best power plays in the league until Kyle Turris was felled by an early-December ankle injury last season.

Then again, Mika’s still young and considering the power play still feels like something where veteran responsibility and cachet still play a big role, maybe Zibanejad will become a more central fixture on the New York power play and because of it, maybe his numbers will spike. If that happens and Zibanejad continues to trend upwards, the Rangers could easily wind up getting the better player and the significantly higher draft pick.

It’s not like Zibanejad is a player without warts in his game.

Mika and his most frequent linemates, Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan, benefitted from having the highest on-ice shooting percentages of the forwards who played in more than 30 games. (Mind you, Brassard spent most of his minutes last season alongside Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash, so there’s a proportionate concern that his production could diminish with lesser linemates in Ottawa.) Despite this good fortune, which could easily help explain his improved offensive totals, it never really felt like that line really clicked or that Zibanejad ever brought out the best of Ottawa’s highest paid player. Then again, when you’re paid to be a difference maker and Ottawa’s best player, the hope is that you’re not a passenger who’s overly reliant on those around him to make him better.

Even though Zibanejad’s been a relatively positive possession player throughout his career, he’s struggled to help drive the puck from the defensive end to the offensive end. Granted, it’s not like he was bookended with Marian Hossa and Jere Lehtinen. As Corsica Hockey’s line combination data shows, of the line combinations that played more than 100 5v5 minutes together last season, only the trio of Hoffman, Turris and Ryan permitted gave up more shots per 60 than the combination of Hoffman, Zibanejad and Ryan.

There was never any question that Mika has the tools and skill set to be a very productive player, but too often, it seemed like his hockey IQ abandoned him as he tried to force the play. In his formative years, he was aided by the fact that he played insulated minutes away from the opposition’s better players, but in recent seasons, it felt like he struggled to establish himself as a legitimate two-way player. Perhaps this on-ice decision making is what helped yield some some middling ‘With or Without You’ numbers.

Like Zibanejad, Brassard’s had relatively positive possession numbers throughout his career and last season, his ‘With or Without You’ numbers also left something to be desired. There is hope that adding a left-handed shot will add a wrinkle to the Senators’ second line, but what really appeals to the Senators in this deal is the price tag belonging to Brassard.

Even though the Senators are taking on an additional $2.375-million on the cap and $1.75-million in real dollars during the first year of this trade because of the difference in salaries being paid to Brassard ($5.0-million) and Zibanejad ($3.25-million), thanks to the frontloaded nature of Brassard’s deal, his base salary over the final two years of his contract is what’s really enticing to Ottawa.

Brassard’s base salary is actually relatively low in the last two years of his contract when he’ll earn $3.5-million per season. Put in contrast with the likelihood that Zibanejad will pull in more than the $3.25-million he’s earning in 2016-17, and you have a situation wherein the Senators have acquired an inexpensive, albeit older, version of what Zibanejad is essentially bringing to the table now. In essence, they traded two young assets with upside for a 29-year old centre who has none so that the team could get cost certainty over the final two years of Brassard’s deal.

It’s the cost of doing business when the organization has clearly established its identity as one that cares much more about interim success and the accompanying playoff revenue, yesterday’s move is skewed towards short-term results.

In fact, it hits all of the boxes on the organization’s checklist:

• Is the team saving money over the long haul?
• Is the team better now than one or two seasons from now?
• Is the player a veteran who has character?
• Does this player have local ties?

But more than anything, this deal came down to money.


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The fact that the deal was consummated after July 15th, the date that Brassard was owed a $2-million bonus, is the cherry on top. It just fuels the notion that the cash-strapped Senators made the move to not only fit Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci into their budget long-term, but that they moved the second round pick as an incentive for the Rangers to pick up the bonus owed to Brassard.

This will assuredly piss off fans who’ve grown tired of hearing how shifting money played such a large factor in a transaction, but that’s the cold hearted reality of Ottawa’s situation in the Eugene Melnyk era. There was some hope that the modus operandi would change once Bryan Murray stepped aside and Dorion inherited the reins, but it’s become increasingly difficult to shake the nagging feeling that, despite the restructuring of the hockey operations department, much has changed or that Melnyk isn’t influencing management’s decisions by pushing his agenda.

For the sake of being clear, I have absolutely no qualms with the organization flipping young assets. In this particular instance, Zibanejad was an incredibly frustrating player to watch at times. It probably didn’t help that some perceived that his DJ’ing hobby was a distraction or that he never really seemed to arrive in training in the best of shape – thanks to his concussion history and that undisclosed ailment he dealt with over the 2014 offseason which prevented him from really working out.

With all of these hiccups, it never really felt like Zibanejad safely projected to develop into something more than what Ottawa already has. Thanks to the presence of players like Turris, Pageau, now Brassard and prospects like Logan Brown and Colin White, Zibanejad became superfluous and expendable.

That said, if you’re a small market club that has limited financial resources available to it, you best make use of how you retain or flip these young assets. Looking back at Ottawa’s trade history, it has traded away a considerable opportunity costs to bring in marginal upgrades who have failed to help make this franchise significantly better. Each season is a constant struggle to reach the playoffs.

The end result, even with Brassard in tow, is a bubble playoff team that has stretched its budget so thin that it has to send futures out to get out from under a prospective Zibanejad extension that it probably couldn’t afford one year from now. And with expensive veteran players playing complementary roles and protected by no-movement clauses, it’s difficult not to look forward and wonder whether this is going to be the norm moving forward as more of this team’s best young players have their ELCs or bridge contracts expire.

This isn’t the direction that the organization sold fans on in 2011.

Within a five year span, the Senators went from being one of the youngest teams in the league to sporting the sixth-oldest roster in the NHL without getting much further ahead.

Hopefully Brassard improves the power play and gives the Senators a centre who finally clicks with Ryan. Considering the winger has gone through centres faster than Ben Affleck goes through bottles of Sam Adams, the Senators desperately need this deal to work out, even with the cost certainty that comes with Brassard. Because provided Zibanejad’s even strength rates stay the same and he gets a similar workload to Brassard on the power play, it’s not out entirely out of the realm of possibility that Mika has opportunity to make this trade look bad as early as next season.



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Sens Summer Fan Fest: Saturday, July 23rd
TDS Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Has it been three years already?

This Saturday, July 23rd, marks the date of the third annual Sens Summer Fan Fest that will take place at MacLaren’s Pub (301 Elgin St.) between 1:00 to 5:30 pm.

The previous two iterations of Sens Summer Fan Fest have raised over $2,200 for the Ottawa Senators Foundation and this year’s event is shaping up to be a pretty good one.

In addition to previous years where there were trivia contests, raffles, silent auctions and video game tournaments, this year’s event will also feature two live discussions. The first is a live recording of TSN 1200‘s ‘That’s What She Said’ and the second will be a moderated panel discussion in which @SensNation will pose questions to a variety of Sens bloggers like Callum from Silver Seven Sens, the mysterious Sens Chirp and possibly even me.

There is no age limit for the event, but if you’re into having a couple of drinks and talking Sens hockey with fellow fans and bloggers (or alternatively, you can heckle me during the moderated discussion) definitely make an effort to come out.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.

Hope to see you all there.



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B-Sens to Belleville for Start of 2017-18 Season?
TDS Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



According to a report out of the Ottawa Citizen, the Ottawa Senators’ will move their affiliate from Binghamton to Belleville in 2017.

Although there has been no official confirmation, in speaking with Broome County executive Debbie Preston, the paper quoted her as being accepting of the AHL’s plans to give Binghamton another affiliate once the Senators relocate their B-Sens to Belleville.


Starting play at the beginning of the 2002-03 season, Binghamton’s been Ottawa’s’ longest-tenured minor league affiliate to date and due to this longstanding commitment and the team’s 2011 Calder Cup championship, the bond between Binghamton Senators fans and Ottawa Senators fans has grown over the years. It’s helped that a lot of the best prospects who’ve played with Binghamton have gone on to become productive players at the NHL level, so there’s going to be some level of attachment there that’s going to be hard for Binghamton fans to let go of. (As an aside, if you’re a Binghamton Senators fan who found their way to this website or checked out this site’s Twitter account, thanks!)

The reasons behind leaving Binghamton are well documented.

The Senators would like a franchise that’s a shorter distance away and doesn’t require the prospects always having to cross the border whenever the Senators have to make an emergency recall. If it can also help broaden the Senators’ fan base a little further down the 401, so be it.

As the Ottawa Citizen outlined however, there are a few hiccups to overcome.

Belleville’s Yardman Arena requires an influx of cash to increase the seating capacity and meet the AHL’s standards for approval. Estimates peg that these renovations will come at a cost of a cool $20-million, but given Preston’s concession that the AHL will bring another franchise to Binghamton, unless the group Perdita Felicien’s it, this doesn’t seem it’s a huge hurdle to clear.

The only left is for the City of Belleville and/or the Ottawa Senators to make an official announcement in the near future.





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Randy Lee Speaks: Development Camp, Chabot Comments, Gagne’s Improvements
TDS Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here



Meant to publish this earlier in the week, but it got thrown on the back burner. On Monday, Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee joined TSN 1200’s ‘In the Box’ to wrap up the 2016 edition of the organization’s development camp and elaborate on his comments regarding his disappointment in Thomas Chabot’s performance.

To listen to the full interview, you can stream it via the embedded media player at the bottom of this post.

As always, my thoughts are in bold.

On how many development camps there have been…

“At least 15. Shawn Camp has done 15 for us, so it could be at least 15.”

The aptly-named Shawn Camp is not only a development camp coach for the Ottawa Senators, but he also serves as the head coach for the University of Guelph.

On how this year’s development camp went…

“Very smooth. I think our staff really stepped up. I really thank them a lot because there were a lot of things going on when you have new coaching staffs in Ottawa, a new head coach in Binghamton and you’re moving your East Coast (Hockey) League team to the Wichita Thunder. I told the players that today and they weren’t excited. So they said, ‘If I don’t make Binghamton, I go to Wichita?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. Remember the Thunder.’ They didn’t like that. They didn’t embrace that.”

I looked up Wichita, Kansas on Trip Advisor and the top five things to do based on the recommendations are:

• Sedgwick County Zoo
• Botanica: The Wichita Gardens – which are described as a “garden right in downtown Wichita!”
• The Keeper of the Plains – a “Wichita Classic!”
• Museum of World Treasures – which houses “many different kinds of Treasures!”
• Old Cowtown Museum

Sounds wonderful.

