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tBBC Heard around the ‘Shoe: Emory Jones, Browning, Reigelsperger

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'm there #WeAre pic.twitter.com/YJtMZuF4ke

— Alex Reigelsperger (@a_reigelsperger) October 13, 2016


“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.


Nick Bosa's advice to injured Ohio State commit Trevon Grimes: 'Take rehab as seriously as possible' https://t.co/k1O01OifbJ

— Ohio State (@Ohio_State) October 12, 2016


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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tBBC Highlights: Ohio State defeats Wisconsin in Overtime

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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tBBC Buckeyes Goal-line Stance In OT Erases A Scare In Madison

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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LGHL The Ohio State offense won the war against a tough Wisconsin defense

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


614921610.0.jpg

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.

Designed runs
Dropbacks
Completions
Incompletions
Total TD
Scrambles
Overthrows
Throwaways
13​
33​
14​
11​
2​
4​
6​
1
Pressured
Sacked
Hit
Pass break-up
Batted at LOS
Drops
Turnovers
Defensive PI
12​
2​
5​
3​
0​
2​
1​
1​

*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.

JT%20DW.jpg


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.

McLaurin.jpg

McLaurin%202.jpg


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.

10-18-2016%2010-01-36%20AM.jpg


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.

OT.jpg


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:


J.T. Barrett's modest passing stats vs Wisconsin were a little misleading. WRs had multiple big play opportunities slip through their hands pic.twitter.com/lx3NLwO0eR

— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) October 17, 2016

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:

Samuel.jpg


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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Google Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Buckeyes thoroughly dismantled Nittany Lions in '96...

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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Google Ohio State football: Buckeyes quarterback JT Barrett returns to site of “coming of age”...

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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Google Calm under pressure Buckeyes impress 5-star target - 247Sports

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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tBBC Game Preview: Ohio State At Wisconsin

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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tBBC A View From the Fan – Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

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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tBBC Friday Night Insights: B1G Four/Little Ten, Politics, iBelieve Charity Spotlight

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

History

iBELIEVE_sign.jpg

The iBELIEVE sign developed by students and staff at the first iBELIEVE West Virginia summer camp in 2012.

The iBELIEVE Foundation was created in 2011 to help provide more opportunities for Appalachian youth. Today, iBELIEVE provides thousands of students per year educational and learning opportunities to grow their 21st Century Skills and build a network of student-leaders across the region.

Originally, iBELIEVE started out as just a summer camp opportunity for just 36 student-leaders. But the growth of the organization through the donations of many corporations and individuals have allowed the addition of year round programming. This programming focuses on getting Appalachian schools involved in developmental programs for their students. In 2016, iBELIEVE partnered with the Ohio Association of Student Councils to unify their summer camp programming for Appalachian students, Columbus Public students, and outside student leaders.

Thanks to the partnership of the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO), iBELIEVE has been able to hold a 501(c)3 status as a “field of interest fund” through their organization. FAO continues to serve as iBELIEVE’s back office and money managers as iBELIEVE moves to their own 501(c)3 status in 2016.

There mission statement is simple . . ,

Mission


The iBELIEVE Foundation strives to provide opportunities to Appalachian youth for the development of 21st Century Skills such as leadership, communication, and problem solving. Ultimately, our ambitious goal is to increase collegiate attendance and retention in the Appalachian communities of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

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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tBBC BBC Pick’Em: Week 7 Badgers Going Down

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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tBBC Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 10/14/2016

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.


5-star CB Shaun Wade's father talks flip possibility from Ohio State; The latest with Alex Leatherwood | https://t.co/msQrMdkhCQ pic.twitter.com/RnuZO6eDvl

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) October 12, 2016


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 No. 1 prospect in MI & No. 1-ranked WR in the nation, Donovan Peoples-Jones, is visiting MSU this weekend. https://t.co/Ep40inLDbR

— GreenandWhite.com (@LSJGreenWhite) October 13, 2016


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.


#OhioState QB commit @eXjones6 has throwing shoulder AC joint separation but tells me he will be back this season https://t.co/hqNJUTVrpy

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) October 14, 2016


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.


