College Football Island: Could the NCAA make it happen?
George Eisner via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

National Sports Authority Bahamas
As the futures of many sports remain foggier than ever, only a March Madness-style tournament in paradise can save college football.

I hate how excited I am for college football to come back.

The second half of July is traditionally when fans start getting excited about the prospects of their team’s upcoming season. Even with the country and much of the world in a turbulent state, college football remains within a month of finally returning.

Typical fans are frothing with anticipation given the enormous hiatus of traditional American sports. For others, such as those of Big Ten and PAC-12 teams, the ongoing pandemic has already compromised the early season. Further cancellations could come from anywhere at any time.

It’s hard to remain hopeful that we will get to watch the efforts of so many student athletes play out this fall, and yet I find myself counting down the days to the first kick as I do every time this year.

This limbo that the college football world finds itself in only becomes more of a concerning uncertainty as the season draws closer and major conferences continue to find themselves not on the same page. With different states and areas of the country needing to address the pandemic in various ways, the likelihood that FBS schools are able to come up with a unified strategy to play games from September through the end of 2020 remains low.

Even when games do come back in a month or two, fan experience will be limited to potentially non-existent if cases of COVID-19 surge across the country again in the near or distant future. Right now, I am absolutely dreading the thought of an Ohio State-Michigan game with no fans in attendance.

So much of what defines this sport are the annual inter-conference meetings and rivalries, and the fans that generate game-day atmosphere are critical to that experience. How much pride can players take from a season where people are expressly forbidden from witnessing their glory in person? Who’s really going to feel good about Ohio State winning the Big Ten this year if none of the students or alumni are able to support the team directly for three months? Would a win this season over Michigan in an absent Ohio Stadium really provide the same level of gratification for Buckeye fans as it does when Columbus fills up the ‘Shoe?

Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer

Above all else, the most important objective of every college football season should be to crown a rightful champion, and that rings true now perhaps more than ever. The College Football Playoff has thankfully done so since its inception, and with bowl season starting five months from now, the NCAA would have plenty of time to implement a plan that upholds safety and fairness for all involved in a postseason of any kind.

Which leads me to the main point of this piece, a wild proposal to finish off a phenomenally wild start to this decade. Cancel the upcoming college football season, schedule a 65-team single-elimination tournament to start in December, and play every single game on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas.

To put it another way...

College Football Island:



There’s a lot to unpack here, and a lot of concerns to address if something of this scale is going to pan out successfully. First, lets go over rankings and choosing which schools get to play in this.

The Coaches Poll won’t release for another month assuming the season remains intact, which means slotting teams for a hypothetical tournament will rely heavily on estimation. I used ESPN’s latest Way-Too-Early Top 25 (unfortunately from February) to build out the top teams in each bracket. From there, I looked at all the teams that finished with winning records last season to fill out remaining spots, with the exception of Navy and Air Force. The military academies and mid-major independents can go play on their own football island.

These selections are not perfect, but they do reward schools across college football with recent success as opposed to favoring middling Power 5 members. Miami (FL) fans are likely enraged that Miami (OH) will be heading to the Bahamas instead of the nearby Hurricanes, but that’s the price to pay for getting shut out against Louisiana Tech to end last season. In a year when time is of the essence, college football only has room for winners.

The lone exception comes with a play-in game that begins the tournament. To determine the 64 seed that will face the #1 overall team in the first round, the two best Power 5 teams with losing records from the previous season will face off on December 5th.



In this case, Florida State will take on TCU from Thomas Robinson Stadium in the Bahamian capital of Nassau. Had I stuck to the structure of only allowing teams with winning records, the play-in game would have been Charlotte vs. Arkansas State. With respective apologies to the Niners and Red Wolves, FSU/TCU figures to be a much more exciting game for welcoming back the sport.

The following week, the First Round will commence on Dec. 9 with the eight games in the Orange Bracket. The next day, the Fiesta Bracket will play its slate of games, and this will continue into the weekend with the remaining two brackets. The entire Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre that houses Thomas Robinson Stadium includes two fields suitable for American football games, allowing four games each day on each field. The map below provides a view of the entire QESC, with the two stadiums in question designated by the numbers five and six:

National Sports Authority Bahamas

The second round of College Football Island begins Dec. 16 and follows the same order of bracket play as the first round to allow each team an equal rest of one week. The Sweet Sixteen occurs a week later, but takes Christmas off to respect the NBA the holiday, which results in the Cotton and Peach Brackets playing their remaining games on December 26th. This means for the first time in American history, people will look forward to the day after Christmas.

The Elite Eight begins on New Year’s Day, lasts through the following evening, and represents the four bowls not scheduled for rotation in this year’s College Football Playoff. This allows some of the oldest traditional bowl games in college football to continue their streak of taking place annually, even if the sites will not be the same. Additionally, each bracket’s name represents the bowl attached to its Elite Eight contest.

The Final Four takes place on Jan. 9 and consists of the Sugar and Rose Bowls, playing out exactly as the College Football Playoff would in a conventional season. A week from the following Monday, the National Championship game commences on Jan. 18.

That represents the basic framework for this tournament, and it sounds dreamy in theory. However, some key issues still require addressing if an event of this magnitude is to take place while the world continues to deal with the realities of COVID-19.

Doesn’t Thomas Robinson Stadium have a reputation for chaos when hosting American football games? How will the Bahamas accommodate an influx of nearly 7,000 football players in addition to coaches and miscellaneous school staff? And didn’t the Bahamas just ban travelers from the United States due to COVID-19 concerns?

A Quick History Lesson on the Bahamas Bowl


The Bahamas Bowl has always been something of an obscure game between Conference USA and MAC opponents since its inception in 2014. However, it wasn’t until about two and a half years ago that the event became a legend among dedicated college football fans.

Thanks to a hilarious thread on the College Football subreddit, the 2017 Bahamas Bowl lives on forever in the annals of the Internet. The Ohio Bobcats took on the UAB Blazers at Thomas Robinson Stadium back then, but none of the important parts of this bowl game happened on the football field. Instead, fans noted a lax security presence that allowed a series of extracurricular shenanigans to take place while the game went on.

For example, only half of the twenty entrances to the stadium had active patrol on watch, which not only meant almost anybody could wander into the stadium, but nearly anyone that wanted to could bring in alcohol. Fans responded by walking out onto the circular track while the game was going on, drinking heavily, and high-fiving the security staff.

u/supermav27

By the way, the security staff in question was the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. The country’s military personnel were allowing fans to chug beer on the track, hi-five players during the game, and enter Ohio’s locker room. Yet, with the exception of four-year-olds practicing archery outside of the stadium as part of the game-day festivities, the lax security did not result in an uptick of violence or mayhem.

But the infrastructure of the stadium itself had its own problems as well. The venue only had one working scoreboard at the time, and the game clock it displayed for the contest was actually just the ESPN feed. This meant fans and officials alike had issues viewing the stadium clock in the bottom right corner of the screen for the length of the game.

Additionally, fans reported one of the funnier sports-related stadium soundboard mishaps in recent memory. The person in charge of the music apparently played Sandstorm by Darude three times in a row at varying volumes to start the game before finally giving up and abandoning music for the event entirely. Since that fateful day in December 2017, Popeyes ditched their sponsorship of the bowl, and Elk Grove Village, IL assumed their place before declining to renew for the upcoming season.

Given where I’ve proposed College Football Island to take place, I felt the need to bring up this colorful and obscure tale from recent college football memory. However, I do believe the NCAA would be able to resolve most of Thomas Robinson Stadium’s issues with little effort or resources.

The fact that these games will go on without anyone in attendance other than staff and security personnel will thankfully mitigate most of the issues surrounding fan behavior. As for locals, there will surely be interest among the Bahamian populace as there has been at every Bahamas Bowl. Even so, with a national directive in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, one has to imagine the RBDF will do a much better job of turning people away three years following their turnstile performance in 2017.

As for infrastructure issues, there’s nothing too extreme that the NCAA and its resources wouldn’t be able to account for. Functioning field clocks for officials are an easy solution for faulty scoreboards, and a stadium sound system isn’t totally necessary unless referees feel the need to announce penalties to the press box and viewing audience at home.

But something that needs outfitting more than Thomas Robinson Stadium would be the nearby practice field that hosts a second game in tandem with the main venue. While the track & field stadium did host the inaugural Bahamas Bowl as well as the HBCUX Classic in 2014, it has not hosted an American football event since. Event organizers would need to ensure all the resources are in place to host, play, and broadcast games on a field with far less sophistication than its Thomas Robinson Stadium counterpart.

Alright, so the Bahamas can play this thing out, but New Providence has a population just short of a quarter million people. This leaves not much room for 65 FBS player rosters along with coaches and staffs on an island with roughly the same square miles of land as Toledo. How does the Bahamas host these teams?

The answer is it doesn’t.

How College Football Island Works Around COVID-19


Putting roughly 7,000 football players on the same island in the Atlantic Ocean likely isn’t going to pan out well for anyone involved, especially when there’s a pandemic afoot. But if all the players aren’t able to reside in Nassau at the same time, how will the tournament deliver 32 college football games in the four days of the First Round?

If only there were another massive landmass reasonably close by with the hospitality support to handle massive influxes of people during cold months of the year. But where in the world can one find such a pl—



Oh, Florida.

The flight from the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area to Lynden Pindling International Airport in the Bahamas lasts roughly 45 minutes. From there, it’s a less than 15 minute drive to Thomas Robinson Stadium. With enough logistical personnel and parameters in place, teams could conceivably fly to the Bahamas in the morning for their games, with some returning to their hotels in the United States before sundown.

This sounds like a great deal of unnecessary effort to uphold the idea of playing a college football tournament on an island, but in the context of keeping all involved safe from the ongoing pandemic, it makes more sense.

A plan should be in place to have all student-athletes of schools invited to College Football Island done with semester coursework prior to Thanksgiving, or at least grant them the ability to take finals digitally. The following week, teams can start making their way to their respectful hotels along the southeast coast of Florida prior to the inaugural game on Dec. 5.

Teams stay in their bubbles until their respective game-days, travel to New Providence in the morning, play their football, and come home later in the evening. Winners reside in their bubbles for another week while eliminated teams get to return home for winter break immediately. The southeast coast bubble system remains intact until the Elite Eight, when the Bahamas can create new unique bubbles for each team at their local resorts/hotels.

Installing a bubble of roughly 10,000 people along the coastline of a state that’s had as controversial an experience dealing with COVID-19 as any probably sounds ludicrous to many. But there are a few ongoing factors to consider that make this a much more plausible strategy than one would initially believe it to be.

For one, there would not be a singular college football bubble consisting of thousands of people. There are roughly 58,000 hotel rooms in the Miami area alone, which gives teams more than enough vacancy to set up their own bubbles on a school-by-school basis that consist of roughly 150 people each. That’s a far easier total to manage and puts significantly less pressure on those in charge with preserving the health of participants.

Furthermore, a 150-person bubble wouldn’t even match half the total of the most impressive sports-related one in the state of Florida this year. Earlier this week, the NBA announced it tested 346 players alone for COVID-19 with zero confirmed cases after finding two such positives in their previous round of testing. If the NBA can preserve the health of its players as it seeks to finish its season at the Disney campus in Orlando, that would provide a significant vote of confidence towards the Floridian elements of the previously laid out strategy for executing College Football Island.

As for the Bahamas’ recent banning of U.S. travelers, it’s highly unlikely this hold lasts to the point that it would jeopardize College Football Island in December. Even as commercial flights to the country prepare for suspension, private travelers from the U.S. remain allowed to enter. In addition, the Bahamas will still allow commercial travel from Canada, the U.K. and E.U. countries. There is absolutely no way that a country reliant on tourism to fund 60% of its economy and employ half of its population is going to shut out America forever.

Finally, given the impact the pandemic has had on global travel, it’s hard to imagine the Bahamas would turn down the eyeballs and promotion that come with hosting an event of such unprecedented scope in American sports. The most significant sporting event Thomas Robinson Stadium has hosted was the IAAF World Relays in 2017, so this would be a significant step-up with respect to establishing a prominent sports complex in a country dearly dedicated to attracting visitors.


There are certainly other factors that need ironing out for College Football Island to take place, but hopefully the above information provides a glimpse into how such an event could become a reality should the motivation exist to do so. Of course, some optimism remains that the college football season will take place in the fall on American soil, and with many professional sports set to return in the coming days and weeks, that hopefully will be the case.

But as nearly everyone on the planet navigates the insane unpredictability and tempestuousness of 2020, it’s best to start considering alternatives now if retaining college football is a must. Assuming the infrastructure, resources, and health statuses are all in place, would you really say “no” to ending this hell of a year with a viewing of what would be the most highly anticipated event in the history of college sports?



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Which former Ohio State quarterback would you want back in Columbus?
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
And no, I'm not allowing you to choose Justin Fields.

Now, obviously, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Justin Fields. After just one season at Ohio State, the Georgia transfer has already solidified himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in program history. However, for this exercise to work, I need you just to humor me for a bit. So let’s just pretend that for arguments sake, Justin Fields does not exist. Abducted by aliens, decided to quit football, an angry Michigan fan figured out time travel to make sure he was never born — whatever it takes to get you there.

