How did we do? Week 3 Big Ten predictions revisited
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Before we turn our attention to Week 4, it’s time to revisit how the BTN.com team and Big Ten fans did with their Week 3 Big Ten game predictions. BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart went 9-2 to lead the way and move into a first-place tie. Big Ten fans went 8-3, as did BTN.com’s Sean Merriman, the three-time defending champion. See all of our Week 3 predictions below. Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) 2016 record: 32-6 Week 3 record: 9-2 Week 3 picks: Penn State 51, Temple 24; Wisconsin 44, Georgia State 6; Iowa 31, North Dakota State 17; Rutgers 24, New

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Big Ten poll update: Buckeyes up to No. 2, Huskers in at No. 20 in AP, coaches polls - Comcast SportsNet Chicago
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Big Ten poll update: Buckeyes up to No. 2, Huskers in at No. 20 in AP, coaches polls
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
The Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in both the AP and coaches poll, trailing No. 1 Alabama in each set of rankings. Urban Meyer's team scored an incredibly impressive 45-24 win at Oklahoma on Saturday, looking dominant on both sides of the ball while ...
Ohio State could shake up Big TenESPN
Former Ohio State stars have differing views on Buckeyes so far247Sports
Three Questions For The Ohio State BuckeyesBT Powerhouse (blog)
OSU - The Lantern
all 70 news articles »

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A Non-Voters Top 10
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 a new weekly feature on The Buckeye Battle Cry, my “doesn’t count for anything” top 10 poll. Each week after digesting the college football games that were I will come here and put together my top 10 teams in the nation. After week 3, let’s see how I think things stand.

1.) Alabama – 3-0 – Next Week vs Kent State



Although the USC win looks a lot less spectacular after their defeat this weekend, they still put 52 on them with a freshman quarterback. Although at times on Saturday they looked like they would lose for the 3rd time in a row against Ole Miss, they rallied at the end of the first half, and then held on for dear life at the end to escape 48-43. Between Ohio State and Alabama, there aren’t two more talented teams in the country. Alabama still has a lot of games left against ranked opponents, so let’s see how it plays out.

2.) Ohio State – 3-0 – Next Week Bye



To see what the young Bucks did on Saturday night was nothing short of impressive. They shut down Baker Mayfield and Samje Perine for the majority of the night. The “basic” defense showed they were nothing of the sort and dominated nearly the whole game. J.T. Barrett led the efficient offense to five scoring drives, finding Noah Brown on four of them. Again there isn’t a more talented team in the country than the Buckeyes, but the fact that they returned only six starters from last years team, speaks volumes about the coaching staff and their efforts on the recruiting trail.

3.) Stanford – 2-0 – Next Week @ UCLA



The Christian McCaffrey show continued on Saturday night, with 238 yards on offense and two touchdowns. The quarterback Ryan Burns merely has to not turn the ball over, and feed McCaffrey and Stanford will be tough to beat. They have a big game coming up in two weeks against Washington, and that should be a great primetime matchup. The Pac-12 doesn’t seem to be that powerful this season, so will winning it be enough for Stanford to make the playoff if they win out?

4.) Louisville – 3-0 – Next Week @ Marshall



Well the September Heisman is surely going to Lamar Jackson. What a dominate three weeks he has put up so far, and the thrashing of Florida State Saturday afternoon put him and the Cardinal in the spotlight. The matchup in two weeks against Clemson will go a long way to showing where the Cardinal stand, as they don’t have a tough schedule outside of the Tigers and the Houston Cougars in late November. Louisville looks for real, and Lamar Jackson should continue to put up video game numbers with the schedule they have.

5.) Houston – 3-0 – Next Week @ Texas State



They didn’t look particularly good against Cincinnati, but they won on the road in a tough place to go. Their win against Oklahoma was knocked down a few notches as well with the Buckeye trouncing, but it is still a quality win no matter how you look at it. They don’t have a tough game until possibly Navy on October 8th, but the match-up with Louisville looms large in the middle of November. As long as they stay undefeated there is a chance they make the playoff.

6.) Clemson – 3-0 – Next Week @ Georgia Tech



Clemson put the beat down on South Carolina St. to where both sides decided to end the game early. Deshaun Watson played sparingly, but finally looked like the one we have seen in the past, alas it was against a not great team. They travel to Georgia Tech for a Thursday night game, in what might be considered a trap game for Clemson. The Yellow Jackets are also 3-0 and the Tigers might be looking ahead to that match-up in two weeks with Louisville. Don’t Clemson, Clemson.

7.) Michigan – 3-0 – Next Week vs Penn State



I may be in the minority, but I am still not impressed with Michigan. Their offense is average at best, and their defense got exposed against Colorado until their starting quarterback left injured. Had he stayed in the game, who knows what could have happened. I am also not enamored with Jabrill Peppers. Yes, he is quite talented, and yes he plays in all facets of the game, but I just don’t get the hype. Michigan will lose before they play Ohio State in November, will it be to Wisconsin in two weeks or Michigan State in October?

8.) Washington – 3-0 – Next Week @ Arizona



I’ll admit, I haven’t seen Washington play a down of football this season. I thought they were overrated to begin the season, and I still believe that they probably are here. They are here because they have won convincingly in all three games, and are playing as well as anyone in the country right now. Time will tell how the Huskies stand up, as I said I feel the Pac-12 is down this year except for Stanford, and that match-up comes in two weeks in Seattle which should be a great game.

9.) Michigan State – 2-0 – Next Week @ Wisconsin



I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what Michigan State would be this year. They lost a lot of talent off of last years team, and I didn’t expect them to have their way with Notre Dame like they did. Sure they made it a game late, but I don’t think the game was ever in doubt. They struggled a bit in week one, but I think they have the kinks worked out now, and have a huge home game next weekend against the Wisconsin Badgers. Both teams are undefeated and have aspirations of a Big Ten title, so although next week’s game is not a division game, a lot will still be on the line.

10.) Wisconsin – 3-0 – Next Week @ Michigan State



Speaking of teams I wasn’t sure about at the beginning of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers are quite a surprise this season. They defeated LSU to open the season, and while LSU hasn’t been that impressive, a win against an SEC team to open the season is still a good victory. There is a bit of a quarterback controversy with Alex Hornibrook taking over against Georgia State and leading them to victory after Bart Houston struggled early. They need to have a solid plan at QB if they want to go into East Lansing and have a chance at the upset next weekend.