Emory Jones had a fantastic attitude about his injury. He immediately began coaching up his backup and encouraging his team.

— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) October 14, 2016


We here at tBBC wish Emory a speedy recovery!

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BTN Malik Hooker, Will Likely, T.J. Watt featured on ‘Journey’ at 9 p.m. ET tonight

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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tBBC Frank Gore is disgusted with the Indianapolis Colts

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:


Of all the Colts I visited with in the locker room after this collapse, the only one who seemed genuinely disgusted was veteran running back Frank Gore. And he was furious, frustrated almost to the point of tears.

“I didn’t come here for this,” the proud former 49ers star was pleading. “I came here to get into the tournament.”

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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tBBC It’s early, but Nail Yakupov has been impressive

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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tBBC Mike Pereira says NFL lacks ‘guts’ if Vontaze Burfict doesn’t get suspended

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:


Vontaze Burfict going low on Bennett. Seemed unnecessary but what do I know. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/4DWnqa76TD

— Will D. (@WAD1980) October 16, 2016


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:


If it’s a large fine and not games they don’t have any guts. I mean, the guy was suspended for the first three games of the season. So you pile on, you pile on punishment when you look at history, and he has history dating all the way back to college for God’s sakes. Obviously it doesn’t apply in the NFL, but I don’t see how they can do anything but suspend him because it was not a football act. He didn’t lead with the helmet trying to break up a pass. He didn’t do that. This was just a dead, you know, cheap, intentional cheap shot. So to me, I’m like shocked if the NFL doesn’t maintain some leverage here and get rid of him for another couple of games.

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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tBBC Eli Manning doesn’t mind Odell Beckham’s antics…if he’s making plays

Eli Manning doesn’t mind Odell Beckham’s antics…if he’s making plays
Chris Roling
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning doesn’t care much what star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. does so long as the offense scores and the team wins.

Beckham was one of the most lambasted athletes in the country over the past few weeks for his tantrums. The guy went from hitting inanimate objects to crying and more before exploding for 222 yards and two touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 6.

Manning admitted to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post he finds it easier to overlook the noise if the LSU product makes plays:


He made plays and so it’s one of those deals where you can get real sick of it if he’s not going out there and making plays, but when he goes out and has a couple of huge catches and 200 yards and a game-winning touchdown, you still want him to be smarter, but you accept it a little easier.

One could argue this is how any quarterback feels about his star players. Others could suggest this is a questionable leadership comment and Manning needs to have better control of his locker room. He is, after all, the face of the franchise and the veteran leader.

No matter which side of the fence one falls on, it’s not hard to see the writing on the wall—everything will remain calm in New York so long as things keep going well.

With the Cowboys in control of the NFC East, though, it looks like quite the combustible environment. If the Giants can remain mature no matter the outcome of games, good things can and will happen as the roster grows.

If not, Manning will surely drop more interesting comments about his top weapon.

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tBBC Packers win big by acquiring Knile Davis in trade with Chiefs

Packers win big by acquiring Knile Davis in trade with Chiefs
Chris Roling
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Green Bay Packers surprised the globe Monday by agreeing to a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, netting running back Knile Davis.

Talk about a win. Anybody who saw the Packers take a 30-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 understood the running game was a mess. Eddie Lacy has averaged a strong 5.1 yards per carry, but has been hobbled. James Starks is hurt. Efforts to swing the ball out to Ty Montgomery to emulate a running game hasn’t worked. To top it all off, Aaron Rodgers has the team’s lone pair of rushing scores.

Davis doesn’t fix the bevy of problems in Green Bay, but he’s quite the get for a cheap price, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:


In their trade for #KCChiefs RB Knile Davis, the #Packers gave up a conditional late-round pick. Likely based on playing time.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 18, 2016


Davis had wanted out of Kansas City and got it now that the Chiefs have Jamaal Charles healthy again. Davis might only have 775 rushing yards over his four-year career, but he’s scored 11 touchdowns. A big-play threat, Green Bay had plenty of time to keep Davis in mind, as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed out:


#Packers got a pretty good look at Knile Davis in final preseason game. He started, carried 14 times for 58 yards and a TD ion Sept. 1.

