Spartans, Buckeyes part of 16-team hoops mega-event honoring Phil Knight in 2017 - Comcast SportsNet Chicago
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Spartans, Buckeyes part of 16-team hoops mega-event honoring Phil Knight in 2017
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Spartans, Buckeyes part of 16-team hoops mega-event honoring Phil Knight in 2017. tom-izzo-thad-matta-0921.jpg. Spartans, Buckeyes part of 16-team hoops mega-event honoring Phil Knight in 2017. By Vinnie Duber September 21, 2016 4:35 PM.
Buckeyes to play in Phil Knight Invitational247Sports

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Scarlet and Gray Drive Time Re-Wind:Ten Years for tBBC, View from Beyond the Shoe, Mark Rogers TV
WVaBuckeye 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 daily rewind of the previous days or weekends articles here on the Buckeye Battle Cry with some commentary and links to the author’s twitter account!






MaliBuckeye reminisces about the birth of a great blog and it’s journey to ten wonderful years this Friday! We miss you Mali!



Ben van Ooyen gives us the latest NFL rundown . . ,



Mike Meals latest View from Beyond the Shoe . . ,



Brandon Zimmerman on Mark Rogers TV for another great edition . . ,







The post Scarlet and Gray Drive Time Re-Wind:Ten Years for tBBC, View from Beyond the Shoe, Mark Rogers TV appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Tomcats, Buckeyes earn volleyball wins - Athens Messenger (registration)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Tomcats, Buckeyes earn volleyball wins
Athens Messenger (registration)
The Buckeyes hiked their season slate to 7-8 with the win. Sam Taylor had four points, three aces, three kills and 16 assists in the win. Sidney Fick added 11 kills, two aces and six points. Jordan Fick had six kills, two aces and seven points, while ...


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TBBC Awards; Oklahoma Sooners; Noah Brown, Buckeye Secondary, the Aussie
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Plenty of thoughts on the best of the best from Saturdays blowout of Oklahoma. Leave us your thoughts in the comments section!



Offensive


tOSU Offensive MVP

Scott – Noah Brown. Catch of the year and all.

WVa – I use to have the top play each week and Noah Brown wins that hands down! There is only one QB playing at a higher level than JT Barrett and that’s Lamar Jackson. JT Barrett picked up where he left off in 2014 and is pretty unstoppable. I am in agreement with most that he does need to take care of himself and not get beat up. I am not sold on the back-up situation just yet.

Ben v. – Everyone will pick Noah Brown, so I am going with the guy who threw the ball to him in J.T. Barrett. He ran the offense as smooth as could be and made great throws to Brown on those TD’s as well as running the read option to perfection.

Brandon – Noah Brown. If Ohio State any desire to throw the ball on Saturday, Brown could have easily went for 200+ yards. The Buckeyes were having so much success running the ball that OU was playing the safeties inside of 10 yards from the LOS. The deep ball was there all day to Brown as he was one-on-one all night. We saw how that usually ended up.

JC – Noah Brown … catch of a lifetime! 4 TD’s. Who else could it have been?

Mike Meals – anyone other than Noah Brown is a lie. Sure, the RBs had a great overall game, but Brown’s TDs were easily the best part of the offense

I smell a disagreement but Brown wins this easily.

tOSU O-line MVP

Scott – Pat Elflein. Again.

WVa – Pat Elflein is the sexy and easy choice here. No chance anyone else is on the radar right now except maybe the frosh roadgrader.

Ben v. – The whole line deserves the award for how they showed up against Oklahoma in a tough environment. Besides a few false starts and holdings they made holes for Weber and Samuel and gave time when he needed it for Barrett to make passes.

Brandon – Pat Elflein. This pick is not changing at any point this year. That stadium was absolutely rocking on Saturday night…well at least early. It would have been easy for some of the younger guys to freak out but Elflein and Price kept the young guys in line.

JC – Pat Elflein. This guy is a bear.

Mike Meals – Pat Elflein. Keeping that line together with the hostile noise and not letting a few early penalties kill them adds to his mystique

Pat puts the Lein in offensive Lein. Easy pick this week!

tOSU Offensive Unsung

Scott – Mike Weber II. Got tons of tough yards in crucial spots.

WVa – Mike Weber Jr. is flying under the radar for some reason but it’s easy to see why all eyes are on Samuel right now.

Ben v. – Mike Weber. 123 yards and the vision he has to find some of these holes that he is finding is incredible. I watched him pick up some blocks on pass plays as well, he is going to be a special one to watch.

Brandon – Mike Weber. I was at the game and I didn’t realize he had as many yards as he did. I noticed a few chunk runs but it really didn’t seem like they utilized him as much as the stats show. They did a good job of working him in slowly as I think he only touched the ball two or three times in the first quarter when the stadium was rocking.

JC – Curtis Samuel. 98 yards on the ground with one TD. catching for 20 yards on 2 receptions. The kid from Brooklyn can play football.

Mike Meals – My boy Mike Weber…went over 100 again! Still not a Zeke clone, but he’s getting better every day.

Mike Weber Jr. will not stay on this list very long.

Defensive


tOSU Defensive MVP

Scott – Jerome Baker. Little bit of everything.

WVa – I should pick just one player here but there isn’t a better secondary in the country, even after losing Conley to injury early. There hasn’t been a better collection of players since the 2002 championship run, and they have already surpassed that groups interceptions in a season!

Ben v. – Picking one person off the defense is tough, but the secondary shut Baker Mayfield down and Marshon Lattimore was the leader again. He almost had back to back 2 INT weeks if not for an overturned call. These guys are ball hawks and are fun to watch.