On why Nick Paul was named the ‘hardest worker’ at this year’s camp…

“It’s voted on by all the coaches, all the conditioning guys and all the trainers and guys that worked with him on a daily basis. He did everything on the ice, off the ice, in the room, the dry-land sessions and the seminars. He worked his rear end off.”

It’s completely unfair to Paul that he’s one of two remaining pieces from an unsalvageable Jason Spezza trade and because of it, fans will always link him to it, but there’s value in developing into an effective third liner. Even though Paul struggled in his first professional season and didn’t really dominate the AHL before his late season promotion, with a little more time and development, the prevailing sentiment is that he safely projects as a third liner.

With the announcement of Chris Kelly’s signing this afternoon, it remains to be seen how the Senators intend on using him. The safe assumption is that he can slot in on the fourth line as the left winger, but it’s possible the Senators would prefer him to get more development time as a centre in Binghamton.

On this being a hurdle and test for Paul because he did play games in the NHL…

“He did (embrace this development camp) and it’s a good story for our guys because this was a guy who went into our camp last year, thought he had a good chance of making our team, didn’t and at one point during the season (he) was a healthy scratch in Binghamton. So you go from a high to a low to the point where he played his first NHL game, scored his first NHL goal and was named the ‘hardest worker’ in development camp. So he’s definitely trending in the right direction.”

Paul was promoted from Binghamton despite putting up an unimpressive six goals and 17 points in 45 games. Equally disappointing was his Paul’s shot rate of 1.71 shots per game.

In Ottawa, he got off to a decent start tallying two goals and an assist in his first six games, but after that, he only managed two assists in his final 18 games. Territorially, whenever he was on the ice, the Senators wound up on the wrong side of the shots on goal, shots, scoring chances and goal columns.

It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll make the Senators’ roster out of camp, but it’s not like there’s a lot of competition for that fourth line left wing spot. He’s competing with guys like Ryan Dzingel and Matt Puempel and neither of those guys have established themselves as regular NHLers either.

On who some of the surprises were in development camp…

“For a guy who’s sort of reclaimed his career is Vince Dunn. He worked really hard on and off the ice. He got a number of votes for ‘hardest worker’. (He) definitely got the most votes for ‘biggest pest’, which is good because that’s his brand. But, he worked his rear end off and he was a real leader, which is good to see. Gabriel Gagne, who is a guy who Shean Donovan and myself have gone after really hard for a guy who’s got tons of skills, but his effort, his intensity and his engagement didn’t match (those skills). And he addressed it and he was more of a power forward this camp. He worked really hard on and off the ice. We watched him in the sparring sessions, we watched him in the sprint mechanic sessions and he applied himself. We gave him a big pat on the back.”

It’s incredibly satisfying to see that Gabriel Gagne is someone who turned some heads with his performance at camp.

After having his work ethic and character questioned in a number of third party evaluations that led up to the 2015 NHL Draft, the Senators gambled on Gagne’s tools and skill set by trading up to select him in the second round of the draft.

The dividends weren’t there in the early going. Not only did he spend much of the early stretch of the season on the shelf with a lower-body injury, he was a prospect who wasn’t exactly being lavished with praise.

In his midseason 2015 draft review, ESPN Insider Corey Pronman noted that, “Ottawa picking Gabriel Gagne No. 36 overall was questionable at the time — and looks worse now. He has good hands for a big man, but his skating could keep his NHL prospects low.”

If Gagne has finally recognized that he can no longer just simply get by on raw talent, it’s great. If he starts putting in the work on and off the ice and realizing what it takes to be a good pro, there’s a good chance that Ottawa’s gamble will pay off.

On how difficult it is to evaluate when you have guys at different stages of their offseason because of when their season ended…

“That’s a good point. Like, some guys haven’t skated for a long time and then they’re expected to go on the ice for six out of seven days and play one scrimmage and a three-on-three tournament, so it’s very hard. So that’s a good point, it’s hard to assess apples to apples, but that’s part of it. We want to see what they do. We want to see how they embrace it. We want to see their work ethic, but we understand. We look at their schedules to see who hasn’t had that much time to prepare. We had one guy that eight days before the camp was on a motorcycle and got hit by a van, so he couldn’t do anything for the five days leading up to camp or six days leading up to camp. So that was tough and he really ruined some of his really nice tattoos, which is a bad sign too. Burned them right off of his body. Stay off motorcycles – that was the message there. He mentioned that, that he’s going to put the motorcycle away.

PSA: don’t drive motorcycles, kids.

On Nick Paul stating that he was too heavy, but he knows that and knows what he needs to work on…

“But, it’s not too heavy in terms of being fat, it’s too heavy in maybe the muscle mass is too much. So it’s a big difference. (The weight is too much) for the type of tempo game that he wants to play? Yeah, we thought that was the best thing for him was to be down a bit. Chris Neil did it before. (Mark Borowiecki) did it, definitely. So (these two) are great examples for him and he understands. He wants to be as big and strong as he can, but for him to get around the ice, he probably has to be a bit lighter.”

Paul sounds like the antithesis of Kyle Turris. He is a naturally large dude, so it is going to be interesting to see if this will be a constant struggle for him.

On some of the new draft picks who surprised because of where they are in their development…

“Christian Wolanin, a defenceman who played with Drake Caggiula and we went and saw him in Grand Forks. He didn’t play much this year, but he worked really hard and he’s a guy who’s going to have a big role next year in North Dakota. And he had a really good camp, got a lot of votes. Very confident guy. Understands his role (at North Dakota), had to sit and didn’t play every game, but when he did play, he played with confidence and he played really well. Miles Gendron was a guy who was a first year guy in university. He had a tough year. His role was not what he was used to. He was very restrained in his role. He had to adapt to that and he went through some real struggles. He looked really good (in the scrimmage). I said, ‘You skate like Paul Coffey,’ and he goes, ‘Who’s Paul Coffey?’ I said, ‘How about Scott Niedermayer?’ and he goes, ‘I know Scott Niedermayer.’ But, he is, he is that fluid of a skater and he’s got to now figure out how to get his coach’s confidence so he can do that at the college level. (He’s) a very top-end talent. Chris Leblanc was a guy who we loved early on, then he bottomed out. He lost confidence, didn’t understand his role and his position was switched all over the place. We kept thinking, ‘This is maybe not going to work out,’ and now this year, Shean Donovan has sort of taken him under his wing and simplified his game. The kid came in with a huge smile, knows his role – right wing, power forward, get pucks deep, get to the front of the net, simple and he’s happy. He’s got a chance (to be a professional).”

Considering that not a lot has been said or written about these prospects since they were drafted, it’s great to get an update on how these project players are developing, even if it means that Miles Gendron is making the rest of us feel old.

On Leblanc being part of team white that won the three-on-three and how they were comprised mostly of unsigned guys who probably had extra motivation…

“Most competitive, not the most skilled, definitely. But, they had motivation though because Vince Dunn was part of their team. Vince was injured, so (their motto) was, ‘Do it for Dunner!’ So that’s what they were doing, that was their motivation.”

Okay, sure.

On how much correspondence he has with these prospects now that development is over…

“They still email me every week. Some guys will go in and out. We’re trying to figure out everyone’s different schedules. I mean, some guys start really soon. Some have to go into their colleges mid-August. You know that routine, it’s tough. Some of the guys like Logan Brown, like he’s going to have World Junior camp, then he’s going to have a rookie camp, then he’s going to have a main camp, then he’s maybe going to have a junior camp, that’s a lot to manage. So we’re trying to figure out… maybe he should talk to a Curtis Lazar or a Nick Paul who’s done that process to make sure he doesn’t get burned out. So some of those guys do that routine and then by October 15th, they’re spent. So it’s a really tough thing to manage, so Chris Schwarz, Shean Donovan and myself are sitting down and looking at each and every guy and saying, ‘What do we have to do? What are the pitfalls that we have to watch out for with this guy and how do we have to encourage them?’”

Logan Brown’s going to be one busy dude.

On sitting down with Logan Brown and how hard it is to not come away impressed…

“Very impressive and he understands how much work he has to put into it now. Like, the potential is incredible. Like, I knew he was a big player. I didn’t know he had that good vision with the puck and the way he made plays. He sees the game at a different level, like the way Mark Stone sees the game. Colin White sees the game that way. There’s something different about those guys, but (Logan) knows he’s got to put in the work, so that’s a good sign.”

Heading into the draft, I was pretty fired up seeing Clayton Keller frequently fall to the Senators’ range in some mock drafts, but the more I read about Brown, the harder it is not to get excited. He already has a blend of elite playmaking and a knack for protecting the puck, but if he can figure out ways to be more creative and make better use of his shot, the Sens could have something special here.

On Colin White’s decision to return to Boston College and how confident he is that this is the right decision for him…

“100-percent. He could have (turned professional). We could have made it work. It’s safer this way and it’s a smarter decision for him just because the year before, he had mono. This year, he’s got the wrist injury, he lost weight during the season, but he’s a special player. We think this is the best thing for him and he knows how much we care about him. We said, ‘Don’t worry about putting up points. You don’t have to sell us (on your offensive upside). We know that you’re going to be a good player. Just play right and play the type of player that you’re going to be and things will work out,’ and he was very happy with that decision.”

It feels weird to say, but it almost feels like this season is a bit of a write off in the sense that the team is essentially returning the same roster that it ended last season with – with the exception being yesterday’s addition of Chris Kelly. Now maybe Thomas Chabot makes the jump and gives fans and the organization someone to be excited about on the team’s third pairing, but I’m already looking ahead to the 2017-18 season when Colin White and Logan Brown and potentially even Chabot will be a part of the roster.

With the current roster composition and a budget that’s essentially been stretched to its limits, I can’t help but wonder if the current roster has taken the Senators as far as it can go. At least for me, it feels like it’s going to have to be this next generation of players who will push the team from its playoff bubble status into something greater.

On Thomas Chabot’s camp and his public criticisms of it during the main media scrimmage…

“Oh, I was just honest. We expected him to dominate the camp. He was really good last year and he had a great season last year. He went into the World Junior camp and the Hockey Canada guys were telling me, ‘Don’t get too excited. We’ve got a lot of guys like him,’ and I said, “Oooh, he might impress you.’ He found his way onto the team and he had a good role. He had a great season, his coaches loved him and he worked really hard. I just felt, to me, my expectation of him (is) that the bar is higher for him. He just didn’t meet it, that’s all.”