— Tom Silverstein (@TomSilverstein) October 18, 2016


Maybe Davis doesn’t eat many snaps this season. But he’s an effective stop-gap solution who can take carries on a short week against the hapless Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football.

If Davis is nothing more than a holdover while Lacy gets healthy, the trade is still quite the win. If he can effectively form a tandem with Lacy, even better.

Davis’ addition alone won’t fix the Green Bay offense. But it’s leagues better than the team doing nothing. Finally free of a committee three or more names deep, Davis has his new locale and will be eager to prove himself.

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tBBC Around the B1G: Week 8 Edition

Around the B1G: Week 8 Edition
bzimmerman9
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Time and change will surely show…how quickly articles can change direction. Today with Around the B1G, I have decided to take a different approach. In the past, I simply gave you information on each team but today I am going to try giving more of an opinion of the status of the B1G. So buckle up and enjoy the ride (or fake it).

As long as you did not pay any attention to the monstrosity in Piscataway, there were actually quite a few games around the B1G that almost made me proud of being a member of the conference. Of course the biggest game of the weekend was our Ohio State Buckeyes traveling into Madison and beating the Badgers in overtime. I will admit, I was not a fan of the Badgers coming into this game. My only experience of watching Alex Hornibrook was when he took on the Wolverines and looked absolutely atrocious. I was not convinced he would be able to throw for any yards against the Buckeyes.

It turns out, I was completely wrong about the Badgers and Hornibrook. They looked like a completely different team on Saturday night and it was apparent the Badgers took full advantage of the extra bye week to come up with some new looks offensively and defensively. You could tell it rattled the Buckeyes early as they looked helpless and lost early in the game. I tip my cap to the Badger players and coaching staff for an excellent gameplan and execution.

The other game took place in Bloomington (take a breath, I know that is hard to believe) between the undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Hoosiers. This game did not start out well for the Hoosiers as the Cornhuskers moved the ball at will in the first quarter jumping out to a 17-0 lead. Led by the much-improved Hoosier defense, Kevin Wilson’s squad was able to rattle off 15 straight points to put the game at 17-15 going into the fourth quarter. In the end, it was another valiant effort by the Hoosiers but they were unable to pull out the victory for the second straight week losing 27-22.

Outside of those two marquee games, some of the Big Ten tapped into their inner Big 12 and decided to leave their defenses at home. In West Lafayette, the Boilermakers and Hawkeyes combined for 84 points which is pretty impressive considering both of those offenses are pretty bad. In Iowa’s defense though, the Boilermakers scored 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawkeyes decided to shut things down.

The other high-scoring affair came out of East Lansing where the Northwestern Wildcats and Michigan State Spartans battled to decide who was the Big Ten’s most disappointing team. As if it was ever a contest, the Spartans won the disappointment contest (but not the game) by allowing the Wildcats to score 54 points as these two teams combined for 94 points. The Spartans need to find a corner and sit there and think about what they’ve done.

Next week, there are three games I am really looking forward to. The first is taking place in Kinnick Stadium as the Hawkeyes host the Badgers at noon. After last week’s battle, how will the Badgers come back against a much improved Hawkeye team? I think this is one to keep an eye on.

Another game to watch is Indiana heading to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats who have finally begun to find a rhythm on offense as they are averaging 46 points over their last two games against Michigan State and Iowa. Just like a letdown game is possible with the Badgers, I wonder how motivated the Hoosiers will be after playing two Top-10 teams close the last two weeks but coming up short.

The marquee game is of course the Buckeyes heading east to take on the Nittany Lions in a “White Out” game. This is the Nittany Lions most important game of the season because they refuse to acknowledge the Buckeyes are not their rivals. As bad as the Nittany Lions have been, this game cannot be overlooked by anyone. These “White Out” games are always played tough mainly because of the toughest environment in college football. The fans really get into this game and will be a factor. Will the Buckeye defense be able to shut down Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley now that the PSU coaching staff has figured out how to use them?

I am still not convinced the B1G is that good this year. I think they have a bunch of okay teams but the competition level is not where everyone would like it to be. Outside of the top four teams, there is a significant drop-off to the rest of the division. Teams like Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern, and Minnesota have not lived up to expectations this year. I think a few of those teams are starting to figure things out but this weekend will be key to how the conference plays out.