Brandon – Marshon Lattimore. He was left in one-on-one coverage a lot throughout the night…especially after Conley went down. He constantly was all over his receiver and played a great all-around game. He is turning into a shutdown type of corner which is dangerous when the Buckeyes already have one of those in Conley.

JC – Absolutely Lattimore. Pick six.

Mike Meals – Going with the entire safety corp. Having a great game and having 2 safeties with 8 tackles each? Not TD saving tackles, but attacking the offense tackles? Give them my MVP.

Marshon Lattimore is leading the way this week for the ballhawkers.

tOSU D-line MVP

Scott – Entire basic D-line. Never let the alleged vaunted run game of Oklahoma get going.

WVa – Jalyn Holmes is standing out right now because Sam Hubbard is getting a lot of attention right now. Man for man he is laying waste to the other teams best TE and o-lineman.

Ben v. – Again tough to single one person out, I saw a lot of Michael Hill, Robert Landers, Jayln Holmes and others, so let’s just give it to the entire line.

Brandon – Easily Jalyn Holmes and it shouldn’t be close. I’m not sure how it looked on TV but Holmes was everywhere. He caused so many issues for the Sooners all night. He is easily the fastest defensive lineman on the field and is great against the run. The buckeyes are in very good position right now with their four DEs.

JC – No special standout. This entire unit deserve credit. They played top-notch against the loud-mouthed Sooners.

Mike Meals – Brandon’s right, Holmes is the man. What a game he had. He was a Sooner nightmare.

Jalyn Holmes is walking away with awards this season.

tOSU Defensive Unsung

Scott – Tyquan Lewis. He drew lots of attention opening things up for other guys.

WVa – Chris Worley had a working man’s game like Raekwonza usually has and came back from a mild stinger to show people what he is made of.

Ben v. – Chris Worley. Besides his silly unsportsmanlike penalty, he was around the ball all night and had 10 tackles. The linebackers were a bit of an unknown coming into this season, and they have more than done adequately replacing Joshua Perry and Darron Lee.

Brandon – Raekwon McMillan. With the secondary and line making play after play, it is hard to notice all the big things McMillan does. On Saturday night, he was there to fill almost every hole in the middle. He made it very difficult for Perine to get things going. He stuffed the “power” back time and time again.

JC – I will say Malik Hooker. He smells the ball. Just watch the video and see how many times he is either in on the tackle, or nose deep near by.

Mike Meals – McMillian. One of the best in the country, and yet again, you don’t hear his name. He had a great game, was all over the field, but was overshadowed by the interceptions. He’s amazing

A tie between McMillian and Worley this week

Odds and Ends


tOSU Special Teams MVP

Scott – Tyler Durbin. The 31-yard knee-knocker was actually kind of critical.

WVa – The Aussie, that is all!

Ben v. – Cam Johnston without a doubt. When he hit that 68 yarder to pin Oklahoma deep I knew we were in good shape. The fact that he can flip the field with relative ease is something we shouldn’t take for granted. After I watched that punter for Colorado have a terrible day, its nice to know we have stability in Cam.

Brandon – I’m not sure how anyone could not say Cameron Johnston. He had five punts and all five gave OU starting position around or inside the 10 yard line. His first punt changed the game. OU had driven down field on their first drive with ease but missed the field goal. The stadium was still rocking and OSU went three and out which had OSU punting from a pretty bad position. Johnston completely flipped the field with a 68 yard boom. With most punters, OU would have got the ball on the 50 or so…Johnston made them start inside the 10.

JC – Durbin. Scott summarized this choice perfectly.

Mike Meals – Give it to the Aussie! He flipped the field early like Shannon said on twitter, and that easily set the Buckeyes up to succeed the next time we got the ball.

Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!

tOSU Needs Improvement

Scott – Outside containment. Too many yards outside of the box.

WVa – I personally believe the middle of the field is too open. There are too many times that the linebackers are aggressive and the secondary is in man that the Silver Bullets can be exposed and nobody back to stop it. That was actually the easy explanation for why Mixon return went for six.

Ben v. – Still need to see more out of the wide receivers. Outside of Noah Brown, again we had very limited catches by the wide receivers. I’d like to see more of Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, Austin Mack and K.J. Hill.

Brandon – I will say playcalling but only because I am not the one being paid to win games. I completely believe OSU could have put up 70 points on Saturday if they wanted to but the coaching staff didn’t. They wanted to get up big and conserve the win but wasting the clock which is smart because OU can score a bunch of points quick. As a fan, I wish they would have attacked more in the third quarter. OU was reeling and they could have made it hurt.

JC – The play calling against the Sooners vastly improved. But I am still not sold. It’ll take more and against someone stronger than the Sooners to make me a believer.

Mike Meals – P Campbell. He’s working his way into the game plan, returning kicks now. But if he can establish himself as a usable threat on the outside, wow.

tOSU Next Big Star

Scott – Mr. Baker.

WVa – Jerome Baker is coming along nicely.

Ben v. – Jerome Baker sure looked the part this past weekend, then again so did a lot of people. The future is bright at Ohio State with all of this talent, so the entire team is going to be the next big star.

Brandon – Jerome Baker. The young linebacker will be very good. His athleticism is unreal for a linebacker. Go back and watch the pick six. The acceleration he had after the catch was just amazing. He caught it with numerous people within five yards of him and immediately accelerated away from everyone…even his fellow Buckeyes.

JC – Again, just like the 1996 Yankees with Jeter, Rivera, Pettite, Williams, Posada. The Buckeyes have Hooker, Weber, Samuel, Brown, Baker … should I continue?

Mike Meals – I will continue to say Weber until he has his coming out game.

