Urban Meyer softens stance on Corey Smith’s Week 1 performance
Alexis Chassen via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The wide receiver was dealing with a hamstring issue during Ohio State’s season opener.

Urban Meyer spoke to the media following Wednesday’s practice, and just a few days before the team faces Tulsa at home. The head coach and players have noted throughout the week that this Week 2 matchup will be a tougher test than Bowling Green.

Never one to be happy with good enough, Meyer is expecting more from his young group of receivers and is looking for someone to step up and into Tracy Sprinkle’s spot following his season-ending injury.

• When asked if it was weird that the offense had so many passing yards, yet none of the receivers were graded a winner, Meyer noted it’s a big deal to be graded a winner and its rare for a player in that position to earn it early in the season.
• Corey Smith wasn’t 100% healthy during Week 1 with a hamstring issue, which Meyer learned of later, which softened his stance on his performance against Bowling Green.
• When asked about the development of true freshman quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Meyer noted that “he’s so talented” and would like for him to compete for the backup role. He admitted the competition was a little overwhelming early on, but the coaching staff sees a great future for the young quarterback.
• While Joe Burrow is still the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart, Meyer admitted he showed that he was tough in his first collegiate game, but wouldn’t go so far as to say he would be comfortable with him as the starter.
• Dante Booker remains questionable for Saturday, with Joe Burger expected to step up and contribute more as needed.

Continue reading...

Video: Ohio State Training Camp Highlight (Pre-Bowling Green)
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Ohio State athletics gives us an inside look at training camp before Ohio State’s opening week matchup with Bowling Green and some of the training camp highlightsof the moments that got the Buckeyes prepared to start the season.

The post Video: Ohio State Training Camp Highlight (Pre-Bowling Green) appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Preview: Ohio State vs. Tulsa
Richard Tongohan 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

PREVIEW: TULSA vs. OHIO STATE:​

With week 1 in the books for Ohio State, we can only look ahead to our next opponent. Yes, technically the week isn’t over yet, but it is for Ohio State. So like farmer Fran said, “You live to fight another day.” The Buckeyes not only lived to fight another day, they were afforded and had earned some well deserved experience that will hopefully stick with them throughout the season. Bowling Green was Coach Meyer’s first coaching stop and he surely has not forgotten where it all began. The Buckeyes featured a bunch of young, unproven talent and for what its worth, they look pretty good. Youth in spread throughout the roster on both sides of the ball and during the game they showed their worth to the nation and to the coaches. Understandably, it was against Bowling Green but a win is a win and at least it is a Division 1 team and not a Division 2 team.

The Falcons featured a high-powered offense, slightly similar to what Meyer had built during his time there and with a young defense at hand, Urban and company let the young wolves loose to see what they are capable of. The young Buckeyes defense were up to the task as they annihilated the 4th best team in total offense and 6th best in scoring offense. Tusla will provide another high-powered offense that finished 13th in total offense and 21st in scoring offense in 2015. The Buckeyes and the Golden Hurricanes have never met on the gridiron and this will be another test for the young defense. The Tusla Head Coach, Phillip Montgomery was present as an Offensive Coordinator for Baylor and Houston so I think that it is safe to say that they should expect a lot of hurry-up offense and no-huddle sets.



Senior Quarterback Dane Evans returned for one more year and he looks to cut down on mistakes this season. Evans has the ability and the experience to successfully run the offense this season. He understands the playbook and has been around the system long enough to operate in it. The Golden Hurricanes return a trio of experienced Wide Receiver in Keevan Lucas, Josh Atkinson and Justin Hobbs. Lucas returns from a knee injury that had sidelined him last season, but he looks to have a huge year a year removed from injury.



The biggest elephant in the room is can the new-look Offensive Line gel quickly enough after losing two key players after the 2015 season. They are breaking in a new batch of linemen and we will just have to see if they can survive the season with little to no experience and against the talented Buckeyes, this will be their stiffest test early-on in the season. It will give the Tulsa coaches the opportunity to measure and gage their talent and to see the capabilities of their kids. The front seven will constantly pressure all five members to see if they make any mistakes and I wouldn’t put it past Coach Schiano to send one of his many Defensive Backs on a blitz to also test their mettle and capabilities.

D’Angelo Brewer is a shifty runner who can break it for huge yardage at any given moment during games. He is deceptively fast and is capable of catching passes out of the backfield. He will be going up against a young defensive line that is in sore need of a replacement at DT as Tracy Sprinkle suffered a season ending leg injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the season. Ohio State has the talent waiting in the wings and as long as they buy in to what Coach Fickell and Coach Johnson are preaching, I see them playing lights out for each other and for the aforementioned Sprinkle. We will see if he is up to the task and if he can break past the vaunted Ohio State defense.





The Golden Hurricane defense is another story. They are lacking proven playmakers, but they have a lot of boom-or-bust players that take high risk, high reward literally. We will see how the pieces fall next weekend but here is some food for thought. The Tulsa offense has the tools to put up points and put them up quickly, but the defense is their Achilles heel. If the Buckeyes shut down their offense like the Bowling Green game, the sleeping giant will wake once again and crush the team that woke it up. Tusla’s defense is lacking in playmakers and we will have to wait and see if the Buckeyes can put them in horrible situations to exploit the inexperience.

Prediction:

With all things considered and the lack of defense on the other side, I expect J.T. Barrett to move the ball at a frightening pace. J.T. will finish the game with 260+ yards through the air with nearly 100 yards on the ground with 3 passing touchdowns and two rushing. Mike Weber will drive the ball down their defenses throat for a cool 120 yards with a touchdown. The defense will sack Evans at least 5 times with at least one more defensive touchdown and Evans will throw a pick to Hooker. Hooker is special and he looks to become a key cog in the secondary. The Buckeyes will steam roll Tulsa in style and continue their offensive onslaught in preparation for the Oklahoma game:

Buckeyes 56 – 20 Tulsa




Continue reading...

Scarlet and Gray Drive Time Re-Wind: Beyond the Shoe, Around the B1G, Awards, Depth Chart for Tulsa
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Welcome to the daily rewind of the previous days or weekends articles here on the Buckeye Battle Cry with some commentary and links to the author’s twitter account!




Brandon Zimmerman takes us to task with the work that is this week in the B1G



Mike Meals gets the laughs going with his latest



@WVa rounds up the gang for the Bowling Green position awards



Brandon hits the a lot less OR two deep this week





The post Scarlet and Gray Drive Time Re-Wind: Beyond the Shoe, Around the B1G, Awards, Depth Chart for Tulsa appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Officially Speaking: Targeting in Week 1
Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Targeting fouls inevitably are some of the most controversial calls made or not made each college football season. The fact that they are one of the few fouls that can lead to a player being ejected makes the stakes very high on them which tends to create very partisan feelings about them depending if your team was the victim or the perpetrator. The season is only a week old and we have already seen controversial targeting calls/non-calls in the Iowa vs Miami (OH), Tennessee vs Appalachian State, and Notre Dame vs Texas games.

Before we take a look at those plays, let’s see what the rules actually say regarding targeting. There are two rules that cover targeting.


Both of these rules at least one indicator of targeting which are defined as:


Many people think that launching is a requirement for targeting to be called but as can be clearly seen, you can still be called for targeting even if both feet are on the ground. While contact with the crown of the helmet can be targeting in all cases, you can also have targeting when the contact is by the shoulder, arm, or hand if it is to the head or neck of a defenseless opponent. By rule, a defenseless player is


Now that we have gone over the rules related to targeting, lets take a look at the plays in question. We’ll start with the Iowa vs Miami (OH) game.


We see Iowa player #43 come in and make contact to the helmet of Miami #22; since the Iowa player made the contact with the top of his helmet, we have a situation where rule 9-1-3 may apply. Now we need to see one of the indicators of targeting is present. While the Iowa player did not launch or thrust upward from a crouch, he does lead with his helmet and makes forcible contact with the head of the opponent. Thus, we have an indicator of targeting and contact made with the crown of the helmet, equaling a targeting foul. The officials got this one right by calling targeting and ejecting the Iowa player.

Up next we go to the Tennessee vs Appalachian State game and a possible targeting on a punt return.