Considering Ottawa’s budget and the lack of available quality alternatives on the market, Randy Lee’s trying to light a fire under Chabot’s ass because the team recognizes its situation and realizes that it could use his puck-moving skills to shore up one of its biggest weaknesses. Without knowing what kind of personality Chabot has and how well he’d receive this kind of candid public criticism, it’s hard to criticize Lee for putting it out there. If anyone has an idea on how to push Chabot’s buttons, I’d like to think it’s the guy who has the player development background.

I just hope Chabot handles it well and continues to build on last season’s growth and development.

On Chabot getting the push mid-summer to improve because he has a real opportunity to make this team…

“Absolutely. We have six defencemen signed, like, that’s a great opportunity and he’s a great kid. Don’t get me wrong, there wasn’t arrogance. It just, he looked not as engaged and I thought he would have made more of an impression on the coaching staff, that’s all.”

The good news is that there’s still a few months between now and the rookie tournament and eventually main camp. There’s still plenty of time and opportunity for Chabot to impress.

On the performance of the goaltenders during camp and his satisfaction with their development…

“Yeah, really happy. Matt O’Connor had a tough year last year. I mean, going from BU to be the most sought after college free agent, he had a tough start in Binghamton. Both our goalies had a tough start and (Chris) Driedger’s season went really strong and Matt took off at the end. Matt now has lots of confidence. He has a good relationship with the new goaltending coaches, which is good. We’ve signed Cory Cooper to be a full-time goaltending development coach, which he really likes. So we’ve got presence every week down in Binghamton with the goaltending situation and (Marcus) Hogberg understands he has got to go back one more year and then he’s ready to come over and he’s a real talent too.”

To no one’s surprise, the Senators spent most of the first few days of free agency trying to shore up their AHL roster. It’s not like Binghamton’s goaltenders were fortunate to play behind a talented club. With essentially all of Ottawa’s best young talent already on the big club’s roster, there wasn’t enough talent in Binghamton to insulate their young goaltenders. Maybe that will change this season.

On what the plan is for Gabriel Gagne this season because he hasn’t signed an entry-level contract and has the ability to start the 2016-17 season in the AHL…

“No, (we will not turn pro). Yeah, absolutely. He’s going to do the (Francis) Perron thing. He’s going to go back and prove it to us. We talked to him just two minutes ago. ‘You’re going to be the hardest worker on your team. You’re going to be the hardest and most competitive guy in games. Anything we want you to address, you’re going to work on.’ He said, ‘This is great!’ It looks like we’re talking to a new person. It’s really nice to see, but we’re not going to go ahead and sign him. We’re going to wait and we’re going to make sure he earns it. We did it to (Francis) Perron and he sweated it out. We’re not trying to make them sweat, but we want to make sure. But, this kid has got lots of talent. He’s one guy who impressed Guy Boucher quite a bit.”

It’s probably an empty threat more than anything, considering the organization traded some picks to move up in the draft and grab him, but it doesn’t hurt to leave the prospect in a temporary limbo as some sort of motivational tool to get him to mature and take some initiative.

On who the guy was who got injured in the motorcycle incident…

“Chris Carlisle. A very competitive defenceman. Great skater. Played on Tobias Lindberg’s team in Oshawa that had a great season there. He went into Binghamton on an AHL contract and started last season with the Evansville Icemen, got called up once for Luke (Richardson) and never went back. He’s a great competitive kid. No more motorcycles.”

No more nice tattoo either.

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/179/44244/itb 3-2.mp3



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Report: Senators Sign Chris Kelly to $900k One-Year, One-Way Deal
TDS Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


CALGARY, CANADA – FEBRUARY 9: Chris Kelly #22 of the Ottawa Senators skates against the Calgary Flames on February 9, 2011 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

First it was Shaun Van Allen and now it’s Chris Kelly.

Whenever it comes to the players who have donned the number 22 for the Ottawa Senators, apparently there is always room for a second tour.

After hearing Bryan Murray repeatedly state that trading players like Mike Fisher and Kelly were some of the hardest decisions he’s had to make, today the Senators announced that Kelly was returning to the team on a one-way, one-year deal worth $900,000.

The centre, who was drafted in the third round (94th overall) in the 1999 NHL Draft by the Senators, returns after spending parts of the last six seasons with the Boston Bruins that included a Stanley Cup championship in 2011.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long since the Senators elected to move Kelly to Beantown for a 2011 second round pick, but here we are.

A return to Ottawa makes sense for both parties.

Without Kelly, Ottawa’s bottom-six lacked depth and quality and with him in the fold, it solidifies the centre picture and allows the organization to be more patient with its prospects.

It also makes the lines easier to project:





The only real question at this point pertains to where Curtis Lazar fits in.

There’s probably something to be said about the Senators having the option of penciling in Zack Smith and Mark Stone alongside Jean Gabriel Pageau and keeping that productive trio together, but essentially keeping them together to create a very good third line comes at the cost of being forced to play Lazar as a top-six right winger.

As an alternative, the Senators could reunite Stone with Kyle Turris, but that would necessitate using Lazar on the third line alongside Pageau and Smith.

Neither of those two Lazar situations is particularly enticing however.

I mentioned it in a previous blog post, but of the 240 forwards who played over 1,500 five-on-five minutes in the past two seasons, Lazar ranked tied for 236th in points per 60 minutes of ice time, but perhaps most importantly, in looking at his ‘With or Without You’ numbers, he’s essentially been a possession drag with every teammate that he’s played with over this span.

It’s easy to fall into the belief that Pageau’s ready to carry his own line, but having seen the third line struggle at the beginning of last season without a responsible two-way winger who could deftly and responsibly move the puck up the ice, I worry about how much Lazar could drag down the performance of that line.

With only 11 games left before he’s no longer waiver exempt, the Senators could theoretically elect to have Lazar start the season in Binghamton where he could ideally build some confidence with the puck and work on the offensive side of the game, but having already spent the past two full seasons in Ottawa, one has to wonder whether the organization would bite the bullet and essentially invite questions pertaining to their handling of Lazar’s development. Moreover, it would remain to be seen how Lazar would handle a demotion. He is after all, the same player who openly complained about how much it affected him being jerked around the lineup all last season and never really finding a role. Add these factors together and mix in the fact that Guy Boucher stated during his introductory media tour that Lazar was one of the young players that he was most looking forward to working with and I can’t possibly envision a situation in which Lazar isn’t logging minutes in Ottawa’s top-nine.

Even with uncertainty concerning Lazar’s impact and place on the roster, coming to Ottawa makes a lot of sense for Kelly.

He still lived in Ottawa during his offseasons and having played just 11 games last season before suffering an fractured left femur during a game against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, November 3, 2015, it feels safe to assume that there wasn’t going to be a ton of interest or multi-year offers for a 35-year old centre coming off that kind of debilitating injury.

And really, Kelly’s ability to recover to full-health is the only risk for Ottawa.

It’s not like he’s boxing out an NHL-ready prospect who’s had an impact or is ready to make an impact next season. Colin White and Logan Brown will return to college and junior respectively, while despite some flashes and good PDO-driven luck, neither of Ryan Dzingel or Nick Paul were particularly good down the stretch or did enough to warrant a guaranteed spot on the roster come fall.

Kelly’s simply the kind of inexpensive veteran placeholder that this team needed.

If he’s healthy, Kelly can still help on the defensive side of the puck and be a key member of the penalty kill unit and even at his age, it’s probably fair to assume that he can be a bigger contributor than a Dzingel or even a Paul. And if this proves to be true and the Senators fall out of the playoff picture, the Senators can even dangle him as a deadline chip to fetch a future asset or two.

Unlike many Senators moves these past few years, there’s nothing to really dislike or be wary of here. It might not be the kind of big splash that some fans were or are hoping for, but it’s a welcomed one.

Welcome back, Chris.



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Wiedmer: Bama and Buckeyes are best of the best at the moment - Chattanooga Times Free Press
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Wiedmer: Bama and Buckeyes are best of the best at the moment
Chattanooga Times Free Press
I'll then expect the Tide to top the Wolverines and their SEC-hating coach Jim Harbaugh in one semifinal in the Peach Bowl, with the Buckeyes beating the Huskies in the other semi at the Fiesta Bowl. After that, in a rematch of their 2014 semifinal ...
CFB Roundup: Clemson Escapes Disaster, Buckeyes Hold Off BadgersCBS Local Sports
Crimson Tide, Buckeyes top college football worldKansas City Star
Bowl projections: Ohio State, Clemson barely keep College Football Playoff spotsCBS sports.com (blog)

all 144 news articles »

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The Buckeye Battle Cry and The Sports Daily join NESN
tBBC Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

There are always moments in time which we can look back and remember when things changed. It may be the time you decided to buckle down for a job promotion. It could be the time you mustered up enough courage to ask out your now husband or wife.

For us, October 17th, 2016 is a monumental date for The Buckeye Battle Cry.

It is the culmination of a lot of hard work by our staff members to bring our fans the most unique coverage of the Ohio State University as possible.

Over the past two plus months, we have had tremendous growth and success here and it is entirely based on each and every one of your support for our website. With all of that support, we realize there were certain aspects to our website which made enjoyment very minimal. Namely, our host was very slow and advertisements seemed to pop-up and bog down which ever device you were using to read our page.

Despite all of this, fans kept coming and showing their support for our website. On Facebook, we gained over 2,000 fans in two months to put us over the 10,000 likes mark. This actually put us in front of sites like Land-Grant Holy Land on Facebook until recently.

Over that same span, 64 percent of the visitors to our site were new users and those readers spanned 10 different countries! Things were at their highest when the website had almost 15,000 page views on August 31.

Many websites will look at this number and scoff but for a website full of part-time “writers”, this is a big deal.

With all of this growth, we are extremely excited to announce that our website has now joined the New England Sports Network (NESN) family. As you may already know, NESN is primarily known for their broadcasts of Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins games but they are branching out to include other websites to further their reach.

So what does this mean for you? Well, the best thing for you all is a new host for our website which should help load times and stop some of the ads which ruined a lot of our lives. Secondly, it gives our writers a little bit of more connections at our disposal.