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tBBC ALCS Game 4 Preview: One Win From Capturing The American League Pennant

ALCS Game 4 Preview: One Win From Capturing The American League Pennant
Mike Melaragno
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Rather than start right-hander Mike Clevinger in Game 4 of the ALCS on Tuesday, the team will start ace righty Corey Kluber on short rest. Ryan Merritt will then get the ball in Game 5, if necessary.

Trevor Bauer was forced the exit in the first inning because the cut on his right pinkie began bleeding uncontrollably. He cut himself repairing his drone over the weekend. Francona broke it down like this before Game 3:

  • Trevor Bauer pitches well in Game 3: Merritt starts Game 4 and Kluber starts Game 5.
  • Trevor Bauer pitches poorly in Game 3: Kluber starts Game 4 and Merritt starts Game 5.

Since Bauer was knocked out early, the Indians were forced to rely on their bullpen heavily in Game 3. Kluber is an innings eater and Cleveland wean on him for some serious length in Game 4, even on short rest. He has never started on short rest in his career.

Merritt, meanwhile, has not pitched since Sept. 30 and he has done work on the side throughout the postseason so he will be well-rested for Game 5. This will be only his second career big-league start.

A win this evening would give the American League Pennant to the Indians for the first time since 1997.

Aaron Sanchez

Aaron Sanchez is a legitimate Cy Young contender this year, maybe even the frontrunner in the eyes of some, and while players typically get sent down to the minors because their organization doesn’t care much for what they’ve done on the field, Sanchez was optioned to high A Dunedin in August because the Blue Jays care too much. He just turned 24, and he’s a massive part of the organization’s future, and the move was simply made to skip one of his turns in the rotation in an effort to limit the workload of Toronto’s prized, young arm.

Sanchez has maintained his power, he’s broadened his repertoire, and he’s impressed the hell out of a future Hall-of-Famer. We’ve seen Sanchez dominate in relief, but last year out of the rotation, he allowed a .346 OBP, and a .392 slugging percentage. This year, his numbers as a starter are at .285 and .321, respectively. There’s another way of showing this. Because of Sanchez’s sinker, he’s always been able to generate grounders, but here’s a plot, courtesy of Fangraphs, of the 2015 starting pitchers with grounder rate and K-BB%:

2015-starting-pitchers.png


And here is the plot for his 2016:

2016-starting-pitchers1.png


That’s an awfully big shift for that little yellow dot. A year ago, Sanchez was among the league leaders in lowest average launch angle allowed. This year, he’s kept that up. But he’s figured out the zone, and he’s improved his curveball, and so there have been more of the good things and fewer of the bad things. What Sanchez has pulled off, by improving his conditioning and mechanical consistency, is remarkable, and this table can tell you why. Since 2002, more than 1,700 pitchers have thrown at least 50 innings as starters in consecutive seasons.

Sanchez spent the majority of his first two seasons in the majors working out of relief, and now that he suddenly looks like an ace, that he’s already exceeded his previous season-high in innings by more than 20. And if you know about that, then you know about the sinker that leads Sanchez’s arsenal:


In 2015, Baseball America profiled the pitch as having “plus-plus life with bat-breaking armside run and sink.” When fangraph’s Jeff Sullivan looked for a comparison to Zach Britton‘s sinker last season, the first name he mentioned was Sanchez, noting that the key difference between the two is Britton generated more downward plane due to his delivery. Sanchez’s release point is slightly higher this year compared to last, so a pitch that was already nearly Britton’s sinker last year is now slightly closer. It’s thrown harder than 95 mph on average, making it the third-fastest sinker thrown by a starting pitcher with at least 500 thrown this season. It generates nine inches of horizontal break, on average, and none of the five pitchers who get more movement to the arm side with their sinker also generate more vertical drop on the pitch.

Sanchez can get into trouble when he tries to challenge hitters with his fasatball:


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tBBC Five biggest coaching mistakes in NFL Week 6

Five biggest coaching mistakes in NFL Week 6
Mike Batista
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


There might be times when the average Joe wishes he made the kind of money an NFL head coach makes, even if it means working 90 hours a week from July through January. Well, hopefully January.