We see Tennessee #21 come in and hit Appalachian State player #16 just as the Appalachian State player had caught the punt. The contact is made by the crown of the Tennessee player’s helmet to the head of the Appalachian State player. Since the Appalachian State player had just completed a catch but had not had time to protect himself or become a runner, note how the receiver hadn’t yet raised his head to look up after the catch, he is considered and defenseless player and rules 9-1-3 and 9-1-4 may possibly apply. We now need an indicator of targeting and that is easy to find as the Tennessee player is clearly leading with his head and shoulders and makes contact to the helmet, he also lowers his head just before attacking. Thus, by both rule 9-1-3 and rule 9-1-4 we have targeting. Once again the officials got this one correct.

Our final play came from the thrilling Texas vs Notre Dame game and has generated lots of talk and controversy.



Notre Dame #16 has just caught the ball and has just returned to the ground but has not had time to protect himself or become a ball carrier, thus he is a defenseless player. Texas #4 comes in and makes contact with the Notre Dame player’s head and neck. Thus, we have a situation where rule 9-1-4 may apply. The Texas player clearly leads with his helmet and shoulders and makes contact to the head and neck area, giving a clear indicator of targeting. In the video it is not clear if the Texas player makes contact with his helmet or shoulder, it seems like it was his shoulder, but since the Notre Dame receiver is classified as a defenseless player, rule 9-1-4 classifies contact to his head and neck area by an opposing player’s helmet, shoulder, or arm as targeting. Thus, this is targeting. As most of you know, the officials on the field did not throw a flag on this play which is understandable due to the quick nature of the play and the possibility that they did not get a good look at it. However, a rules change this year allows the replay official to create a target penalty on egregious plays where the foul was not called on the field. As shown in the above video, there were replay angles that gave a clear look at the play and which clearly showed that it was targeting. Considering the fact that the game was paused for a long time due to an injury to the receiver, the replay official had plenty of time to look at this play and should have ruled it targeting. The officials definitely got this one wrong.

The final thing to note when trying to determine whether a play should be called targeting is the last line in both of the applicable rules “when in question, it is a foul.” This pretty much means that if reasonable, knowledgeable, unbiased people can get into a reasonable discussion/debate about the play, it probably should be ruled as targeting.

As the comments sections on the above videos show, you will never get everyone to agree that a targeting call was correct or not. Part of it of course is due to fans of one team or the other but part of it is also due to many people longing for the days before the rule when violent hits were celebrated. Now that we know about the dangers of concussions and blows to the head, those days are gone and the NCAA is doing what it can to make the game safer for not only the health of the current players but the future of the sport itself.

The post Officially Speaking: Targeting in Week 1 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Urban Meyer finally learned Tyler Durbin’s name after a unique road to Ohio State
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


And his name is not “kicker.”

“The former soccer player arrived on campus the day his team won the national championship and Urban Meyer didn’t really have much reason to bother learning his name for more than a year after that.”

- Austin Ward, ESPN


Ohio State’s newest kicker, Tyler Durbin, has had a very different road to his current position with the Buckeyes. Durbin spent most of his life playing soccer, never football. He had considered trying to be a kicker in high school, but that never came to fruition because his schedule wouldn’t allow it. He spent a pair of years at James Madison, and decided to give football a shot after needing to transfer to a university with a civil engineering program. This was also around the time the Buckeyes were making their College Football Playoff push in 2015.

So Durbin got a tape together, and sent it out to four schools, with Ohio State being one of them. Ohio State liked what they had seen out of Durbin, and took him on as a walk-on. It took Urban Meyer a little while to learn his name, but he certainly knows it now, especially after the kicker made all 11 of his extra points this past Saturday. “Kicker: I think you spell that kicker, K-I-C-K-E-R,” Meyer joked with Ward. “I love this guy, but I’m still giving him a hard time. His last name is Durbin.” Durbin is definitely making the most of his opportunity with Sean Nuernberger out to start the year. Hopefully for everybody involved, he’s able to keep it up.

“Ezekiel Elliott carried the ball only seven times in the preseason, but oh what a seven carries they were.”

- Todd Archer, ESPN


Ezekiel Elliott has some of the most unfair expectations set upon him that we’ve seen in a while when it comes to NFL rookies. Archer points out that many people have anointed him as the next Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith. He’s expected to carry a big load for one of the NFL’s most storied franchises, and the most valuable sports team in North America. So far, he’s been living up to the hype. Archer describes the excitement that Elliott brought out of Dez Bryant, who was watching the Cowboys’ game against the Seahawks from home, “crazy on fire.”

Elliott’s impact won’t just be on the offensive end, although that’s where he plans on setting the attitude and tempo. And when it comes to big name opposing defenders, he says he doesn’t worry about the names. “I look at them as numbers,” he told Archer. “Honestly, the type of runner I am, I’m a physical guy and I try to set the tone early in the game, so you’re going to see it a lot in the first and second quarter. I’m going to finish my runs hard and I’m going to try to set the tone.” With this, Elliott will help the morale of an offensive line that has been one of the best in the league, but suffered after a 4-12 season. Keeping the defense off the field will also undoubtedly help the Cowboys. So it’s not just the offensive end of the field that Elliott will impact. It’s far reaching, and a lot of expectations to put on a rookie, but if there’s a guy who can handle them, it’s Elliott.

“So the longer it's on, the more stressful it becomes. Everyone in practice sees it and the player can't help but ask himself what [Jamarco] Jones was living with every day until it came off.”

- Ari Wasserman, Northeast Ohio Media Group


The black stripe removal is one of the few highlights of the offseason. It’s a moment where the young Buckeyes officially become a part of the team, and it’s a way for many diehard fans to somewhat measure where those guys are at as far as performance goes. Wasserman talks about the stresses it caused Jamarco Jones, who was set on having his removed. "I asked (the coaches) all the time (why it was still on) just to try and get a feel for what I had to improve on," Jones told Wasserman.

Despite it being a stressful thing for the players who have it on for what feels like an extended period, it has definitely appeared to also be a very joyful event for some. All cases are different for the various players that come through the program, though. As Wasserman points out, there were three players who lost their black stripe before Ezekiel Elliott, and he turned out to be pretty dang good. So it’s not necessarily a measure of your skill, it’s more so about what is expected of the player from the coaching staff, and they might not be seeing that just quite yet.

STICK TO SPORTS

• iPhone 7 announced with water resistance, dual cameras, and no headphone jack
• What to expect from today’s PlayStation Meeting
• Veterinarian helps free elk stuck in tire swing
• The first episode of Donald Glover’s Atlanta is on YouTube

Continue reading...

Men of the Scarlet and Gray Podcast: Possible Level 2 Hurricane Hitting Columbus Saturday
Shannon Sommers via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Shannon Sommers and Chip Minnich are back to recap the Ohio State win over Bowling Green last Saturday. The discussion of the highly prolific offense, players missing assignments along with some concerns like defensive line pressure. Sadly they had to discuss the injury to Tracy Sprinkle too.

Kell Hines from Tulsa World joined to discuss the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. She was able to fill everyone in on possible offense Buckeye fans will see on Saturday, some concerns she had from the Tulsa defense. There was some talking about if Tulsa was looking to try to join the Big 12 like over half of the American Conference, Tom Herman, along with the first visit to the Shoe.

The guys answer some #AskMotSaG questions again this week then go into their predictions on Saturday games.



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

The post Men of the Scarlet and Gray Podcast: Possible Level 2 Hurricane Hitting Columbus Saturday appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Iowa gives Ohio State another reason to be thankful for Gene Smith
Matt Brown via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


He gets teased by some fans, but at least one other school in conference shows it could always be worse.

Ideally, fans shouldn’t think too much about what their athletic director is doing.

Athletic directors do a ton of behind the scenes work, from fundraising to making internal hires to glad-handing alumni to business development. But as long as they aren’t building an absolutely toxic culture, like Dave Brandon or Steve Patterson, most fans won’t hear anything about them.

As long as the athletic program has the resources to be competitive with its peers, the biggest thing fans see are coaching hires. And if you’re really doing things well, you don’t need to make a whole lot of those.