The post A Non-Voters Top 10 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Buckeyes Have Sooner Fans Thinking Super Bowl
Garth via our good friends at Men of the Scarlet and Gray
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Oklahoma Sooner fans went to bed last night thinking the “what if” game so well known to Browns fans. Every week since before the Roman Empire, Browns fans have, win by win, imagined their team in the Super Bowl if only a handful of things went in the opposite direction.

Last Sunday in Philadelphia, a tipped interception instead falls harmlessly to earth, Robert Griffin performs like a normal quarterback and hits a wide open Andrew Hawkins for a touchdown and Cam Erving actually takes a peak back at his quarterback instead of flipping an exchange into the Schuylkill.

Elimination of some small bad luck and fixing the fixable and voila, no need to go for a touchdown conceding first down late in the game. Browns win! Week after week, two or three changes.

Browns in payoffs! Super Bowl baby!

Just as they did a few weeks ago, Sooner fans stared at the ceiling all night. More than a few had to ponder a simple change in fortune. And only on fourth down. Is that asking too much?

By the middle of the first quarter, with no score on the board, the Sooners at least were winning the momentum battle. They drove right down the field deep into Ohio State territory. A doink on a chip field goal attempt was offset by a stern defensive effort which had stopped the Buckeyes once and had them fourth and three from long field goal range.

Urban Meyer, who believes anything inside the 50 yard line is potential four down territory, called a time out. As the Buckeyes lined up, Curtis Samuel went in motion from the left, but stopped to line up right, next to JT Barrett in a three backfield set. Motion by tight end Marcus Baugh to set a left edge failed to tip off the defense. The resulting 36 yard Samuel scamper turned a potential defensive stop into a Buckeye opening touchdown.

After the ensuing kickoff the Sooners were driving again behind the slicing power running of Joe Mixon. But at the Buckeye 33 the Sooners found themselves facing a fourth and three. Against just a basic Ohio State defense, no problem for the talents of the other-worldly Baker Mayfield, right? Unfortunately, a deflection of Mayfield’s pass to the right by a blitzing Jalyn Holmes landed softly into the hands of Buckeye Jerome Baker who steamed 68 yards for the pick six. The Buckeyes’ fourth of the year.

Two Sooner fails on fourth down, two Buckeye touchdowns. Fourteen points.

After a 35 point first half Buckeye explosion—the worst ever surrendered to a visitor to Norman—the Sooners had managed to maintain a halftime deficit of eighteen and were approaching midfield in the fourth quarter. On Second down, Mayfield went deep but Marshon Lattimore had the call measured all the way. Acting more as receiver than defender he completed what was ruled a diving interception inside the Buckeye ten yard line.

Unfortunately, the glee in Norman when the interception was disallowed on review soon turned to doom. After a third down conversion fail, the futility of fourth down once again faced the Sooners. A Mayfield sack in his own territory advanced Buckeye field position by over 50 yards from where the Lattimore interception would have had them. The Buckeyes could only convert the windfall into a field goal, but the momentum had been stopped, the game effectively won.

An additional fourth down failure was to come, but the first three, had they merely gone the other way, could have very possibly have put the Sooners up by four—in the world of Browns’ fans.

Of course this ignores the fact that the Buckeyes took their foot off the pedal on offense in the second half, it ignores a potential Buckeye response, and it ignores that better teams perform on things like fourth down and weaker teams don’t.

But a win of the mind is a win nonetheless.

Just ask any fan of the perennial Super Bowl Champ Browns.




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Ohio State Buckeyes No. 2 in this week's AP football Top 25 poll - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State Buckeyes No. 2 in this week's AP football Top 25 poll
cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Ohio State Buckeyes moved up to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 football poll released Sunday afternoon. Alabama held the top spot and had 50 first-place votes. Ohio State earned four first-place votes. Rounding out the top 10 were ...

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Buckeye Bash brings together past and present Buckeyes for Ohio State-Oklahoma game - OSU - The Lantern
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeye Bash brings together past and present Buckeyes for Ohio State-Oklahoma game
OSU - The Lantern
The Ohio State Alumni Association began its Buckeye Bash event planning process back in June. Even then, Jim Smith, president and CEO of the Alumni Association, didn't anticipate the turnout on Saturday in Lloyd Noble Center on the campus of the ...

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LeBron James likes what he sees from the Ohio State Buckeyes - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


LeBron James likes what he sees from the Ohio State Buckeyes
247Sports
Last fall, Brown was set to be Ohio State's starting wide receiver after playing minimally as a freshman in 2014 on the Buckeyes' championship team. But he broke his leg in practice just a week before the season, and since then, he has been rehabbing ...
Killing it on the road: Are Buckeyes on path to glory?Mansfield News Journal

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Ohio State ranked No. 2 in the latest Coaches Poll
Harry Lyles Jr. via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Bucks impressed this weekend.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had themselves a game on Saturday night, after they went into Norman and blew past the Oklahoma Sooners 45-24. With that in mind, the Buckeyes were voted as the No. 2 team in the latest Amway Coaches Poll.

The Buckeyes were assisted with a Florida State blowout loss to the surging Louisville Cardinals, who came in at No. 4 this week. But the Buckeyes win over the Sooners was impressive on its own. J.T. Barrett passed for four touchdown passes, all of them going to Noah Brown, one that will not be topped as catch of the year in college football. Mike Weber accumulated 123 yards on the ground.

Ohio State’s “basic” defense also had a pair of picks and made things difficult on Baker Mayfield all night. It was undoubtedly one of the better ways you could head into your bye week.

The Amway Coaches Poll will be posted in its entirety here shortly.

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Big Ten Power Rankings: Spartans, Huskers make moves up
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

With Iowa suffering a stupefying defeat and big wins by Michigan State and Nebraska, my latest Big Ten Power Rankings, presented by ArcelorMittal, has a new look.

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2017 Ohio State Scholarship Grid
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


For purposes of this chart freshman who have played this season (2016) have been moved to the 2017 sophomore column. Freshman who have not played remain in the 2017 freshman column.

Scholarship Breakdown:

18 Current 2017 Commitments

13 Potential Red-shirt Freshman

30 Sophomores

17 Juniors

19 Seniors

97 Total Scholarships Used

Currently the Ohio State roster if left as is would be 12 over the limit for 2017, that does not take into account players leaving early, transfers, medical hardships or any other reason for leaving the program.