But people with five-figure salaries in humdrum jobs should count their blessings. Their boss might have something to say about their work, but they don’t have millions of people criticizing decisions they make in the office.

With that in mind, let’s question some coaching decisions that were made in Week 6.

Browns going for two down nine points with two minutes left


Hue Jackson should show up to work early a couple of times this week and study math before he studies film.

Terrelle Pryor caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Cody Kessler with 2:07 left Sunday to pull the Browns to within 28-19 at Tennessee.

Then the Browns went for two.

And failed.

Therefore, it remained a two-possession game.

Jackson has been part of various NFL coaching staffs since 2001. Hasn’t he been around long enough to know that when you’re down multiple touchdowns, you go for two only when you have to?


#Browns Hue Jackson explains his decision to go for 2 on the first of 2 late TDs in 28-26 loss to #Titans pic.twitter.com/c18MtMNFr4

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 17, 2016


Apparently not.

His mistake was magnified when the Browns recovered the onside kick and scored again, making it 28-25 with 27 seconds left. Had the Browns just kicked the extra point earlier, they’d have been down 28-26 and could have tried to tie it with a two-point conversion and not needed to recover a second onside kick.

Instead, the Browns kicked the extra point and trailed by two when they tried another onside kick. The Titans recovered to secure the win.

The Browns are 0-6, their worst start since 1999, the year the franchise came back to Cleveland. Half of those losses have come by a touchdown or less and can partly be blamed on Jackson’s poor tactical decisions.

Colts going shotgun on fourth-and-1 instead of kicking field goal


The Colts had a 13-9 lead over the Texans late in the third quarter Sunday night in Houston.

On fourth-and-1 from the Texans’ 8-yard line, all they needed to extend their lead to a full touchdown was a 25-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri, whose head is chiseled into the all-time Mount Rushmore of NFL kickers.

But instead of going with one of their few strengths, they not only went for it but Andrew Luck was in the shotgun. The Colts needed to move the ball forward one yard, and to do that they snapped it four yards backwards. Frank Gore stood right next to Luck in the formation, but in a short-yardage situation why would the Colts hand it off to a guy who ran for 106 yards and averaged 4.8 yards a carry in the game? Luck dropped back to pass and was sacked by Whitney Mercilus.

The Colts (2-4) could have used the three points. They eventually built a 23-9 lead, but the Texans rallied to tie it and win the game in overtime.

Now they’re last in the AFC South, and Chuck Pagano’s seat is getting warmer. But what else is new?

Steelers calling Landry Jones pass on third-and-1


Landry Jones replaced Ben Roethlisberger in the second quarter Sunday in Miami after Roethlisberger left the game with what turned out to be a torn meniscus.

With the Dolphins leading 9-8 and 5:23 left in the first half, the Steelers turned to Le’Veon Bell, who cranked out runs of 12, eight and six yards. Then on third-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 46, Jones threw a pass to David Johnson. No, the Cardinals didn’t trade Johnson to the Steelers. This David Johnson is a blocking tight end who has caught 26 passes in his seven-year career.

He didn’t catch this one, and the Dolphins had enough time to drive for a touchdown and a 16-8 halftime lead.

Jones can’t throw the ball like Roethlisberger, but it’s hard to imagine there’s that much of a dropoff when it comes to handing the ball off. Feeding Bell was a good way to overcome Roethlisberger’s absence. If there ever was a time to stay conservative, this was it.

That wasn’t the only time the Steelers should have handed the ball to Bell but didn’t. Despite averaging 5.3 yards per carry, he ran the ball just 10 times.


Hard to fathom how Le'Veon Bell had just 10 carries against a defense that was allowing 150.8 rushing yards per game. #Steelers

— Blitzburgh (@Steel_Curtain4) October 17, 2016


It’s also hard to fathom the Steelers (4-2) losing 30-15 to a team that had just one overtime win over the winless Browns entering the game.

Falcons throwing with a one-point lead


Sure, Richard Sherman got away with pass interference on Julio Jones. But since that’s been the talking point of the game, it’s allowed the Falcons to get away with questionable play-calling.