With that being the case, the Buckeyes now need a quarterback to come fill in and play alongside the rest of the 2020 squad. They are allowed to go back into the archives and select one of their former QBs to help try and lead the team to a National Championship this season. The only question: which one do you choose? You obviously want to pick a guy who is incredibly talented, but also one that will fit well into Ryan Day’s current system and mesh with players on this year’s roster.

There are no shortage of options for this question, but let’s begin with the one of the most prolific signal-callers in recent OSU history: Terrelle Pryor.

Pryor is probably the most similar QB to Fields in terms of play style over the last decade plus. Throwing for nearly 6,200 yards and rushing for almost 2,200 yards during his three seasons at the helm, Pryor featured a great mix of both arm talent and the ability to make plays with his legs. Things may not have ended in spectacular fashion for the dynamic athlete as a result of the infamous Tattoo Gate, but Pryor put together a fantastic career at Ohio State, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2008 and being named the Rose Bowl MVP in 2010.

Braxton Miller is a potentially good option. Miller was just like that kid in high school who was simply more athletic than everyone else on the team, so the coaches threw him at quarterback to make sure the ball was in his hands as much as possible. While the arm talent left a bit to be desired at times, Miller was an absolute freak of an athlete. His incredibly high football IQ as well as video game-like speed and agility made for an explosive QB that became a two-time Big Ten Most Valuable Player.

Another interesting choice would be J.T. Barrett, who would likely be the most polarizing option for Buckeye Nation. There are many — myself included — who criticized Barrett’s abilities during his career at Ohio State, but it is hard to argue with the results. In addition to leading the team to the first ever College Football Playoff, the four-year starter filled up the trophy case. The recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football in 2016, Barrett was named to the First Team All-Big Ten three times and also thrice won the Grise-Brees QB of the Year award. Say what you want about his skillset, but if nothing else, Barrett was a winner.

While Barrett got the Buckeyes to the CFP in 2014, they don't end that season with a National Championship without Cardale Jones. Thrust into action following Barrett’s injury, Jones rattled off three-straight wins against Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, wherein he threw for 742 yards with six total TDs to just two interceptions. He had a rocky 2015 season as the coaching staff botched the QB battle between he and Barrett, but there was no denying Jones’ cannon of an arm and his ability to win games on the biggest stage.

Which brings us finally to my personal choice: Dwayne Haskins. In a Justin Fields-less world, I think the perfect quarterback who could come in and lead this year’s Ohio State team to a national title would be the man that was let down by his defense in 2018.

Haskins was nothing short of dominant as a rare pro-style passer in the Buckeye offense, throwing for over 4,800 yards with 50 touchdowns and just eight picks in his one season as a starter. Shattering multiple single-season program records, Haskins was selected First Team All-Big Ten, earning the Chicago Tribune Silver Football and being named the MVP of the 2018 B1G Championship and the 2019 Rose Bowl. He was robbed of getting to show his stuff in the CFP thanks mainly to a terribly scheme on the other side of the ball (thanks, Bill Davis), but nonetheless was one of the greatest quarterbacks in Ohio State history.

This year’s roster is perfectly set up for Haskins to succeed. He would be surrounded by a litany of incredibly talented wide receivers, with an offensive line that could give him days in the pocket. The quarterback position evolved under Ryan Day, and Haskins is the one who helped build that initial mold. He would also enjoy the fact that this year’s defense should be worlds better than the one he was given in 2018, thanks to a complete overhaul of the coaching staff since that season.

If I had to pick one former Ohio State quarterback to return to Columbus, Haskins is my guy.

Who would you choose to don the Scarlet and Gray once more and lead the Buckeyes to victory? Let us know in the comments!

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An update on one of Ohio State’s top remaining targets in 2021
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Five-star Eastside Catholic DE J.T. Tuimoloau | Brandon Huffman, 247Sports
The Buckeyes are still trying to fill out their No. 1-rated class.

The commitment of Jordan Hancock was just the latest addition to Ohio State’s stellar 2021 class — one that ranks No. 1 in the nation by a large margin. With still a handful of five-star prospects on the Buckeyes’ radar, Ryan Day’s group has a chance to truly be one for the record books. Already having a stellar 19 commits in hand, Day and his staff can now go out and try to finish things off with some of most talented players in the country.

One of the guys at the top of that list is J.T. Tuimoloau, a five-star defensive end who has been linked to Ohio State for quite some time. Tuimoloau is the No. 2 player in the country overall, the No. 2 strong-side DE and the No. 1 player in his home state of Washington, and is obviously a player position coach Larry Johnson would love to add to his long list of talented defensive line pupils.

Luckily for Day and Johnson, there seems to be a good amount of mutual interest between the two parties. While Tuimoloau has played his recruitment a lot closer to the vest than most other highly-touted prospects, the Buckeyes appear to be at the top of his list, with currently four of the five 247Sports Crystal Balls in favor of OSU (the lone outlier in favor of Washington all the way back in April 2019).

If not for a global pandemic shutting down recruiting visits nationwide, there’s a good chance Tuimoloau would already be committed. However, like most players in his position, the COVID-19 shutdown has slowed down the process. Still waiting to see if he will be able to make any of his official visits at some point before signing day, Eastside Catholic head coach Dominic Daste gave Cleveland.com a glimpse into Tuimoloau’s current mindset.

“He obviously wants to have an outstanding football career and maximize his athletic ability, but he also wants to be a businessman and wants to do some things whenever football’s done,” Daste said. “He’s trying to figure out which place is best for him in terms of that.”

If he does wind up at Ohio State, the talented defensive end would be joining two fellow edge rushers in five-star Jack Sawyer and high four-star Tunmise Adeleye. It would be quite the haul for one class of defensive linemen, but for now it appears Tuimoloau is comfortable taking things slow. Things currently seem to be leaning in the Buckeyes’ favor, but only time will tell.

Quick Hits

• According to Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts, four-star linebacker Harold Perkins is the latest 2022 prospect to land on Ohio State’s radar. The No. 16 OLB in the class and the No. 201 player overall, Perkins put on quite the performance at the Elite Underclassmen Showcase in Durant, OK on Sunday, and earned himself an invite to the 2022 Under Armour All-American Game. Kurelic says that Ohio State is one of Perkins’ “dream schools,” and that he expects position coach Al Washington to continue building a relationship with the Texas native.
• On Tuesday, Ohio State offered 2022 power forward De’Ante Green, according to Green’s own personal Twitter account. The No. 11 PF and No. 73 player in the country, the 6-foot-9 prospect already holds a whopping 23 offers, including the likes of Auburn, Kansas, Louisville, Penn State and Xavier. According to 247Sports, Green is the 11th early offer for Chris Holtmann and his staff in the 2022 class, with already one commitment in the group from three-star shooting guard Bowen Hardman.

• Also on Tuesday, Ohio State cornerback commit Jyaire Brown received an offer from Michigan. Brown, the No. 14 corner and No. 113 player overall in the 2022 class, has been committed to the Buckeyes since the end of April as one of three early pledges in the cycle for Ryan Day and company. The Wolverines aren't the first Big Ten foe to offer Brown since his OSU commitment, as Penn State did the same back in May. 2021 RB commit TreVeyon Henderson voiced his displeasure of this latest offer on Twitter.

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Buckeye Bits: Ohio State has one of the country’s top QB rooms, more Buckeyes on national award watch lists, more
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.

Good afternoon, Buckeye Nation. It’s been a hot one out here on the East Coast, and I'm sure it’s similar over in the great state of Ohio. Hopefully you are enjoying the weather and partaking in some nice outdoor socially distant activities like the beach or the golf course. As usual, I implore you all to make sure you’re wearing a mask in times when you must be out in public so that we get a college football season this fall, and the efforts of these talented student-athletes don't go to waste.


Ohio State football, from what we can tell, seems to be back in full swing preparing for what is left of the regular season, and if we as a society can get a handle on the Coronavirus sooner rather than later, the Big Ten-only schedule will be a welcomed distraction in all of our lives. Now that my daily plea is over, let’s get to the headlines!

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

• Basketball Buckeyes hoping for a BOOM of their own
  (Dan Hessler, LGHL)

Malaki Branham, the No. 1 basketball recruit in Ohio and the No. 27 prospect in the country overall, will be making his college decision on Wednesday, and the Buckeyes appear to be the leading candidate for his services. The four-star shooting guard hails out of St. Vincent-St. Mary, a program you likely know because of a little old alum named Lebron James. Chris Holtmann and staff were able to host Branham on an unofficial visit before things went under with the virus, and have since had at least one virtual meeting with the talented hooper.

• Which former Ohio State running back would you want back in Columbus?
  (Tia Johnston, LGHL)

Kicking off our latest ongoing series here at LGHL, we are going to be looking position by position at former Ohio State players to find the guys who would fit in best with this year’s roster. Today, Tia started with the running backs. If you could bring back one Buckeye RB of the past to line up in the backfield alongside Justin Fields behind what should be one of the program’s most dominant offensive lines ever, who would you choose? I think I'm partial to the guy who rocked a crop top and won a national title.

• Column: Ohio State should open the season against Michigan
  (Matt Tamanini, LGHL)

This season is going to be weird no matter how you slice it, as at the very best we will only be seeing Big Ten opponents this season. As I had suggested back when I drew up a new Ohio State schedule, Matt dives into the logistics of kicking off the campaign with The Game. While the purists won’t love it, it actually makes a lot of sense. You don't know what is going to happen between now and November, so why not play the most important game of the year right off the bat to make sure the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is preserved in 2020?

From around the gridiron...

• Ranking college football’s best QB rooms
  (Barton Simmons, 247Sports)

The quarterback position at Ohio State has completely transformed under Ryan Day even before he took over the role as head coach. Beginning with his tutelage of Dwayne Haskins, the Buckeyes’ headman has quickly built a reputation as a QB whisperer, and as a result has been able to secure some top-tier talent through both the transfer market — Justin Fields, ever heard of him? — and in the recruiting game. After the position was incredibly thin in 2019, Day has addressed those issues by bringing in C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller. Alongside grad transfer Gunnar Hoak, Ohio State now has one of the bets QB rooms in the country.

• Another day, another Buckeye finding himself on a national award watch list. This time, it is Shaun Wade, a man now on more than a few of these preseason lists, who was named a player to watch for the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Award annually to the best defensive player in college football, there are clearly some massive expectations for Wade this season, as it is now the fourth national award watch list for the talented DB. Previously, he made the watch lists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, the Bednarik Award and the Thorpe Award. With another year under his belt, Wade could easily become the latest Ohio State corner to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

• The national recognition for Ohio State players on Tuesday did not stop there, however. A trio of guys along the offensive line, which included Wyatt Davis, Thayer Munford and Josh Myers, were named to the Outland Trophy watch list, awarded annually to college football’s top interior lineman. The three returning starters from last years unit, which was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award, are all expected to be studs up front in 2020, keeping Justin Fields clean in the pocket and creating big holes for whichever running back winds up with the starting job come September.

• Who fits best for Buckeyes in slot cornerback role?
  (Austin Ward, Lettermen Row)

With Wade moving to the outside as the obvious No. 1 guy in the secondary, Kerry Coombs will have some options in regards to who will take over his slot corner position. Sevyn Banks and Cam Brown are the two other guys expected to be at the top of the depth chart among the corners on the roster, but without much of a spring camp its tough to say which player will fill in which role. Brown seems to fit the bill for the slot job, as he is one of the fastest players in college football, but we will really have to just wait and see what Coombs decides to do with his guys this season.

From around the hardwood...

• The football team isn’t the only Ohio State squad getting back at it these days. Chris Holtmann’s boys are back in the gym this July as they prepare for next season — hopefully one that will actually feature an NCAA Tournament. The last time we saw the Buckeyes, they were preparing for a Big Ten Tournament matchup with Purdue, one that they never got the opportunity to play. This year’s unit will look a heck of a lot different, as the offseason has seen no shortage of transfers both in and out of the program.

From everywhere else...

• This pandemic has stolen from us the entire NCAA Tournament, the ends of the NBA and NHL seasons (which are resuming soon), most of the MLB season, and now Friends!?

• I’m all for optimistic thinking in regards to the return of sports into our lives, but having fans in college football stadiums in any capacity seems not only incredibly unlikely but also a super unnecessary risk with the way things are currently going in regards to the virus.

• The MLB has joined the fight for social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement, with players on the San Francisco Giants showing their support on Monday night. If you want to see evidence of hate and bigotry in this country, just check the replies to this tweet!

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Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170
Hometown: Gahanna, OH
School: Gahanna Lincoln
Position: Point Guard

IN THE LOOP
Sean Jones hadn’t ever experienced quite as long of a layoff from basketball before. It’s been “a struggle” logistically to get the work he wants in, he said, considering how many of his friends at Gahanna Lincoln haven’t wanted to work out as much due to the coronavirus. Yet, he managed to stay on a somewhat consistent schedule, saying he “had to make it happen.”

So when he got back onto the court this weekend in Lorain, he had a few things he wanted to showcase.