Baker is becoming the man.

TB1G Coach of the Week

Scott – Kirk Ferentz. Just kidding. Urban Meyer. He got the guys ready to play in a tough environment and won with, ya know, a basic defense.

WVa – Urban Meyer had the perfect plan as he usually does and the team executed it greatly. He won’t win the over-all award again this year.

Ben v. – Mark Dantonio just by a smidge over Urban this week. Many thought that Notre Dame would be too much for the Spartans, but Dantonio again proved he is a mastermind in big games. Michigan State is going to be a tough out in the Big Ten, and their matchup against Michigan in a few weeks should be a great game.

Brandon – Urban Meyer. As I mentioned earlier, the place was absolutely rocking. Meyer had that team focused from the beginning and had the young team ready to go into a tough environment. The Buckeyes look pretty decent this year.

JC – Urban Meyer. He is the master of motivation and getting production done.

Mike Meals – Urban gets a coach of the week nod. I don’t care who it is, when you go into a place like Norman and dominate like that, Beyond all our expectations, you are doing something right.

Urban Meyer hands down this week.

The post TBBC Awards; Oklahoma Sooners; Noah Brown, Buckeye Secondary, the Aussie appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Noah Brown’s had a great start to the season after recovering from a broken leg
Harry Lyles Jr. via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


He’s totally earned it.

“Noah Brown reached out and grabbed stardom by the throat last week”

- Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch


The above statement is pretty well put by May. I mean really, Noah Brown had a gigantic game out of nowhere. Not only did he score four touchdowns, he brought one in that will almost certainly be the catch of the year at any level of football this season. It was that spectacular. It’s not surprise for anybody inside the Ohio State football program, especially J.T. Barrett, who told May that Brown, “has suction cups for hands.” Unfortunately as we all know, Brown suffered a broken leg late in camp last year, sidelining him for the year.

Three games into this season, there’s reason for great optimism when it comes to his future. He’s currently second on the team this season with nine catches and 134 yards, leading in touchdowns with five. The Oklahoma game is easy to get excited about, especially when you take into account that he had his best game against a big opponent. The bye week is going to seem extra long, as we all wait to see what Brown is going to do next. He’s certainly got a great mindset on the field, when he told May, “Come down with the ball. Do anything you can to catch that ball.” It certainly worked this past Saturday night.

“Urban Meyer wanted balance against Oklahoma. [...] That didn't really happen.”

- Bill Landis, Northeast Ohio Media Group


A perfect balance on offense sounds amazing. Urban Meyer wanted the Ohio State offense to finish with 250 passing and 250 rushing yards. That sounds nice, but that’s not exactly what happened when the Bucks took on the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman this past Saturday. The ground game was very strong, with Mike Weber, Curtis Samuel, and J.T. Barrett collecting 291 yards. Weber had 123, and Samuel nearly touched 100 with 98 of his own.

That’s not to say the aerial attack wasn’t great. Barrett threw the ball just 20 times, completing 14 of his passes. He threw for 152 yards, and had four touchdown passes, all to Noah Brown. Barrett was best when he threw passes between 0-9 yards, per Landis’ passing chart. He was also effective behind the line, but passes that went 20 yards or greater outside the numbers on the left side of the field were 2-for-3 with a pair of touchdowns. That’s pretty good. And as Landis studies, Barrett really hit on his passes when he needed to. He does point out one to Curtis Samuel early that he just simply missed, but it ended up not mattering in the end. The offense is this team’s greatest question, but so far this season, it doesn’t seem there should really be a concern.

“[Braxton] Miller did reveal it's not a long-term leg injury.”

- Aaron Wilson, Houston Chronicle


Braxton Miller suffered a hamstring injury this past Sunday when the Houston Texans faced the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s expected to miss the team’s game on Thursday when they take on the New England Patriots on the road. It’s a bad setback for the rookie, who is still undoubtedly getting comfortable with the wide receiver position, especially at the NFL level. According to Wilson, Miller isn’t set on saying he will be out Thursday, but it doesn’t look great.

Miller is keeping a good attitude about it, as he told Wilson, "I take mental reps. I study hard. Whatever it takes to be on the field, I'm going to do. You've got to be smart and handle things the right way like a pro and take care of your body." Perhaps the best news about the injury (if there can really ever be good news about an injury) is that it’s not a long-term thing, and he shouldn’t miss a beat. He told Wilson it’s a day-to-day type of injury. But you never want to see that from a promising rookie.

Ohio State men’s basketball schedule details unveiled


Football season is among us, but basketball season is also right around the corner. The Buckeyes will tip off their season on November 6 against Walsh in The Schott. The Buckeyes oddly have three games slated to appear on ESPN3. The Buckeyes had just one of those last season, when they took on UT-Arlington. This year, games against Jackson State, Florida Atlantic, and Youngstown State will all appear on ESPN’s online alternative.

Along with the three ESPN3 games, the Buckeyes have 11 conference games slated for ESPN or CBS broadcasts. The Buckeyes will face off against the UCLA Bruins in Las Vegas, and it will be broadcast on CBS, while the other two CBS broadcast games will be January 15 against Michigan State, and February 19 against Nebraska. Hopefully the Bucks are able to make an NCAA Tournament push this season after a hot and cold year and early NIT exit last season.

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Ohio State basketball to participate in huge, 16-team tournament in 2017-2018 season
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Some of the biggest names in college basketball will be there.

Fans who have complained about Ohio State basketball’s non-conference scheduling, or their reluctance to participate in a major preseason tournament should be excited. The Buckeyes will be playing a few of the biggest names in college basketball next season.