They clung to a 24-23 lead when Ra’Shede Hageman blocked Steven Hauschka’s extra point with 4:47 left in the game at Seattle.

Instead of running the ball to protect the lead, the Falcons threw it not once, not twice but three times.

The first two passes were complete and Atlanta picked up a first down, but the third was intercepted by Earl Thomas. Hauschka kicked the game-winning field goal with two minutes left.

The Falcons had gained just 2.9 yards per carry in the game, but huge gains aren’t needed on every play to run out the clock. Matt Ryan threw for 335 yards. But the Legion of Boom is the Legion of Boom. At some point, the Seahawks secondary is going to lower the boom.

Packers kicking two field goals on fourth-and-short in first half


Mike McCarthy took a page out of his game plan for the 2014 NFC championship game and called for the field goal unit in a short-yardage situation.

He did it twice in Sunday’s 30-16 home loss to the Cowboys.

Dallas scored a touchdown on its opening drive. The Packers (4-2) had a fourth-and-1 at the Cowboys’ 19 on their first possession. Instead of going for the first down, McCarthy decided to answer the Cowboys’ seven points with three points.

In the second quarter, the Packers faced fourth-and-2 at the Cowboys’ 25-yard line, and again kicked a field goal to trim the Cowboys’ lead to 7-6.

The Cowboys extended their lead to 17-6 at halftime and took control of the game from there. The Packers didn’t score a touchdown until there were less than seven minutes remaining in the game, narrowing their deficit to 27-16.

The Packers might have had a touchdown sooner, and it might have been more of a game in the fourth quarter, if McCarthy had gone for the first down at least one of those times in the first half.

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tBBC Top Turtle Podcast – Episode 41: John Crouch

Top Turtle Podcast – Episode 41: John Crouch
Daniel Vreeland
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Did you see Mackenzie Dern’s awesome Iminari choke this past weekend? Top Turtle podcast had the pleasure of interviewing Mackenzie’s head coach, John Crouch about the insane move and Mackenzie’s development as a fighter. We also spoke about surging prospect Bryan Barberena, Benson Henderson’s Bellator title shot and what John thinks of Jiu-Jitsu with limited striking. Fascinating interview as always from the MMA Lab’s head coach.

And in the fastest fight news update on planet earth, Dave and Dan breakdown GSP declaring free agency, Conor’s left field announcement, Instant replay, Jose Aldo’s temper tantrum and the UFC’s change in management.

And to get you through the UFC drought, we go over our favorite fights that took place in the month of October.

Also, don’t forget to subscribe. Top Turtle MMA is now on Stitcher, iTunes andTuneIn. Pick your favorite delivery method and never miss an episode. OR follow the show on FACEBOOK and give us a like.

Looking for something in particular? Here are the time-stamps:

2:00– News update: GSP a free agent? Jose Aldo still mad, Conor’s announcement mystery and Bisping calls out Brock? (Just want the news? Feel free to subscribe to Fastest Fight News as well)

17:00– John Crouch Interview

31:00– What are the best fights to have ever taken place in October?

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Daniel “Gumby” Vreeland (@GumbyVreeland) – With over five years of jiu jitsu experience, “Gumby” has a wealth of technical knowledge that he brings to the table. Add that to a writing history that includes credits on web (The MMA Manifesto) and print sources (Fight! Magazine) and live coverage of every major promotion, and his breakdown skills are just as sharp as his rubber guard.



David Tramonte (@TopTurtleMMA) – Has a long history in TV Production, having been an associate producer for the Best Damn Sports Show Period, NBC Sports and MLB Network. He has produced shows featuring content from the UFC, Pride FC, Strikeforce and the International Fight League. His passion lies in practicing jiu jitsu and trying to pick MMA parlays.



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LGHL Elite DT set to visit Ohio State

Elite DT set to visit Ohio State
Dan Hessler
via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


4884832.0.jpg

A 4-star Buckeye target will be witnessing for The Game.

Jay Tufele (South Jordan, UT / Bingham) is one of the best defensive prospects in the 2017 class. To this point he has made it clear that he wants to explore all of his options before committing to a school and because of this, there is no one school leading the way in his recruitment.