Many Ohio State fans dislike Gene Smith, especially for his clumsy handling of the end of the Jim Tressel saga and response to Tatgate. But compared to his AD peers, there’s not that much to complain about. Ohio State’s facilities are all shiny and new. You don’t hear complaints about a dysfunctional department, and most hires, from wrestling to lacrosse to women’s basketball, have worked out very well — to say nothing of the guy coaching the football team. When it comes to the big things, Ohio State’s administration has set high expectations, and has put the department in a position to succeed at those.

Not every Big Ten program can say that.

Last year, we saw institutional problems hold Minnesota, Illinois, and most famously Rutgers back. We may already see problems at Penn State, where a clumsy Joe Paterno tribute promotion gave their internal cultural clash another national platform.

But this biggest example of a Big Ten administration restricting athletic success? That award goes to Iowa.

Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz’s massive contract had already become a running Internet gag in college football circles. His $4 million a year salary was large, but given the massive jump in coaching salaries across the landscape, it was perhaps defensible. But Ferentz also got a massive buyout, making him essentially impossible to move on from. After the Hawkeyes struggled to a 4-8 record in 2012, for example, Iowa would have needed to pay $16 million to terminate him. Unsurprisingly they didn’t.

But the Hawkeyes have rebounded. They made the Rose Bowl last season, and have one of the better recruiting classes in recent memory for 2017, one that should finish in the top half of the Big Ten. Ferentz is popular again.

So, even though that current contract still ran through 2020, Iowa decided to give him a raise and another contract extension. And then, for reasons that aren’t clear, they gave him an even more enormous buyout:


So we could be looking at a $20+ million buyout for a coach that may perennially go 7-5.

Iowa’s had a nice run recently, but let’s not pretend that they’ve been world beaters. Since 2011, the Hawkeyes have beaten seven teams that won at least eight games, with three of them happening last year (Pitt, Wisconsin and Northwestern). Last season was the first time they finished in the AP Poll since 2009. They haven’t won a bowl game since 2010.

Kirk Ferentz is a good football coach. He’s led Iowa to five Top 10 AP Poll finishes, a Rose Bowl berth, multiple Orange Bowls, and the program’s best three-year run since the 1980s. He’s brought stability to a program in a world where most non-elite programs are rife with instability.

It’s fine, and completely understandable, that Iowa wanted to give another extension, especially to reassure potential recruits that Ferentz planned on sticking around. But Ferentz is also an older coach, one that doesn’t run a flashy, enticing offense, and one that doesn’t recruit many blue-chip athletes. The risk of him leaving for another college job, and probably even an NFL job, is nearly zero.

Why handcuff yourselves to him for another decade when you don’t have to, especially since 7-5, not 10-2, is closer to your average expected annual return?

It’s safe and reliable. And that seems like a very Big Ten thing to do. But it isn’t the right one.

A lot can happen when you need to hire a football coach. Sometimes you swing and miss and your program is embarrassed. Sometimes you create divisions and hurt feelings with your boosters and fans. Sometimes you hire a bad football coach, and then you need to go through the entire process again in three or four years.

Iowa has, by and large, avoided that process. If Ferentz works through his entire contract — which will put him into his 70s) — he’ll be one of the longest tenured coaches in history. Iowa hasn’t had a coach not named Ferentz or Hayden Fry since 1978. Some of that has been great for Iowa. Some of that has been a result of them simply punting on making a decision, which is also pretty Iowa.

This contract shows that Iowa is satisfied not having to worry about making an uncomfortable choice with a program staple, even if returns falter. It shows Iowa is fine scheduling terrible out-of-conference opponents, hoping the Big Ten divisional games break their way, beating a mediocre Northwestern or Minnesota, and going 9-3. It shows they don’t even want to try to be better than they already are.

That’s a shame. Iowa may not have an advantageous geographic location, but they have a ton of other pluses. They’re a great school with a large, passionate fanbase. Their program makes a ton of money, and the new Big Ten TV deal will make sure they’ll have plenty more. They have very good facilities, and a proud history. With a great coach, they could easily be as successful over the course of a decade as a Wisconsin, if not more.

But that decision has already been made for them. They’re not alone in that overly cautious decision-making. But that lack of ambition and imagination will hamstring their athletic department.

Ohio State has many faults, but few administrative decisions, either with contracts, hires, or with the fans, have added an artificial celling to their success.

For that, fans should be grateful. That’s not a birthright. With a few of the wrong hires, it can happen anywhere, including at blue blood programs.

Ohio State fans haven’t had to worry about what their AD is doing in recent years. That’s a good thing. Much of the rest of this conference unfortunately can’t say the same.

Continue reading...

Buckeyes make move on Penn State commit - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes make move on Penn State commit
247Sports
Ohio State has gone into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to land a star recruit once before in Noah Spence, and it looks like the Buckeyes are going to do it again. Led by the efforts of Larry Johnson, who is well respected in the area, the Buckeyes extended ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Buckeyes' Meyer still not satisfied - Toledo Blade
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes' Meyer still not satisfied
Toledo Blade
COLUMBUS — One would assume finishing a field goal away from 80 points in the first game leaves little room for improvement. In Ohio State's case — at least according to their telling — that assumption would be wrong. Ohio State set a school record ...


Continue reading...

Ohio State offers scholarship to Cleveland Browns WR Andrew ... - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State offers scholarship to Cleveland Browns WR Andrew ...
cleveland.com
The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Hawkins has 14 scholarships and he's most closely considering Ohio State, Notre Dame and Florida State, the first school to offer him a ...
Buckeyes offer Moeller D-tackle Aeneas Hawkins247Sports
The Hurry Up: Ohio State Offers Pair of Elite Defenders, Five-Star Linebacker Dispels Rumors and Former Signee ...Eleven Warriors

all 9 news articles »

Continue reading...

Best of Week Two: Penn State-Pittsburgh will be fun
Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer via Big Ten Network

Thirteen schools are in action. And there are some top matches on deck in the second week of play. The battle for the Cy-Hawk trophy between Iowa and Iowa State always is a humdinger. This year, the Cyclones, led by new coach Matt Campbell, come to Iowa City. Know this: Iowa boss Kirk Ferentz is just 8-9 vs. Iowa State. And Iowa State has won the last two times it visited Kinnick Stadium. Finally! Penn State and Pitt are playing! Penn State leads the all-time series, 50-42-4. Pitt won the last meeting, taking a 12-0 decision in the Steel City

Continue reading...

Freshmen Dre’Mont Jones, Davon Hamilton must fill hole left on Ohio State’s D-Line
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


What must Ohio State’s new DT starters have to do to be ready for Oklahoma?

Let’s be frank, outside of a “greedy” pass that led to a pick-six for Bowling Green, very little went truly wrong for Ohio State in its opening 77-10 victory over the Falcons on Saturday. The lone exception might be the devastating injury to starting defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle.

The junior lineman had worked his way from Urban Meyer’s doghouse to a starting position, having proven himself after immaturity plagued his early days in Columbus. A vital cog in the 2015 defense, Sprinkle looked to be one of the few experienced veterans on that side of the ball for the 2016 Buckeyes, and was poised to have a breakout season.

However, less than a quarter into his first career start, Sprinkle tore his right patellar tendon after landing awkwardly from being pushed by a BG lineman. Now, the Ohio State coaching staff must find a way to fill the sudden gap the 6’3”, 293 pounder has left in the middle of the Buckeye front.

Defensive Line Coach Larry Johnson has already been beating the now-familiar “Next Man Up” drum, and on Tuesday, red shirt freshmen Dre’Mont Jones and Davon Hamilton were listed as co-starters in place of Sprinkle; and for that reason, they are the defensive players to watch this week against Tulsa.

The stats


Name: Dre’Mont Jones
Number: 86
Year: RS Freshman
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 280 lbs.

Name: Davon Hamilton
Number: 53
Year: RS Freshman
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 297 lbs.

Opposition research

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Golden Hurricane offense comes directly from the Art Briles system, with all of the requisite bells and whistles that that entails. Head coach Philip Montgomery was Baylor’s Offensive Coordinator as recently as 2014, and brought to Tulsa the same gun slinging, high-paced attack we’ve gotten used to seeing in Waco.

In 2015, Montgomery’s offense threw for 4,332 yards, while rushing for 2,264. However, in their season opening 45-10 victory over San Jose State, Tulsa ran 83 plays, accounting for 512 total yards, but the breakdown was a little different than one would expect; 305 rushing yards versus 207 passing.