Even with this move, we are always looking to grow and become better. Please reach out and let us know what we can do to better the experience for you, the fan. Be open, be blunt, we don’t mind.

Our main goal is not to become internet famous like other sites. We want to provide unique content Tbut most of all we want each and every one of you to enjoy the experience. Without your feedback, we are unable to ensure we meet these goals.

Feel free to contact any one of our editors at:

Joe Dexter – [email protected]

Brandon Zimmerman – [email protected]

Shannon Sommers – [email protected]

Ben Van Ooyen – [email protected]



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Heard around the ‘Shoe: Emory Jones, Browning, Reigelsperger
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Welcome to your tri-weekly look at all things Ohio State recruiting. Let’s get started!

Emory Jones on the Mend


In his game last Friday, Emory Jones suffered a shoulder injury that forced him out of the game and the outlook was uncertain on when he would be able to return. We know now that he will miss 2-3 weeks with a separated shoulder. Jones spoke with Landof10.com about the injury and his prognosis.

“I stretched the ball out to score,” Jones said. “When I scored, someone came and hit me late. I separated my shoulder.”

“I can’t move much,” Jones said. “It’s killing me.”

While the injury is not season ending, it is one that will keep Jones on the sidelines for a few weeks while he lets it heal. In what has been a high school season filled with future Buckeyes getting injured it is good to see this one not be severe.

Buckeyes Still Going After Virginia Star


While the Buckeyes are still in hot pursuit of Baron Browning and Anthony Hines out of Texas, they still have eyes in Virginia keeping tabs on Teradja Mitchell. Mitchell is the top ranked inside linebacker in the class of 2018. Mitchell holds 30 offers and this summer visited Clemson, Florida State and Georgia. Right now it seems like either Florida State or Clemson, but the home state Hokies and Cavaliers might have something to say about that.

Mitchell is hoping to get to Ohio State for a game this fall, but hasn’t made any official plans as of yet.

White Out for Reigelsperger


Dayton product Alex Reigelsperger will be in Happy Valley this weekend to visit the Penn State Nittany Lions when they take on the Buckeyes under the lights Saturday night. Reigelsperger does not hold a Buckeye offer or a Penn State one as of yet, but is taking the opportunity to go see some of the top colleges in the nation in action. He spoke with 11W about the trip and the Buckeyes recruitment of him.



“I can’t wait,” Reigelsperger said. “It’ll be really like my second or third time where [two teams recruiting me play each other]. It really just makes the game more interesting, more fun and puts you more into it.”

“[Defensive line coach Larry Johnson] says we’ll talk about an offer after they finish the season,” he said.

Reigelsperger has said he intends to get back to Ohio State to see them play the Wolverines at the end of November.

https://assets.247sports.com/Scripts/Shared/embed.js

Grimes set for Surgery and Rehab


If you remember a few weeks ago Trevon Grimes left his game against Bishop Gorman with an apparent ACL injury, and it was confirmed to be torn which means he will miss the rest of his senior season. He is scheduled to go under the knife tomorrow afternoon with one of St. Thomas Aquinas team doctors. After going through the same injury and rehab a year ago Nick Bosa is already on the field making big plays for the Buckeyes. Bosa recently spoke with Cleveland.com and gave Grimes some advice on the rehab process and how to handle it.



With Grimes attitude and competitiveness I expect him to recover in much the same fashion as Bosa, and should see the field next season as the Buckeyes need a talented deep threat on the field. We will continue to monitor the progress of Grimes rehab and post anything more as we learn it.



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Highlights: Ohio State defeats Wisconsin in Overtime
tBBC Staff via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Tyquan Lewis got the game-winning sack after a beautiful Noah Brown touchdown reception gave the Buckeyes the lead in overtime at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday. The Buckeyes are now 6-0 on the season and will face Penn State under the lights on Saturday.



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Buckeyes Goal-line Stance In OT Erases A Scare In Madison
JC Collingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

The evening in Madison began, frankly, terrifyingly. The images floating in all of our minds were that it just wasn’t going to be the Buckeye’s night.

The Badgers completely dominated the first half. The Buckeyes’ passing game was nonexistent. And, perhaps the worrisome part for all of us die-hards was that the defense, a source of excitement and optimism throughout the season, seemed to have hit a wall and knew not how to respond.

Camp Randall Stadium was filled to the brim, 81,541. They were loud and supportive of their team too.

But even when the Badgers shined, taking advantage, the Buckeyes did not wither – they fought and stayed close.

In OT Noah Brown set the evening into its rightful destination with a spectacular seven-yard reception from JT for the score. Tyquan Lewis would lift us all from our swollen seclusion as we fearfully watched what could have been …. sacking Alex Hornibrook on fourth-and-goal from the 4. The Buckeyes had a 30-23 victory.

The 2nd ranked Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0) has now won 20 straight games while on the road – currently the longest streak in the nation. It would require OT in Madison to go from 19 – to 20.

The Buckeyes overcame two crucial penalties on their touchdown drive in the OT period. Curtis “Everything” Samuel though delivered (as I feel he does more often than not) with an 11 yard reception from Barrett which would be the prelude for Noah Brown’s catch on third-and-two, which would make it 29-23 with the Buckeyes leading.

The 8th ranked Badgers (4-2, 1-2) on their possession had first and goal from the four after a 21-yard completion to Rob Wheelwright. It would be all they were allowed by the stingy Buckeyes defense.

In truth, it hardly appeared that it would be taking such a course after the performance we witnessed in the first half – trailing 16-6 at the half, and being totally dominated. But, as is the case, often, for the Buckeyes, after a “certain” Urban blistering lecture in the locker room, things were righted come the third.

Overcoming an interception in the end zone by Barrett on the first drive of the second half – right after the skies opened and the rain poured – the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on their next two drives to take a 20-16 lead.

JT scored on a 1-yard keeper to cut the deficit to 16-13. After Gareon Conley intercepted an Alex Hornibrook pass at the Wisconsin 38, Barrett would score again on an 8-yard keeper after avoiding the grasps of the pesky Badgers linebacker Jack Cichy.

Ohio State’s defense, which had been torched for 313 yards in the first half, allowed only 11 in the third quarter.

But just when it looked like Buckeye fans could relax, the Badgers shot back to life. Hornibrook connected with Jazz Peavy for a 36-yard completion on third down to start the drive and the Badgers went 81 yards to regain the lead 23-20 with 7:59 left.

Ohio State responded with a drive for a field goal set up by a broken-play 43-yard completion from Barrett to Dontre Wilson. This drive slammed in neutral at the 14 and Meyer elected to have Tyler Durbin take the matter in hand (or foot) with a 31-yard field goal as the clock showed 3:57 left in the game.

The Buckeyes appeared to have dodged a bullet when Conley was originally ruled to have intercepted a pass at the Ohio State 20 intended for Rob Wheelwright. It would be upon further review the ball was ruled to have hit the ground. The Buckeyes would force a punt anyway.

Wisconsin dominated the first half from start to finish, outgaining Ohio State 313-172. But it seemed much more than that as we witnessed the butchery in its act.

Barrett’s success was mostly derived from improvisation. Marcus Baugh and Curtis Samuel caught passes after Barrett fled pressure to remain alive during the second of the two Ohio State scoring drives.

In the first, Ohio State stayed almost entirely on the ground. But even the Buckeyes’ ground game, which has been rather successful throughout this season, withered some. The Badgers were successful in preventing the Buckeyes from getting on the perimeter.

The Badgers’ offense shined with a tremendous performance by RB Corey Clement who on 25 rushes delivered with a fantastic 164 yard game. Jazz Peavy, WR, on end-arounds would also shine on the ground that on 6 rushes had 70 yards (a 11.7 yard avg.). It seemed as if the week off prior was sitting well for Wisconsin.

Clement’s 68-yard carry down the left sideline set up Hornibrook’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Peavy that completely silenced Buckeye Nation as Wisconsin jumped to a 10-0 lead.

Perhaps the most questionable call in the evening came with a 15 yard penalty against Urban Meyer for interference on the sideline after being hit in the face by a referee …. Too close to the action (??). The issue is only being mentioned because of the likelihood of its play time it will receive across sporting broadcasts across the nation. All we know, ultimately, is Urban, took one for the team.

One of the more excitable statistics of this game was that the Captain, JT, broke Braxton Miller’s all-time school record with his 89th TD pass; Congratulations Captain!

The Buckeyes now head to Penn State on October 22 for a scheduled 8:00 p.m. kickoff.

I will see you there!



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The Ohio State offense won the war against a tough Wisconsin defense
Christopher Jason via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


J.T. Barrett and co. fought through adversity to score 30 points in a tough environment.

The Ohio State offense had their ups-and-downs against one of the toughest defenses in the country, but ultimately passed the test. One could argue that Wisconsin had just about every advantage against the Buckeyes: They had two weeks to prepare for Urban Meyer’s offense, they had them at home — in one of the toughest environments in the country — and inconsistent weather again seemed to slow down the Buckeyes' speed and hurt J.T. Barrett in the passing game. Luckily for Ohio State, they won't face a tougher defense until they play Michigan on November 26. Saturday was a little too close for comfort, but the adversity that they faced should benefit them in the long run.

Here's how it broke down.


*Tap passes do not count as completions

The offensive line had its moments in pass protection. The numbers didn't look great -- 12 pressures, two sacks, five hits and four scrambles on 33 dropbacks -- but they made time for Barrett in big situations and more than did their job in the run game.

On this play, the offensive line gave Barrett 6.18 seconds in the pocket, which led to Barrett’s best throw of his career. He dropped it right over the outside shoulder of Dontre Wilson for a clutch first down, late in the fourth quarter.



Looking at the number of overthrows (six), it was easy to see that the slick ball, combined with nerves and pressure, resulted in those overthrows.

There was no more egregious of an overthrow than on Barrett’s lone interception of the day, which could have resulted in a Buckeye touchdown, or a goal-to-go situation. What was strange about that call, was that it was in the middle of a downpour, during a drive in which the Buckeyes were gashing the Badgers on the ground. Strange play call, but still, Barrett needs to complete that pass to Terry McLaurin, especially because Barrett rolled out towards McLaurin, which made the throw eight yards on a line.




For all of the inconsistency in the passing game, Barrett first made that perfect throw to Wilson and he also made the game-winning throw to Noah Brown, which couldn’t have been more accurate.