* = Player has used Redshirt

The post 2017 Ohio State Scholarship Grid appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Buckeyes will get a big win against Sooners - Lima Ohio
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes will get a big win against Sooners
Lima Ohio
The 1977 game between OSU and Oklahoma is one of the most talked about, most remembered games in Buckeyes football history for those who were around to see it. It was very similar to when Notre Dame returned to the Ohio State schedule for the first ...


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1. In just the third meeting ever between the two football powerhouses, Ohio State invaded Norman, Oklahoma, and pounded the Sooners by the score of 45-24. The Buckeyes now lead the series two games to one, with victories last night and in 1983 (24-14) and a loss in 1977 (29-28).

2. The Buckeyes dominated on offense, racking up 443 total yards on 68 plays (6.5 yards per play) and scoring 38 points. The ground attack was especially strong, as freshman Mike Weber rushed for 123 yards on 18 carries (6.8 ypc) and Curtis Samuel provided some big play spark with 11 rushes for 98 yards (8.9 ypc) and a 36-yard touchdown. Quarterback JT Barrett didn't post spectacular numbers (74 yards rushing, 152 yards passing) but he generally made good decisions, protected the football, and hooked up with wide receiver Noah Brown for four touchdown passes (4, 8, 21, and 37 yards). The offensive line got the job done up front (6.4 yards per rush) and allowed only one sack on the night.

3. Oklahoma put up some decent numbers on offense (67 plays, 404 yards, 6.0 average), but they were stymied by four huge plays by the Buckeye defense, three of which came on fourth downs. With 4:34 left in the first quarter and the Sooners facing 4th-and-3 from the Ohio State 33-yard line, QB Baker Mayfield was pressured by Buckeye defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes. Holmes was given a free release by a confused Sooner offensive line and he was in Mayfield's face before the Sooner QB could set his feet. Holmes just missed a sack but he was able to deflect Mayfield's hurried pass to linebacker Jerome Baker, who took the interception 68 yards for the touchdown. The pick six gave the Buckeyes a 14-0 lead and provided them with momentum that the never relinquished.

4. The second huge defensive play came with 6:10 left in the first half. On 2nd-and-4 from the Sooner 20-yard line, Mayfield tested the Buckeye secondary deep. It turned out to be a very bad decision, as the scrambling Mayfield simply did not have the arm strength to get the ball past Buckeye cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who displayed excellent closing speed on the play. Lattimore returned the interception 21 yards to the Sooner 37-yard line and on the very next play J.T. Barrett hit Noah Brown in the end zone to put the Buckeyes up 28-10. Ballgame.

5. The Buckeye defense forced three sacks, two of them coming on fourth downs in the fourth quarter when the Sooners still had a semblance of a chance to win the game (or at least to make the final score respectable). With 13:27 left to play and Oklahoma trailing 42-24, Sam Hubbard and Jerome Baker combined to sack Mayfield for a 12-yard loss on 4th-and-7 near midfield. After the turnover on downs, the Buckeyes kicked a field goal to push their lead out to three touchdowns. On the very next series, the Sooners went four-and-out with Jerome Baker again coming up with the fourth down sack. Garbage time ensued.

6. Special teams was pretty much a draw. The Buckeyes' had three miscues on kickoffs, with the 97-yard TD return by Joe Mixon being a huge blunder. With 10:33 left in the game, Ohio State had just kicked a field goal to take a commanding 45-24 lead. Then Oklahoma began its next drive at midfield after a kickoff out-of-bounds by Tyler Durbin and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Chris Worley. The dual penalties gave Oklahoma 25 free yards and excellent field position, which is not what you want to do when you've got your opponent about to tap out. Ultimately it didn't much matter as the Sooners went four-and-out and turned the ball over on downs, but championship teams aren't forged from stupid plays.

7. On the positive side, punter Cameron Johnston had five punts for an average of 50.6 yards, with a long of 68 yards (a real momentum changer at the time), and with all five being downed inside the 20-yard line (no punt return yards). Johnston is 2nd in the nation in net punting, with 11 punts for 557 yards and just 18 return yards and one touchback, for a net of 47.18 yards per punt.

8. Outside of the huge kickoff return, the Sooners' special teams weren't so special. The Sooners missed a 27-yard field goal on their first drive (another momentum swing) and their punter managed only 37.0 yards on three punts (long of 45) with none making it inside the 20-yard line.

9. The talk all preseason was this: The Buckeyes are very talented but they are very young. Who will step up to replace legends like Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Thomas and Darron Lee? And how quickly will these young players emerge? Well, I think that we now have some answers. Michael Weber is no Zeke at this point, but he appears to be a tough inside runner with just enough speed and shake to break the occasional big play. And this Buckeye offense doesn't really need many big plays from Weber because Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson can certainly supply that. Of course, Noah Brown had a huge night against Oklahoma with four touchdown receptions (tying a Buckeye record), but several other receivers have also shown flashes already this season. On defense, the re-tooled secondary has been lights out, with Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker making big plays on a routine basis. Defensive ends Jalyn Holmes and Sam Hubbard have been especially disruptive, and tackle Robert Landers has been a force inside. And then there's Jerome Baker, who had a game for the ages against Oklahoma with three plays that killed Sooner drives (a pick six and a pair of sacks on fourth downs) and resulted in ten points for Ohio State.

10. The 2016 Buckeyes returned only six starters from last year's team. One of those six was quarterback J.T. Barrett, and he was reason that I wasn't particularly worried about this current team. With Barrett running the show, the Buckeyes will have a chance to beat anybody in the country. Barrett (270 total yards, 4.3 total touchdowns per game) has been more of a game manager so far, but with all the playmakers surrounding him that's all he really needs to do in this offense.

11. On the other side of the ball, the lone returning star was middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan. Although Kwon's numbers have been rather pedestrian to date (8 solos, 12 assists, 1.5 TFLs), he is the glue that holds the defense together. Much like Barrett on offense, McMillan manages the defense by locking down the middle of the field so that the players around him - Hooker, Lattimore, Baker, et al - can make the big plays.

12. It's obviously still early, but Ohio State is 10th in the nation in total offense, with 545.3 yards per game, and 3rd in scoring offense, with 56.7 points per game (23 TDs, 23 PATs, 3 FGs).