Nike announced that Ohio State will participate in a massive, 16-team tournament called PK80, to celebrate the 80th birthday of Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

This tournament, which will be held in Portland, Oregon over Thanksgiving week in 2017, also includes the Arkansas Razorbacks, Butler Bulldogs, Connecticut Huskies, Duke Blue Devils, Florida Gators, Georgetown Hoyas, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels, Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, Portland Pilots, Portland State Vikings, Stanford Cardinal, and Texas Longhorns.

Each team will play three games, as part of two different eight-team brackets, to played at the Rose Garden, and Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The exact schedule was not released, but it seems like a safe bet that Ohio State and Michigan State will be split up.

Ohio State picked up major non-conference opponents as part of their participation in the CBS Sports Classic, which is responsible for the Las Vegas meeting with UCLA this season, along with prior matchups with Kentucky and North Carolina. Since that agreement expires after this season, the PK80 should slot in and could take the place of the premier non-conference games, along with Ohio State’s participation in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and potentially the Gavitt Games with the Big East.

Per the release, Thad Matta added:


It’s a little hard to predict exactly which teams will be good next season, but having a chance to face teams like North Carolina, Duke, Texas, Florida, Georgetown and more should only be good for Ohio State basketball, and Ohio State basketball fans.

All the games will be broadcast on ESPN.

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Andrew 'Beef' Johnston could have been an Ohio State Buckeyes fan - GolfDigest.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Andrew 'Beef' Johnston could have been an Ohio State Buckeyes fan
GolfDigest.com
Andrew "Beef" Johnston, the corpulent young English bloke with the iconic beard and easy-going manner, has never attended a college football game in the U.S. Regrettably, the Buckeyes are idle while he competes in the Nationwide Children's Hospital ...

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Men of the Scarlet and Gray Podcast: A Basic Buckeye Roundtable
Shannon Sommers via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


What do you get when BTN analyst Stanley Jackson, theozone.net Tony Gerdeman along with Script Ohio’s Clair Crawford when they join Shannon and Chip to talk Buckeyes football?

A Basic Buckeye Roundtable of course.

This All-Star packed show has everything from Michigan humor to actual Maize and Blue discussion. There is a recap of the Ohio State/Oklahoma match-up from last Saturday.

Everyone discusses some of the things that Ohio State needs to fix going forward along with how the Buckeyes have a tough schedule. Did the bye week come at the right time?

Find out who everyone picked to be in the Big Ten Championship game in November. Did they all pick the Buckeyes or is there going to be another Big Ten East powerhouse back in Indy?



http://traffic.libsyn.com/menofthescarletandgray/Roundtable_2.output.mp3

The post Men of the Scarlet and Gray Podcast: A Basic Buckeye Roundtable appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Texas star very impressed watching Buckeyes roll over Oklahoma - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Texas star very impressed watching Buckeyes roll over Oklahoma
247Sports
Muhammad attended the Ohio State at Oklahoma game as a guest of the Sooners, but was also there to see the Buckeyes. “It was a good atmosphere, really loud,” Muhammad said. “Ohio State came to play. They dominated. I talked to them earlier in the ...


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Marotti has Buckeyes on cutting edge - 247Sports
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Marotti has Buckeyes on cutting edge
247Sports
He also hired the man that is often referred to as the best in the business at what he does, strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti. With Meyer and Marotti no stone is left unturned. Case in point, what Marotti and the Buckeyes are doing when ...


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Ohio State recruiting has been excellent, but what you do with that talent is just as important
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Just look at USC.

A lot of digital ink has been spilled praising Ohio State’s recruiting as of late, and with good reasons. The Buckeyes are positioned to have a historically strong 2017 recruiting class, and multiple elite classes in a row have allowed them to replace tons of NFL draft picks without missing a beat. Outside of Alabama, nobody has earned more praise for recruiting and the sheer accumulation of talent than Ohio State.

But the Buckeyes aren’t actually the second most talented roster in the country. Judging from the recruiting rankings via the 247Sports Talent Composite, the Buckeyes are actually third.

The top team isn’t a surprise. Having the top ranked recruiting class every year since Obama’s first term will do that.

But number two? That’s USC. The Trojans currently have five times as many five-star players on their roster as Ohio State.

What’s going on with USC right now? Well, they got absolutely nuked by Alabama to open the season, and never really threatened Stanford in a Week 3 loss. They’ve scored a combined 16 points against Power 5 competition this season, and just changed quarterbacks. The Trojans finish the season with games against Oregon, at Washington, at UCLA, and with Notre Dame, meaning a bowl bid this season is hardly assured.

And yes, their head coach is now having to deny getting punched in the face by one of his players. So everything is going great in Troy right now.

This season’s struggles may be especially dramatic, but they aren’t exactly an aberration. The Trojans have just one finish above the AP Top 20 since 2008, the end of the Pete Carroll era. They haven’t won anything more prestigious than the Holiday Bowl in years.

NCAA sanctions that crippled the team’s depth obviously have some to do with that, but even in the face of scholarship reductions, the Trojans haven’t had a problem recruiting elite talent. The program’s history, location and resources make it a highly attractive destination for top recruits. But the results just haven’t been there.

USC is perhaps the most prominent case, but they’re hardly the only one. Auburn sits seventh in the talent composite, and they may also be fighting for their bowl lives too. Texas is 11th, and would consider winning eight games to be a successful season. Other programs that have recruited very well, like UCLA, Texas A&M, and Tennessee, among others, have yet to match those star rankings with on the field results.