It started with the play-call. On 3rd-and-2, Ed Warinner typically dials up inside zone or a designed quarterback run just about 98 percent of the time. Barrett faked the hand off to Mike Weber and they pulled the backside guard, which sucked the linebackers in and creating passing lanes.



It’s strange that Wisconsin played pure man-coverage with no safety help on Noah Brown, who is really the only receiver that Barrett looks to on the goal line. He’s going to win just about every single one-on-one matchup on the perimeter. When the ball was in the air, Brown used his body to box out the corner, while Barrett threw the ball to his back shoulder, where only Brown could catch the ball. If it fell incomplete, they would either be set up with a 4th-and-2 or a very short field goal opportunity.



When talking about the receivers as a whole, they did not help Barrett out much during the course of the game. There were numerous instances in which their quarterback was able to evade rushers and keep his eyes downfield, but they either weren’t able to get open or let the ball slip through their hands.

This happened about three or so times on Saturday night:


If we were to go back to last week’s breakdown, we mentioned that Ed Warinner needs to figure out how to get the ball into Curtis Samuel’s hands more often. This week was quite the opposite. It was nice to see Samuel touch the ball 18 times, but he needs to figure out how to balance the carries between Samuel and Weber. At the half, Samuel had 11 touches, while Weber had four and Wilson had zero. It’s almost like they tend to overcompensate the following game to fix last week’s issues. It shouldn’t surprise us if Weber get the majority of the touches in the first half of next week’s game.

Don’t get me wrong, Samuel touching the ball 18 times is not a bad thing. He’s electric with the ball in his hands and has developed the strength to break tackles and turn nothing into something. The two plays in overtime could have been a disaster, but he found a way to gain 10 and 11 yards on plays where he had no right to gain that type of yardage.

This play should not gain 11 yards:



Overall, it wasn’t easy, but it was a hard-fought win in Madison, against a Top 10 team no less. The offense struggled at times, yet found a way to put up 30 in the rain, against a top defense. Barrett fought through adversity, Brown made a big-time catch, Samuel made plays and Weber converted twice on 4th-and-short.

It was a gritty win against a tough, tough Wisconsin team.

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Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Buckeyes thoroughly dismantled Nittany Lions in '96 - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Buckeyes thoroughly dismantled Nittany Lions in '96
Columbus Dispatch
Jack Park, a leading Ohio State football historian, checks in each week during the college football season with a retrospective about the Buckeyes. Second-ranked Ohio State will venture to Penn State this weekend for its second consecutive Saturday ...
B1G awards race tracker: Hard-fought road win keeps Buckeyes on topESPN (blog)
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Odds, Football PickBleacher Report
Michigan Keeping Tabs On Rival Buckeyes As 'The Game' NearsCBS Local
cleveland.com -Philly.com -NCAA College Football - Associated Press
all 1,290 news articles »

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Ohio State football: Buckeyes quarterback JT Barrett returns to site of “coming of age” game as veteran leader - Akron Beacon Journal
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football: Buckeyes quarterback JT Barrett returns to site of “coming of age” game as veteran leader
Akron Beacon Journal
J.T. Barrett has had his share of adversarial moments as the Buckeyes quarterback, but arguably it all started at the place he returns to Saturday when Ohio State faces Penn State at Beaver Stadium. Many remember the 2014 game against the Nittany Lions ...


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Calm under pressure Buckeyes impress 5-star target - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Calm under pressure Buckeyes impress 5-star target
247Sports
Fairfield (Ohio) offensive lineman Jackson Carman is of the highest priority prospects when it comes to Ohio State 2018 recruiting. So any chance the Buckeyes ...

and more »

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Game Preview: Ohio State At Wisconsin
Ben Van Ooyen and Shannon Sommers via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

The eyes of college football world will be on the Big Ten this weekend. ESPN’s College GameDay is going to be on the campus of Wisconsin since the biggest game of the weekend will pit two Top Ten teams. (#2) The Ohio State University Buckeyes go into the hostile confines of Camp Randall to face the (#8) Wisconsin Badgers.

Paul Chryst is in the middle of his second year leading the Badgers. Already having victories over SEC power LSU in Week 1 at Lambeau Field and the mighty Spartans of East Lansing. The lone loss was against the scrappy Wolverines in Ann Arbor the week before their bye. Chryst having an extra week to get his team prepared for this Saturday’s game cannot be dismissed.

Ohio State will step foot on Wisconsin’s campus with an overall record of 57-18-5. The last meeting was in 2014 with a 59-0 thumping for the Buckeyes which helped propel them into the first ever college football playoffs, going on to win the National Championship. The Buckeyes last visit to the Cheese State was in 2012, Urban’s first year defeating Bret Bilelama 21-14.

The Intangibles

TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Samantha Ponder)

Radio: Ohio State IMG Network 97.1 WBNS (Paul Keels, Jim Lachey, and Matt Andrews

Online: WatchESPN I Ohio State IMG Network I TuneIn

Social Media: @OhioStAthletics I @UWBadgers

Series Record: 57-18-5 (Last meeting: Big Ten Championship OSU 59 – UW 0, Dec. 6, 2014)

Previewing the Badgers

Wisconsin has one of the toughest schedules if not the toughest one in the Big Ten this season. The #8th ranked team in the country will be playing against their third ranked opponent this season (Sparty not being ranked anymore excluded them from this conversation). This is the tenth time the Badgers will host a match-up of AP Top Ten teams, they are currently 7-2 with six straight wins.

Offensively, Wisconsin isn’t the run the ball down your throat powerhouse that the Big Ten is accustomed to seeing. Corey Clement has been hampered by injuries the last season and a half. Currently, the rushing game for Bucky is ranked 78th in the nation. Even with missing a full game Clement has 3.9 yards per carry average, 319 total rushing yards with five touchdowns. Dare


EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 24: Corey Clement #6 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the ball during the game against the Michigan State Spartns at Spartan Stadium on September 24, 2016 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Bobby Ellis/Getty Images)

Ogunbowale has 185 yards with one touchdown (4.2 ypc) and Bradwick Shaw has the longest run for 35 yards (5.7 ypc, 136 rushing yards with one td).

The Wisconsin offensive line seems to have issues at times not being able to open up lanes for the running backs like they were able to do in years past. Having surrendered eight sacks in five games so far is high especially when you compare being spoiled looking at Ohio State’s numbers. Having an offensive line where everyone is over 6’5″ and average 315 lbs means there is some serious beef there. Left tackle Ryan Ramczyk was described by former Wisconsin linebacker Joe Schobert as the toughest lineman he faced when Ramczyk played offense scout team last season. Next to Ryan is the guard Michael Dieter who started seven games at center and six at left guard. The center is a redshirt freshman Brett Connors, to his right side is Bea Benzchanel who started six games at right tackle plus three at right guard last year. Jacob Maxwell who started three games in 2015 anchors the right tackle spot.

Wisky’s tight end have athleticism but lack experience. Currently, the starter 6’5″, 246 lb redshirt sophomore Troy Fumalli has 16 reception for 181 yards (11.3 ypc) has yet to find the end zone. Back-ups 6’5″ 262 lb Eric Steffes along with 6’4″, 236 lb redshirt freshman Kyle Pennington have both scored once. Steffes has four catches for 12 yards (3 ypc) while Pennington has three receptions for 35 yards (11.7).

The quarterback position has seen a change this season with Bart Houston starting against LSU in Week 1 only to see the redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook take over. Horinbrook at times looks fearless and has great precision as was evident in the Michigan State game. Alex claimed his bad game against UM for their loss was attributed to him being hurt with a broken rib or just general injury to his chest. He said it affected his throws which allowed the Wolverines to get picks off the youngster. Having close to a 60 percent completion rate the biggest issue for him is the wide receivers stepping up.

Jazz Peavy and Rob Wheelwright are the two main wideouts for Wisconsin. They are both averaging over 15 yards per reception. Wheelwright is the only one of the two who has a touchdown (2).

Statistically, Wisconsin’s passing attack is ranked 97th nationally, 88th at scoring along with 106th for total offense.

After reading about their offense, you ask yourself how is it they are ranked so high and only have one loss so far. It’s their defense which is second in red-zone defense behind Ohio State. Bucky’s defensive ranks are #2 in scoring, #4 total defense, #5 passing and #9 rushing. They bring their lunch pail and make you work for everything, even if their best defensive player has missed the last game and will be out for this weekend.

Lead by a defensive line that has four tackles for loss so far this season. Alex James, Conor Sheehy both have 9 tackles (James: 3 sacks, Sheey: 0.5 sack). Olive Sagapoli and Chickwe Obasih are the other two defensive linemen to keep an eye on.

Playing a 3-4 front means the linebackers are crucial to the Badgers. They have a great group of them also. Vince Biegel is the leader along with being the best defensive player for Wisconsin but sadly he will be out of the game due to injury. Have no fear because they have the next man up mentality too. Each linebacker has a minimum of one sack, Jack Cichy leads the team in tackles with 35 (3.5 TFL, .5 Sack), T.J. Watt is a beast and has 29 tackles (7.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks), T.J. Edwards has 28 tackles (2 TFL, 1 sack) along with Garrett Dooley who has 13 tackles (1TFL, 1 sack). This linebacker unit is fast while playing all over the field.

The secondary that Wisconsin has seems to be getting overlooked by some folks around the country. Cornerbacks Derrick Tindal (three INT’s/five PBUs) and Sojourn Shelton (one INT/two PBUs) have both played lights out at times this season. Free safety Leo Mussa has an interception plus a pass breakup and strong safety D’Cota Dixon has chipped in with one INT with two pass breakups.

Previewing the Buckeyes

The Buckeyes enter this match-up at 5-0 after a tough win against Indiana last week. The offense was not where it was in the first four games of the season and will need to find it’s mesh point this week if they want to take out the pesky Badgers.

The Buckeyes are led by junior quarterback J.T. Barrett, who comes into the game right in the thick of the Heisman talk. He is completing 64% of his passes on the season with a 15/3 TD/INT ratio. He has also rushed for 342 yards and four touchdowns. His ability when the play breaks down to find some yardage is uncanny and one thing the Buckeyes rely on from him week to week.