“I just want to show I've improved as a leader and improved in the eye test,” Jones told Eleven Warriors. “Stuff coaches notice first about you. I've always been able to get to the cup and shoot, so just working on stuff to make me set apart from other good players.”

The eye test, as Jones calls it, is especially important. Last year at this time, he was 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds. Now, he says, he’s up to 5-foot-10.5 and 170 pounds.

“As you can see, I'm not really getting bodied at all,” Jones said. “People just bouncing off of me. So, now I can guard anybody on the court, for real. I have no problem guarding the post for a few seconds. They're not going to move me that much. Then I got way stronger. Way more physical.”

Jones, an unranked 2022 point guard, already holds more than a dozen scholarship offers, many of which he earned in the aftermath of a standout sophomore season. He’s a known name among mid-major programs, and his skillset has him trending toward more major conference teams. Mississippi State, Xavier, Wichita State and VCU have already offered him, and several national programs – including Ohio State – have kept in close contact with him.

He said he gets the most calls from Ohio State, Xavier and VCU and the most text messages from Purdue, Virginia and Iowa.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.el...on-wednesday-ohio-state-talking-to-josiah?amp

My 2019 TV is smarter than the rest of my 2005 equipment. Thanks to Colobuck, I have an MP 4 file of the 2019 The Game. It won't play on my 2005 Sony Blu-Ray DVD player. I bought a Blu-Ray recorder and can now play the file on my computer thru VLC. I can also save the file to my VLC, but I can't get it to copy onto a thumb drive which I am led to believe will allow me to play it on my TV. Anyone know how to do this?

Initial ESPN 300 (L-O-L @ the Hicks ranking)

1. Quinn Ewers
3. Shemar Stewart
5. Domani Jackson
6. Shawn Murphy
27. Caleb Burton
28. William Johnson
37. Jalon Walker
47. Luther Burton
50. Tegra Tshabola
57. Ernest Greene
65. Gabe Powers
67. Dasan McCullough
71. Kam Dewberry
84. Jaeden Gould
86. Joey Tanona
110. Zach Rice
121. KJ Miles
128. Jyaire Brown
143. Kaytron Allen
152. Aamil Wagner
153. CJ Hicks
160. Caden Curry
168. Nicholas Singleton
174. Myles Rowser
184. Dane Key
192. Kaden Saunders
201. Trey Bixby
204. Joe Strickland
222. Demon Moore
240. Dillon Tatum
249. Gi’Bran Payne

24 Club: Paul Brown, the legend who led Ohio State to its first National Championship
Jim Baird via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

The Massillon Museum
Head coach of Ohio State at 33 years old, Brown led the Buckeyes to a national title in his second season.

There have been 24 head coaches in the history of Ohio State football. Each has a story and legacy. This offseason, Land-Grant Holy Land’s new series 24 Club will help you get to know the coaches from past and present who built the program. Today we look at OSU’s 15th head coach — Paul Brown, who led the program to its first national championship in his second season as head coach.


Name: Paul Brown
Seasons Coached: Three (1941-1943)
Overall Record: 18-8-1

Where Does He Rank in the 24 Club?
Overall Wins: No. 13 out of 24 OSU Coaches
Winning Percentage: No. 15 out of 24 OSU Coaches


Entering the 1941 season, Ohio State had nearly done it all. Banners of Big Ten Championships hung in the Horseshoe — the most recent from two years earlier in 1939. But it had been three seasons since OSU beat Michigan — and the Buckeyes were coming off a down 4-4 year that led to the resignation of coach Francis Schmidt.

Ohio State turned to a 33-year-old high school coach from Massillon, Ohio. His name was Paul Brown. As a coach, Brown’s reputation already approached that of lore. He prioritized speed over size in his players — and his Massillon Tigers raced to six consecutive state championships from 1935-1940. While Brown didn’t have experience coaching at the college level, he already had experience beating college competition. In a 1940 scrimmage against Kent State University, Brown’s Massillon highschoolers ran the college team off the field, 47-0.

So it wasn’t a big surprise that Brown quickly took Ohio State’s play to the next level. Brown’s Buckeyes finished 6-1-1 in 1941. In his second season in 1942, OSU finished 9-1 and captured the program’s first ever National Championship. Brown coached a final year for OSU in 1943, which saw nearly all of OSU’s best players away training and deploying for World War II. Doing his part in the war effort, Brown served as football coach at the Great Lakes Navy base outside of Chicago from 1944 to 1945. Great Lakes played other military bases and schools as part of the military’s emphasis on athletics to boost the morale of troops.

After the war ended, OSU officials expected Brown to return to coach the team — but he got an offer to join the startup All-America Football Conference. Soon he had a team bearing his name in Cleveland. Brown’s tenure at Ohio State was brief, and he finished with a 1-1-1 record against Michigan. Nevertheless, he left his mark by becoming the first coach to lead OSU to a National Championship.

If Ohio State could find a coach that could win titles and stick around, the program would be powerful. It would take some time — and several more coaches — before the Buckeyes finally found their perfect match.

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Leaders of the Room: Ohio State’s trio of seniors at linebacker
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
The Buckeyes certainly won’t be short on experience at linebacker, as Baron Browning, Tuf Borland, and Pete Werner all return to close out their collegiate careers.

Welcome to Leaders of the Room — one of a few recurring themes we will be visiting here at Land-Grant Holy Land to help you prepare for the upcoming season. With Ohio State’s preseason camp supposed to be underway this week, now is a good time to start taking a deep dive into the depth chart to find out who the Buckeyes will turn to at each position as they look for leaders both on and off the field in 2020.


Today’s unit: the linebackers

Just a couple years ago, the linebackers at Ohio State were looked at as a laughingstock. After Ohio State had produced high-level linebackers like Ryan Shazier, Darron Lee, and Raekwon McMillan recently, the production from the linebackers in 2018 was embarrassing by program standards.

It is no coincidence that as soon as Bill Davis was no longer on Ohio State’s coaching staff, the production from the linebackers improved tenfold. Davis was only hired because he was the best man at Urban Meyer’s wedding, and the Buckeyes suffered because of it — especially the linebackers.

Head coach Ryan Day didn’t take long to address the issue, announcing Davis wouldn’t be retained on the coaching staff in 2019, and instead opting to bring in Michigan linebackers coach Al Washington. The move was an early home run by Day, as there was a noticeable difference in what we saw from the linebackers last year. The first LB that we are going to talk about today was the biggest beneficiary of addition of Washington to the coaching staff.

Baron Browning


Browning has a chance to be this year’s Malik Harrison. Last year Harrison decided to return to Ohio State for his senior season, and it resulted in him been taken by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Much like Harrison, Browning didn’t play a ton in his first two years at Ohio State, but started to make a name for himself in his junior season. After recording just 37 tackles in his first two years with the Buckeyes, Browning saw more time on the field as a junior, finishing the year with 43 total tackles, which is even more impressive considering Browning only played in 11 of Ohio State’s 14 games last year.

Browning has spent much of the last two years at middle linebacker, splitting time with Tuf Borland. This year, Browning will move to weak-side linebacker, where he will take the majority of the snaps. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Texas native should excel at weak-side linebacker for Ohio State, as his speed and agility will not only allow him to make plays in the backfield, but he also has the athleticism to drop back in pass coverage when needed.

What makes Browning so much different than the other two seniors who will start at linebacker for Ohio State this year is the havoc he can create in the backfield. Of Browning’s 43 tackles in 2019, 11 were for a loss, with five of those stops behind the line of scrimmage being sacks. As long as Browning can stay healthy in 2020, expect him to dwarf the numbers he posted in 2019.

Tuf Borland


Starting at middle linebacker this year will be senior Tuf Borland. The linebacker from Illinois burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2017 after starter Chris Worley suffered a foot injury. Borland’s major action would come against Army, where he would register a team-high 12 tackles. He went on to finish the season with 58 tackles.

After such a strong 2017, expectations were high for Borland heading into 2018. Those expectations were put on hold, as he suffered an achilles injury in spring practice, which put a dent into his plans as a redshirt sophomore. Borland still played in 12 games and recorded 67 tackles in 2018, but it was obvious he wasn’t playing at the same level as he had shown the previous season.

Since then, Borland has been fighting to earn the respect of Ohio State fans. Even though he showed he was a steadying force at middle linebacker, Borland still faced plenty of criticism last season. Many were wondering when he was going to be replaced by a young and more athletic linebacker, but that time still hasn’t come.

Borland has been so highly regarded by his teammates and coaches that he was named captain in both 2018 and 2019, and it’s likely he’ll earn the same honors in 2020. Not many Ohio State players can claim they were a three-time captain, and that alone should end any criticism of Borland’s talents on the football field.

The senior has a chip on his shoulder, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a huge final season from him in Columbus. With two other seniors that he trusts lining up beside him, expect to see the best version of Borland on the field for the Buckeyes this year. Despite his struggles at times in the past, there isn’t very many linebackers in college football right now that would be an improvement over Borland at middle linebacker.

Pete Werner


After a rough 2018, Pete Werner was one of the most improved Buckeyes in 2019, finishing the season with 64 total tackles. In 2018, Werner was showered with criticism because many didn’t think he had the athleticism to be able to start at Ohio State — much like Borland. Now, ESPN is touting the senior from Indianapolis as one of the best off-ball linebackers in the country.

While Werner was able to register the second-highest number of tackles for Ohio State last year, he also did a lot of the little things that helped his teammates make big plays. Whether it be setting the edge on running plays, or dropping back in coverage on passing plays and giving the defensive linemen a second or two more to get into the backfield, Werner just makes all his teammates better when he is on the field.

Browning might make a lot of the spotlight plays for Ohio State at linebacker this year, but the heart of the unit is going to be Werner. He can play just about anywhere the coaches ask him to, and he continues to improve and grow as a linebacker. It wouldn’t be a surprise to not only see Werner lead Ohio State in tackles this year, but also be the leading tackler in the Big Ten this season.

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Ohio State 2022 commit hits the recruiting trail
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Four-star ATH C.J.Hicks via 247Sports
C.J. Hicks has earned the moniker, “Captain Buckeye” as he has quickly become one of the Buckeyes’ top recruiters.

We find ourselves in the darkest of timelines. Typically at this point in the year, the best high school football prospects are traveling the country, visiting with their top college programs of interest to find the best school to continue their football careers. However, in the midst of a global pandemic, the chances of an upcoming season grow bleaker and bleaker as the days go by. Though one aspect of the sport refuses to die: recruiting.

Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day and his staff continue to recruit talent for future football seasons, but they are not the only individuals with plans to bring the best talent to Columbus.

Enter Ohio State 2022 athlete commit C.J. Hicks (Dayton, OH/Archbishop Alter), who has recently earned the nickname, “Captain Buckeye” as he leads the way recruiting high school athletes to join him in Columbus.

Cameron Fields of Cleveland.com spoke with Hicks recently, and the future Buckeye spoke on the role he is playing and who he is targeting to join him. According to Fields, Ohio State linebacker coach Al Washington provided Hicks with a list of targets, and the list included fellow athlete Dasan McCullough, who projects as an outside linebacker and recently included the Buckeyes in his top 10 schools. In addition to McCullough, Hicks is also constantly in the ear of 2022 four-star inside linebacker Shawn Murphy.

Speaking with Fields, Hicks said the typical message he has for McCullough is, “I just tell him that me and him can be outside and Shawn can be inside, and we can be one of the best linebacker crews in the nation coming in as freshmen.”

It remains to be seen if Hicks and Ohio State are going to be able to secure commitments from either McCullough or Murphy, but if they are able to land both, Hicks is correct in saying that group can become one of the best units in the nation. Hicks is currently listed as the No. 15 athlete in the class, while McCullough is the No. 8 athlete and Murphy checks in as the nation’s No. 1 ILB and No. 3 overall prospect.

The Buckeyes currently hold three verbal commits in their 2022 class, and adding McCullough and Murphy would give them a great head start in the class — especially with linebacker being such a point of emphasis in that cycle.

Future Buckeyes listed in MaxPreps 2020 Preseason High School All-American Football Team


MaxPreps released its high school All-Americans on Monday, and littered through the list are multiple future Buckeyes. Below are some that made the cut:

First Team

• Ohio State 2021 five-star QB commit Kyle McCord
• Ohio State 2021 five-star RB commit TreVeyon Henderson
• Ohio State 2021 four-star WR commit Marvin Harrison Jr.
• Ohio State 2021 five-star WR target Emeka Egbuka
• Ohio State 2021 five-star DE target J.T. Tuimoloau
• Ohio State 2021 five-star DE commit Jack Sawyer
• Ohio State 2021 four-star CB commit Jakailin Johnson

Second Team

• Ohio State 2021 five-star OG commit Donovan Jackson
• Ohio State 2021 five-star OT target Tristan Leigh
• Ohio State 2021 four-star DE commit Tunmise Adeleye

Quick Hits

• Ohio State 2021 four-star RB commit Evan Pryor continues to impress. Pryor may be the forgotten man at times with all the attention given to Henderson, but the nation's No. 2 all-purpose back possesses his own dynamic skillset.