This isn’t to say that recruiting isn’t important. The data shows that recruiting at an elite level is basically a requirement for national championship contention. A closer look at data shows a near linear relationship between recruiting rankings and wins. We cover it so closely on this website because it’s clear that recruiting matters a great deal. You can’t be an exceptionally successful program on a consistent basis without bringing in elite talent. And Ohio State has unquestionably hit that benchmark.

But it’s important to remember that’s not the only part of the equation here. Coaching, evaluation and development matter a great deal too.

And in case there was any doubt, Ohio State is doing just fine in that department as well.

One thing that speaks well to the evaluation and development of a coaching staff is the performance of lower-ranked recruits. Ohio State turned three-stars like Michael Thomas, Darron Lee and Cardale Jones into draft picks, and the early returns on the next batch of underrated Buckeyes look strong.

After all, one of the best centers in the country, Pat Elfein, was a three-star. Perhaps Ohio State’s biggest playmaker on defense this season, Malik Hooker, was a three-star. Noah Brown and Sam Hubbard were lower ranked four-stars, high upside recruits whose exact positional fit in college seemed up for debate. They’ve both already highly productive college players. And two of the lower ranked recruits that Urban Meyer has signed at Ohio State, defensive tackles Robert Landers and DaVon Hamilton, have shown they can play against elite competition.

Not every program can do that. The ability to project how a high school player will perform at a different position can be an inexact science. With a sea of elite prospects on the depth chart, keeping everybody motivated and engaged can be tricky too.

The fact that Ohio State has been able to do that is exceptionally impressive, especially as the Buckeyes have lost multiple assistants over the last few years. It’s also very rare.

It’s smart to focus a lot on recruiting. Ohio State is able to reload so quickly because they have a plethora of NFL-caliber prospects at most position groups. But they’re not the only program that can say that. Today it’s USC, but tomorrow, there may be another sterling example of a program that has figured out the talent acquisition part of the puzzle, but hasn’t figured out the rest that goes into building an excellent program.

Ohio State fans should enjoy what they have going while they can. It’s hard to put everything together all at once.

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Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Former assistants coaching against Buckeyes is nothing new - Columbus Dispatch
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Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Former assistants coaching against Buckeyes is nothing new
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. Ohio State will open Big Ten play on Oct.1 against Rutgers in Ohio Stadium. The Scarlet Knights are ...

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Celebrate the catch of the season with a hugs from Ohio t-shirt
Land-Grant Holy Land Staff via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


*Hugs*

Our friends at BreakingT are at it again.

After Ohio State’s non-conference statement win of the season — on the road, in a hostile environment against a team that basically had to win to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive — they’ve designed a great shirt commemorating what will undoubtedly be the most replayed moment of the 2016 season.

Whether you want to reflect on the catch you’ll never forget or think back to some pregame chatter that ultimately proved anything but “basic”, this shirt has everything you could want as a devoted member of Buckeye Nation:



Who doesn't love a nice, tender, touchdown hug from Ohio?

BreakingT’s “Ohio Hugs” shirt is available now in all sizes.

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Ohio State basketball in talks with class of 2020 PG
Austin Kemp via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


It’s never too soon to start recruiting

On the hardwood, it's been reported that Ohio State has began to contact in-state prospect Dom Penn. Penn, a point guard, attends Dublin Coffman High School. Penn is a younger prospect (a class of 2020 athlete) and hasn't garnered too much attention on the recruiting trail.


Coach Thad Matta has made it apparent in the past several months that he would like to get back to taking a slew of Ohio recruits in each class. By the time 2020 rolls around, there's a chance that Penn could be one of the top prospects in the state. Ohio State will continue to monitor this one throughout Penn's high school career.

No game, but flags to plant


The bye week has hit the Ohio State football team and though that means no football on Saturday, it doesn't mean the staff won't be as busy as ever. During the bye week most, if not all, Ohio State coaches will be all around the country checking in on top prospects. Though not all the coaches are "out of office" just yet, some have already hit the trail. For example, Kerry Coombs has spent the last couple of days in Jacksonville, presumably checking in on current 2017 commit Shaun Wade.


Wade, who visited Notre Dame this past weekend, is still solid to Ohio State and has not given any indication lately as to why he wouldn't be apart of this class come February. Still, this recruitment won't be for the faint of heart down the stretch with Alabama looking like the biggest competition.

As the week goes on, there will be more news on which coaches are in which state. It's safe to assume that wide receivers coach Zach Smith will also venture down to Florida, where he's killed it on the recruiting trail over the last several years. You can count on Larry Johnson staying in the northeast with the huge amount of ties he has during his years at Ohio State and Penn State. With high school games Thursday-Saturday, there are sure to be coaches wherever Ohio State's top prospects play.

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Eddie George has big expectations for 2016 Buckeyes - ABC6OnYourSide.com
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Eddie George has big expectations for 2016 Buckeyes
ABC6OnYourSide.com
Heisman winner Eddie George played for Ohio State as a redshirt freshman. He experienced the pressure and unwavering love from fans as a football player and understands what makes a good team. While the 2016 Buckeyes don't have the same ...


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Championship or bust for Buckeyes - CBS sports.com (blog)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Championship or bust for Buckeyes
CBS sports.com (blog)
Championship or bust for Buckeyes. Dave Biddle joins Chris Wittyngham to talk about the perception of the Buckeyes needing to win the National Championship or this season is a failure. Watch your Team Videos ▽. Please log in or register to view your ...


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LovelandBuckeye said:

Texas?

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i hoping more along the lines of Cuba.
i have to work in a texas on a regular basis, so maybe ship mississippi somewhere other than there.