At running back the Buckeyes have thunder and lightning in Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel. Weber comes into the game as the 2nd leading rusher in the Big Ten with 566 yards, only trailing Penn State’s Saquon Barkley who has 582 through six games. Curtis Samuel is a do it all H-Back who has taken snaps at running back, wide receiver and as a wildcat quarterback. He enters the game with 410 yards rushing which is good for 9th in the Big Ten, and 345 yards receiving which is 7th best. The Buckeyes will need to get Samuel more touches this week, as he is averaging more than 10 yards per touch.

The wide receivers for Ohio State have kind of disappeared so far this season outside of Noah Brown’s big game in Norman. Last week the Buckeyes receivers had three total catches for 41 yards, which will not get the job done against the Wisconsin’s and Michigan’s of the world. Guys like Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Marcus Baugh need to step up in order to give J.T. Barrett some targets down the field.

One of the biggest surprises so far this year is the play of the offensive line. Led by senior Pat Elflein and junior Billy Price, the young Buckeye line as shown growth and dominance averaging 323 yards per game on the ground. With newcomers Michael Jordan, Isaiah Price and Jamarco Jones it was uncertain what the Buckeyes were going to get out of this group this year. The Buckeyes rank 3rd in the nation in rushing yards per game, and the big fellas up front are the main reason for the running games success.


COLUMBUS, OH – OCTOBER 8: Jalyn Holmes #11 of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Nick Bosa #97 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate after stopping the Indiana Hoosiers on third down in the second quarter at Ohio Stadium on October 8, 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

On the defensive side of the ball, the defensive line has been nothing short of spectacular so far this season. After losing Tracy Sprinkle in the first game of the season, guys like Robert Landers, Jalyn Holmes and Dre’Mont Jones have stepped up to provide stability along the line. The Buckeyes enter play as the 9th best rushing defense in the country giving up less than 100 yards per game, but the stat the stands out the most is they have allowed zero rushing touchdowns this season. The defensive line came up huge last week stopping Indiana on a 4th down late in the game that would have given the Hoosiers a 1st down and potentially cut the lead to seven.

Behind the stellar defensive line is one of the best linebacking trio’s in the country in Raekwon McMillan, Chris Worley and Jerome Baker. While McMillan is a known commodity, and is as sure fire a tackler there is, the real surprise comes from Worley and Baker who replaced NFL draftees Darron Lee and Joshua Perry. There has not been much falloff if any from last year production wise. Jerome Baker continues to get the start due to Dante Booker’s nagging injury, but when Booker is healthy we may see him as the backup because of Baker’s great play.

There really is no need to talk about the secondary because they have been amazing so far this season. The back four coming into the season was quite the unknown with only Gareon Conley returning as a starter from last season. Enter Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore and the Buckeye’s have become ball hawks. The Buckeyes have 10 interceptions on the season, and more impressive is that four of them have been returned for touchdowns (should be 11 and 5, but Hooker’s return last week was wiped by a bad penalty call).

Three Key Matchups

1. T.J. Watt vs J.T. Barrett: Does the last name Watt ring a bell at Wisconsin? It should because All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt roamed the field for the Badgers in the 2009-10 seasons and now his younger brother T.J. is doing the same. T.J. plays linebacker instead of defensive end, and will probably be spying on J.T. Barrett most of the night. If the Buckeyes can get blocks on Watt to spring Barrett on QB runs, then look out because we all know what he is capable of once he hits the open field.

1. Ohio State’s Blitz vs Alex Hornibrook: The Badgers enter the game starting redshirt-freshman Alex Hornibrook who took over for Bart Houston during a sluggish game against Georgia State. He comes in completing 56% of his passes but has thrown five interceptions, mostly when he is being pressured. If the Buckeyes can blitz effectively and get pressure on Hornibrook, expect him to make some bad decisions with the football, letting the ball hawks in the secondary make some interceptions happen.

1. Ohio State vs Camp Randall: The Buckeyes have had one road game so far this season, and it was in a rowdy environment in Norman as the Buckeyes battled the Sooners. I heard it was loud there, but the Buckeyes quickly quieted the Sooner Nation. Camp Randall in Madison is a different beast, as it is one of the toughest places to play in all of college football. If the Buckeyes can silence the fans early like they did against the Sooners, then they shouldn’t have an issue “Jumping Around” themselves entering the 4th quarter.

Prediction

This will be a tough match-up no matter how you slice it. I expect Wisconsin to come in and try and run the ball against Ohio State’s defense as I don’t think they have a lot of confidence in Alex Hornibrook. However, I don’t think that the Buckeyes will let Corey Clement run all over them, and will make Wisconsin have to throw the ball 25-30 times. If that is the case the Buckeyes walk out of Madison easy winners. If Wisconsin is able to establish the run or make some key defensive stops then its a whole other ballgame. Final Score: Ohio State 34 – Wisconsin 13



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A View From the Fan – Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
Ben van Ooyen via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

This article originally appeared at ohiostate.scout.com

Thoughts on Last Week


I worried Ohio State might be in trouble last week when Indiana came out and scored immediately after halftime; needless to say, I was unimpressed with the Buckeyes’ performance. Luckily, Ohio State’s defense was able to rise to the challenge and shut down the Hoosiers the rest of the afternoon, including a huge fourth down stop that would have cut the lead to seven late in the game.

I continue to have concerns about the wide receiver position. They’ve had one good game with Noah Brown against Oklahoma, but other than that, they just aren’t producing. I know the talent level is there, but they’re struggling to find ways to get open or separate from defenders. The passing game has to show up soon if the Buckeyes want to keep winning against other Big Ten opponents like Wisconsin and certainly Michigan.

On Wisconsin


The Buckeyes travel to Madison this weekend to take on the rested Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall. The Badgers come in having lost their last match-up to the Michigan Wolverines 14-7 in a tightly contested defensive battle. They’re now starting redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook after Bart Houston struggled against Georgia State in their third game. Hornibrook hasn’t impressed me so far, and the Buckeyes – forgive the blasphemy – should try to emulate the Wolverines, whose defensive scheme caused him to panic all day and forced three interceptions. Wisconsin’s defense is as stout as always, and they’re led by J.J. Watt’s little brother T.J. He’s accounted for 5.5 sacks already this season, and he makes his presence felt all over the field.

The Buckeyes need to find a rhythm early offensively if they want to come out of Madison with a win. I’m not sure if a performance like last week will get the job done against the Badgers. I expect Wisconsin to load the box and force J.T. Barrett to make passes. Running the ball on them will be difficult, but the Badgers haven’t faced a dual-threat quarterback like J.T. so far this season, so his read-option ability will be something to keep an eye on. If he can find some throws early and get the Badger defense guessing, then that will open up running lanes for Curtis Samuel and Mike Weber. Speaking of Samuel, he needs to get more touches either in the wildcat or some jet sweeps. Ohio State is underutilizing his speed, and when you have a dynamic playmaker like him, you need to get the ball in his hands as much as possible.

I see a tough game under the lights this weekend, but I think the Buckeyes will work through their issues this week in practice. They should come out looking much better on offense, and the defense should easily shut down Wisconsin’s anemic attack.

Prediction: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 13

A Fan’s Playoff Standings

1. Alabama – Moved the Tide back to No. 1 after last week after their win over ranked Arkansas. Jalen Hurts looks like the real deal at QB, and he accounted for four touchdowns to lead Alabama to the 49-30 win. The Crimson Tide travel to Tennessee this weekend in what should be a good match-up.
2. Ohio State – A ho-hum 21-point win over Indiana drops the Buckeyes to No. 2. J.T. Barrett couldn’t seem to get his passes on target, and the entire game seemed a little off. Let’s hope it gets back on track this weekend at Wisconsin.
3. Clemson – I mean, everyone expected Clemson to handle Boston College, so their 56-10 thrashing of the Eagles wasn’t a surprise. Deshaun Watson looked good on the deep ball, and the Tigers are back on track after some early-season struggles.
4. Washington – The Huskies continue to impress me with their juggernaut offense. Jake Browning has 23 touchdowns and only 2 picks this season, and he’s running the offense about as well as anyone in the country right now. If they weren’t a west coast team, I think they’d be getting a lot more press.

A Fan’s Heisman Standings

1. Lamar Jackson – Jackson was on a bye week after their thriller with Clemson. He looks to add to his already impressive touchdown total of 28 this week as Louisville hosts the Duke Blue Devils.
2. J.T. Barrett – J.T. didn’t look very Heismanesque on Saturday throwing the football, as he completed only nine passes. However, he did finish the game as the leading rusher and scored two touchdowns. Let’s see how he does this week at Camp Randall.
3. Deshaun Watson – Watson has put himself right back into the conversation for the Heisman with great back-to-back games against Louisville and Boston College. He had four TD passes as the Tigers beat the Eagles 56-10 on Friday night.
4. Jake Browning – Washington sure seems legit now, don’t they? Led by sophomore Jake Browning, the Huskies are 6-0 and rolling. Browning notched 11 total touchdowns in big wins against Stanford and Oregon.

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Friday Night Insights: B1G Four/Little Ten, Politics, iBelieve Charity Spotlight
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

It’s not very often that I pop-off about something without knowing the facts but every couple of weeks I bring you my insights from the hip. Feel free to come back at me with both barrels or at the very least agree with me! Let’s hit things hard with the current state of the B1G in football.

From the Hip


What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here? I am not one of those people that thumps his chest about the conference. I am not a believer that the strength of conference will help the Buckeyes as a whole because when they have been one of the better two teams they played for the title and as recent as the very first CFP showed us they can take care of business.

Did the 59-0 drubbing of the number two team in the conference hurt the Buckeyes in 2014? No! It was the only reason they got into the playoff and Alabama and Oregon has been regretting TCU or Baylor(Speaking of conference strength or lack there of) not being in ever since. The Buckeyes took care of business to get there just like Sparty(Sparty No!) did last season. Conference strength had nothing to do with them getting crushed! The general consensus even after the loss to them was the Buckeyes were the only team that could beat Alabama.

So, let’s pick up in current day and all the foaming at the mouth about the four teams in the top ten of the top 25 from the B1G. All the SEC homers that are proud of the conference strength have been subjected to the same thing. Having four of all of their teams compete year in and year out for the top spot in the conference and almost trying to figure out ways to have two of them make the CFP gets tiring.

I don’t want the same thing for the Buckeyes or the conference because it’s a joke. Does anyone in the fandom world realize that outside those in the top ten the next team receiving votes are the Hawkeyes and it’s only 3 votes? Where are the rest of the teams from the powerful B1G that everyone is depicting? I will tell you where, they are in the basement of the conference where they always are.