While no one would expect the numbers put up against the Spartans to be predictive of what the Golden Hurricanes will do against the Buckeyes, they do suggest that Montgomery’s offense might not be as reliant on the pass as it was a year ago. And, with four of five offensive line starters returning from last year’s team, whomever ends up replacing Sprinkle will go up against a seasoned group that hung 38 and 24 on Oklahoma and Houston respectively in losses last year.

While it was a different style of up-tempo offense than they will see this week, the Ohio State D did hold Bowling Green to just 244 yards on an otherwise impressive 72 plays. If they are going to be able to repeat anything approaching that level of performance in Week Two, the defensive line will have to be able to hold their own against the run, and to apply pressure on passing downs, as Tulsa will look to spread the field and get the ball into space as quickly, and as often, as possible.

What to watch for


Both Jones and Hamilton saw the field on Saturday in Sprinkle’s stead; Hamilton registering the pair’s only tackle, assisting on a sack. However, Jones was the first man up when Sprinkle went down, so the assumption is that unless Hamilton has an overwhelmingly strong week of practice, Jones will get the start, with Hamilton rotating in regularly.

Jones was more highly rated coming out of Cleveland St. Ignatius than Hamilton was from Pickerington Central, but he was primarily a pass-rushing end in high school, before moving inside at Ohio State. Now that it looks like Jones will be one of the Buckeyes’ primary linemen, keep an eye out for his ability to get pressure on the quarterback; a skill which made him a four-star recruit just a few years ago.

While he doesn’t have the imposing size of the other starting DT Michael Hill (6’3”, 305 lbs.), Jones does still possess the quickness that made him a highly sought after pass-rusher. In years past, the Ohio State defensive coaching staff could count on Joey Bosa pulling a double (or triple) team, freeing up other linemen to shed their blockers and get into the backfield.

Without a dominant force establishing itself on the line yet, the Buckeyes will rely on their depth and athleticism to compensate. If Jones can use his speed to put pressure on senior quarterback Dale Evans, it could go a long way to disrupting the Tulsa attack.

Dre’Mont Jones recruiting highlights



Unlike Jones, Hamilton was recruited as a tackle, and has a little more of the typical DT body that Ohio State has become accustomed to in recent years with the likes of Hill, Adolphus Washington, Tommy Shutt, Michael Bennett, et al.

That said, Head Coach Urban Meyer did make note of Hamilton’s athleticism in Monday’s press conference, so his role on the line will likely not be vastly different than that of Jones.

Davon Hamilton recruiting highlights



With a full, yet young, complement of defensive linemen finally at his disposal, Johnson is expected to liberally rotate against Tulsa, and ideally throughout the season. Other players that the coaching staff has mentioned being in the mix include freshmen Josh Alabi, Malik Barrow, and Robert Landers.

Whichever young linemen get time against Tulsa, they will need to make the most of their learning opportunity as the following week’s trip to Norman, Oklahoma will mark a dramatic rise in the level of competition, especially after the Sooners fight to regain ground in the playoff race, following an opening week loss to Houston.

Continue reading...

Flashback: Huge 1996 season began as Buckeyes fried Rice 70-7 - 247Sports
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Flashback: Huge 1996 season began as Buckeyes fried Rice 70-7
247Sports
EDITOR'S NOTE – This season, we will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Ohio State's 1996 Rose Bowl championship season. That was a landmark year for the Buckeyes with their first Rose Bowl win and highest AP poll finish (No. 2) in 23 seasons.


Continue reading...

Game Preview: Tulsa at Ohio State
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Tulsa Golden Hurricanes @ Ohio State Buckeyes – Ohio Stadium, 3:30 p.m. ET

Things could not have gone more smoothly in Columbus on Saturday as the Buckeyes completely annihilated the Bowling Green Falcons on their way to breaking a few records which have stood for many years. Even the most die-hard fan out there could not have imagined how badly the Buckeyes would beat the Falcons. It is not like the Falcons are a terrible team, they will win 7-10 games this year and play in a bowl game. Many people think they will even win their conference but that did not stop the Buckeyes from rolling up 77 of the easiest points you could ever imagine. They did not punt the ball until there was five minutes and thirty seconds left in the third quarter…after the starting offense had left the field!

Much of the same can be said for the Golden Hurricanes who come into the game with a lot of momentum after their 45-10 victory over San Jose State. With the Golden Hurricanes, the Buckeyes will face another very notoriously pass-happy offense but as they showed last week, they are able to run the ball better than most passing offenses as they ran for 305 yards.

Much like the Buckeyes, the Golden Hurricanes are going through a little bit of a youth movement as they played 13 freshmen (eight red-shirt and five true-freshmen) on Saturday. In total, the Golden Hurricanes have 17 first or second year players on their two-deep.

The Intangibles

TV: ABC (Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill)

Radio: Ohio State IMG Radio Network/97.1 WBNS (Paul Keels/Jim Lachey/Matt Andrews)

Online: WatchESPN I 97.1 WBNS (Audio)

Social Media: @OhioStAthletics I @TulsaHurricane

Series Record: 0-0

Previewing the Golden Hurricanes

Tulsa is led by head coach Philip Montgomery who is in his second year as head coach of the Golden Hurricanes where he is 7-7 overall. Prior to being named the head coach at Tulsa, Montgomery was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Baylor…which will give you an idea on the style of offense they run.

At quarterback for the Golden Hurricanes is a very experienced senior named Dane Evans who has started 31 games in his career.


NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Dane Evans #9 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane looks to throw against the Oklahoma Sooners September 19, 2015 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated Tulsa 52-38.(Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)


In 2015, Evans threw for 4,332 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only threw eight interceptions. With many quarterbacks who run the Baylor style of attack, you may be concerned about his ability to beat you with his feet but Evans is not that type of quarterback. In three years he has only rushed for 82 yards on 202 carries. Evans has thrown for 8,530 yards during his career and was very prone to interceptions in his first two years (27 combined in 2013-2014). Against SJSU, Evans completed 12 passes on 23 attempts for 198 yards and one touchdown.

Evans top target will be senior Keevan Lucas (5’10”, 198 lbs) who missed most of 2015 with an injury. In his career, Lucas has caught 165 passes for 2,182 yards and 17 touchdowns. In his first game back from injury, Lucas was able to haul in six catches for 112 yards versus San Jose State. Joining Lucas at wide receiver will be sophomore Justin Hobbs (6’4”, 207 lbs) and senior Josh Atkinson (6’2”, 208 lbs). In 2015, Hobbs had 551 yards receiving and two touchdowns while Atkinson had 1,071 yards and five touchdowns. These three will surely be a test for the young Ohio State secondary.

At running back for the Golden Hurricanes will be junior D’Angelo Brewer (5’9”, 185 lbs) who is coming off of his best game of his career where he rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns. For his career, Brewer has 1,129 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 starts.

The offensive line for Tulsa is fairly young age wise but full of starts as only one player is a new starter from last year. Sophomore Willie Wright (6’3”, 296 lbs) and junior Evan Plagg (6’4”, 292 lbs) will line up at tackle for the Golden Hurricanes and have a combined 27 career starts between them. Lone senior Blake Belcher (6’5”, 304 lbs) and his 14 career starts will line up opposite at guard of sophomore Tyler Bowling (6’6”, 325 lbs) who is making only his second career start. At center is sophomore Chandler Miller (6’3”, 290 lbs) who has started 14 games.

The defensive line is anchored by two very experienced players at one defensive end position; Jeremy Smith (6’5”, 260 lbs) and Jesse Brubaker (6’3”, 270 lbs) who split time with each other. Smith has started 12 times in his career and has 56 career tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, and 4.5 sacks. Brubaker is fifth on the team in career starts with 23 with all of those being at defensive tackle where he played prior to this season. For his career, Brubaker has 53 tackles, 9.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks. On Saturday versus SJSU, Brubaker had his first career interception which he promptly returned for a touchdown. Starting opposite of the experienced duo is junior Frankie Davis Jr. (6’2”, 240 lbs) who started his first game last week and tallied two tackles and half of a sack.