Ohio State football | Healthy Noah Brown a highlight for Buckeyes - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football | Healthy Noah Brown a highlight for Buckeyes
Columbus Dispatch
After the Buckeyes' 45-24 win at Oklahoma, it's clear that Barrett has someone to throw to who is capable of turning almost any pass into six points. Barrett knew it, saying before the season that the 6-foot-2, 218-pound sophomore “has suction cups for ...

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Get to Know The Buckeye Battle Cry: Brandon Z
Mike Meals via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

The Buckeye Battle Cry has recently reached a milestone for the site. Over the weekend of the Oklahoma game, the Facebook page reached 10,000 likes. With reaching that milestone, we wanted to spend a little time interviewing the writers and editors of the Best Damn Website out there.

For the second episode of ‘Get to Know The Buckeye Battle Cry’, I sat down with Brandon Zimmerman, editor and writer here at The BBC. Brandon writes the ‘What Would Woody Watch’ and ‘Around the B1G’ here for us at The Buckeye Battle Cry. He also is regular Buckeye contributor on Mark Rogers TV (Twitter and YouTube).

Brandon and I grew up together in the same little town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, which scared me because there are so many stories we could tell on each other that someone would possibly end up in jail. Don’t let him fool you, his favorite Buckeye is clearly Blake Pfenning.

As for Brandon’s BBC Profile: Brandon Zimmerman grew up in the great state of Ohio as a Buckeyes, Reds, and Bengals fan. After graduating from high school in 2000, Brandon joined the Air Force and has worked in the government since then. Brandon has a B.S. in Sports Management and currently lives in Falcon, Colorado. He is married with two children. You can find him on twitter: @bzimmerman9.

Make sure you check out Brandon on twitter. He was the first person to report the “Basic Defense” report from before the OU game. He was randomly watching the Sooner Sports Daily and caught the video, which he posted. And as everyone knows, that went viral and was a major story-line before the game. And he even went so far as to apologize to Austin Kendall and the Oklahoma media. Our very own BZ started a movement the media in Norman will now have to suffer through.










The post Get to Know The Buckeye Battle Cry: Brandon Z appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Ohio State finally loaded up at its so-called ‘Percy Harvin’ position
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Starting with Curtis Samuel, the long talked about Percy Harvin role is being filled.

“Urban Meyer isn't recruiting wide receivers. He's recruiting athletes. He's recruiting players that stress a defense in as many ways as possible.”

- Barton Simmons, 247Sports


Since the hiring of Urban Meyer at Ohio State, a constant topic of the offense has been the lack of a true ‘Percy Harvin’ type of player on the team. But with the recruiting efforts starting to pay off and the constant preaching to recruits by Meyer that they could have a Harvin-kind of role on the team, it seems the offense is filled with them. It starts with Curtis Samuel, the one player that has emulated Harvin this season the most. Both second on the team in rushing and first in receiving, Samuel’s versatility has been the key factor in running Meyer’s offense this season.

Of course, it doesn’t end with Samuel. Players like Dontre Wilson, Noah Brown, James Clark, and Terry McLaurin were all recruited to fill this sort of role within the offense. All of the players listed could play both running back and wide receiver in high school and even in Wilson’s case, he was a true running back at the high school level. Now he’s converted to more of an H-back role and it’s paying dividends for both Wilson and the Buckeyes. The recruiting of athletes that built in a similar fashion to Harvin is working and now Ohio State has a receiving core that is one of the scariest in terms of potential for the present and the future.

“Honestly, I feel like we can play a lot better. When we correct all the things we messed up, I feel like we’ll be 20 times better.”

- Malik Hooker via Brian Bennett, ESPN


The road trip to Norman, Oklahoma would definitely be categorized as a success, even in the eyes of the players and coaching staff at Ohio State. A decisive 45-24 victory over the Sooners helped Ohio State in its maturation process as the Buckeyes grew up quickly on the road. The offense was impressive again, showing off its young playmakers such as Mike Weber and already solidified stars in J.T. Barrett and Curtis Samuel. But perhaps one of the more impressive feats on Saturday came from the defense filled with underclassmen. Marshon Lattimore had an interception while Jerome Baker added a pick six to his stat sheet as well.

Though the Buckeyes might have looked like they were rolling on all cylinders, many of the players and coaches are letting it be known that they still have a lot of things to work on and clean up. And that in itself might be a scary thought when you consider Ohio State looked that good in September alone. By the time November rolls around, this team could look even better. They’ll need to be too, with a tough conference schedule ahead of them including games against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and of course, Michigan.

“I think any receiver that gets four touchdowns, especially against a crew like Oklahoma, would be a surprise. But when you watch the film and you watch the strengths, he has such good ball skills.”

- Urban Meyer via Ari Wasserman, Cleveland.com


Noah Brown undoubtedly had his breakout performance that Ohio State fans have been waiting for since he broke his leg last year causing him to miss the entirety of the 2015 season. The performance included four touchdowns, tying a school record for receiving touchdowns in a game, and one of the better catches you’ll see in college football. It was exactly what fans must have dreamed about, after Brown’s teammates and coaches deemed him “unguardable” in last season’s fall camp. He certainly looked the part against Oklahoma and now has brought about the question of the rotation at wide receiver.

Ohio State has a great problem to have - most of its wide receivers are all capable of being starters. The actual problem is that there’s only a couple of spots on the field at one time, and so far the rotational approach has been working out. But with Brown’s latest game against the Sooners, it might be time to pen in Brown as never leaving the field. His ability to go and get a ball is impressive, and he’s a big target to have for Barrett should a play break down. Meyer says for now that they’ll stick to a rotation of all the receivers, but don’t be surprised to see Brown getting even more time spent on the field than off of it.

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Urban Meyer's flipped the script on Ohio State fans’ nightmares
E.L. Speyer via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


2006’s ending you wish you could forget has turned into something unforgettable.