13. Four of the Buckeyes' 23 touchdowns have come courtesy of the defense, which already equals the total from all of last season. All four defensive touchdowns have come by way of interceptions (Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, Rodjay Burns, and Jerome Baker with one apiece).

14. The Buckeye defense ranks 19th in the nation in total defense, with 278.7 yards per game. However, the Silver Bullets are allowing just 4.02 yards per play, which is 9th best in FBS. The scoring defense ranks 11th in the nation at 12.3 points per game. Again, that stat is somewhat misleading, as 14 of the 37 points surrendered by the Buckeyes came on defense (pick six by Bowling Green) or special teams (kickoff return by Oklahoma). Opposing offenses have scored just 23 points in three games, for an average of 7.7 points per game.

15. The Buckeyes lead the nation in total turnovers forced with eleven (9 INT, 2 FR); turnover margin with nine; and defensive touchdowns with four.

16. One area that needs to be addressed is penalties. The Buckeyes are 117th in the nation with 29 total penalties, and 98th with 208 penalty yards. Fortunately, many of the penalties so far have been procedural against the offense, and these should start to diminish as the young players gain experience and begin to gel as a unit.

How can haunted houses be scary when one goes into the place knowing it is a show?

Well, it can be. I had one genuine scare.

This place was a huge production, lots of money put into it. So it was all well done, but still not scary.

Then this little girl, she could not have been more than 12 (how is that legal? a young looking 18 year old doesn't even seem possible), and made up to look like she had had her throat slit and had been dead awhile, was standing behind me, holding a butcher knife.

I turned around and saw her. She asked, in her tiny voice, "will you play with me?"

I noped out of there so fast.

So that is a protip for people running haunted houses: involve dead little girls with knives.

Edit: FWIW and for relevance, this place was in MEPA, so not much help for most.

Brian Snead's 162 rushing yds or 5 more Tate Martell TDs? Who's the Ohio State commit of the week?
Charles Doss via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Which future Buckeye is your MVP for Week 4?

Unlike last Friday’s ball game, Tate Martell didn’t have to make a comeback to win the Land-Grant Holy Land MVP of the Week.

After accounting for around 250 total yards and four touchdowns in a 35-20 Bishop Gorman (NV) win over OSU pledge Wyatt Davis and St. John Bosco (CA), the future Buckeye quarterback picked up 59% of your votes to run away with the award over Shaun Wade (19%), Brendon White (11%), Marcus Williamson (6%), and Jerron Cage (4%).

Martell, White, and most of the other future Buckeye standouts were back in action over the weekend. Which Ohio State commit did enough on the field to grab your Player of the Week vote?

The poll is now open. Let your voice be heard:

Brian Snead


After missing some time this season due to injury, Snead, a OSU class of 2018 pledge, was back in uniform for Armwood High (FL) against Chamberlain on Friday.

Rated as one of the top running backs in the junior class, the four-star standout proved he can back the off the field accolades on it. Toting the rock 18 times, Snead rushed for 162 yards against the Chiefs defense to help pace Armwood to a 33-0 shutout victory.

Brendon White


White, who could end up on the defensive side of the ball once he arrives at Ohio State, once again led his Olentangy Liberty squad to a big win.

Taking on Hilliard Davidson, White might not of had his best game through the air for the Patriots, going just 3 of 6 for 34 yards and a touchdown, but stole the show with his legs.

Using his athletic ability and speed in the 28-3 blowout win over Davidson, White carried the ball ball nine times for134 yards and two scores in the route of the Wildcats.

Danny Clark


Putting together a pretty decent season so far, longtime OSU quarterback commit Danny Clark wasn’t needed all evening but might’ve had his best game of the season on Friday.

Rolling past Royal Imperial Collegiate of Canada, 63-14, the Akron Archbishop Hoban signal caller showed off his strong arm and touch accounting for four first half touchdowns through the air, including two that reached pay dirt from over 50 yards out.

Antjuan Simmons


The class of 2017 linebacker came up with a huge pick six in the first quarter to start the scoring run for Ann Arbor Pioneer (MI). Simmons and his teammates never looked back, rolling to their first win of the season over crosstown rival Ann Arbor Huron, 44-0.

Tate Martell


Just like every week this season, Martell is once again back up for the MVP award. This go around, the four-star standout kept the Bishop Gorman win streak alive, throwing and running the Gaels past Kahuku (HI), 35-7.

Martell connected with wide receivers for four scores, and rushed for another in the convincing win over the 17th ranked high school program in the country.

Poll
Who is your Ohio State commit of the week?

• Brian Snead
• Brendon White
• Danny Clark
• Antjuan Simmons
• Tate Martell

0 votes | Results

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Jaxbuck said:

I didn't think there was a step after banging milfs

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Banging DoMILFs (subject to appropriate legalities of course)

Ohio State asserted their playoff worthiness with ‘the coming-of-age game’
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The most inexperienced team in the country doesn’t rebuild, they reload.

The Ohio State Buckeyes had some pretty valid reasons to be second guessed heading into their game-of-the-century-of-the-week vs. the then No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners.

Sure, the Sooners had been upset on the road at a “neutral” site against former OSU OC Tom Herman and the Houston Cougars just two weeks earlier, but sometimes good teams losing weeks before they’re potentially supposed to can light a fire.

From a less intangible, more football-centric vantage, Oklahoma had been a beast against the run. The Sooners’ ranked third against rushing success rate allowed after completely bottling up Houston and UL Monroe.

Sooner running backs Samaje Perin and Joe Mixon had been a bit under utilized during the first two weeks of the season. A season after looking like the future of the OU offense, we were all left to wonder how many touches they’d see on an offense that’d been heavily reliant on QB Baker Mayfield.

With OSU, despite defensive excellence overall, having been a bit touch-and-go against the pass against their first two opponents, would Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley reestablishing the run only further exasperate some of the coverage issues OSU had flashed against Bowling Green and Tulsa?

And then there was the Bucks’ lack of battle-testedness. Could the most inexperienced team in the country weather — initially figuratively and ultimately literally — the storm on the road in a hostile environment against a perennial Big 12 title contender in their toughest test to date?

Urban Meyer’s ‘Baby Buckeyes’ answered that, in a contest Urban Meyer called postgame “the coming of age game”, with an emphatic “hell yes”.