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Buckeye Bits: Justin Fields projected No. 1 overall in 2021 NFL Draft, Shaun Wade on Bednarik watch list, more
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond

Today was supposed to mark the beginning of a six-week training camp for Ohio State football, as the NCAA allowed teams to transition from voluntary to mandatory workouts on Monday as part of its expanded preseason format. Alas, after putting things on pause last week out of an abundance of caution surrounding some positive COVID-19 tests, that is not yet the case.


There is still no clear date in mind for the Buckeyes to resume workouts, and to be honest with you the chances of having a college football season in general seem to be slimming by the day as this country struggles to contain this pandemic. There is still some optimism that games will be played this year, and the Big Ten is hoping the move to a conference-only schedule will improve those chances, but if we as a nation can’t come together and stop making an inherently non-partisan virus into a political issue, then all hope is lost.

Regardless, we here at LGHL will continue to prepare for a football season as if there is one to be played, and so with that being said let’s move on to today’s headlines.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

• Ohio State makes the cut for big four-star safety target
  (Gene Ross, LGHL)

Thanks to a massive early surge in recruiting for Ryan Day and the gang, Ohio State’s big board only has a few remaining names as they look to fill out the rest of their top-ranked 2021 class. One of those guys is Derrick Davis, a four-star safety from Pennsylvania that included the Buckeyes in his top seven schools over the weekend.

• Leaders of the Room: Which corner must step up alongside Shaun Wade?
  (Gene Ross, LGHL)

One of a few different series we will be starting at LGHL with what was supposed to be the beginning of preseason camp, today’s Leaders of the Room takes a look at the cornerback position. With the loss of both Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette to the NFL Draft, Shaun Wade is the clear and undisputed leader of the unit in 2020. However, outside of Wade, which guy must step up for the secondary to be successful this season.

• Column: What Stanford’s program cuts tells us about the economics of college sports
  (Meredith Hein, LGHL)

COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the college sports landscape, with many schools across the country having to cut different athletics programs to stay afloat. Stanford is one of the largest and most successful athletic departments in the nation, and have more varsity sports than all but one other DI school: Ohio State. Their decision to cut 11 of their 36 varsity programs was a bit of a shock to many in this field, and Meredith breaks down what the move means for college sports as a whole.

• Creating Ohio State’s new 2020 football schedule
  (Gene Ross, LGHL)

If there is any college football season at all in 2020, it’s going to be weird. The Big Ten has already moved to a conference-only schedule, but it is unlikely they will just play their previously scheduled nine opponents on their originally planned dates. Instead, they will likely move things around, and will probably add a 10th game to the mix as well. I took a stab at creating a new schedule for Ohio State this year, moving Michigan to the first game of the year to ensure The Game takes place and adding a potential Independent to the mix (because why not?).

From around the gridiron...

• A Way-Too-Early 2021 NFL Mock Draft: Trevor Lawrence Isn’t Top QB Prospect
  (Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report)

Ever since he stepped foot on a college campus, Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence seemed destined to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Enter: Justin Fields. The Georgia transfer put on an absolute clinic in his first year at Ohio State, and as a result of his incredible season, the talented QBs are now in a race to be the first man off the board. In the latest Bleacher Report mock draft, Fields is selected No. 1 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, edging out Lawrence, who is taken at No. 4 by the Carolina Panthers.

• Despite being the fifth running back taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, J.K. Dobbins is the highest-rated rookie RB in Madden 21. EA announced the ratings on Monday, and Dobbins checks in as a 75 overall, ahead of all the guys selected before him including D’Andre Swift (74) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (74). The Madden franchise was a lot more generous with their rookie ratings than in previous years, as I predicted a month ago that Dobbins would be rated a 70 overall.

• The Bednarik Award is given annually to college football’s best defensive player. An Ohio State player took home the hardware last season, when Chase Young was the obviously deserving recipient of the honor. The Buckeyes have a chance to take home the trophy yet again in 2020, as on Monday the Maxwell Football Club included CB Shaun Wade on its Bednarik Award watch list.

• Former Buckeye cornerback Jeff Okudah is the latest Ohio State rookie to sign his NFL contract, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. Okudah was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, and he has reportedly signed a four-year deal with a fifth-year option. He has some big shoes to fill early in his professional career, as he will likely be one of the team’s top options at corner after the Lions traded Darius Slay this offseason.

From around the hardwood...

• Ohio State hoops has concluded its bracket looking to find the Buckeyes’ most clutch basket. The winner: Evan Turner’s deep 3-point game-winner over Michigan in the 2010 Big Ten Tournament. The shot easily defeated Aaron Craft’s 2013 bucket against Iowa State in the championship round, garnering over 70 percent of the vote. It is a play that all fans of Ohio State basketball remember vividly, and a very deserving winner as the No. 5 seed.

From everywhere else...

• In what appears to be a bit of good news, the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) announced on Sunday that, as of right now, high school sports will go on as planned, with practices beginning Aug. 1. Things could certainly still change between now and then, but it is an optimistic announcement to say the least.

• In a much anticipated move, the Washington Redskins have announced they are officially changing the name of the franchise. While a new name and logo have not yet been decided on, personally I am a huge fan of this Red Wolves concept:

• College football is scheduled to begin in eight weeks. There is still time to turn this ship around and save the season, we just have to all do our part.

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Column: What Stanford’s program cuts tell us about the economics of college sports
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
It’s not good.

Initially, I was planning to focus this week’s column on the top opponent Ohio State football could play, regardless of conference. And then, last week, Stanford announced an end to 11 varsity sports. Things change — sometimes, very quickly.

That announcement, despite coming from the Pac-12, set off alarm bells across collegiate athletics and its respective fan bases. The fact the Big Ten announced a conference-only schedule for football in the fall and Ohio State abruptly paused voluntary workouts added to the general malaise surrounding the conversation of if college football will happen in just a couple months’ time.

One of the reasons Stanford’s announcement came as such a shock is because Stanford — literally, of any college sports program — is the most successful from top to bottom in Division I. The 11 programs cut represent nearly a third of the 36 varsity programs the private university has sponsored previously. Those eliminated programs include men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling.

The Cardinal won seven national titles in the 2018-19 academic year, including in women’s volleyball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s gymnastics, women’s water polo, women’s tennis, men’s golf and lightweight rowing. Stanford athletics are iconic for reasons that extend far beyond the football field and basketball court. Winners of 123 NCAA championships by the end of the 2019 academic year (we’re not getting into 2020 for obvious reasons), Stanford represents one of the winningest athletic departments ever in the nation ever.

In fact, Stanford has won 25-straight Director’s Cups — of 26 ever awarded. For background, the Director’s Cup is given to the colleges and universities in the US with the highest level of success across athletics.

While COVID-19 was the catalyst that set the cuts in motion, the open letter from Stanford’s athletic department made clear that the university’s athletic programs were running at a deficit already.

Which naturally leads to questions of money, and the harsh reality that the economics of college sports are precarious at best when considering the ecosystem as a whole. For many schools, including Stanford, they’ve proven unsustainable. In fact, the revenue drivers for college sports are anchored exclusively in football and basketball.

The disparity in collegiate athletic revenue by sport is massive. In fact, according to a 2017 article from Business Insider, college football teams, on average, make more than the remaining 35 sports studied...combined. Oh, and men’s basketball is included in that group of 35.

This statistic should set off some warning bells. I don’t work in finance, but one of the top rules of investment is diversifying your portfolio (note that LGHL does not offer financial advice and if you’re coming here for that, maybe you should look elsewhere). If we consider the set of sports programs supported by the average university’s athletic department to be the “portfolio,” then most schools aren’t doing a good job of diversifying. Alarmingly, Stanford, given its continued success in non-revenue sports, should be better positioned than most to diversify its own portfolio.

However there’s a reason non-revenue sports are labeled “non-revenue,” and that’s because they take more money to run than they bring in. Despite not bringing in dollars, there is still significant value in these programs. From an athletic perspective, they develop Olympians and world champions, which brings prestige to the university. From a societal perspective, they provide opportunities for college education for thousands of students who might not otherwise be able to afford college. And from an individual perspective, sports provide opportunities for personal growth and achievement. Frankly, the cuts are heartbreaking in every way, and while the financials can’t be disputed, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

Prior to these cuts, Stanford, a private institution, had more varsity sports than all but one Division I school with 36. Ohio State happens to be that one other school, with 37 varsity sports. Ohio State is also in a unique position in that both its football team and men’s basketball team are highly-valuable. In all, the athletic department brought in more than $205.5 million in 2018 (third-most in the NCAA) and actually transferred more than $3 million back to the school.

Additionally, according to USA Today’s annual report on NCAA finances, the university does not allocate any student fees, state dollars or other institutional support to the athletic department. The fact that Ohio State’s brand is cited as one of the most valuable in college sports also means significant revenue from licensing fees, further diversifying its revenue streams.

This influx of revenue for football means that football tends to fund most other athletic programs at individual schools. Due to COVID-19, heading into 2020, we already know revenue will be down significantly — both from reduced ticket sales (or non-existent ticket sales) to accommodate social distancing, and from a truncated schedule. It wasn’t hard to see the resulting strain on non-revenue programs coming.

In addition to Stanford’s cuts, many other schools, including several MAC schools, have already announced cuts to their own programs. If more and more schools follow suit, the benefits for the remaining schools of having those programs begin to diminish. For example, nine schools have already cut men’s tennis, and eight have cut women’s tennis. Suddenly, there’s less opportunity for scheduling, reduced sales in licensed merchandise (although Ohio State joggers are probably flying off the shelf right now) and investment among remaining programs gets reduced with more limited exposure.

Ohio State manages its athletic department finances pretty well, and diversifies better than most — at least bringing in decent money from two sports programs. But again, the university is unique. The inverted pyramid that is the college sports economic framework is predicated on significant investment in the highest-grossing programs: football and basketball.

But really, as we’ve seen, it’s mostly football. And what, you might ask, is the most sizable investment for these programs? The head coach, obviously. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is the highest-paid coach in college football, bringing in greater than $9.3 million every year.

It’s not just head coaches bringing in the big bucks, though. David Aranda, the newly-appointed head coach of Baylor, was the highest-paid assistant coach in the FBS, raking in $2.5 million in 2019 when he was defensive coordinator at LSU. Clemson’s Brent Venables and Texas A&M’s Mike Elko are the two other assistants in the FBS who made more than $2 million in 2019.

Sure, coaches, including assistants, get paid highly because that’s their market value, right? But if the metric is national and conference championships, there are a limited set of coaches who should be making that much. Dabo happens to be one of them. Nick Saban happens to be another. Jim Harbaugh (No. 3) doesn’t meet that criteria.

Which brings us back to the issues surrounding funding of non-revenue sports. So when there’s that much investment at the top of a football program that is not achieving success, how does that hinder growth in other programs where that investment might be used to achieve results (i.e., championships)?

The room at the top of college football is limited and, in recent years and realistically all-time, has been dominated by a limited number of teams. Parity itself varies in other sports programs (consider how Ohio State has controlled the synchronized swimming landscape for the better part of four decades while other sports have more variability in champions year in and year out).

Hopefully the strain we’re going to see across athletic departments this year is isolated to this year alone, but what we’ve already seen from the immediate effects of COVID-19 on college sports means that the whole system has the potential to come crashing down around us.

Welp, on that depressing note, bye for now.

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Sorry if I am putting the meat cart before the horse, but most of us at this point do not anticipate CFB being played this fall. Thought it might be worthwhile to explore the implications of this going forward.

There are some great Buckeyes that I was looking forward to watching this season - and who I will never see in Scarlet and Gray again.

In this post I want to focus specifically on how it impacts NFL eligibility, scholarship numbers and recruiting. I see implications in each of these areas that are not good for OSU.

1. Let's start with eligibility.

I am assuming that if there is no season in 2020-21 that this entire year of eligibility simply wont count. Next season seniors will still be seniors (eligibility-wise), juniors juniors, etc. I anticipate that the NCAA will not count this as a redshirt year for anybody. It will be as if it did not occur at all.

From an NFL perspective, however, it is different. To be eligible for the draft your HS class must be three years out of HS. I don't see that changing. So even though they will not have played this upcoming year, all of our current Juniors and RS Sophs will be draft eligible next summer. Kids who were eligible but came back for one more year may decide not to wait further. Schools like OSU will lose more talented players than other schools.

This will be a challenge for the NFL as well as they will be drafting kids based on performances a full year prior.

This also means that going forward many Sophomores and even RS Frosh will be eligible for the NFL at the end of the 2021-22 season. For most schools that is no big deal. But for the big boys it is. It could mean that we may get only one more season out of a kid like Garret Wilson.

And this will continue to be the case for every player on the current roster - including this year's incoming Frosh.


2. Let's talk about scholarship limits.

Again I am making the assumptions that the 5 year clock will be suspended for 2020.

So if we disregard the relatively small number of kids who will leave early (a very small number at most schools) we have a situation where almost nobody is leaving on one end, but the incoming flow continues on the other.

Freshman classes in 2021 will be as large as 50 kids. The NCAA has to raise the 85 cap. Possibly to as large as 110. Walk-ons would be eviscerated. And talented kids would be competing in a larger pool for the same number of starting positions.