I will say this, Indiana has been making big strides since Kevin Wilson’s arrival and they have almost arrived to make the big four a big five but they aren’t quite there. Nobody else in the conference reloads like the Buckeyes, Badgers, Weasels and Spartans. They have to wait and hope that they are developing a great senior class to compete. Hopefully people will come to their senses and realize having those four atop the rankings does not make the B1G a strong conference numbers wise.

It simply makes those four teams part of the elite that is in the top 25 each week. Should be a good battle down the stretch to see who gets in, will it be our Buckeyes?

Straight Shooter


I am not into politics, despise this time of year where all of the dirt about candidate A is all that candidate B cares about. I am always happy to see it end and in the process have a new President. I am a voter but have to be honest and say that I haven’t always voted. Most years I am a straight Republican and don’t have much of a defense for it only to say that I cut my political teeth during one of my heroes runs in President Ronald Reagan.

I won’t ever really vote the straight ticket because the candidates are so different and have their own platforms which I believe just get recycled every election. What I try to base my decision on is their morals and personality. When they have neither, which is the case in the Presidential election this year, I struggle to vote for either.

That’s really what life boils down to for us humans isn’t it? Make the right choices/decisions in life, try to be a good person and treat people as you would like to be treated. I have to admit I don’t always hit my mark and have had my bad times for sure, but I can tell the difference between right and wrong and this election season is very difficult.

Hopefully the rest of America isn’t flipping a coin come November and the election, but I have a feeling that I may be doing the same!

Charity Spotlight


I have become pretty good friends with one of te Buckeye Women’s assistants over the years in Patrick Klein. He played high school basketball just across the river from me in Belpre, Ohio in his almost claim to fame during his teams run for a title is if they had won in the semi-final, he would have gotten Lebron James to guard in the title game.

Patrick has always been a heavily involved person in the community and a lot of that comes from excellent upbringing and wonderful parents he has. After taking a different path than he expected to get where he is, he has used his position to help grow his own efforts to epic proportions.

I am proud to call him a friend, proud of what he has accomplished and will always support his efforts with his foundation. Maybe you can do the same because he is an Ohio State Buckeye?!

The iBelieve Foundation history is breif but can definitely use your help.

From the iBelieve web site


There mission statement is simple . . ,


How you can help a high school student attend a summer conference, click the link and do your part!

http://www.theibelievefoundation.com/index.php/donors/our-impact




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BBC Pick’Em: Week 7 Badgers Going Down
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Welcome to the newest addition to the Buckeye Battle Cry world. In this weekly article, we will be taking a look at how amazingly smart dumb each of us writers are. As with everything on this site, we are here to entertain you guys so please let us know how stupid we are or if you are silly enough to agree with us.

I recommend you take all of our picks every week and buy a ticket to Las Vegas to place bets immediately! Continue to this each week and donate to our happy little family. Do not even worry about the costs associated with these weekly trips, you are going to win ALL OF THE MONIES!!!

Each week, we will take a look at 10 games. It will always be every Big Ten game and then we will fill it in with other nationally ranked games. Once again, please point fingers and chastise us as much as possible.

Minnesota @ Maryland

Records: Minnesota (3-2), Maryland (4-1)

Last Game: Minnesota lost to Iowa, 7-14; Maryland lost to Penn State, 14-38

Statistical Leaders:

Minn Passing – M. Leidner (1,006 yds) Mary Passing – P. Hillis (622 yds)

Minn Rushing – R. Smith (446 yds) Mary Rushing – L. Harrison (362 yds)

Minn Receiving – D. Wolitarsky (379 yds) Mary Receiving – D.J. Moore (239 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

Minn @ Mary
Brandon Maryland
Mike Maryland
Joe Minnesota
Shannon Maryland
Ben Maryland
Scott Maryland
Chris Maryland
JC Maryland
Chip Maryland

BBC Predicted Winner: Maryland (8 votes to 1 vote)



Iowa @ Purdue

Records: Iowa (4-2), Purdue (3-2)

Last Game: Iowa beat Minnesota, 14-7; Purdue beat Illinois, 34-31

Statistical Leaders:

Iowa Passing – C. J. Beathard (1,087 yds) Purdue Passing – D. Blough (1,298 yds)

Iowa Rushing – L. Daniels (439 yds) Purdue Rushing – M. Jones (339 yds)

Iowa Receiving – M. VandeBerg (284 yds) Purdue Receiving – D. Young (338 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

Iowa @ Purdue
Brandon Iowa
Mike Iowa
Joe Iowa
Shannon Iowa
Ben Iowa
Scott Iowa
Chris Iowa
JC Iowa
Chip Iowa

BBC Predicted Winner: Iowa (9-0)



Illinois @ Rutgers

Records: Illinois (1-4), Rutgers (2-4)

Last Game: Illinois lost to Purdue, 31-34; Rutgers lost to Michigan, 0-78

Statistical Leaders:

Illini Passing – W. Lunt (840 yds) RU Passing – C. Laviano (686 yds)

Illini Rushing – K. Foster (276 yds) RU Rushing – R. Martin (421 yds)

Illini Receiving – M. Turner (409 yds) RU Receiving – J. Grant (210 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

Illini @ Rutgers
Brandon Rutgers
Mike Rutgers
Joe Rutgers
Shannon Illini
Ben Rutgers
Scott Illini
Chris Rutgers
JC Illinois
Chip Illinois

BBC Predicted Winner: Rutgers (5-4)

Nebraska @ Indiana

Records: Nebraska (5-0), Indiana (3-2)

Last Game: Nebraska beat Illinois, 31-16; Indiana lost to Ohio State, 17-38

Statistical Leaders:

Neb Passing – T. Armstrong (1,151 yds) IU Passing – R. Lagow (1,460 yds)

Neb Rushing – T. Newby (327 yds) IU Rushing – D. Redding (491 yds)

Neb Receiving – A. Moore (310 yds) IU Receiving – N. Westbrook (437 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

Nebraska @ Indy
Brandon Indiana
Mike Nebraska
Joe Nebraska
Shannon Indiana
Ben Nebraska
Scott Nebraska
Chris Indiana
JC Nebraska
Chip Indiana

BBC Predicted Winner: Nebraska (5-4)

Northwestern @ Michigan State

Records: Northwestern (2-3), Michigan State (2-3)

Last Game: Northwestern beat Iowa, 38-31; MSU lost to BYU, 14-31

Statistical Leaders:

NU Passing – C. Thorson (1,120 yds) MSU Passing – T. O’Connor (976 yds)

NU Rushing – J. Jackson (510 yds) MSU Rushing – L.J. Scott (311 yds)

NU Receiving – A. Carr (465 yds) MSU Receiving – R.J. Shelton (262 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

N’West @ MSU
Brandon MSU
Mike MSU
Joe MSU
Shannon NW
Ben MSU
Scott MSU
Chris MSU
JC MSU
Chip NW

BBC Predicted Winner: Michigan State (7-2)

Ohio State @ Wisconsin

Records: Ohio State (5-0), Wisconsin (4-1)

Last Game: Ohio State beat Indiana, 38-17; Wisconsin lost to Michigan, 7-14

Statistical Leaders:

OSU Passing – J.T. Barrett (981 yds) UW Passing – B. Houston (527 yds)

OSU Rushing – M. Weber (566 yds) UW Rushing – C. Clement (319 yds)

OSU Receiving – C. Samuel (345 yds) UW Receiving – J. Peavy (281 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

OSU @ Wisky
Brandon OSU
Mike OSU
Joe OSU
Shannon tOSU
Ben Ohio State
Scott Duh
Chris THE
JC THE
Chip OSU

BBC Predicted Winner: Ohio State (9-0)

Alabama @ Tennessee

Records: Alabama (6-0), Tennessee (5-1)

Last Game: Alabama beat Arkansas, 39-20; Tennessee lost to Texas A&M, 38-45

Statistical Leaders:

Bama Passing – J. Hurts (1,242 yds) UT Passing – J. Dobbs (1,433 yds)

Bama Rushing – D. Harris (478 yds) UT Rushing – J. Hurd (407 yds)

Bama Receiving – C. Ridley (412 yds) UT Receiving – J. Malone (341 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

Bama @ Tenn
Brandon Bama
Mike Bama
Joe Bamalamb
Shannon Tennessee
Ben Bama
Scott Tennessee
Chris Bama
JC Bama
Chip Bama

BBC Predicted Winner: Alabama (7-2)



North Carolina @ Miami

Records: UNC (4-2), Miami (4-1)

Last Game: UNC lost to Virginia Tech, 3-34; Miami lost to Florida State, 19-20

Statistical Leaders:

UNC Passing – M. Trubisky (1,769 yds) UM Passing – B. Kaya (1,149 yds)

UNC Rushing – E. Hood (338 yds) UM Rushing – M. Whalton (484 yds)

UNC Receiving – R. Switzer (589 yds) UM Receiving – A. Richards (304 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

UNC @ Miami
Brandon Miami
Mike UNC
Joe Miami
Shannon Miami
Ben Miami
Scott UNC
Chris Miami
JC Miami
Chip Miami

BBC Predicted Winner: Miami (7-2)

Florida State @ Wake Forest

Records: FSU (4-2), Wake Forest (5-1)

Last Game: FSU beat Miami, 20-19; Wake Forest beat Syracuse, 28-9

Statistical Leaders:

FSU Passing – D. Francois (1,557 yds) WF Passing – J. Wolford (826 yds)

FSU Rushing – D. Cook (785 yds) WF Rushing – M. Colburn (361 yds)

FSU Receiving – J. Wilson (388 yds) WF Receiving – T. Hines (226 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

FSU @ Wake
Brandon FSU
Mike FSU
Joe Wake
Shannon Wake
Ben FSU
Scott FSU
Chris FSU
JC FSU
Chip FSU

BBC Predicted Winner: Florida State (7-2)

West Virginia @ Texas Tech

Records: WVU (4-0), Texas Tech (3-2)

Last Game: WVU beat Kansas State, 17-16; Texas Tech lost to Kansas State, 38-44

Statistical Leaders:

WVU Passing – S. Howard (1,272 yds) TT Passing – P. Mahomes (2,274 yds)

WVU Rushing – J. Crawford (331 yds) TT Rushing – D. Felton (270 yds)

WVU Receiving – S. Gibson (458 yds) TT Receiving – J. Giles (614 yds)

BBC Staff Picks:

WVU @ TT
Brandon TT
Mike Tech
Joe TT
Shannon TT
Ben West Virginia
Scott TT
Chris TT
JC WVU
Chip WVU

BBC Predicted Winner: Texas Tech (6-3)

BBC LEADERBOARD

Brandon 0-0
Mike 0-0
Joe 0-0
Shannon 0-0
Ben 0-0
Scott 0-0
Chris 0-0
JC 0-0
Charles 0-0
Clair 0-0
Chip 0-0



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Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 10/14/2016
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Welcome to your tri-weekly look at all things Ohio State recruiting. Let’s get started!