In the interior of the defensive line the Golden Hurricanes will have two seniors, Jerry Uwaezuoke (6’3”, 286 lbs) and Hayden Carman (6’4”, 289 lbs), looking to clog up the running lanes for the Buckeye rushing attack. For their careers, Uwaezuoke has 42 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, and 2.5 sacks while Carman has 19 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and 0.5 sacks.


TULSA, OK – NOVEMBER 21: Linebacker Trent Martin #40 and linebacker Matt Linscott #38 of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane tackle quarterback Tago Smith #18 of the Navy Midshipmen during the fourth quarter of a NCAA football game at the Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium on November 21, 2015 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images)


The linebacker corps is led by senior Trent Martin (6’2’, 232 lbs) at middle linebacker. On Saturday against SJSU, Martin had 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss which led to him being named the American Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week. For his career, Martin has 242 tackles, 28.5 tackles-for-loss, and 5.5 sacks in six seasons at Tulsa. Joining Miller at linebacker will be senior Matt Linscott (6’1”, 230 lbs) and junior Craig Suits (6’, 220 lbs) who are both returning starters. Linscott has 132 career tackles while Suits has 131 career tackles.

The defensive backfield for Tulsa is comprised of three juniors and one senior. At strong safety is senior Jeremy Brady (5’10”, 197 lbs) who will be making his 14th start in his career. In four seasons, Brady has 76 tackles and two interceptions. Starting next to him at free safety is junior Jordan Mitchell (6’4”, 212 lbs) who will be making his fifth start. In his career, Mitchell has 39 tackles and five pass deflections.

At cornerback, the Golden Hurricanes will be turning to junior Kerwin Thomas (5’10”, 171 lbs) and junior Keanu Hill (6’2”, 185 lbs) to slow down the Buckeye passing attack. Thomas has started 19 games in his career and has 74 tackles, and two interceptions. Hill, who is a JuCo transfer from Long Beach Community College, started in his first game against SJSU and had two tackles and a forced fumble.

Previewing the Buckeyes

It looked like a completely different J.T. Barrett on Saturday from what we saw in 2015. With no looking over his shoulder and his first full off-season as the starting quarterback, Barrett looked like an older more skilled version of the J.T. Barrett who stormed the college football world in 2014. In a game where no one really knew what to expect from the Buckeyes offense, Barrett overcame an early interception to have a historical day throwing for 349 yards and combining for seven touchdowns.

The great game by Barrett was not totally unexpected as he will more than likely be in the Heisman conversation most of the season. The biggest question mark was how would the Buckeye rushing attack be able to replace Ezekiel Elliott without riding the Barrett horse too much? Well, a combination of four guys stepped up and showed they were ready and willing.

The unquestioned starter, despite what the depth chart tells you, is redshirt freshman Mike Weber who played in his first game as the starting running back at Ohio State and proceeded to rush for 136 yards on 7.2 yards per carry. He was a few shoestring tackles away from breaking three or four long runs and gaining his first touchdown. The change of pace back to Weber is starting H-back


COLUMBUS, OH – SEPTEMBER 3: J.T. Barrett #16 of the Ohio State Buckeyes hands the ball off to Curtis Samuel #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first quarter of the game against the Bowling Green Falcons on September 3, 2016 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)


junior Curtis Samuel who had the most impressive performance on Saturday. In his first start, Samuel combined for 266 yards (84 rushing and 177 receiving) while racking up three touchdowns. Also lining up in the backfield was true freshman Demario McCall (8-54-1) and back-up H-back senior Dontre Wilson (5-36-0). Altogether, the Buckeyes rushed for 359 yards on 6.5 yards per carry.

Another major question mark the Buckeye offense had to answer was who would replace Mike Thomas and Jalin Marshall at wide receiver? Against Bowling Green, the Buckeyes named Noah Brown and Parris Campbell as the starters but utilized a rotation of players constantly moving different players in and out. At the end of the day, nine different players caught a ball and five different players caught touchdown passes.

Defensively against Bowling Green, the Buckeyes were pretty stout against the high-powered BGSU offense holding them to only 244 yards (69 rushing/175 passing) on the day. While many, including myself, expected the Ohio State defensive line to dominate early and often…that was not the case. They did a great job of controlling the line but was only able to get to BGSU quarterback James Knapke twice and both of those were by back-ups later in the game.

With Tulsa being slightly more advanced that BGSU on offense, starting defensive ends redshirt sophomore Sam Hubbard and junior Tyquan Lewis will really need to make their presence known to take some pressure off of the young secondary. The big loss on Saturday was the unfortunate injury to starting defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle who will now be replaced by either redshirt freshman Dre’Mont Jones or redshirt freshman Davon Hamilton. I would expect Jones to be lined up next to junior Michael Hill when the Silver Bullets take the field on Saturday.

Another smaller case of the injury big struck in the linebacker corps as junior Dante Booker was hurt very early in the game and sat out essentially the final three quarters. At this time, it is unknown if Booker will play, if he can’t senior Joe Burger or redshirt freshman Justin Hilliard will receive the start against Tulsa.


COLUMBUS, OH – SEPTEMBER 3: James Knapke #3 of the Bowling Green Falcons dodges a tackle by Tyquan Lewis #59 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the third quarter on September 3, 2016 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Bowling Green 77-10. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)


One guy there is no question about is junior middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan. The All-American once gain played a great game on Saturday, in limited time, racking up four solo tackles which was remarkably tied for the team lead. Next to McMillan will once again be junior Chris Worley who made his second career start against BGSU. Worley was able to grab three solo tackles in limited time.

The Buckeye secondary will be challenged by this Tulsa passing attack and will need to build on their momentum from last week. The starters should stay the same as sophomore Marshon Lattimore and junior Gareon Conley are expected to start at cornerback. At safety, barring any surprises, will be sophomore sensation Malik Hooker and junior Damon Webb who both made their first starts at safety last week.

Three Key Matchups

1. Keevan Lucas vs. Damon Arnette/LB combo: While it is extremely hard to find things to be critical about, the Buckeyes struggled early to contain BGSU speedster Ronnie Moore across the middle. He had a few catch and runs which could have been turned into big gains if it wasn’t for him tripping or the last defender standing making the tackle. Lucas will line up in the slot and work the Buckeyes the same way Moore did. Last week, Arnette started at nickel back and expect a lot of him on Saturday as the Buckeyes will probably play a lot of nickel…especially if Booker misses the game.

1. Tulsa Defensive Backs vs. Ohio State Wide Receivers: The Buckeyes were able to take advantage of the BGSU secondary because they were young and their strategy was pretty dumb to be honest. Their goal was to press the Ohio State receivers and force them to outrun their defensive backs which they did with ease…over and over and over. The Buckeyes wide receivers will not have that luxury as the Tulsa defensive backs have quite a bit of experience. With the focus of all defenses shifting to Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson in the slot, will Noah Brown or Parris Campbell be able to step up and become another threat?

1. Tyquan Lewis/Sam Hubbard vs. Willie Wright/Evan Plagg: So many people expected Hubbard and Lewis to walk away from BGSU with multiple sacks a piece that it was a little bit of a letdown when they were both relatively quiet all day. Both Wright and Plagg are experienced and will make the talented sack specialists work for any one-on-one facetime with Dane Evans. In order to keep pressure off of the young secondary, Lewis and Hubbard will have to make their presence known early and often.

Prediction

I really think the Buckeyes will have a tougher time stopping the Tulsa offense this week as they are a little more advanced than Bowling Green was. On offense, I think the Buckeyes should be able to move the ball with ease as the Golden Hurricanes are severely undersized at almost every position. The Buckeyes will once again come out of the gates and let Barrett throw the ball around before wearing the Tulsa defense down with the combination of Weber/Samuel. Buckeyes win easily by a score of 63-17.

The post Game Preview: Tulsa at Ohio State appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Polls: It’s time to pick Week 2 Big Ten winners
Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor via Big Ten Network

Who wins Week 2 Big Ten football games? There's 13 of them this week, including six on BTN/BTN2Go. Hop inside to see the BTN.com team's predictions and to cast your 13 winners.

Continue reading...

How the best shows on Netflix and HBO this summer explain college football's opening weekend
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Let your favorite TV shows help you make sense of a crazy Week 1 of college football.