In this situation I see the NCAA relaxing the transfer rule to at least a one time "no questions asked". This could be great for the Indianas and Marylands of the world, but not so much for the OSUs and Alabamas.

And this 50 Frosh "boomer bubble" will take at least four years to resolve itself as 25 more kids enter school each year.

3. So now let's look at recruiting

OSU has 19 commits in this class and we have yet to see a single play from their senior season.

If HS doesn't play - and I can't imagine they will - nest year we will be making early offers based on their Sophomore performance.

This will make recruiting more of a "pig in a poke" venture than it is today. Again this will benefit lesser programs who can't compete with the big boys for known quantities.


These are just some of my thoughts on one of the issues that I feel are more critical in this COVID ERA than what is being discussed in the media.

And now I must go as I have not heard any noise from the bedroom for the past half hour or so. I fear that my wife's ventilator may have shut down.

Get your limited edition Brutus ‘Countdown to Kickoff’ bobblehead (with adjustable dates)
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


No matter when college football starts again, you’ll always be able to have an accurate countdown!

Look, let’s be honest, we have no idea if college football is going to start on time, or even happen this fall at all, so, our friends at FOCO have the perfect bobblehead to celebrate the Ohio State Buckeyes’ eventual return to the field, whenever that might actually happen.

Recently, FOCO released a series of brand-new, collectable bobbleheads featuring several NFL and college football mascots counting down the days to the TBD return dates of their respective seasons. For our purposes, the one that really matters is Brutus Buckeye standing in front of the iconic OSU helmet and on a countdown clock, marking the days until games resume.

But, what’s especially nice for Buckeye fans in these COVID times that we’re living in is that the number of days remaining is completely adjustable, so if there are starts and stops in the college football calendar, you can adjust right along with Ryan Day and company.

Make sure to order yours quickly though, because it is a collector’s item, only 2,020 of them were made (see what they did there)?

Purchase your Brutus Buckeye Countdown to Kickoff bobblehead here!



In addition to Brutus, the other mascots included in the series are Rowdy (Dallas Cowboys), Poe (Baltimore Ravens), Sourdough Sam (San Francisco 49ers), KC Wolf (Kansas City Chiefs), Pat Patriot (New England Patriots), Mike the Tiger (LSU Tigers), Big Al (Alabama Crimson Tide), The Tiger (Clemson Tigers), and The Nittany Lion (Penn State Nittany Lions).

These bobbleheads are handcrafted to depict NFL and college football mascots that are staples of the football world. Each stands approximately eight inches tall, making these the ideal additions to any collection at home, or any desk at work or school.

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Ohio State’s trip to Oregon reportedly cancelled due to COVID-19
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images
It looks like the Buckeyes and Ducks will not square off in Eugene this season.

Ohio State’s trip out to Oregon for a game on Sept. 12 hasn’t been officially cancelled yet, but the latest report from Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic is that the Big Ten will soon be announcing it’s move to a conference-only schedule, putting a kibosh on the Buckeyes matchup with the Ducks.


While it seemed inevitable that we were going to lose some games from the 2020 college football season, if there even is a season at all, the cancellation of this game hits me a little harder.

The only Ohio State football games I’ve ever seen in-person have been at Ohio Stadium. I was planning on changing that in 2020. I was planning on heading out to Oregon in September for a week. The trip had multiple purposes, with the rematch of the first-ever College Football Playoff Championship Game being the highlight.

I traveled out to Oregon three times since 2008. My dad and my uncle live in southern Oregon, which has allowed me to see beautiful sights like Crater Lake and the Pacific coast, take a jet boat tour of the Rogue River, and most importantly allowed me to say that I have eaten at In-N-Out. If I didn’t live in Columbus, Oregon is where I would want to live.

The plan was to spend a few days in Portland with friends, then we would travel down to Eugene for the game, and I would finish off the trip by spending a few days in Medford with my dad and uncle. Then in the first couple of months of 2020, we started to hear about COVID-19 and by March events all around the world were starting to be cancelled. Even with the world being taken over by a pandemic, I was hopeful that we would make enough progress on slowing the spread of the virus that my trip out west in September would be spared.

It turns out I was way too optimistic with our country’s ability to deal with a pandemic. By April my tune had changed to where I didn’t believe that we would be able to even have college football, because at the time it was still up in the air whether students would even be allowed back on campus for in-person classes. If students weren’t allowed to come back to campus, how could we justify college football or any other fall sports being played?

In the middle of May, we had at least started to make some progress on slowing the spread of COVID-19. By that time I had a little bit of faith that there would at least be college football in the fall, but it was hard for me to see fans being allowed in the stands. Even if fans were allowed to attend games, I figured the number of fans allowed at games would only be a fraction of capacity. While it was disappointing that I wouldn’t be able to attend the September game in Eugene, at least I thought we would have college football to get us through the fall.

Now less than two months away from the scheduled start of the college football season, I’m back to where I was in April. I just can’t see how there safely can be a season. COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing in places like Florida, Texas, and Arizona, with younger people now becoming targets of the virus because of their refusal to wear masks, socially distance, and stay out of bars. The me of 10 years ago would probably be doing the same thing as they are doing now, but thankfully with age has come a little bit of intelligence.


Ohio governor Mike DeWine and lieutenant governor Jon Husted are championing athletes to take to social media to spread the word about wearing masks to save their seasons, but it’s too little, too late. We could have been doing this for months but instead some out there were complaining about how wearing masks violated their rights. If we can’t even do something so simple as wear a mask in public, we have no business expecting student-athletes to risk contracting COVID-19 just because we need to be entertained in the fall.


This is where we are at now. Ohio State has taken all the precautions necessary to try and keep their student-athletes safe and it still hasn’t been enough. I’m not so naive to think that no Buckeyes would contract the virus. Those that are in their 20s aren’t going to be hit as hard as someone in their 70s or 80s who contracts the virus. But, how do we know that one of the younger people who contract the virus won’t be affected by the virus for the rest of their life? Why should their career possibly ended because we had to rush players back out on to the field?

The Ivy League announced yesterday that they wouldn’t hold any sports until 2021. It would be wise for the rest of the NCAA to follow suit. There are just too many risks right now. Maybe if it was basketball and not football, we could justify allowing sports, but that’s only because the roster sizes are so much smaller. With football, you are talking about over 100 people on a team after you add in coaches and other necessary staff. If one person gets the virus, it’s almost impossible to keep it from spreading to others.


Even a conference-only schedule seems risky. What happens if a team is coming from an area that is a hot spot and heading to a game in an area where there is a relatively low number of cases? Are we just going to ignore all the guidance and still send them anyway? We are already seeing issues with the tournament the MLS is holding. Even though players are in a “bubble” there are still positive cases being found.

You might think I’m overreacting and we have to “learn to live with the virus” but right now I’m going to agree to disagree. It’d be different if we had any semblance of leadership to help guide us through the pandemic, but that isn’t anywhere close to the case now. It’s not even just in government where this is lacking. We have heard some concerning statements from players and coaches when it comes to COVID-19 and how it is being handled. Until we get truly serious about slowing the spread, we shouldn’t put the future of those playing the game at risk even more than they do when times are normal.

If we start taking our response to COVID-19 seriously, we will have college football again. It might not be as quickly as we want it, but it will be there in the future. There will be plenty of Ohio State road trips out there to take, and with the loaded schedule over the next decade the Buckeyes are putting together, we aren’t going to want to miss the opportunity to head to some places where we haven’t been before. Just be aware of your actions and be good to each other. It’s not the ultimate cure, but it certainly will go a long way in the fight.

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What if Ohio State football players were ‘Hamilton’ characters?
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here


The article that absolutely nobody asked for.

If you somehow haven’t heard, last Friday, Disney+ released a filmed version of the Broadway smash, hip-hop musical “Hamilton” for its streaming subscribers just ahead of Independence Day. The stage capture was filmed over three days in June 2016 at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre before a large portion of the original principal cast left the production — Jonathan Groff returned to the role of King George III for the filming after having previously departed the show in order to shoot his Netflix series “Mindhunter.”

The original plan was for Disney to release the film into movie theaters in October 2021 and then make it available on their streaming service sometime thereafter, but with the entire film industry shut down for the foreseeable future and all of their theme parks closed for months on end, the Mouse House realized that it was sitting on a rather sizable asset that could be deployed at any point and saw a way to infuse the company with some quick cash. After all, they paid a reported $75 million dollars for the film’s distribution rights — the largest total in movie history.

Written and originally starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, the ground-breaking musical won 11 Tony Awards in 2016, as well as the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, a Pulitzer Prize, and countless other honors. But, despite the fact that I have worked in the New York theatre community for nearly a decade, you aren’t reading this article for the history or theatrical impact of one of Broadway’s most revolutionary (pun intended) works; instead, you are here for the idiocy that I have cooked up when comparing characters — and aspects of characters — to Ohio State football players (and one other silly surprise).

So, as Alexander Hamilton says to George Washington in the song “Non-Stop,” “Let’s go.”

Zach Harrison | “Young, Scrappy, and Hungry” Alexander Hamilton


Now, obviously when I’m comparing players to characters in a musical called “Hamilton,” someone is going to end up being compared to Hamilton himself. But, in a show that spans 30 years of his life, it’s hard to pick just one player to represent all of the $10 Founding Father’s complexities.

So, I’m going to break A. Ham down into different parts of his life, so that I can spread as much of his personality around to as many players as possible.

Therefore, we are going to start with Hamilton at the very beginning of the show. In the musical’s third number “My Shot,” Hamilton explains that he is “young, scrappy, and hungry,” and to me, that called out for a Zach Harrison comparison.

In 2019 as a true freshman, the five-star defensive end wasn’t a full-time starter, but due to injuries to Jonathon Cooper (more on him later), that idiotic suspension to Chase Young, and OSU beating the living crap out of nearly all of their opponents, he got some decent time.

When he was on the field, he showed why he was such a coveted prospect coming out of Olentangy. He finished his freshman season with 24 tackles, including 5.5 for loss. Whether or not Harrison makes the leap to starter this season or not, there is no doubt that he is going to have an increased impact in Larry Johnson’s rotation, and I will not be surprised if the big boy eats!

Demario McCall | Aaron Burr


In “Hamilton,” the character of Aaron Burr — played by Tony-winner Leslie Odom, Jr. — serves as the musical’s narrator. His relationship with Hamilton was combative; in fact, you could say that they were America’s first frenemies. And in case you forgot the premise of the “Got Milk?” commercial from the early ‘90s, (spoiler alert) Burr actually killed Hamilton in a duel.

Now, I am not saying that Demario McCall is going to have a showdown with one of his teammates in Weehawken, NJ on the banks of the Hudson River, but one of the important characteristics that defines Burr is revealed in the song, “Wait for It.” America’s eventual third vice president is particularly machiavellian and is willing to wait for the perfect time to seize his moment.

Any long-time LGHL reader knows that we have been driving the #FreeDemario train for years. Heck, in an article oddly similar to this one, I even compared him to Spider-Man all the way back in 2016. But, between injuries, suspect position changes, and being stuck behind J.K. Dobbins, McCall has not yet been given the opportunity that his talents deserve. However, so far he has been willing to wait for it.

With injuries in the running back room, I’m not really sure where McCall is most likely to see snaps this season, but I am confident that if given the opportunity, he won’t be throwing away his shot.

Thayer Munford | George Washington


Unlike the rest of the revolutionary figures that we meet in “Hamilton,” General George Washington is a bit older and wiser. He is, after all, the head of the colonial army. Similarly, Munford is one of the respected elder statesmen on the team, and one of the most experienced offensive linemen in the country having started 26 games over the past two seasons. With two first-time starters making their way to the OL this year, Munford’s leadership will be invaluable.

It also helps that Christopher Jackson, who plays GW, is one of the few principal stars of the show who is six-feet-tall, so at times, he towers over his scene partners. At six-foot-six, Munford often does the same. In fact, pay attention when the Buckeyes score a touchdown this season, the senior tackle is invariably the player who rushes to the end zone in order to pick up the always smaller skill position player who scores.

Chris Olave | Marquis de Lafayette


As Miranda has said during interviews, as he began exploring Hamilton’s life, he noticed that the people who were important in his story early on were very rarely the people who were important later in Hamilton’s life. So, a handful of actors, including Tony-winner Daveed Diggs, ended up playing different characters in the first act than they did in the second.

In the first act, Diggs plays French revolutionary, the Marquis de Lafayette. In the musical, Lafayette is a flashy, rapid-fire rapping mercenary. If you don’t know what I mean, here’s his now iconic verse in “Guns and Ships”:


In the song, when America is running desperately low on supplies, it is Lafayette who comes through in the clutch with more, “guns and ships.” Similarly, Chris Olave has shown over his two-year career that he is a guy who can get stuff done in the most important of circumstances. For example, he has four total receptions in his career against TTUN, but three of them went for touchdowns.

Now that Olave is undoubtedly the number one receiver, Justin Fields is going to need him to show up when the Buckeyes’ backs are against the wall.

Justin Fields | “Non-Stop” Alexander Hamilton


Throughout the musical, we are constantly told that while Hamilton is naturally brilliant, one of the reasons that he is able to have as much success as he does is that he “writes like he’s running out of time.” He is a tireless worker, and — as the song says — he is “Non-Stop.”