Ohio State West Pipeline Continues?


While many pundits have all but put Jeffrey Okudah in the Buckeyes 2017 recruiting class, it still isn’t official and the Buckeyes may actually be looking to take more than one safety in this class anyways. That second name would be Bubba Bolden, 4-star safety out of Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas, NV. That high school sounds familiar doesn’t it? It currently is the home to three Buckeye recruiting commitments in Tate Martell, Tyjon Lindsey and Haskell Garrett. Bolden himself earned a Buckeye offer back on September 6th, and immediately they shot to the top of his list because of the connections with his teammates.

Bolden has scheduled his official visit to the Buckeyes for November 5th when the Buckeyes host Nebraska which is shaping up to be one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the year along with the Michigan game on November 26th. Bolden talked with Scout’s ($) Greg Biggins about his visit plans going forward.

“I’m going to visit Ohio State (Nov. 5),” Bolden said. “I’ll also visit UCLA and USC after the season but don’t have any other dates locked in. I’m still looking at Arizona State, Colorado and Florida as well and I’ll figure out my other trip dates later in the year.”

Bolden is shooting up recruiting board rankings nationally, and his play on the field this season is a big reason why. He had a blocked field goal against St. Thomas Aquinas that led the game to overtime in which the Gaels prevailed. He is great in pass coverage as well as in run defense and likes to make big plays along with big hits.

https://assets.247sports.com/Scripts/Shared/embed.js

As the Wade Turns:


One of the reasons the Buckeyes have been going hard after Bolden might be because they don’t feel very confident where they stand with Shaun Wade. Can you really blame them? He has said he is committed, but done everything to make it look like he doesn’t want to be a part of the Buckeyes 2017 recruiting class. The most recent event was an impromptu trip to Tuscaloosa to see the campus of Alabama with his dad.



It has always seemed that Wade would end up at either Alabama or Ohio State, and the longer it goes the more I think he ends up with the Crimson Tide. His father spoke to Chris Kirchner at SEC Country and said he isn’t worried about the distance from home factor that his family would have to deal with if he chose Ohio State.

“It’s ultimately about the relationships he has with the coaches,” Randy Wade said. “It’s his decision at the end of the day, and people are going to believe what they want. I understand people are going to say (Alabama) is close, but I just think it’s crazy. His relationships with the Alabama staff is going to be what brings him over there and not just because he was born there.”

He also told Kirchner that he and his wife are closer to the Ohio State staff than the Alabama staff, but the decision is all Shaun’s.

“At the end of the day, it’s just about what he wants more,” Randy Wade said. “He knows the schools that give him the best chance for the NFL. He knows the places that have a better than average education. He just now has to pick which one he wants.

Wade will likely be back on Alabama’s campus for an official visit later on this fall and also plans to be at the Nebraska game on November 5th when the Buckeyes host the Cornhuskers for his official to Ohio State. His final decision will likely come soon after that, as Wade is going to be an early-enrollee.

https://assets.247sports.com/Scripts/Shared/embed.js

Ohio Star on the Mend:


In the second game of his season, Westerville running back Jaelen Gill broke his leg, ending his junior season before it hardly started. He has since been letting the the healing process take over, and he spoke with Scout’s Bill Greene about his recovery process so far.

“Last Friday they took my cast off and the x-ray looked good, so I should be able to start my rehab in the next week or so,” Gill stated. “I broke my fibula and the back of my ankle when someone landed on me.”

“I should be fully recovered by late December or early January,” he added. “The injury was frustrating because I was so much better of a player than I was last year. I’m bigger, stronger and faster, so this really disappointing to me.”

Gill holds almost 30 offers to date, but the Buckeyes are the leader if judging by the crystal ball projections that have come in, as all favor Ohio State. Gill talked with Greene about his upcoming trip planning.

“The cast has limited me, but I was at Ohio State for a practice a few weeks ago, and I’m going to Notre Dame this weekend for their game with Stanford,” he explained. “I’m also going to go to Ohio State for their games with Nebraska and Michigan.”

“I’d also like to get to Michigan State or Penn State this year if possible, and maybe LSU or Alabama,” Gill said. “I’m still keeping my options open to see what schools might still offer. LSU is the latest offer, and I’m interested. Alabama has been talking to me and said if I visit, they will offer.”

Even with the injury Gill is still one of the highest ranked recruits for the class of 2018.

https://assets.247sports.com/Scripts/Shared/embed.js

DPJ on the Road Again:


Fresh off his visit from Ohio State last week, Donovan Peoples-Jones, the #1 receiver in the country will be visiting Michigan State this weekend as they host the Northwestern Wildcats. While it is still likely that DPJ ends up with the Wolverines in the end, the Spartans still feel like they have a shot with the in-state prospect.



The Buckeyes have a few things working for them on the DPJ front, as he is former teammates with Mike Weber, Joshua Alabi and Damon Webb and the Buckeyes have recruited Michigan pretty well with Urban Meyer at the helm. The Spartans also have a few things going there way, as Peoples-Jones is close friends with Demetric Vance and Donnie Corley who will certainly try and sway the talented star to the Green and White.

In the end though, I think he ends up at Michigan giving them a huge target for whoever is playing quarterback there in the future.

https://assets.247sports.com/Scripts/Shared/embed.js

Wyatt Davis Schedules Official Visit:


When the Buckeyes host Northwestern on October 29th they will have a big time visitor (and current commitment) on campus in Wyatt Davis. Davis is a 5-star offensive lineman out of Bellflower, California. He spoke with Landof10.com

“I’ll be there against Northwestern,” Davis told Landof10.com when asked about his official visit plans. “I’m going with my mom and dad.”

Emory Jones Hurt:


In last nights high school football game, Emory Jones the top dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 injured his throwing shoulder in the first quarter. While an immediate timetable is not known for his recovery or when he will get back on the field, he told Bill Kurlic that he thinks he will be back this season.



Even though he left the game injured it appears as though he has the leadership qualities that you want in a quarterback as he was back on the sidelines coaching his teammates.



We here at tBBC wish Emory a speedy recovery!



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Malik Hooker, Will Likely, T.J. Watt featured on ‘Journey’ at 9 p.m. ET tonight
BTN.com staff via Big Ten Network

On the third episode of The Journey: Big Ten Football 2016, at 9 p.m. ET tonight, we shine the spotlight on Ohio State star safety Malik Hooker, do-it-all Maryland cornerback Will Likely and the latest in the line of Wisconsin's Watts, linebacker T.J. Watt.

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Frank Gore is disgusted with the Indianapolis Colts
Chris Roling via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

It seemed like a great idea when Frank Gore joined the Indianapolis Colts in 2015.

Gore, one of the most consistent backs in recent history, would join an Andrew Luck-led offense and provide balance to a team ready to make a title push.

Now the Colts are the laughingstock of the laughingstock.

The Colts sit dead last in the AFC South, football’s worst division. A 2-4 record boasts wins against only San Diego and Chicago. After an overtime loss to Houston in Week 6, Gore was rather blunt in his outburst, according to Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star:


Sorry, Frank, no playoffs for the Colts. Indianapolis has already dropped two games in the AFC South and other than more divisional games, the schedule also includes landmines such as Green Bay, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Oakland.

To Gore’s credit, he rushed for 967 yards and six scores last year on the eight-win team. He’s already at 434 and two this year, showing once again he won’t have any problems providing consistent quality play despite coming in at the age of 33.

It’s too bad the same doesn’t apply to the rest of the team.



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It’s early, but Nail Yakupov has been impressive
FrozenNotes via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

The Nail Yakupov trade to the St. Louis Blues was a welcome surprise. The low-risk, high-reward move immediately gave Blues fans another story to follow in 2016-17 and so far it’s been a successful one.

Through three games, Yakupov has looked like a legitimate offensive threat. He already has one goal and one assist on the season (he set up Magnus Paajarvi for a goal which is one hell of an accomplishment) and he has had several other chances which either narrowly missed or couldn’t be converted by one of his teammates. He’s been quick in the offensive zone and has looked dangerous on numerous occasions. He already has added another layer to the team’s offense which wasn’t there in the preseason.

Yakupov’s biggest detractors will point to his defense as his biggest weakness. To date, he hasn’t been too bad. That’s not to say he’s been great on defense, but he’s been better than all of the talk and negativity would have led you to believe. He’s been tracking back and for the most part he’s been keeping up with his man and disrupting passing lanes. There’s been some mistakes, but most of them have looked like an issue of chemistry and familiarity rather than straight up bad defensive work.

Again, it’s early. A lot can happen over the course of the full season. It’s possible Yakupov will cool and slow down once the initial adrenaline of being with a new team wears off. It’s also possible he’ll continue contributing as a key member of this team’s offense. Time will tell.



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Mike Pereira says NFL lacks ‘guts’ if Vontaze Burfict doesn’t get suspended
Chris Roling via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

From the sounds of it, Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict won’t receive a suspension for his cheap shot against the New England Patriots in Week 6.

Burfict, who spent the first three weeks of the season suspended, went low on Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett in the eventual 35-17 New England victory.

The play in question:



Other angles show Tom Brady pumped in Bennett’s direction, but a low hit is a low hit.

Based on a basic search of opinion, Burfict will skate by with a fine. Former head of NFL officials Mike Pereira hates the idea, as he said on the Rich Eisen Show, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer:


Pereira certainly won’t be alone in this thought process. Even if Burfict was trying to go low because he thought Bennett might leap for a catch (and league rules mandate going low, anyway), he’s not a guy who deserves the benefit of the doubt in any situation.

As such, the league will come under fire for anything short of a suspension.

Its former head of officials speaking out is just the beginning.



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