You once hated Urban Meyer. It’s OK to admit it.

It was just 10 years ago that the state of Ohio declared Meyer public enemy number one, after the Ashtabula native and his Florida Gators thumped Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game, 41-14.

I remember reading speculation before the game that Meyer could succeed Tressel in Columbus after The Senator eventually hung his sweater vest up for good. To hell with that, I thought, filled with the arrogance and naivety of a teenager expecting his team to win a national title. Why would we want this upstart coach with a gimmicky offense to replace the school’s greatest winner since Woody Hayes?

Little did I know Urban Meyer is a General, determined to rip out your soul, winning a game in the process.

It seemed inconceivable that the Buckeyes would lose that championship game in Phoenix, let alone get embarrassed. Ohio State opened the year as the top-ranked team in the country, and for an entire season that’s where they remained, beating the second-ranked team in the nation twice along the way.

None of that mattered to Urban Meyer. On that fateful night in January, the Buckeyes looked slow, overwhelmed and under-prepared. The quick-twitch Gators played with the swagger, confidence, and precise execution that’s been associated with any Meyer team ever since.

The Debacle in the Desert also ushered in the second leg of Tressel’s tenure in Columbus, in which the Buckeyes too often looked overmatched against college football’s elite. And Tressel never regained the unbeatable aura that previously followed him into big games.

Buckeye Nation has likely put those bitter memories in the rear view, so why bring them up now? Because Oklahoma very much resembled those Buckeye teams that were embarrassed by the Florida’s, LSU’s and USC’s of the world. And Meyer has taken those teams that once made you miserable and donned them in Scarlet and Grey.

Remember when the Buckeyes were conquered so simply by USC in 2008, that by halftime you wondered how the program had fallen so far behind? That has to be how Sooner fans felt as Ohio State outmatched Oklahoma in every facet of the game on Saturday.

Or how about the chorus of S-E-C! S-E-C! chants that rained down upon the field as Florida and LSU mauled OSU in consecutive title games?

That was replaced by the strength of Buckeye Nation, which took over Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, bellowing a rolling O-H-I-O chant throughout the second half; the college football equivalent of taking your flag to an enemy’s country and firmly placing it in their soil.

There was a moment when I knew that the Buckeyes would prevail victorious Saturday night. It wasn’t when Jerome Baker intercepted a Baker Mayfield pass for a touchdown, pushing the score to 14-0. It wasn’t when Noah Brown extended Ohio State’s lead to 18 right before the half, hauling in what should be the catch of the year:


The game hadn’t kicked off yet. The broadcast had just started. As Oklahoma took the field for the opening kickoff, Meyer brought his coverage unit aside for a prolonged huddle. The words he spoke were not audible to those watching at home, but the intensity in his eyes rang true.

The general had his troops prepared. The first line was being sent into battle.


Ohio State entered the season as the youngest team in college football, with only six returning starters and six scholarship seniors on the roster. Even as a preseason top-ten team, the Buckeyes flew under the radar. If Ohio State was to contend for a conference or national title, it would come after some early-season growing pains.

That perception will likely never surround the program again under Meyer. Not after his young Bucks undressed a quality opponent on the road. In prime time. On national television.

Despite all the hype the SEC received for winning seven straight titles from 2006-2012, the conference’s reign can, in a sense, be attributed to two men. Meyer won two championships with Florida in 2006 and 2008. Nick Saban won three with Alabama, in 2009, 2011 and 2012.

The other two titles were claimed by LSU and Auburn. LSU, of course, beat the Buckeyes in 2007, with a team of seniors recruited by Saban, who coached the program through 2004. Auburn was carried to its title by Cam Newton, who started his college career with Meyer’s Gators, but had to transfer after violating school rules.

Saban has now won four titles with Alabama, and it’s assumed that his Crimson Tide will contend for a national championship every year, regardless of attrition from the prior season. Meyer has accomplished less so far in Columbus, but the same should be assumed of his Buckeyes.

Did you think that you were going to miss Michael Thomas and Taylor Decker? Darron Lee and Vonn Bell? It’s easy to forget those first and second round picks when Meyer replaces them with equal, if not higher-rated recruits.

Have you enjoyed watching Curtis Samuel being thrust into a featured role? How about Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore seemingly intercepting every pass thrown their way? Enjoy that now, this could very well be the last season any of them play for the Buckeyes.

And that’s OK. Their departure would only pave the way for another crop of hungry, young talent, and a 2017 recruiting class pacing to be one of the greatest of all time.

In a sport that relies on the arms of 21-year-old quarterbacks and the hands of 19-year-old receivers, there are few certainties in college football. Kirk Ferentz receiving a contract extension and then losing to North Dakota State is probably one of them. As is Jim Harbaugh being a cyborg that functions on the fuel of its own ... Well, you know:


Ohio State being a perennial contender for bigger and better things is a certainty too. As long as it has General Meyer leading the way.

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Ohio State football | Buckeyes have 'so much more room for improvement,' Meyer says - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football | Buckeyes have 'so much more room for improvement,' Meyer says
Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State's 45-24 win at Oklahoma was a major moment in the development of a young football team, but coach Urban Meyer said that when he and the Buckeyes got around finally to watching video of the game Tuesday, there also was some wincing.
After 'coming of age game,' Buckeyes get ready for Big TenThe Seattle Times
Buckeyes recruit, develop, produce, repeat247Sports.com
Buckeyes honored following Saturday's win10TV
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
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Watch: Weber helps Buckeyes put away Oklahoma - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Watch: Weber helps Buckeyes put away Oklahoma
247Sports
Ohio State rushed for nearly 300 yards in its road win at Oklahoma. Leading the way was emerging redshirt freshman Michael Weber, who had 123 yards on 18 ...