For this Hamil-quality, I went with quarterback Justin Fields. He is obviously ridiculously gifted, as Hamilton was, but he came into a situation at OSU in January 2019 and worked his tail off to learn a new system, bond with new teammates, and acclimate to a new school (and not to mention climate). That work paid off as he ended up having one of the best seasons that a Buckeye quarterback has ever had.

And, when it comes right down to it, he scored 51 touchdowns and only threw three interceptions during his sophomore campaign, so very literally he could not be stopped; he was “Non-Stop”-able.

Burr asks Hamilton why he writes like he’s running out of time, and now with the fall football season in doubt, Fields might literally be running out of time as a college football player. Hopefully he will have another opportunity to prove to Buckeye fans that he will fight ev’ry second he’s alive.

Jonathon Cooper | Hercules Mulligan


By trade, Hercule Mulligan was a tailor, but in actuality, he was a spy working for Washington as a part of Samuel Adams’ secret organization the Sons of Liberty. In “Hamilton,” played by Okieriete Onaodowan, Mulligan is one of Hamilton’s early friends who shares his dreams of revolution.

As the Americans are preparing for the deciding battle at Yorktown, Mulligan, returns from his spy duties rapping, “Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction/When you knock me down I get the f*ck back up again!”

First off, Oak is a big dude, so right there is a good connection between him and Jonathon Cooper, but after his 2019 season, there’s no doubt that the fifth-year senior refuses to stay down. In what was supposed to be a coming out senior season paired with Young, Cooper was constantly beset by injuries.

However, he ended up taking his lumps in 2019 only to end up redshirting so that he could get back up again to finish off his OSU career in 2020.

Garrett Wilson | Philip Hamilton


Philip Hamilton — played by Anthony Ramos — is Alexander’s oldest son. Throughout the musical we see him grow from a precocious, piano-playing and rapping nine-year-old to a 19-year-old ladies man with all of his father’s skills and swagger.

So, when I think of a 19-year-old Buckeye with skills and swagger, the only option has to be wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Hopefully Wilson will end up being better one-on-one than Philip was.

Shaun Wade | “Never Satisfied” Alexander Hamilton


In the song “Satisfied,” Hamilton tells his future sister-in-law Angelica Schuyler that she is like him, and that she will never be satisfied. That quality to me screams of Shaun Wade. With two Buckeye corners taken in the first round of the NFL Draft earlier this year, Wade very well could have been the third.

However, knowing that his recent film was fairly limited since he served only as a slot corner last season, Wade wasn’t satisfied with a potential late first or early second round grade. He decided to return to Columbus for another year in order to prove that he deserved to be taken as highly as Jeff Okudah, Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore, and Eli Apple.

Trey Sermon | Thomas Jefferson


So, as I said earlier, Diggs plays two roles in the show; Lafayette in the first act, and Thomas Jefferson in the second. The symmetry of this is perfect, because the former was a French national who had been coordinating aid between America and his home country. The latter actually spent the Revolutionary War in France as the U.S.’s ambassador.

So, like Jefferson, Sermon is coming to Columbus well into the story. Having played three seasons for the Oklahoma Sooners, the 2,000-yard running back is looking to make an impact now that he’s here.

Also, when Act II opens, Jefferson comes bounding down his Monticello stairs singing, “So what’d I miss?” When it comes to Sermon, the answer is a good portion of the 2019 season.

While his season ending injury didn’t come until mid-November, other issues kept him from getting as many carries as he had the previous two seasons. He only accounted for 54 rushes last season — 110 fewer than the previous year in which Lincoln Riley’s Sooners went to the College Football Playoff.

Jim Harbaugh | “Helpless” Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton


Now, make no mistake about it, Elizabeth Hamilton is one of the strongest characters in the musical, so picking her to be the Michigan football coach’s avatar in this silly exercise is in no way a shot at his manhood. In fact, if I hadn’t qualified the selection, I would actually consider being compared to Eliza a great compliment.

But, as the middle Schyuler sister spots her future husband for the first time at The Winter’s Ball, she tells her older sister Angelica that she is helpless looking into Alexander’s eyes. And given how absolutely ill-prepared Jim Harbaugh has been in facing Ohio State during his first five seasons at TTUN, I think it is fair to say that he is “helpless” as well.


So, how did I do? Do you have any other OSU-to-”Hamilton” comparisons in mind? If so, drop them in the comments below.

Continue reading...

Five future quarterbacks express interest in Ohio State
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Fields, Miller, Stroud, McCord... Who’s next?

If there’s one position Ohio State doesn’t have to worry about for quite some time, its quarterback. With Justin Fields this season, Gunnar Hoak as his backup, two stellar freshmen— Jack Miller and CJ Stroud—fighting for next season’s starting job, and 2021 commit Kyle McCord arriving in Columbus next January, the Buckeyes’ offense should be in pretty good hands for the foreseeable future.

However, you know as well as I do that Ryan Day and the rest of the recruiting staff won’t rest until they’ve earned a commitment from every class of the decade, and sure enough, they already have their eyes on a few 2022, 2023 and 2024 prospects.

Bucknuts has previously mentioned a few 2022 quarterbacks to keep an eye on, such as Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy and Gunner Stockton who all hold offers from Ohio State, and today, Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts named another 2022 QB and four 2023 and 2024 prospects who could be next.

Class of 2022’s Tayven Jackson of Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove currently only has offers from Central Michigan and Indiana, but has attended an Ohio State game and told Bucknuts that he is interested in the Buckeyes.

2023 prospects, Cameron Edge, Tad Hudson and Aliam Appler, and 2024 prospect Jadyn Davis have all spoken to Ohio State staff and have all expressed their interest in the school. Kurelic emphasized Edge, Hudson and Davis as the ones most likely to land an offer from the Buckeyes and Edge as the one most likely to actually become a Buckeye.

Quick Hits

• Ohio State reached out to a “huge” 2022 offensive tackle on Tuesday, according to Kurelic. Yaser Alawadi from Park Ridge (Ill.) Maine East is the No. 10 prospect in his state and the country’s No. 53 OT. He is 6-foot-8 and 300-pounds.

After speaking with coach Greg Mattison, he told Bucknuts that he liked what he heard, and that Ohio State is a “top notch school” and they are “a great football program with an even better coaching staff.”

Alawadi holds eight scholarship offers, and while he doesn’t hold an offer from OSU yet, he said an offer from the Buckeyes would be “like a dream come true.”

• Cincinnati offers Ohio State 2022 commit Tegra Tshabola.

Tshabola is from West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West—just 25 minutes down the road from UC. He is the No. 2 prospect in Ohio and the country’s No. 6 offensive tackle. He committed to Ohio State on April 23 and currently holds 14 offers.

• Additionally, one of Ohio State’s top 2022 D-line targets added another offer to his stack this week.

Four-star Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove defensive tackle Caden Curry was officially offered by Michigan on Tuesday. Curry is No. 134 overall, the country’s No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 1 in the state of Indiana. He holds 15 offers, including Alabama, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State.

Curry told Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports that “it’s exciting to have an opportunity from both the Wolverines and Buckeyes.”

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Buckeye Bits: Power Five says a delay to the season “seems inevitable,” no more games in St. John Arena, more
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.

Happy Wednesday, LGHL reader! Before we get into today’s headlines, allow me to introduce to you my new favorite Twitter account:


The account I didn’t know I needed.

Anyway, here’s everything you need to know:

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...


TBT Preview: Carmen’s Crew vs House of ‘Paign

Connor Lemons, LGHL

and

TBT Preview: Big X vs. Red Scare

Brett Ludwiczak, LGHL

Considering Buckeye Bits doesn’t get published until 6:30 p.m. ET, these two games are finito and you likely now know the outcome of each. (I won’t spoil it, if not) (Just kidding, I spoil it later in this article). But, just in case you still want some info on your favorite Buckeye-filled TBT teams, Connor and Brett have everything you need to know and more!

Four-star Michigan guard set to make his decision on Friday

Gene Ross, LGHL

Anyone else having Ohio State football recruiting withdrawals? Don’t worry, you can still get your fix via the basketball team. A four-star 2021 guard— the nation’s No. 15 shooting guard and No. 78 overall recruit— is announcing his commitment on Friday, July 10, and Ohio State is one of his top five schools.

Yesterday’s Buckeye Bits

Gene Ross, LGHL

Should Ohio State redshirt its two stud freshmen QBs? Can football players wear masks while playing? Who did experts pick to win the Big Ten? All that and more in yesterday’s Buckeye Bits.

From around the gridiron...


Sources: Power 5 optimism dwindling for on-time start to season

Brandon Marcello, Bucknuts

To be honest, I’m just shocked we’re getting a football season at all, let alone a season that starts on time. But now that COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise and players and coaches are testing positive, folks within the Power Five are pessimistic about a late August/early September start time. One P5 administrator told 247Sports that, while a spring season is the last resort, a delay almost seems inevitable.

Decisions will be made soon though, as many P5 conference officials have deemed late July to early August as the “11th hour.”


ESPN FPI predicts Ohio State’s 2020 season game by game

Brad Crawford, Bucknuts

According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Ohio State has over a 90 percent chance to win every game on its schedule except Oregon (62.4 percent chance) and Penn State (61.8 percent). They are also on the national title shortlist along with ‘Bama and Clemson.


For Ohio State football recruiting, which state (other than Ohio) is the most important? Buckeye Talk Podcast

Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com

Next on their Buckeye Talk podcast—which is one of my personal favorite podcasts on the Ohio State beat— the guys at cleveland.com take 20 rapid fire questions from text subscribers. They discuss which states are the most important for Ohio State recruiting, Ohio State receiver recruiting vs. Alabama receiver recruiting, the chances of another defensive Heisman Trophy winner, and more.


Ohio State to use group effort to replace Chase Young at D-end

Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts

Replacing one of the best players in college football is not an easy task, nor is it a task that only one man can complete. Larry Johnson will likely have to use a combination of Jonathon Cooper, Zach Harrison, Tyreke Smith, Tyler Friday and Javontae Jean-Baptiste to replace Chase Young’s production.


LOL...what?


Disclaimer: Harbaugh did say in this same interview that he’d support any adjustments or cancellations to the football schedule in order to keep his players safe. However, there’s a whollllle lotta “expert views” saying that yup, sports can and probably will make COVID-19 worse. Unless you can somehow take the huddling, tackling and blocking out of football??


21 PUNTS in ONE game!!


Fun facts for you: Vic Janowicz’s 21-punt game was against Michigan during a blizzard. The Buckeyes lost 9-3. (Janowicz also kicked the field goal). One of those punts was blocked and ultimately led to the Wolverines’ touchdown and also the Big Ten title.

Janowicz won the 1950 Heisman Trophy. He played halfback, safety, punted and did the place-kicking for the Buckeyes.

He was also an impressive baseball player. Out of high school, the Cincinnati Reds and the Detroit Tigers offered Janowicz contracts, and 60 colleges sought to recruit him.

(Did you guys know all of this?!)

After college, he served in the Army for a year and signed a baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played catcher and hit a .214 before being released. He switched back to football and played for the Washington Redskins. He had a highly productive stint with the Redskins, before ultimately sustaining a career-ending head injury in a car accident, which eventually led to paralysis of the left side of his body.

He made a full recovery thanks to the docs at Ohio State. He went on to become a broadcaster for Buckeye football games, an account executive with a manufacturing firm in Columbus, and an administrative assistant to the state auditor. In 1996, he died at the age of 66 due to cancer.

Around the hardwood...


Ohio State reportedly has no plans to play basketball games in St. John Arena again, Gene Smith says “I doubt we’ll go back”

Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors

Smith, in an interview with Buckeye Sports Bulletin, said that there are no plans for the team to return to St. John Arena for a game in the near future, due to the fact that there will be fewer home games overall.

Instead, the basketball teams will play in the much worse, always empty, less historic Schottenstein Center. Because who needs home court advantage anyway?!


Big X falls in the second round of TBT.


Sigh. Not a good TBT day for Buckeye fans.


Matt has your recap here.

From everywhere else...


Michigan asks internet for pleasant sports memories, gets owned online repeatedly

Kevin Harrish, Eleven Warriors

Like Kevin points out, you can’t ask people to describe pleasant Michigan moments when your opposition are the only ones to have pleasant Michigan moments.


Dr. Michael Drake is now the prez of University of California.


I would have at least taken a vacation between gigs?!


The Ivy League will likely move its football season to spring.


March: “The Ivy League is cancelling its basketball tournament, but don’t expect FBS schools to do the same thing.”

July: “The Ivy League is moving its football season to spring, but don’t expe-


Stanford (!!) is cutting 11 of its 36 varsity sports.


Following the 2020-21 season, Stanford will be discontinuing men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling.

The only Division I FBS school that sponsors more sports than Stanford? That’d be Ohio State.

Continue reading...

I have recorded 33 episodes of Buckeye Classic on BTN so I am ready for the fall.

Let's find out how many optimists are out there.