1. Noah Brown, destroyer of worlds


OSU’s redshirt sophomore Noah Brown was originally intended to be the perfect compliment to now New Orleans Saints rookie Michael Thomas.

With Thomas the deep vertical threat, the thicker former high school running back Brown was built to play in the slot. He could take damage while also dishing it out.

As seemingly the entire Buckeye coaching staff (and roster) heaped praise onto what Brown was showing at practice heading into the 2015 season, fate intervened stole Brown’s sophomore season away from him.

Back from a broken leg, there’s no doubt Noah Brown is, well, back.

There’s zero doubt we won’t see his catch-of-the-season over-and-over-and-over for the better part of the next 11 months (if not longer).

Perhaps the sneaky best part of the play was at it was building, the default facial expression on OSU’s mascot, Brutus, pretty much foretold what we were all about to witness:

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Brutus knew, y’all.

If having the play of the year to your name wasn’t enough, fresh off an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with Chance the Rapper and 2 Chainz, the once-and-future greatest rapper alive, Lil Wayne, even showed Brown some love:

2. Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel don’t give a what


During OU’s first two contests of the 2016 season, Houston’s Duke Catalon and Louisiana-Monroe’s Ben Luckett combined to rush 32 times for 137 yards (or 4.3 yards per carry). The Buckeyes’ two headed monster of sophomore running back Mike Weber and junior H-back Curtis Samuel, at OU’s place underneath the lights on national television, got 29 carries for 221 yards (7.6 per carry).

Meyer’s spoken to the desire for 250-250 balance, a mix of 250 rushing yards to 250 passing yards, in recent weeks. But the Buckeyes didn’t need it against the Sooners.

The ground game would call it a night with 291 yards to the passing offense’s 152. That works out to the Buckeyes finishing the evening about 57 yards short of that magic 500, but given how much the Buckeyes were up by early, it’s not hard to see why they got away from going to the aerial attack.

Ed Warinner, Tim Beck, and Meyer will continue to go to what the opposition is giving them. If the situation dictates a slight deviation from script, expect them to seize the opportunity.

3. J.T. Barrett’s “shadow” Heisman campaign


Lamar Jackson’s getting all the early season hype and accolades, and it’s hard to find much fault with that.

Jackson’s essentially been Madden 04 Michael Vick through the first three weeks of the season. With the degree of difficulty turned upwards with then No. 2 Florida State coming to town, Jackson’s video game statistical showings were supposed to be curbed.

Better luck next time, Noles?

While Jackson’s unquestionably college football’s player of September, Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett continues to quietly go about his business, showing the same excellence that saw him finish fifth in the Heisman voting after the 2014 season.

Barrett's statline was low key brilliant against the Sooners: 14-of-20 for 152 yards with 4 TDs. Barrett threw no interceptions and even only took one sack all evening. Add another 74 yards on the ground (4.4 per carry, designed or otherwise) and you’re talking a modest 200+ yard performance against a very legit OU D that as mentioned had been particularly stout against the run in their two tune up contests for Saturday’s prime time affair.

It’s not hard to imagine J.T. continuing his efficiency, leadership, and generally strong showings well into the season as some of the early season hype recipients return back to earth’s orbit.

Of course, you’re welcome to write Barrett off now if you wish, but that’s certainly none of his business:

Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
4. Cameron Johnston, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year


Former Pitt/Miami Dolphins/Chicago Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt was trying to make a point during Saturday’s halftime show about the value of Aussie import senior Cameron Johnston.

Johnston flips the field at the turn of a rugby kick, and in big time football games with ‘title bout’ type feels, having a specialist capable of doing that can sometimes be the difference in the margins.

Wannstedt’s turn of phrase got a little out of control and he misspoke to a degree, but the resulting rant was one we can get behind:


Johnston finished the night with five punts (one a booming 68-yarder) for 253 total yards, good for an average of 50.6 per punt. Even more impressively, he dropped all five of them within the 20 yard line.

As Wannstedt said, he’s all but certain to be a Ray Guy finalist. But why stop there?

Of course, the possible individual praise and glory isn’t going to Johnston’s head. He’s all team:

5. Bulletin board material


Austin Kendall’s incredibly public self-Crying Jordan act is assuredly one no Ohio State (or Oklahoma fan, for that matter) will forget any time soon. After mouthing off on a local cable preview show and professing the Buckeyes defense to be “basic” and certain to be lit up by Baker Mayfield, the OSU defense punished his proxy Mayfield to the tune of two interceptions, one for six.

An emphatic, acrobatic dive by corner Marshon Lattimore even very nearly made that three picks on the night:



Replay review would say a late in the process bobble would turn that into an incompletion, but you couldn’t be faulted if you were Ohio State wide receiver coach Zach Smith and thought seriously about maybe inviting Lattimore to try out for his “Zone 6” receiver corp.

6. The best being yet to come


It’s so easy to lose sight of, especially after last night’s national coming-out party, that this was supposed to be a rebuilding season for Ohio State. And as archrival Michigan’s window was supposed to be opening, as we saw a season ago, the gulf between the Buckeyes and Wolverines may still be fairly sizable.

If UM isn’t able to catch OSU in transition for a rare-in-the-series win over their rivals now, when will they?


In fairness, UM continues to quietly put together impressive showings against have-not opposition at home, and their schedule is such that there’s a very real chance they’re 11-0 heading to Columbus Thanksgiving weekend.

Even if these heretofore impressive Buckeyes slip up between now and then, you can expect The Game to be as hotly contested as ever.

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Noah Brown explodes onto NFL Draft scene - CBSSports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Noah Brown explodes onto NFL Draft scene
CBSSports.com
The Ohio State Buckeyes led the country with 12 NFL Draft picks this past spring but with four dazzling touchdown receptions in a nationally televised 45-24 thumping of Oklahoma Saturday night, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Noah Brown served notice ...
Young Buckeyes steamroll Oklahoma to send playoff statementESPN (blog)
No growing pains for young Buckeyes as Ohio State proves it's a legit contenderCBS sports.com (blog)
Why did Ohio State play a one-handed WR vs. Oklahoma? Buckeyes burning questioncleveland.com
Bleacher Report -Toledo Blade -Columbus Dispatch
all 338 news articles »

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Get Tom Dienhart’s best of Week 3 in the Big Ten
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

This was a Saturday dotted with big games and big opportunities. The results were very positive for the Big Ten on this big Saturday. At the top end of the scale were huge wins by Ohio State (at Oklahoma), Michigan State (at Notre Dame) and Nebraska (vs. Oregon).