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The Ohio State offense exploited Oklahoma’s weaknesses on 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


The Buckeyes dominated the perimeter.

If we go back to last week, we saw the Ohio State offense take a major step-back from their Week 1 performance. Against Bowling Green, we saw the offense spread the ball around to a multitude of playmakers on the perimeter and in the backfield. Then the following week against Tulsa, the offense went back to the vanilla disaster that we had to endure throughout the 2015 season.

Buckeye fans tried to give them the benefit of the doubt because of the weather, but their performance really worried fans that they would bring that boring playbook to Norman, Oklahoma.

45 points and 433 total yards later, the Buckeye offense was back.

Here’s the film review:

J.T. Barrett

• 12 designed runs is usually way too much for this offense, and anything over 11 typically results in a loss. But against Oklahoma, these designed runs were perfectly executed and attacked the Sooners’ defensive weakness — which we’ll touch on later.
• Barrett looked like a man possessed and left it all out on the field. Here's an example of just that, when he decided to run over Oklahoma's strong safety to move-the-chains:

• Out of Barrett’s 24 dropbacks, he was only pressured on six. The offensive line — especially up the middle, where Oklahoma is tough — did an excellent job of keeping Barrett upright. He was only sacked once and hit twice while he threw.
• There were two instances where Barrett looked like the 2014 J.T. Barrett — in regards to his calmness and presence in the pocket.

• The passing yardage does not fly off the page (14-of-20, 152 yards), but his passing was extremely efficient. Barrett didn’t force the ball into tight windows or into double coverage in the middle of the field. Instead, he took what the defense gave him, by checking down in the flats, or exploiting Oklahoma’s poor cornerbacks outside of the numbers.

When looking at the main weaknesses of the Oklahoma defense that the Houston offense exploited, it was obvious that the Ohio State coaching staff saw similar holes:

The Oklahoma secondary had difficulty covering Houston’s big wide-outs:

When watching the Oklahoma-Houston game, it was obvious that Tom Herman wanted to take advantage of Houston’s big receivers against the smaller Oklahoma cornerbacks. On numerous occasions, Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. threw up back-shoulder fades and vertical routes, and let his bigger wideouts go up and get the football.

From the preview: "From an Ohio State standpoint, it looks like Barrett should target Noah Brown and Marcus Baugh vertically. Both are big, athletic targets who can go up and make plays. Oklahoma’s secondary really lacks a true ball-hawk, as they only defended one of Greg Ward Jr.’s 40 pass attempts."

Fast forward to Saturday, and the Buckeyes did just that. Barrett connected with Brown five times and the big wideout came down with four of them in the end zone. One of the four touchdowns was on a comeback route, but the other three came on jump balls, where Brown just had his way with the Sooner cornerbacks.

This was the first Barrett-Brown endzone connection, where the staff was comfortable enough taking advantage of single coverage on the outside, rather than running it inside the 5-yard line on 3rd-and-1. Barrett threw it at Brown's back-shoulder, and only to a place where Brown could catch it.

Major, major mismatch here:


After executing the back-shoulder fade a couple of times, Brown ran a killer comeback route in the endzone -- leaving the cornerback with his back turned and 5-yards off the receiver.

What a route:



The Oklahoma secondary misses a ton of tackles and cannot get off blocks:

When watching Houston play Oklahoma, it was obvious that Oklahoma's strength was their interior defensive line and inside linebackers.

It was clear from the first series of the game, that the Buckeyes wanted to attack the perimeter with Samuel, Barrett and Weber. They peppered the Sooners' soft edge with outside zone plays, speed options, sweeps and in the flats in the passing game. Ed Warinner and Tim Beck really exploited the under-coached and not-so-talented Sooner secondary. They basically took their playbook from the 2014 Sugar Bowl vs Alabama, and replicated it.

On the majority of Samuel, Barrett or Weber’s carries on the perimeter, the secondary just could not get off their blocks and were running in space for a good chunk of yardage. For a team that is very strong and big up the middle, they are extremely weak on the outside.

In the prior two seasons on 3rd or 4th-and-short, the Buckeyes would typically dial-up a designed QB run up the A or B gap, or run inside zone. They had a good success rate, but as you can see here, they were so comfortable with their gameplan that they were confident running outside the tackles on 4th-and-1. As one can see, the cornerbacks have zero ability to get off blocks and Terry McLaurin had his man blocked 15-yards downfield.



The Buckeyes continued to take advantage of their strengths, versus Oklahoma's weakness on the edge. Barrett did a great job here of holding the ball at the mesh-point, freezing the defense just enough, before giving the ball to Samuel on a sweep. Once Samuel got to the second level, it was game over for the would-be-tackler.



This was a complete effort from the coaching staff to dissect the weakness of the defense, put the players in the correct position to make plays and then the players to execute the gameplan.

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After 'coming of age game,' Buckeyes get ready for Big Ten - The Seattle Times
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


After 'coming of age game,' Buckeyes get ready for Big Ten
The Seattle Times
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio State Buckeyes couldn't have positioned themselves much better to begin the grueling nine-game Big Ten schedule: Three no-doubt wins, including a rout of Oklahoma in a marquee Saturday night game. Stars emerging ...
Ohio State football | Buckeyes have 'so much more room for improvement,' Meyer saysColumbus Dispatch
Philosophy of running the ball working well for BuckeyesOSU - The Lantern
Buckeyes recruit, develop, produce, repeat247Sports.com
247Sports
all 28 news articles »

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