Buckeye Bits: Experts pick OSU to win the Big Ten (duh), the worst coach in the B1G, Aaron Craft’s last dance, more
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
All of the latest Ohio State news from around the beat and beyond.

Happy Tuesday, Buckeye Nation. It’s been some kinda heat wave out here in Columbus, so hopefully you’ve been able to enjoy the weather. At the same time, I hope you're maintaining good social distancing practices and wearing a mask when out in public. We must all do our part if we want to have any semblance of a college football season this fall, and with the way things are going right now, that seems to be in great jeopardy.

We’re less than a week away from the start of preseason camp, and so we’ll soon (hopefully) start to get a better glimpse at where the players are at after these unprecedented times. I’m sure Ryan Day and the boys are itching to get back out there. Until then, let’s dive into all of today’s Ohio State headlines.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...

• Basketball Buckeyes attempt to poach five-star center from Minnesota
  (Dan Hessler, LGHL)

One of the nation’s top centers listed Ohio State in his final seven schools back at the end of June, and he has recently given an update on how he is handling his recruiting process. The 2021 prospect is still feeling things out, unable to take visits as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily for the Buckeyes, they were one of two schools to host the big man before things got shut down, so we shall see if that gives them any sort of edge moving forward.

• A look back through the Ohio State record books
  (Gene Ross, LGHL)

As we look to embark on yet another season of Ohio State football, it’ll be an opportunity for a new crop of Buckeyes to get their names into the record books. On Monday, I went through some of the program’s top performers through history, including OSU’s career leaders in some of the most important areas such as passing, rushing, total touchdowns and defense. No surprises here, the names J.T. Barrett and Dwayne Haskins show up quite a few times.

• Yesterday’s Buckeye Bits
  (Tia Johnston, LGHL)

ICYMI, check out all of Monday’s headlines from Yesterday’s Buckeye Bits, including some talk about the ongoing TBT — a very fun and entertaining event to get some sports back into our lives — plus the Ohio State All-Decade Team, the logistics of playing college football in the spring, and much more!

From around the gridiron...

• 247Sports Media Days: Big Ten preseason poll
  (Brandon Marcello, 247Sports)

While all conference Media Days will be conducted virtually at the end of July, the people over at 247Sports have gathered up their own group of experts within the Power 5. The results of their polls within the Big Ten are as you would expect, with Ohio State predicted to finish first in the Big Ten East. Their 77 points were ahead of Penn State (64) and Michigan (56). Justin Fields is the predicted Big Ten Player of the Year, and Ryan Day the predicted Big Ten Coach of the Year. The voters also chose Ohio State vs. Penn State as the conference’s Game of the Year.

• Should Ohio State redshirt C.J. Stroud or Jack Miller in 2020?
  (Colin Hass-Hill and Dan Hope, Eleven Warriors)

Continuing their Take/Counter-Take series, today Eleven Warriors debates whether or not Ohio State should redshirt their new freshman quarterbacks. Hope takes the stance that the Buckeyes would be smart to redshirt at least one of the first-year guys, arguing that it would provide the best opportunity for both players to start at some point in their career. Hass-Hill argues the opposite, saying that the two highly-touted freshman need as much experience as possible as it is likely one of them will be the starter in 2021.

• I certainly don't want to find out.

• Buckeyes need Tommy Togiai to flex strength, dominate up front
  (Austin Ward, Lettermen Row)

Ohio State needs to replace a trio of guys who split time at defensive tackle last season, but they do have some players with big potential ready to fill in. Tommy Togiai is at the top of that list, and has shown great flashes of talent in his first two years with the program. With the veterans of the room now gone, the Buckeyes expect Togiai to become an All-Big Ten type of player and continue to grow into an eventual NFL Draft pick as he keeps working under Larry Johnson.

• Poll: Who is the worst coach in the Big Ten?
  (Dave Biddle, Bucknuts)

Now if I told you that Bucknuts — the Ohio State section of 247Sports — put out a poll asking their readers to name the worst coach in the Big Ten, I'm sure you could assume who would receive the most votes in said poll. Buckeye Nation is nothing if not consistent, and as a result Jim Harbaugh is leading the poll by a large margin (nearly 40% of the vote as of the time this was written). The next-highest vote-getters are Maryland’s Mike Locksley (14.2%), Illinois’ Lovie Smith (11.7%) and Indiana’s Tom Allen (10.8%).

From around the hardwood...

• On this date in 2004, Ohio State basketball hired a man by the name of Thad Matta. 13 years later, Matta compiled 337 wins as head coach of the Buckeyes, winning five Big Ten titles and four Big Ten tournaments. Under Matta, OSU made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament five times and twice made the Final Four.

• The 2020 TBT will be one last ride for Aaron Craft
  (Patrick Murphy, Bucknuts)

Aaron Craft debuted for the Buckeyes back in November 2012, putting up eight points and nine assists against North Carolina A&T in a 102-61 victory for the guys in Scarlet and Gray. He would later become a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a household name among Ohio State fans. Craft has spent the last six years playing professional basketball overseas, but his playing days will soon be coming to an end. He will suit up for the last time in the TBT, playing alongside many of his former teammates on Carmen’s Crew.

From everywhere else...

• Listen I know 2020 has been a crazy year, but I STILL have questions about this one...

• While wearing masks and face coverings in your day-to-day life is an incredibly easy and necessary task, doing so during a physically demanding event — like playing a college football game — seems a tad difficult. There doesn’t seem to be an easy solution right now to the problem a face-to-face sport like football will face, but hopefully we learn more as we move forward and find better ways to keep the athletes safe.

• In case you haven’t heard, Patrick Mahomes is making ALL the money.

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Basketball Buckeyes attempt to poach five-star center from Minnesota
Dan Hessler via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Five-star center Chet Holmgren | Jim Hawkins, Inside Carolina
Ohio State recently made the cut for the talented big man, but will it be enough to steal him away from the home state school?

Ohio State’s basketball program has felt rather quiet as of late. Once head coach Chris Holtmann was able to secure a roster for the (hopefully) upcoming season, news surrounding the program has been hard to come by.

However, don’t take that silence as a lack of work. Holtmann and the basketball Buckeyes’ coaching staff have been hitting the recruiting trail as hard as any program in the last month.

In fact, the hard work appears to be paying off, as one of the nation’s top talents included Ohio State in his top seven schools last month. Five-star center Chet Holmgren (Minneapolis, MN/Minnehaha Academy) listed the Buckeyes as one of his finalists as well as Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Georgetown.

The Buckeyes seemingly are in the top of that selective group, as they are one of only two schools to host Holmgren on an official visit — the other being Gonzaga. However, homestate school Minnesota is still the team to beat at this point in his recruitment.


Holmgren recently spoke with Jake Weingarten of stockrisers.com and he talked highly of his Ohio State visit as well as provided an update on his recruitment timeline.

Speaking with Weingarten, Holmgren said with the COVID-19 pandemic currently in place, and with no end in sight, he doesn’t plan on making a decision early. With hope that he will be able to take more visits in the future, he is planning on making a commitment around spring of 2021. He also stated he is not planning on reclassifying.

Another reason Holmgren intends to wait is he does not want to be the first domino to fall. Instead, he prefers to see what happens with other commitments before making a decision.

Holmgren is the No. 1 center in the nation and is the No. 3 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Quick Hits:

• An Ohio State great will soon be coaching Buckeye four-star defensive end commit Tunmise Adeleye. Pepper Johnson was announced as the new defensive coordinator for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. In addition to being able to talk to Adeleye about his future school of choice, the move should only strengthen Ohio State’s pipeline with the program.

• Ohio State commit C.J. Hicks showed his excitement for the Buckeyes 2022 recruiting class on Twitter Monday. Hicks is the No. 15 athlete in the cycle and the No. 4 player in Ohio.

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Buckeye Bits: Carmens Crew head coach Jared Sullinger says this year’s team is better than last’s, Oregon is most important game for Ohio State per ESPN, more
Tia Johnston via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images
All of the latest news from around the Ohio State beat and beyond.

I’d love it if you all stayed inside, wore masks, stopped going to bars, restaurants and campus house parties so that come September I can watch one of the best teams in Ohio State history beat the pants off Oregon, Penn State and Michigan and ultimately beat Clemson in the national championship after Justin Fields throws a 80-yard walk-off touchdown pass to Chris Olave, causing Fields to beat out Trevor Lawrence in the Heisman race and become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft—an event that would sneak up on me because of how invested I’ve been in March Madness due to the fact that Ohio State is Final Four-bound and my bracket is in the top 10 of all three contests I’ve entered. Thanks so much!!


Until we get sports highlights of our own, let’s dive into some of the headlines you may have missed over your holiday weekend or while you were catching up on work this afternoon.

From around Land-Grant Holy Land...


A look back through the Ohio State record books

Gene Ross, LGHL

Mandatory workouts begin a week from today, meaning we’re just days away from finding out how the team is really looking after a long, socially distanced off-season. To kick off our preseason content, Gene took a look at all the current Ohio State record holders, from total offense to field goals. Here’s hoping that the 2020-21 crew can get their names on the board.

Column: Which Power-5 conference makes the best Ohio State opponents

Meredith Hein, LGHL

Over the weekend, our Brett Ludwiczak wrote about the most intriguing opponents Ohio State football has yet to play, such as Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and Iowa State. Meredith piggybacked off that by analyzing which Power Five conferences contain the best matchups for the Buckeyes, which I highly recommend reading considering we may very well see a Power Five vs. Power Five season this fall.

24 Club: Francis Schmidt, OSU’s first coach to finish with a winning record against Michigan

Jim Baird, LGHL

Learn the story of Ohio State head coach Francis Schmidt, aka the man behind Ohio State’s gold pants tradition.

Column: Don’t let ‘sports-hate’ lead to a prison sentence

Matt Tamanini, LGHL

In case you missed it, two weeks ago, a man named Daniel Rippy pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Ohio State students, athletes and Urban Meyer during the 2018 Ohio State vs. Michigan game, which the Buckeyes won 62-39. Matt explains why you should probably just...not let your disdain for a sporting team get that far. (Even when said sporting team beats your sporting team eight years in a row.)

From around the gridiron...


Ohio State football second year players that could breakout in 2020 according to ESPN

Phil Harrison, Buckeyes Wire

ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren identified wide receiver Garrett Wilson and defensive end Zach Harrison as the two second-year Buckeyes that could be integral parts of the team this fall. Considering Wilson was one of Ohio State’s biggest playmakers as a freshman, and D-line coach Larry Johnson is molding Harrison into the next great Ohio State DE as we speak, I can’t say I disagree with you, Tom.


ESPN names Ohio State football’s most important game for 2020

Phil Harrison, Buckeyes Wire

I do, however, disagree with Tom on this one.

VanHaaren also identified who he believes to be Ohio State’s most important game of the 2020 season: Oregon.


1.) Penn State is OSU’s most important/worrisome game of 2020.

2.) I don’t think it’s “crucial” for the Buckeyes to beat the Ducks if they want to get into the CFP. Even if the Buckeyes lose by a score or two and then dominate the rest of their schedule and win the Big Ten, they’re in.


Opinion: Winter/early spring season ‘doable’? Hard to imagine

Dave Biddle, Bucknuts

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley believes a winter/early spring college football season is “doable.” Dave Biddle of Bucknuts disagrees, arguing that the weather would not permit it (in the Big Ten especially); the NFL already said they would not reschedule the 2021 Draft, meaning the top CFB players would sit out to prepare for the draft; and it would conflict with the 2022-23 season.


Ohio State football’s All-Decade Team — my version of a full 85-player roster: Doug Lesmerises

Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com

Its no secret that the Big Ten’s All-Decade team was, well, wrong. So the legend himself, Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com, made an All-Decade team of his own made up entirely of Ohio State players—which, in my totally unbiased opinion, is what the Big Ten’s team should have looked like.


The most pressing questions each Ohio State assistant coach must address in lead-up to 2020 season

Colin Hass-Hill, Eleven Warriors

While there aren’t many holes in Ohio State’s roster, there are still questions to be answered before the team takes their first snap of the season. Hass-Hill listed the No. 1 question each assistant coach must address, such as who is Corey Dennis putting in if Justin Field’s goes down? And how does Tony Alford plan on using Trey Sermon and his other running backs?


I can’t tell you who the best coach is but what I can tell you is that it’s not James Franklin.


Just kidding I can tell you. It’s Ryan Day. Ryan Day is the best coach in college football (the world just doesn’t know it yet).

From around the hardwood...


Ohio State basketball commit Meechie Johnson returning to Garfield Heights for senior year

Matt Goul, cleveland.com

• After spending last year with the International Sports Academy at Andrews Osborne, Ohio State 2021 target Demetrius “Meechie” Johnson Jr. is returning to his hometown, where he will play his last year of high school basketball at Garfield Heights.

Former Ohio State guard Joey Lane interviews Carmens Crew head coach Jared Sullinger on his newest episode of Inside TBT.


Anything hosted by Lane is worth watching, trust me.


Speaking of Sullinger, he explains why this year’s team is better than last year’s team (aka the team that won the whole damn thing!)