There is little doubt that making accurate, intelligent college football preseason predictions is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports punditry; in fact, a number of notable media members have called for the end of preseason polls in light of how wrong they were after an exciting and tumultuous opening weekend of games. However, now that Week 1 is officially in the books, fans and analysts alike have a handful of new data points with which to make declarations that will undoubtedly be proven wrong over the upcoming weeks.

However, unlike the professional talking head community, most college football fans didn’t spend every spare summer second breaking down the All-22 from Purdue’s Spring Game; instead, they were binge-watching the best that TV and streaming services had to offer in a disappointingly underwhelming summer at the movie theater.

So, now that we have a week of games under our belts, let’s break down some of the biggest storylines for Ohio State, the Big Ten, and college football in general, in a way that even the least engaged football fan will understand; through pop culture.

Ohio State is HBO’s “The Night Of”

HBO

In the fall of 2012, HBO announced that they had picked up a pilot option for the British drama “Criminal Justice,” and that James Gandolfini would star. The former “Sopranos” don filmed a pilot for the show, now called “The Night Of,” before he passed away unexpectedly during the summer of 2013.

Robert De Niro was then tapped to take his place on the show, but had to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts, and finally John Turturro was cast as John Stone, a low-level defense attorney with a debilitating case of foot eczema.

Now, if that doesn’t scream Ohio State Football, I don’t know what does!

Granted the murder trial of a Pakistani-American college basketball manager bears little resemblance to the Buckeyes’ 77-10 drubbing of the Bowling Green Falcons, but think about it, how many shows could have lost acting all-timers like Gandolfini and De Niro, and still have turned out to be one of the biggest hits of the season? Not to mention the fact that it is now nearly impossible to imagine anyone, no offense to the dearly departed, who could have played that role better than Turturro.

Likewise, Ohio State is coming off of a 12-1 season and have to replace some of the biggest names in program history; Braxton Miller, Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliot to name a few; and yet in their opener, they set a school record with 776 yards of total offense, and put up the most points since 1950.

Other than Turturro, who is one of the most successful and recognizable character actors in the business, you would have been hard pressed to come up with the names of any of the show’s actors early in the season. Yes, Michael Kenneth Williams played Omar on “The Wire,” and you might have recognized Bill Camp and Glenne Headly from their decades-long careers, but I would bet dollars to Buckeye Donuts that you wouldn’t have actually known their names.

Similarly, Ohio State’s 2016 squad is one of the least experienced teams in college football this year, returning only six starters. However, given a favorable schedule, an old friend’s blueprint to victory in Norman, and a record-setting Week 1, the always sky-high expectations in Columbus have somehow risen exponentially.

Despite being a far from a perfect series, for my money, “The Night Of” was the most compelling, interesting, and thought-provoking piece of pop culture this summer; and while the team down in Tuscaloosa might eventually have something to say about it, Ohio State has given fans every indication that they could be in for an Emmy-winning level season as well.

Michigan is Netflix’s “Stranger Things”

Netflix

There is no program in all of college sports that enjoys touting its historical achievements more than Michigan Football. Granted, they do have the most wins in college football history with 926, but over 40% of those wins came before the end of World War II.

It’s been two decades since their last national title, and a dozen years since they last claimed the Big Ten crown, however, everyone in the college football universe regularly repeats the well-worn phrase that the sport is better “when Michigan is competing for championships.”

Because of that desire to catapult Michigan back into the upper-echelon of the sport, whether they are ready or not, the program has a history of rising to the top of the rankings early in the season, especially against out-of-conference cupcakes, before returning to Earth as the goings get tough.

Over the summer, Netflix released the eight-episode first season of their new supernatural series “Stranger Things,” which, believe it or not, reminded me an awful lot of That Team Up North.

Helmed by the writer/director combo collectively known as The Duffer Brothers (not to be confused with The Harbaugh Brothers), the early-80s throwback was all the rage this summer, spawning overly fawning think-pieces and countless title card memes.

Without a doubt, “Stranger Things” was a quality, enjoyable series that paid tribute to the works of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Stephen King, and more. In the show, a group of young boys fight an evil monster with the help of a strange girl with telekinetic powers in order to save their presumed dead friend lost in a parallel universe called “The Upside-Down.”

As exciting as the season was, it was far from high-art or cutting-edge, and benefited significantly from an unusually slow summer on screens large and small. Much like an admittedly improved Wolverine squad looking dominant over Hawaii, the second-worst team in the FBS, “Stranger Things” benefited from slim pop-cultural pickings this summer.

Despite incredible performances from the show’s pint-sized cast, especially Millie Bobby Brown as the extra-special Eleven, much of the affection showed to the series centered around nostalgia for the bygone era of “The Goonies,” “Stand by Me,” and “Poltergeist;” the fact that Winona Ryder co-starred didn’t hurt either.

Similarly, Michigan started the season ranked seventh and the pick of many pundits to make the College Football Playoff, despite the fact that they finished third in the Big Ten’s Eastern Division last year, and are little more than a year into Jim Harbaugh’s reign.

So, is the desire to return the once-vaunted Maize and Blue to the top level of College Football’s elites really because of the perceived strength of Jabrill Peppers, Jourdan Lewis, and Jake Butt? Or, is it tied to the nostalgia for the eras when Bo Schembechler roamed the sidelines in Ann Arbor, Tim Biakabutuka broke Buckeyes’ hearts, and Desmond Howard struck his infamous pose?

Time will tell, but for now, I will take the substance and depth of “The Night Of” over the sentimentality of “Stranger Things.”

LSU is FX’s “American Horror Story”


FX Network | Stacy Revere - Getty Images

On Sunday, September 18, the Television Academy will present the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, and for some reason, FX’s “American Horror Story” will have eight different nominees, despite the fact that after one and a half strong, early seasons, the show has objectively digressed to garbage levels in recent years.

Over it’s five-year run, the horror series has inexplicably netted 78 Emmy nominations and 13 wins, while hitting a ratings-low last fall.

The “Murder House” season, which starred Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton back in 2011, was exciting, thrilling TV that captivated the public and literally changed the way that we have watched television ever since. However, today many viewers simply tune in to see what trainwreck levels of schlock Ryan Murphy and company can throw at the latest season.

Despite the creative bankruptcy that the series now finds itself in, lazy critics and nominating committees continue to heap accolades on it under the assumption that since they are familiar with the name of the program, and many of the individuals involved are exceptionally talented, that “AHS” has to eventually be able to right the ship and reclaim the promise of its former greatness.

Thus is the case in Baton Rouge. Fairly early in the Les Miles Era, the Bayou Bengals won the 2007 National Title (we won’t discuss that game any further), and that seems to have sustained them for over a decade. Since that season, they have won only one SEC Championship, before losing a rematch with Alabama in the National Title game.

Yet, every year, pundits rally around LSU, proclaiming that this is their season to wrestle SEC supremacy away from Bama; 2016 is no exception. The Tigers began the season ranked fifth in the country and many people (myself included) thought that behind Leonard Fournette, this could be the year that The Mad Hatter got out of his own way and let his talented team achieve its potential.

After one week, that does not appear to be the case, as the team fell to previously unranked Wisconsin 16-14 at Lambeau Field on Saturday. Despite having arguably the best running back in the country, disappointing coaching and shoddy quarterback play has once again seemingly doomed LSU to a season of “what could have been.”

With a rotating cast that boasts the collective talents of Oscar-winners Jessica Lange and Cathy Bates, nominee Angela Bassett, not to mention Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare, Lily Rabe, and more, there is no reason that “American Horror Story” should continually underachieve as much as it does. However, underachieving is not exclusively a Ryan Murphy issue, now is it Les?

Continue reading...

Ohio State in the NFL: Could you field a decent pro team of only Buckeyes? - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State in the NFL: Could you field a decent pro team of only Buckeyes?
cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cameron Johnston, you're on alert. This Ohio State NFL team needs a punter. So the current senior punter for the Buckeyes needs to find his way into the league next season to complete this professional version of Ohio State football.
Ohio State women's volleyball wins two, loses one over the weekendOSU - The Lantern

all 2 news articles »

Continue reading...

LitlBuck said:

I took Tufele because you can never have enough big DTs. I would go Okudah and Hines after him. It might be not who we get but they are the ones that I want.

Click to expand...