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Buckeyes boom Sooners 45-24 - McKeen's Hockey (subscription)
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes boom Sooners 45-24
McKeen's Hockey (subscription)
Indeed, after Baker Mayfield marched the Sooners down the field on the game's opening possession, it seemed like the Buckeyes were going to have their hands full. But a defensive stand resulted in a missed 27-yard field goal, and that was as close as ...

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Watch: Noah Brown makes the catch of the year vs. Oklahoma
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

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Ohio State wide receiver Noah Brown caught three first half touchdowns against Oklahoma Saturday night, but not all are created equal. Brown turned in perhaps the “Catch of the Year” just before halftime, pinning the third of his four total touchdown catches between himself and a Sooners defender.

The post Watch: Noah Brown makes the catch of the year vs. Oklahoma appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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Ohio State dominated both lines and took advantage of scoring opportunities
Chad Peltier via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeyes were incredibly efficient, maximizing their scoring opportunities and running effectively

The Buckeyes stepped up in their first huge road test of the season, running away from Oklahoma in the second quarter and then never looking back.

OSU Off OU Off
Rush success rate 66% 44%
Pass success rate 50% 39%
Rush explosive plays 7 (18%) 5 (16%)
Pass explosive plays 2 (10%) 4 (13%)
RZ TD efficiency 75% 33%
Scoring opps efficiency 83% (6.33) 60% (3.4)
Drive efficiency 60% (4) 45% (2)
Points off turnovers 17 0


In the table above, scoring opportunity efficiency looks at the percentage of scoring opportunities (drives that cross the opponents' 40 yard line) that end in a score. The number in parentheses is the average points per scoring opportunity. Drive efficiency looks at the percentage of drives that were scoring opportunities. The number in parentheses is the number of three-and-outs the offense had. I didn't include the final garbage time drive in the stats here.

The stats suggested Ohio State had to do four things to win on the road against the Sooners:


The Buckeyes did all of those things: they got touchdowns more often than not out of scoring opportunities, they ran the ball extremely effectively, the created a few big pass plays to Noah Brown, and the defense constantly pressured Baker Mayfield, leading to two sacks and two interceptions.

The offense took advantage of scoring opportunities


Maybe the single most important statistic from the game was how relatively efficient the two offenses were when they created scoring opportunities. The Ohio State offense averaged 6.33 points every time they had a drive that crossed the Sooners' 40, while the defense held the Sooners to just 3.4 points per scoring opportunity. The Buckeyes were almost twice as efficient with their scoring opportunities.

The defense allowed the Sooners to move the ball -- the total yardage difference was just 443 to 404 in favor of the Buckeyes -- but the young Buckeye defense played an incredible bend-don't-break game by limiting the Sooners to just a 33% red zone touchdown rate. A comparison between the two offenses' red zone touchdown percentages tells the same story as looking at the scoring opportunities -- the Buckeyes weren't able to be slowed down in the red zone.

The reason for the Buckeyes' and Sooners' varying degrees of success with scoring opportunities had a lot to do with how the offenses were built. The two offenses had the same number of explosive plays, but the Buckeyes were notably more efficient than the Sooners. That little bit of inconsistency for the Sooners offense often made them less reliable in the red zone, more dependant on big plays, and with significant third downs. The Sooners were just 5/13 on third downs, likely because they averaged 6.9 yards to go.

The Buckeyes consistently moved the ball on the ground


The disparity in the offenses' efficiency was because of their varying abilities to run the ball effectively. Ohio State could count on Weber and Samuel to consistently move the ball on the ground, while the Sooners were much more reliant on explosive plays.

The Sooners actually had a higher percentage of their passes go for explosive plays than the Buckeyes did (13% to 10%), but were also more reliant on those explosive plays too, because they were 11% less efficient passing and 22% less efficient running the ball. That's a huge disparity: both teams managed nine explosive plays on the other, but the Buckeyes could count on a successful run two thirds of the time, but the Sooners were effective on less than 50% of their rushing attempts.

The defense completely shut down Samaje Perine, holding him to a 29% rushing success rate. Perine was much more of a between-the-tackles, straight line runner, but the defensive line hit the backfield and the linebackers filled all gaps before Perine could get any momentum. Joe Mixon was far more effective (56% rushing success rate, 3 explosive runs), and it was surprising that the Sooners didn't try to run him more, since his agility and vision allowed him to hit the small holes that were available. The secondary makes most of the big plays so far for this defense, but the front seven really stepped up tonight (behind a seemingly endless defensive line rotation), constantly pressuring Mayfield and limiting the Sooners' rushing efficiency.

All of Ohio State's primary ball carriers were efficient: Weber had a 67% rushing success rate, Samuel had a 78% success rate, and Barrett was at 50%. This again speaks to the offensive line, which had a 58% total team rushing opportunity rate.

The passing offense was more than explosive enough for a constraint


The Buckeyes completely dictated the pace of the game, sprinting out to what would end up being an insurmountable lead in the second quarter, then controlling the pace of the game. But in only 68 total snaps, the Buckeye offense had nine plays (13%).

We said that the offense needed explosive runs on the edge and explosive passes on the perimeter. The Buckeyes delivered, along with far more explosive runs up the middle of the defense than expected. Noah Brown's huge night was obviously the highlight, as he more than proved that he can be the top receiving option. This fear of allowing Brown or Samuel to connect on explosive passes to the perimeter (along with Barrett running the ball) allowed the run game to be much more effective.

Maximizing turnovers


Finally, the defense pressured Mayfield, taking advantage of his gunslinger tendencies to create two (almost three!) interceptions. From there, the offense managed two touchdowns. But if you include the two turnovers on downs, then the offense managed to produce 17 points from turnovers. We said that the Buckeye front seven needed sacks or turnovers to win, and they only got two sacks but nevertheless constantly were chasing down Mayfield after winning their battles against the Sooners offensive line.