Carmen’s Crew is set to face off against House of ‘Paign Wednesday at 4 p.m. We’ll have your pregame preview. We’ll be live-tweeting the game. And we’ll have your recap. It’s good to be back!

From everywhere else...


Just a bunch of tweets that contain really bad news for sports fans:


And guess what? The COVID numbers are RISING in Columbus, especially in bars and restaurants. You want football? Stay home.


TEN. YEARS.


2031!!!! Guys, I was 16 ten years ago. That feels like a lifetime ago.

Also:


Even if I defined myself, I don’t think I could become any of those things.

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A look back through the Ohio State record books
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Keith Birmingham/Digital First Media/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
Which former Buckeyes top the charts in some of the most important categories?

Ohio State has a rich and storied tradition as one of the nation’s most prestigious college football programs of all time. Obviously this is the result of a long lineage of extremely talented players making their way through Columbus over the years.

With preseason camp just a week away, we are beginning to prep for whatever semblance of a college football season we will see in 2020. With a new campaign hopefully on the horizon, now seems like a good time to take a walk down memory lane and highlight some of the greatest performances in Ohio State history.

Total Offense


The program record for total offensive yards in a season, held by none other than quarterback J.T. Barrett, is 12,697 yards. Barrett spent four years as the starting QB at Ohio State, with his best season coming in 2017 when he threw for just over 3,000 yards with 35 touchdowns and nine picks. His 3,851 total yards that same season are good enough for the second-most yards in a single season in school history.

The man ahead of Barrett in that category is Dwayne Haskins, who put up 4,939 total yards during the 2018 season. Haskins threw for over 4,800 yards that year while rushing for an additional 108. Barrett has the No. 2 (3,851 yards in 2017) and No. 3 (3,772 yards in 2014) highest totals for yards in a single season, while Justin Fields comes in at No. 4 after his 3,757-yard performance in his first year at the helm.

Haskins filled the stat sheet week in and week out, and as a result holds the record for most total offensive yards in a single game, while also having five of the top six spots in the category. His best performance came against Purdue in 2018 — ironically, a game Ohio State lost — when Haskins put up a school-record 477 yards. The one-year starter also had more than 460 yards of total offense against both Maryland and Indiana that same year, good for No. 2 and No. 3 on the list.

Total Touchdowns


Barrett finds himself as the record-holder in yet another category, as he tops the list of career total touchdowns at Ohio State with 147. His four years as the team’s starter certainly helped, and he is a whopping 59 touchdowns ahead of the next highest player on the list—Braxton Miller with 88. Barrett also holds the record for most touchdowns in a single game with seven, which he completed on two occasions — 2016 against Bowling Green, and 2017 against Nebraska.

Haskins holds the record for most touchdowns in a single season with his 54 scores in 2018, 50 of which were passing and four on the ground. Fields is right behind him after finding the end zone 51 times in 2019. Both Fields and Haskins have each had at least one six-touchdown game, with Haskins pulling off the feat on three separate occasions.

Passing


No surprises here — J.T. Barrett holds the OSU record for most career passing yards with 9,434. He is over 2,000 yards over the next highest contender, as Art Schlichter sits in second place with 7,547 career passing yards. Haskins holds the record for most passing yards in a single season with his 4,831 in 2018, and also has six of the top seven single-game passing performances in program history, led by his 499-yard passing performance against Northwestern in 2018.

It’s once again Barrett topping the list for career passing touchdowns with 104 — nearly double the next-closest players Bobby Hoying and Terrelle Pryor, who each finished with 57 in their careers. Haskins has passed for the most TDs in a single season with 50, and Fields was just behind him this past season with 41. Barrett, Haskins and Kenny Guiton are all tied for the single-game record, each having thrown six touchdowns in one afternoon.

Rushing


Archie Griffin holds the Ohio State record for most rushing attempts over a player’s carer. His 924 runs between 1972-75 are almost 200 more than J.K. Dobbins in 2019, which is No. 2 on the list with 725 attempts. Keith Byars holds the record for most attempts in a single season, however, with 336 rushes in 1984. Champ Henson has the single-game record with a whopping 44 carries against Northwestern in 1972.

Once again no surprise, Griffin is also the record-holder for most career rushing yards by a Buckeye with 5,589, and Dobbins is in second place with 4,459. Dobbins did break the school record for rushing yards in a single season in 2019, becoming the first Ohio State player ever to rush for over 2,000 yards. Eddie George has the single-game record with a huge 314-yard day against Illinois in 1995.

When it comes to rushing touchdowns, Pete Johnson is your guy. He holds the OSU record for career rushing TDs (56), single-season rushing TDs (25 in 1975) AND single-game TDs (5, tied with Byars).

Receiving


Another newly crowned record-holder, K.J. Hill is Ohio State’s all-time leading pass-catcher with 201 career receptions. Parris Campbell, somewhat surprisingly, holds the record for most receptions in a single-season with 90 in 2018, ahead of David Boston’s 85 in 1998. Boston does, however, hold the record for most catches in a single game with his 14 against Penn State in 1997.

Michael Jenkins has the school record for most career receiving yards with 2,898 despite playing only three seasons (2001-03). He finishes just ahead of Boston, who racked up 2,855 yards receiving in his career. Boston holds the record for most receiving yards in a single season with 1,435 in 1998, and Terry Glenn holds the single-game record with 253 receiving yards against Pittsburgh in 1995.

Boston sees his name atop the list yet again when it comes to receiving TDs, as his 34 are the most of any Ohio State receiver ever. Glenn holds the single-season record with 17 TD catches in 1995. A quartet of guys are tied for the single-game receiving TD record — which is four — with those being Glenn, Bob Grimes, Dane Sanzenbacher and Noah Brown.

Defense


The Ohio State record for career interceptions is 22, held by Mike Sensibaugh. He is also tied for the record for most picks in a single-season with Craig Cassady, as the two guys each finished with nine in their respective campaigns. The most picks in a single game for a Buckeyes is three, and that distinction is held by a number of players including Fred Bruney, Ted Provost and William White.

Marcus Marek holds the school record for most career tackles with 572, just ahead of Tom Cousineau whose in second with 569. Cousineau tops the list for the most tackles in a single season at Ohio State with 211 in 1978, and is tied with Chris Spielman for the most tackles in a single game in program history (29).

The record book for sacks at Ohio State is a long and talented list of dominant Buckeye defensive players. Mike Vrabel is the all-time career sacks leader with 36, and while Chase Young made a run at him this season, he came up just shy and is sitting at No. 2 with 30.5 career sacks. Young did, however, break the OSU record for sacks in a season with 16.5 despite having to miss two games. Young is also one of five guys to have ever recorded a four-sack game for Ohio State, with Vernon Gholston and John Simon also on that list.

Kicking


This section can just be titled Mike Nugent. The four-year OSU kicker and NFL journeyman holds school records for most career field goals (72), the top two spots for most field goals in a single season (25 and 24), and is one of four players in program history to have hit five field goals in a single game. Blake Haubeil currently has the edge over Nugent for career FG percentage at 82.1 percent, but that number can still change as he has one more year remaining.

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Column: Which Power-5 conference makes the best Ohio State opponents
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Some are clearly better than others.

Hello everyone and hope you had a wonderful and safe Fourth of July! Friendly reminder to stop setting off fireworks every night because your animals hate it.

Given Ohio State’s recently announced home-and-home against Alabama, Brett Ludwiczak recently wrote an awesome post about the top opponents Ohio State has never played. Which obviously begs the question of who, among the 90 FBS teams the Buckeyes have played throughout their program history, that Ohio State would like another crack at. But given there are 130 teams in the FBS, it’s probably best to start the analysis at the conference level.

There are distinct attributes almost on a conference-by-conference basis which makes some opponents more intriguing than others. On that conference basis, there are some obvious winners and losers.

With the exception of Ohio State’s Sugar Bowl win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff in 2014, arguably (yes, I’m open to discussion) the most exciting out-of-conference wins in recent history have come over Oregon (2010), Oklahoma (2016), USC (2017) and Washington (2019). The wins against Oregon and Washington came in the Rose Bowl, and that over USC in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Speaking of classics, these three matchups both had the familiar ring of a traditional Rose Bowl game which is just the best.

So let’s save the best for first:

The Pac-12


Ohio State holds a 62-26-2 record overall against Pac-12 opponents. Those 90 games are the most played by Ohio State against any other Power-5 conference.

Among particular teams, the Buckeyes have winning records against nine of 12 current teams, led by Oregon and Washington State, over whom Ohio State has a 9-0 and 8-0 advantage, respectively.

Ohio State has played a Pac-12 opponent in six of the last 10 seasons, including three times in bowl games. Of note, the Buckeyes won all three of those games (Oregon, 2015; USC, 2017; Washington, 2019).

What makes these games particularly intriguing are two things. First, the aforementioned point regarding a totally different style of play. Go figure, many teams in the Pac-12 run traditional, pass-heavy West Coast offenses. Passing attacks have benefited teams like Washington State and Oregon, who are consistently among the most potent passers in the FBS.

Next, there’s no real football basis to it, but the nostalgia of traditional Rose Bowl opponents rings strong when Ohio State plays teams like USC, Stanford and Oregon. Games like these bring generations together in a way that unites Buckeye nation and inevitably leads to higher shirt sales at Homage. Because what’s better than a vintage throwback shirt of “Ohio State vs. USC in the granddaddy of them all”?

The Big 12


The Buckeyes are 20-6-1 against the Big 12, their only losing record coming to Texas (1-2). As a conference, Ohio State has played fewer games against the Big 12 than any other conference. The Buckeyes have faced both West Virginia and TCU six times apiece, and hold a 5-1 record versus each.

Once again, the Big 12 is a conference that plays an entirely different brand of football than what Ohio State sees week-in and week-out against Big Ten opponents. The high-flying offenses and sieve-like defenses of teams like Oklahoma State and Texas Tech offer unique and exciting challenges for a program that is used to exploiting and defending the run.

Unlike the Pac-12, Ohio State doesn’t tend to face Big 12 opponents in bowl games. That’s because there are no protected bowl matchups between the two conferences, despite 10 automatic bids for the Big Ten and seven for the Big 12.

The ACC


Then there’s the ACC. With the exception of Clemson, there doesn’t feel like there are a lot of advantages to playing the ACC in football (the caveat is necessary because obviously the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in basketball might be the best crossover in college athletics). In all, the Buckeyes are 40-19-1 against schools from the ACC. Ohio State holds winning records against eight schools in the ACC, even splits with two (Miami and Virginia Tech) and are winless against two others (Florida State and Clemson).

Which brings us to a point regarding out of conference matchups, and one of the components that makes the Big Ten/ACC Challenge so great. It’s exciting to see an entire conference face off against an entire other conference. In doing so, fans get a picture of top-to-bottom conference power as well as overall prowess. It’s one of the rare glimpses into national prominence of not just conferences but relative powers of teams. For NCAA basketball, it’s crucial for understanding relative conference performance — an understanding which ultimately plays into NCAA Tournament seeding.

The SEC


Don’t be mad. By far the worst conference (IMHO) to play against is the SEC. While Ohio State actually holds a more than decent record against the conference, at 22-13-3 overall, the Buckeyes’ record against these opponents is the lowest win percentage against any Power-5 conference.

Recent history suggests that Ohio State has the edge against the SEC, given data points of bowl wins against Arkansas (2011) and Alabama (2015). Unlike the Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC, however, Ohio State does not typically schedule series against the SEC — the 2027-28 home-and-home against Alabama notwithstanding.

But it’s not about winning in this case - it’s about the intrigue of the matchup. Top-to-bottom, much of the SEC plays a similar style to the Big Ten: balanced offense, great defense. It’s not as exciting to see another team like the teams the Buckeyes play week-in and week-out. Sure, a win over an SEC foe would win brownie points, but apparently only if that opponent is LSU or Alabama. A loss to any other SEC opponent (especially those in the SEC East) is a black mark on the Buckeyes’ record.

Personally, I can’t stand playing the SEC, and fully-recognize I’m in the minority. People say Ohio State fans are annoying (yes, we definitely are, so we might as well own it), but the worst is playing SEC teams and putting two extremely annoying fan bases together (looking at you, Florida). While some (cough, my husband) see this aspect as a positive — a marquee matchup that’s exciting for both sides — once again, it’s like another Big Ten matchup with another impassioned group of fans, just one we don’t have to deal with every year.


The reality is that top-to-bottom, conference vs. conference arrangements are difficult in football. With so few slots of non-conference matchups, years-out scheduling for non-conference games and existing out-of-conference rivalry games that are protected (think Iowa/Iowa State, etc.), scheduling these types of matchups is nearly impossible.

You see it a little with bowl games, where you have a few teams who get racked-and-stacked against other conferences (usually the SEC). Of course, it only takes a small adjustment to throw off entire arrangements — when, for example, the SEC gets two teams in a playoff scenario or when a Big Ten champ gets left out.

The reality is that marquee matchups are difficult enough to bring to fruition on an individual basis. Ohio State’s recently agreed-upon home-and-home against Alabama isn’t scheduled until 2027-28. With that kind of far-out scheduling, it’s hard to ensure Ohio State will be facing top-tier teams when those matchups finally come around.

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does anyone happen to have this game