The more I think about it, the more I think Tufele is number 1. Big, elite DT''s are much tougher to replace imo than many other positions. I think Garrett can be am excellent player here and Cage certainly has great potential, but Tufele is awfully close to a sure thing.

Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 9/7/2016
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!

2018 In-State Offer for Defensive Tackle:


The Buckeyes haven’t offered many in-state players for the class of 2018, and it is not because the state is not loaded with talent. Yesterday the Buckeyes offered 3-star defensive tackle Aeneas Hawkins from Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati. Hawkins is one of the top 20 players in the state of Ohio for the class of 2018.

Hawkins lists 14 offers to date, and those include Florida State, Notre Dame and Florida among others. Hawkins spoke to Eleven Warriors yesterday after he received the offer:

“It’s a big deal man,” Hawkins told Eleven Warriors. “It’s been a big goal of mine to try and earn an offer from them, and to be blessed with this opportunity means a lot. Ohio State is right up there with anyone right now.”

He also told 11W that he plans on making a trip up to Ohio State soon to see the Buckeyes in action and to speak with Coach Larry Johnson.



Bishop Gorman Buckeyes:


In case you have been under a rock for the past few months, Ohio State has gone west in the recruiting trail and struck gold in Las Vegas at Bishop Gorman High School. They first landed defensive tackle Haskell Garrett in a surprise commitment back in February. Then came Tate Martell who switched his verbal from Texas A&M to the Buckeyes back in June. Finally Tyjon Lindsey joined his fellow Gaels in committing to the Buckeyes just last month in a video with fellow commit Trevon Grimes.

The Buckeyes certainly have their sights set on Bishop Gorman as yesterday they offered yet another teammate of theirs in Bubba Bolden. Bolden is a 4-star safety ranked as the #94 player in the nation for the class of 2017. He currently lists 20 offers to date, and his crystal ball predictions have Arizona State at 67% and Southern Cal at 33%.



Tate Martell took to Twitter shortly after the offer was announced making sure everyone knew that getting Bubba to Ohio State was a top priority.



Speaking of Martell, he posted a poll on Twitter asking what game he should make his official visit and the winner ended up being Nebraska on November 5th. He was asked why he couldn’t make it for the big game against Michigan and he stated that he has his teams state semifinal game that weekend.

Baron Browning Update:


What you read on the internet is not always true. No really, it’s not, trust me. Let’s take for example the case of Baron Browning’s recruitment. Last week it was reported that Ohio State had slowed down the recruitment of the 5-star linebacker from Texas. As my good friend Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friend. Browning spoke to the SECCountry’s Chris Kirschner and cleared the air.

“That’s not even true. The dude who tweeted that out really needs to delete his account,” Browning told Kirschner following his game on Friday. “They just need to be banned from Twitter. I don’t even know why that came up. People just tweet whatever and everyone starts believing it. I talked to (Urban) Meyer the same day and he told me they want me to commit ASAP. It was a guy from Texas who tweeted that (Ohio State was dropping), so it wasn’t like it was one of the (Buckeyes) guys.”

Browning told Kirschner that his dad spoke to Coach Urban Meyer and that everything was good between the two parties. Browning was on hand Sunday as Texas defeated Notre Dame 50-47 in one of the weekends most exciting games. He will make a trip to Columbus for The Game on November 26th, which will be three days before his scheduled announcement date of November 29th.

I expect the Buckeyes to remain in this one until the end, and I still think he ends up in this class.


Another Texas Star Reaffirms Pledge:


The recruitment of JK Dobbins has been interesting of late. It was reported that if the Buckeyes were going to take another running back (Cam Akers), that Dobbins would start to look elsewhere as he said other programs told him he would be the only back they would take in this class. The Buckeyes lack of depth at the running back position after this season means the Buckeyes need to take two in this class, so nabbing Dobbins and Akers would be ideal.

Dobbins spoke to 247 Sports ($) Steve Wiltfong on Monday after his visit to Texas for the Notre Dame game, “I have a home, and it’s the Ohio State Buckeyes,” Dobbins said. “Texas looked really good though.”

A name to watch if Dobbins does go elsewhere is 3-star back from Pickerington Morgan Ellison, who I believe will be a star at the next level but is under recruited because of injuries the past couple of seasons.


Former Buckeye Lands at Toledo:


The recruiting class of 2016 lost two members before they started fall camp this year and one of them, 3-star defensive back Kareem Felder, has found a new home.



Felder was deemed ineligible to enroll at Ohio State due to academic reasons.


The post Heard Around the ‘Shoe – 9/7/2016 appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Rumblin’, Stumblin’, Bumblin’: Week 1; Buckeyes Offense, National Narrative, Oklahoma Unprepared
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


Where do we start this week and where do we go? It’s not like anyone on the team actually under-performed and we can’t really put everyone in the Good can we? I think my pals here at the BBC have done a pretty good job of covering a wide range of topics this week! Let’s get rolling with the very very good in week one.

Rumblin’


COLUMBUS, OH – SEPTEMBER 3: Members of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate their 77-10 victory over the Bowling Green Falcons while singing “Carmen Ohio” on September 3, 2016 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State defeated Bowling Green 77-10. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)


You know those dreams you have from time to time where it seems like everything just falls into place? You know the ones I am talking about. You always get the girl, save the day, fly off a roof top and hit the winning shot! In my mind, that is what the Bowling Green game was like.

In a time where there seemed to be so much uncertainty about what this team is capable of and then whammo! The offense operates the way it should under veteran QB JT Barrett and we find several new stars. In my pre-season questions, I wondered how they would spread the wealth, but then again we are talking about Urban Meyer.

What was on display Saturday was an offensive explosion that only showed us glimpse of their potential. Yes, I said a just a glimpse! I think they got the ball into the play-makers hands and not just Curtis Samuel. Weber had a pretty good first game running the ball and will improve. The blocking was pretty good and the WR’s showed good hands. We won’t have a true gauge of what this offense is really capable of until Oklahoma but that’s okay, we can wait.

Let’s see what the staff has to say about the Rumblin’

Scott – Ohio State offense. Wow!

Joe – Urban Meyer has been saying for three-straight seasons that Curtis Samuel is a guy that needs to get 50 plays a game. To start 2016, the good ol’ ballcoach took his own advice and Ohio State fans witnessed what the Bronx Hybrid could do. By the way, that’s Curtis Samuel’s new nickname. The Bronx Hybrid.

JC – The offense production was amazing. I am almost tempted to say “…well, it was against Bowling Green.” But that’s a disrespect of an honorable performance that was not foreseen by any of us. Tulsa next week will be another opportunity to open up and show off the weapons that are gaining strength in Columbus. Come Oklahoma, regardless, of their little surprise against Houston, is a whole different operation. But, trust me, I have complete faith.

Brandon – The Ohio State offense. No one could have expected they would rack up 77 points and 776 yards all while keeping balance (417 passing/359 rushing). If you did, I would have told you that you were delusional. Weber, Samuel, and Wilson all proved to be dynamic play-makers and Brown showed his potential too. I don’t remember the last time the offense had this many playmakers.

MDotySr – I will just say look at Brandon’s mine would be pretty much the same give the new start “The Ball Offices of Samuel, Weber and McCall”!

Ben -I loved seeing so many true freshmen see the field against Bowling Green. We had four guys play all of last year, and to see 10 get into action in game one is huge. They not only got on the field, but they made an impact, McCall with his two touchdowns, Bosa with the sack, and Burns with the Pick-Six. The future is bright at Ohio State.

Mike Meals – Besides watching the Fightin’ Tom Hermans manhandle Big Game Bob today? Tip of the hat to UH. But this Buckeye team, coming out against a seriously over-matched opponent, and not playing down to them as we have in the past.

Stumblin’


College football and the NCAA in general. If the committee doesn’t start ranking teams for several weeks, then neither should the polls. I am okay with a pre-season “prediction” from them but to come out with a poll based on pure speculation makes them look pretty silly.

It’s not that they don’t get some of the teams right and normally putting OSU, Bama, USC, LSU and Texas can be a safe bet to do. However, early season failures and some non-conference match-ups can trip a team up and send them downward. I have always been a fan of the polls when the early and pre-season rankings really meant something. Now they are just eye candy and not a true statement of the rankings.