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Who's inexperienced now? Ohio State rolls past Oklahoma - 247Sports.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Who's inexperienced now? Ohio State rolls past Oklahoma
247Sports.com
Entering 2016, Brown represented the entire Buckeye team in more ways than one. Talented, yet unproven, Brown is one of 16 new starters for Ohio State. The Buckeyes impressed in their first two games, beating Bowling Green and Tulsa by a combined ...

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Ohio State’s Basic Defense Shuts Down Mayfield and the Sooners, Win 45-24
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


Photo courtesy of Eric Seger at 11W @EricSeger

After a few warm-up games under their belt, the Ohio State Buckeyes made their first road visit of the season when they traveled to Norman to face off with the Oklahoma Sooners. After an hour and a half weather delay due to lightning, the game finally kicked off around 9pm EST.

Oklahoma got the ball first after the Buckeyes won the toss and deferred to the 2nd half. The Sooners came out and had a 12 play drive that got the ball down to the 10 yard line before Austin Seibert came out to attempt the field goal. The field goal went off the left upright and the score was still knotted at 0-0. The Buckeyes took over and looked a little shaky as Billy Price got called for a false start and the Buckeyes went three and out and the Aussie Cam Johnston came out and boomed a 68 yard punt that was downed at the 11.

The Sooners took over, and they too were hit with a false start and Baker Mayfield couldn’t find any open receivers and they were forced to punt. Seibert, who doubles as the punter also, came out and punted 39 yards to the 45. The Buckeyes would start would great field position, and it didn’t take long to strike. After getting it to 4th and 1 on the 36, the Buckeyes called a timeout and decided to go for it. J.T. Barrett handed off to Samuel on sweep and he was off to the races. The Buckeyes has struck first and made it 7-0.

Oklahoma started their next drive at the 25 after a touch back, and were moving decently down the field with Mayfield finding Dede Westbrook and Geno Lewis for first downs. Then on 3rd and three, Mayfield went back to pass and was hurried by Jayln Holmes who tipped the ball, and Jerome Baker made the catch and ran it 67 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0. This was the Buckeyes 4th defensive touchdown of the season in only their 3rd game.

The celebration was short lived, as Tyler Durbin’s kickoff was fielded by Joe Mixon on the 3 and got some huge blocks and took it 97 yards for the touchdown, immediately cutting the Buckeye lead in half at 14-7. It wasn’t noticed right away, but Mixon actually dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line which should have negated the touchdown. The play wasn’t reviewed and the touchdown stood.

Ohio State didn’t let them enjoy that moment for very long. Weber started the drive with runs of 9 and 35 yards and Barrett took off for runs of 9, 6 and 12. On 1st and 10 from the 13, Mike Weber took the ball 7 yards to the six. Barrett had a two yard run to the 4, and then threw a fade route to Noah Brown who made the catch over true freshman defensive back Parrish Cobb and the lead was back up to 14 at 21-7.

Oklahoma drove down the field on an eight play 73 yard drive which included a Dede Westbrook end around that went for 35 yards, and then a Baker Mayfield pass completion to A.D. Miller for another 36. On first and goal from the three, Mayfield went back to pass and was sacked by Jayln Holmes and Malik Hooker for a loss of 13, which set up 2nd and goal from the 16. The Sooners were unable to get in the endzone, as a pass from Mayfield to Mark Andrews was dropped and then they stopped Joe Mixon after a seven yard gain on 3rd down. Seibert came out and this time converted making it 21-10 with 11:04 to go in the second quarter.

The next Buckeye drive got a first down but then a delay of game penalty cost them five yards and they weren’t able to get another first down and were forced to punt. Johnston came out and hit a 41 yarder that was fair caught by Mixon at the 14. Two plays later Mayfield avoided a sack by Nick Bosa but threw a pass that Marshon Lattimore made a great play on, intercepting it and returning it 21 yards back to the 37 yard line. The Buckeyes didn’t wait, as the first play after the turnover was again J.T. Barrett finding Noah Brown in the end zone making it 28-10.

Oklahoma wasn’t going to lay down without a fight. Mayfield found Andrews for 20 yards then ran for another 11 before finding A.D. Miller wide open for a 35 yard touchdown pass cutting the Buckeye lead to 28-17. With a little over four minutes left in the half, the Buckeyes got the ball back with a chance to put more points on the board knowing that they would be receiving the second half kickoff as well. Barrett and the Buckeyes methodically drove down the field trying to use as much of the clock as possible before the half. Between runs by Weber and Samuel and Barrett came completions to James Clark and Terry McLaurin before the highlight reel catch of the season was made. Barrett on second a ten dropped back to pass and saw Noah Brown with one on one coverage down the left side of the field. He threw it up and with the Michiah Clark draped all over him, Brown made the catch one handed off the back of the Clark while getting both feet in bounds and securing the ball on his back. The Buckeyes had a 35-17 lead at the half, and the 35 points that they scored in the first half were the most that Oklahoma had ever allowed in the first half of a game at home in history.



The Buckeyes got the ball on the second half kick and again the Buckeyes drove down the field with relative ease and were helped by a facemask penalty on a 2nd and 15 run that Samuel was stuffed on. That put the ball inside the red zone. Samuel then had runs of eight and two before J.T. Barrett found his new favorite target Noah Brown for the 4th time that evening, tying an Ohio State record for most receiving touchdowns in a game.

Oklahoma had one more scoring drive on the night as Mayfield found Mark Andrews on a six yard pass to make it 42-24, but at that point the game was pretty much done. Mayfield looked like he had thrown another interception later that Marshon Lattimore made a great play on, however it was overturned after replay showed that the ball wasn’t controlled through the catch. It didn’t matter. Tyler Durbin added a late field goal to make the score 45-24 and that was the night.

Ohio State had stormed into Norman, Oklahoma and physically beat up the Sooners on both sides of the ball. While the Sooners were able to gain over 400 yards of offense, and score the first two touchdowns against the Buckeye defense, it never seemed like the game was even close. Barrett had total control of the offense, and when it needed to go, he made it go. Noah Brown had a coming out party and the highlight real catch of the season. Mike Weber had a great game on his 18 carries for 123 yards, and the “basic” defense played an amazing game giving Mayfield fits all night and basically bottling up Samje Perine all night limiting him to a 3.5 yard per carry average.

The Buckeyes will look to heal up this week as they are off next weekend before hosting Rutgers at home on October 1st.