Tufele has managed to narrow down his list of suitors to Michigan, USC, Utah, Washington and Ohio State. There is no notable leader in this group, so we will need to wait until the four-star DE has taken his official visits before his list can be narrowed down any further.

The 6-foot-3, 297-pound defensive lineman will be kicking off his official visits this week when he travels to Ann Arbor, Mich. to visit the Buckeyes arch-rival Michigan. However, Buckeye Nation need not fret as Tufele announced his official visit date for Ohio State – and it’s a big one.

Tufele confirmed with 247Sports Monday afternoon that he plans to visit the Ohio State campus on Nov. 26, when the Buckeyes take on the Wolverines in The ‘Shoe. Tufele will likely be looking forward to watching the Buckeyes play in person as he mentioned in the article that he “loves” the Buckeyes and that Ohio State reminds him of his current team.

It can be assumed that we will learn a lot more about Tufele’s thought process after this visit as both teams are highly involved in recruiting him and the game takes place late in the season.

Make sure to stick with Land-Grant Holy Land for the latest on his recruitment and more.

Army All American Bowl adds more Buckeye connections


Two more prospects in the 2017 class with Ohio State ties officially became members of the U.S. Army All American Bowl game Monday afternoon. The aforementioned Buckeye target Jay Tufele received his jersey today and will officially be on the West team.


Proud to welcome this Mighty Miner, 4⭐️ DL Jay Tufele, to the West Team! #Savage17 #ArmyBowl pic.twitter.com/FgqpgGde2m

— #ArmyBowl (@ArmyAllAmerican) October 17, 2016

Tufele wasn’t the only Buckeye to officially commit to the game today as five-star DE commit Chase Young (Hyattsville, MD / DeMatha Catholic) also received the prestigious honor Monday.

Young committed to the Buckeyes this past summer and is one of the best defensive line prospects in his entire class and is currently listed as the No. 2 weak-side DE in the 247Sports composite rankings. While Young and Tufele will be on opposing teams in this all-star game, the two could eventually become the only two DE commits in Ohio State’s No. 1 rated 2017 recruiting class.


Congrats to @youngchase907 on his official selection to the #Armybowl class of 17! #savage17 #Americasteam pic.twitter.com/nYTAyeJ1PW

— #ArmyBowl (@ArmyAllAmerican) October 17, 2016
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tBBC LOOK: Trevor Bauer taunts Blue Jays fans

LOOK: Trevor Bauer taunts Blue Jays fans
Matt Birch
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Cleveland Indians jumped out to a 3-0 series lead after pulling off a 4-2 win on Monday night, something no one would have expected.

Starter Trevor Bauer didn’t even make it out of the first inning, as his finger was literally gushing blood and he was forced to be pulled. Bauer, however, made sure to let Jays fans know how big of a hole they were in after the game was over, though.


Trevor Bauer letting Blue Jays fans know it's 3-0 pic.twitter.com/eJfFJN0VzZ

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) October 18, 2016

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Yes, that was Bauer signaling that the Indians are in the driver’s seat and currently possess a 3-0 lead.

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tBBC Vikings troll FOX over photoshopped Sam Bradford photo

Vikings troll FOX over photoshopped Sam Bradford photo
Matt Birch
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


For some reason, FOX has continued to show a photo of Sam Bradford photoshopped onto Teddy Bridgewater’s body. No one really understands why. In case you haven’t seen it, you probably should.

I’ve seen this over 10 times, and it’s still laughable.


This looks like Sam Bradford's head photoshopped onto Teddy Bridgewater's body… pic.twitter.com/5EFOp2xg0P

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 16, 2016

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The Vikings, understandably, had some fun with it on Twitter, and told FOX they’d hook them up with an actual Sammy photo if needed.


.@NFLonFOX Have your people contact our people. We'll get you a photo. https://t.co/Z5Vjb0DbxG

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 16, 2016

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The @NFLonFOX history books sure are interesting. pic.twitter.com/rldst59fN9

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 17, 2016

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FOX deserves that, trying to get by with a photoshopped image is embarrassing. They’re not even the same skin color.

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