The CFB committee has the college football world at their mercy and if any team that lost in week one, two or three has any hopes of making the final four? The polls aren’t going to help them at all!

Let’s see what the staff has to say about the Stumblin’

Scott – SEC

Joe – How about Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson, who literally stumbled the game away for the Wildcats late in the fourth quarter against Western Michigan. After slipping near the ten yard line, Thorson got hit near the far-side pylon and coughed the ball up as he tried to lower his shoulder into the endzone. The fumble gave the ball back to Western Michigan and now I have to hear all those fanboys of P.J. Fleck chirp louder, longer, and at a higher than tolerable pitch.

JC – Oklahoma & LSU. I must admit I am not really surprised by either loss. I have always been a believer that the pollsters love the SEC to a fault. I am happy for the Badgers. Oklahoma, too, I really believe was given too much value following last year’s journey. But with all that said, let me shut my mouth until after the 17th.

Brandon – The national narrative about the Buckeyes. Look, I understand it was pretty easy to jump on the “only six starters returning” bandwagon but at some point just look who is filling those holes. Outside of O-line, it wasn’t exactly people with zero playing time. Guys like Samuel, Wilson, Webb, Booker, and many more have played a lot of football. People are backtracking pretty quick now and trying to pretend like they are surprised.

MDotySr – All these teams that were ranked preseason that are being exposed early on as pretenders. Sometimes the first week of CFB can be just as fun as the last week.

Ben – Clemson had a tough go against Auburn, LSU lost to Wisconsin, Oklahoma lost to Houston. Let’s do away with preseason polls already. They are meaningless except to promote games on national television. Wait five weeks into the football season to see who really is a good team before we rank them.

Mike Meals – The clear separation of the 5-10 best football programs year in and year out, and the rest of the country. alaBama, Ohio State, etc., these teams are light years ahead of the next 10 (The UGAs, USCs, etc.).

Bumblin’


I was talking to a friend at work about Oklahoma and Bob Stoops losing at-least one of those types of games every year since we won a national title. A lot of people jump all over Stoops about this yearly debacle. Bear in mind that he is coaching a team that just a short week ago almost everybody(including myself) thought he would hand it to the Buckeyes in Norman.

The Sooners are a fearsome bunch at home and most of the time when they lose it’s not there. From the official OU site . . ,


Stoops is 96-8 at home over-all and that in itself is pretty remarkable for his career there. It makes Norman a formidable and scary place to play which Buckeye fans will experience soon.

My point here is that the game was at a neutral site and for the most part, he had an entire off-season to prepare for Tom Herman and the Cougars. I cannot claim that I know anything about what teams do to prepare for those teams in the off-season. What I do know as an Ohio State fan is this, if they came out and looked unprepared for a team that they six months to watch film and game-plan for? I would be done with my head coach and staff.

There is no excuse for not being ready for a team that you are more talented than and clearly playing a tougher schedule over-all. Not that Houston didn’t belong in the game because they did. To dominate the number three team the way they did falls on the head coach of the losing team. I heard a lot of “experts” saying on Saturday that Oklahoma must beat OSU to have any hopes of being in the CFP. I disagree completely and think an unprepared loss should disqualify them.

Let’s see what the staff has to say about the Bumblin’

Scott – Les Miles for making a BS excuse.

Joe – Everyone wants to rip the SEC and that’s great, but I would like to take this platform to recognize why the Big 12 should look to themselves for a lack of playoff success and not expansion. Outside of Kansas State and Oklahoma, who lost to Stanford and Houston — here is your non-conference opponent list for week 1 in the gun-slingin’ Big 12: Northwestern State, South Dakota State, Southeastern Louisiana, Missouri, Rhode Island, Northern Iowa and Stephen F. Austin. I would say that the TCU defense is bumblin’ after giving up 41 points to South Dakota State, but giving points up like that is a TCU tradition.

JC – Regardless of TTUN’s “impressive” victory (but was it really? – Hawaii?) The whole charade of having Jeter and Michael Jordan present, as Honorary Captains, only solidify the desperateness lingering in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh and his circus act will not go over well too long with the traditionalists, or even the young-bloods. No one wants to be the “chuckling-clowns” in the room.

Brandon – The legend of Big Game Bob Stoops. I guess I was under the impression he was a good coach and bringing a good team to their “neutral” site game against Houston in Houston. In reality, he didn’t and I feel like an idiot for even believing he is a shell of his old self and still a good coach. In the past three seasons, he has been spanked by TAMU, Missouri, Texas, Clemson, and now Houston.

MDotySr – Les Miles Country Club membership down in the bayou. Fans and media alike were already placing Tom Herman as their next head coach by halftime of the WISKY game. Going to miss his sound bites but I’m sure we’ll hear them again at a much smaller school for years to come.

Ben – Michigan football. Enough already, we know you think you are back and will dominate the Big Ten for years to come, but let’s be realistic for a moment please. Brady Hoke went 11-2 in his first season in Ann Arbor and then the wheels came off to an 8-5 season then 7-6 then finally 5-7. Hoke was thought of as a solid recruiter who would bring back the glory days to Michigan football, and look how that ended up. I understand that Jim Harbaugh is a savior of some sort, but until they win anything meaningful (a bowl game against an overrated Florida team doesn’t count) then they are still mediocre in my mind. Win something then you can talk.

Mike Meals – Besides WVA for making me put my own name on all these dang forms? I’m going with LSU and The Mad Hatter too. Everyone thought it was cute when he made the joke about guys “walking home” if they leaped. But to see players taking cheap shots like that? And Les turning around and saying that it could have been a downfield block? I get defending your player…but that was the cheapest shot I have seen in awhile.

Weekly Funny



The post Rumblin’, Stumblin’, Bumblin’: Week 1; Buckeyes Offense, National Narrative, Oklahoma Unprepared appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Script Ohio: How Do the Ohio State Buckeyes Slow down the Golden Hurricane?
Joe Dexter via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Scoring points should be no problem for Ohio State on Saturday, but how do the Buckeyes plan to attack one of the nation’s better offensive teams? Joe Dexter and Clair Crawford play defensive coordinator to scheme up a way to keep points off the board.

The post Script Ohio: How Do the Ohio State Buckeyes Slow down the Golden Hurricane? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

Continue reading...

Expect another explosive performance from Ohio State against Tulsa
Colton Denning via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


We recap the win over Bowling Green, preview Tulsa, and more.

On last week’s podcast, Matt Brown and I discussed how we thought Bowling Green could move the ball on Ohio State and at least make it somewhat of a game. Obviously, we were wrong.

We broke down some of the more impressive aspects of the Buckeyes’ 77-10 win, including:

• The explosive plays on offense, especially through the air
• The Ohio State pass defense
• Demario McCall’s standout performance
• Offensive balance and wanting to play freshmen not being hollow words from Urban Meyer

After that, we discussed this week’s opponent: the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, and more specifically, their very Baylor-esque offensive philosophy. Find out what we think is the key to slowing their offense, and also why we don’t think it’ll be a particularly close contest, anyway.

As a bonus, I shared how my extremely fun night at the Colorado-Colorado State game on Friday night came with consequences the next morning.

We’ve moved to a new iTunes page, so we would very much appreciate your subscriptions, and more importantly, reviews and comments about the podcast. The more we hear from you, the better we can make it. We’re also on Soundcloud, the SB Nation podcast page, and you can subscribe via RSS on your Android and Windows Phone devices here.

Continue reading...

Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Before becoming a Buckeye, coach John Cooper was a Golden Hurricane - Columbus Dispatch
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Ohio State football | Jack Looks Back: Before becoming a Buckeye, coach John Cooper was a Golden Hurricane
Columbus Dispatch
Jack Park, a leading Ohio State football historian, checks in each week during the college football season with a retrospective about the Buckeyes. Ohio State will face Tulsa at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Ohio Stadium. The meeting will be the first between ...

and more »

Continue reading...

Buckeyes Butterflies head south in the fall - The Newark Advocate
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".


Buckeyes Butterflies head south in the fall
The Newark Advocate
Buckeyes (Junonia coenia) are natives of the southern U.S. and cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. So like many humans, Buckeyes as cooler weather approaches head south. Before they go they have laid their eggs and the caterpillars have become ...


Continue reading...