The post Ohio State’s Basic Defense Shuts Down Mayfield and the Sooners, Win 45-24 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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We’re buying Noah Brown as Ohio State’s top receiver after the win at Oklahoma
Chuck McKeever via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The Buckeye wideout just couldn’t stop scoring on the Sooners.

Stroll down Tuttle Park Place on Ohio State’s pristine campus and eventually you’ll come across the building that houses the Department of Linguistics. If you pop in, you might find a few students and instructors deep in conversation about phonology, or maybe syntax. But whether their expertise is in code-breaking or in morphological construction, they’d all be able to explain the same basic linguistic tenet to you: language is fluid. It evolves over time; this is what makes Shakespeare so hard to parse and makes Beowulf the bane of every high school freshman’s existence and lets us say literally when we really mean figuratively in 2016. It’s all English, but it’s not all the same.

The language may have leapt forward a little bit further yesterday, because the following expression is pretty much the only way you can articulate what it was like to watch Noah Brown play football on Saturday night:

AGGGHHHHEFVGJGJGJHFUUUUHHHHHBJEIFNWGRGRT!!!1!!!!1!1!

Seriously. Brown, who missed all of last season with a broken leg, defied all currently possible description in his single-handed decimation of the Oklahoma Sooners. His first four(!) catches all went for touchdowns, the crown jewel of which was a grab that is unlikely to be topped in 2016. Seriously, just look at this.


Brown wasn’t the only Buckeye player to have a big day—more on those in just a bit—but his gameplay certainly made the biggest splash.

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Ohio State, as you may recall. But with No. 2 Florida State getting absolutely shellacked by early Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson’s Louisville squad and No. 1 Alabama looking mighty vincible during a squeaky win over Ole Miss, the No. 3 Buckeyes were given a real chance to move even further up in the rankings. Safe to say they took it. The question now becomes not whether Urban Meyer’s team is good enough to claim the No. 2 spot, but whether or not they have a legitimate claim at stealing the No. 1 ranking from the Crimson Tide.

Let’s take a look at the #basic players responsible for vaulting the Buckeyes into such mighty company.

Blue chip stocks


Noah Brown, WR: Astonishing, really, that Brown claims the top spot here. We’ve reviewed his accomplishments above; the focus should now shift to one particular bit of praise that Brown got following his absurd highlight-reel grab.


Brown is a savage slime indeed, and looking ahead it feels as though his potential for greatness has...No Ceilings.

Curtis Samuel, H-Back: Everyone else’s accomplishments paled in comparison to Brown’s against the Sooners, but Samuel still had himself a day. Ohio State’s most versatile offensive player racked up 98 rush yards on 11 carries, including a long touchdown scamper on 4th-and-short, and he snagged two passes for another 20 yards. Brooklyn’s Finest has really come into his own this season, and that’s bad news for every team tasked with containing him.

Solid investments


Cameron Johnston, P: Ohio State’s Aussie specialist was called upon five times against the Sooners, probably because Noah Brown was getting tired of scoring touchdowns. One of Johnston’s punts was a season-high 68 yards; the Buckeye gunners pounced on it and pinned Oklahoma deep in their own end. Johnston averaged more than 50 yards per punt on Saturday. Dude can kick a ball.

Marshon Lattimore, CB: Look, we could probably put all 11 defensive starters in this category, and a few rotation guys to boot. The Buckeye defense, which has been absolutely stifling this season, completely shut down a) the NCAA single-game rushing yards leader and b) a quarterback who led his team to the College Football Playoff last season. Lattimore, who has been an integral part of the unit’s success, added yet another interception to his total in this game. (He’s got three in as many contests.) Lattimore was at fault for one of Oklahoma’s rare scores, falling down on a deep ball that allowed Baker Mayfield to connect with his receiver from 35 yards out, but his record has otherwise been unimpeachable in this young season. Lattimore himself seems ready to move past the mistake:

Junk bonds


Buckeye discipline: It’s hard to be overly critical of a team that just soundly beat a ranked foe in a hostile road environment, but hey, there’s always room for improvement. Ohio State racked up 11 penalties in this contest, and while those infractions only cost them a total of 75 yards, that’s still an area that Urban Meyer is going to have to address with his young and hungry team. 11 penalties didn’t matter much against Oklahoma, but the end result could be far less kind if they give that many free yards to, say, Alabama.

Replay, or lack thereof: Ask any person older than 40 what their biggest gripe about the younger generation is and you’ll quite likely hear some variation on what I like to call “the selfie stick problem”: there are cameras everywhere and young people—from their nieces to the Kardashian clan to D’Angelo Russell—use them too often. Given this sort of nightmarish 1984-style scenario...how in the hell does a refereeing crew screw up a chance like the one they got tonight? Cameras showed Sooner punt returner Joe Mixon (himself a human junk bond) dropping the ball a full yard before he crossed the goal line on a 97-yard punt return that was called a touchdown. To be fair, the Buckeye coaching staff seemed somehow to miss it as well, and didn’t call a timeout to ask for the play to be reviewed. Puzzling all around from a fan’s standpoint, one of those strange instances that occur as a result of human fallibility.

Buy/Sell:


BUY: Wet Urban Meyer. For the second straight week, the Buckeyes have had their game delayed by nigh-apocalyptic weather patterns; for the second straight week, the Buckeyes have scored 45 points or more on their opponents. We can’t rule out Coach Meyer being some sort of ancient weather god, sent to wreak havoc on mere mortals. Actually, screw that. Urban Meyer is college football’s Gremlin—give him some water and he’s going to cause you a world full of hurt.


SELL: Trash-talking the Buckeyes. Oklahoma backup quarterback Austin Kendall had some choice words for the Buckeye defense in the days leading up to the game. That, uhhh, didn’t work out so hot for him.

BUY: Ohio State’s playoff chances. At this point it feels like the only person that can score on the Buckeye defense is Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, and let’s be real, that dude could put up points against a naval blockade. If Ohio State can make it out of the coming bye week without losing too much momentum, the rest of this season is gonna be fun.

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Buckeyes make statement with dominating win at Sooners - Comcast SportsNet Chicago
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes make statement with dominating win at Sooners
Comcast SportsNet Chicago
If there was any doubt that the youthful Buckeyes were ready for primetime, consider that doubt erased. In a massive non-conference showdown with Oklahoma that's been circled on college football fans' calendars for months, Ohio State put on a ...

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