Matt Tamanini
Guest
Ohio State fans desperate for Ryan Day to get the ball to his receivers vs. Tennessee
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Tonight in potentially single-digit temperatures under the lights in the Horseshoe, the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes will host the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers in the final first-round College Football Playoff of the season. There is a lot on the line for both teams as a date with Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day awaits the winner, but there is even more at stake for the Buckeyes and their head coach.
Ryan Day has deservedly been under fire over the past three weeks following arguably the worst loss in program history, falling for the fourth straight year to archrival Michigan. One game is not going to stem the tide of fans — and presumably boosters — looking to replace him, but if he wants to keep his job, he will need to string together three or maybe even four victories to end the season.
In my mind, the only way that he can do that is to get out of his own way. Day has been so hung up on proving that his team has been tough for the past three years, that he forgot that he didn’t build his team to be tough, he built them to be explosive. Day, and by extension his offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, have consistently hamstrung their elite playmakers in major moments by calling plays bereft of logic.
If OSU is to make any kind of run in the playoff, let alone this game, that will need to change. So, with that in mind, earlier this week, we asked you what you most wanted to see the Buckeyes change for tonight’s game against Tennessee. Well, the results from the fan survey are now in. So, check out the results down below, and if you want to add your two cents in to the discussion, feel free to do that in the comments below.
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I didn’t include this option in the survey, but my true answer is “Ryan Day gets his head out of his ass and stops trying to prove he’s tough and uses his extremely talented offensive weapons to the best of their ability.”
But, since that wasn’t exactly on the list, I think that this fits the bill pretty well. I, of course, also want to see Day and Chip Kelly did something in the ground game other than running straight up the middle into an offensive line that was already not great even before being decimated by injuries, but to be completely honest, I’d be fine if they decided to throw the ball 70% of the time tonight, regardless of the weather.
Ultimately, I think that this game has two most likely outcomes, a) Ohio State’s offense looks pitiful again and it is a frustrating, low-scoring loss for the home team; or b) Ohio State’s offense looks like we’ve all known that it could, and ends up winning by three scores.
Sure, the other options are possible, but to me, these are the most likely. I sure hope it is the latter.
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When the FanDuel SportsBook opened betting for this first-round College Football Playoff game matchup, it installed the home-team Buckeyes as 7.5-point favorites, and that line has stayed consistent in the two weeks following that announcement. The gold standard college football analytics model SP+ has Ohio State as a six-point favorite, but many of the experts are going with the big bad road underdog from the vastly superior SEC.
The Land-Grant Holy Land staff will be making our official predictions in an article coming out a little later today, but I will give you a hint as to what I am thinking, see if you can figure it out. My predicted score will be a palindrome, with the Scarlet and Gray representing the larger number, the sum of the two totals will also be a palindrome. And for an extra hint, my score predicts a total of five touchdowns and three field goals scored. And for an extra special hint, I would be smack dab in the middle of 10% of the survey respondents.
Think you figured out my score prediction? Drop your prediction of my prediction in the comments below before the predictions article is published.
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Continue reading...
Matt Tamanini via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Tonight in potentially single-digit temperatures under the lights in the Horseshoe, the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes will host the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers in the final first-round College Football Playoff of the season. There is a lot on the line for both teams as a date with Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day awaits the winner, but there is even more at stake for the Buckeyes and their head coach.
Ryan Day has deservedly been under fire over the past three weeks following arguably the worst loss in program history, falling for the fourth straight year to archrival Michigan. One game is not going to stem the tide of fans — and presumably boosters — looking to replace him, but if he wants to keep his job, he will need to string together three or maybe even four victories to end the season.
In my mind, the only way that he can do that is to get out of his own way. Day has been so hung up on proving that his team has been tough for the past three years, that he forgot that he didn’t build his team to be tough, he built them to be explosive. Day, and by extension his offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, have consistently hamstrung their elite playmakers in major moments by calling plays bereft of logic.
If OSU is to make any kind of run in the playoff, let alone this game, that will need to change. So, with that in mind, earlier this week, we asked you what you most wanted to see the Buckeyes change for tonight’s game against Tennessee. Well, the results from the fan survey are now in. So, check out the results down below, and if you want to add your two cents in to the discussion, feel free to do that in the comments below.
Question 1: Which of these options do you most hope to see out of Ohio State against Tennessee?
I didn’t include this option in the survey, but my true answer is “Ryan Day gets his head out of his ass and stops trying to prove he’s tough and uses his extremely talented offensive weapons to the best of their ability.”
But, since that wasn’t exactly on the list, I think that this fits the bill pretty well. I, of course, also want to see Day and Chip Kelly did something in the ground game other than running straight up the middle into an offensive line that was already not great even before being decimated by injuries, but to be completely honest, I’d be fine if they decided to throw the ball 70% of the time tonight, regardless of the weather.
Ultimately, I think that this game has two most likely outcomes, a) Ohio State’s offense looks pitiful again and it is a frustrating, low-scoring loss for the home team; or b) Ohio State’s offense looks like we’ve all known that it could, and ends up winning by three scores.
Sure, the other options are possible, but to me, these are the most likely. I sure hope it is the latter.
Question 2: What will the margin of victory be in Saturday’s game against Tennessee?
When the FanDuel SportsBook opened betting for this first-round College Football Playoff game matchup, it installed the home-team Buckeyes as 7.5-point favorites, and that line has stayed consistent in the two weeks following that announcement. The gold standard college football analytics model SP+ has Ohio State as a six-point favorite, but many of the experts are going with the big bad road underdog from the vastly superior SEC.
The Land-Grant Holy Land staff will be making our official predictions in an article coming out a little later today, but I will give you a hint as to what I am thinking, see if you can figure it out. My predicted score will be a palindrome, with the Scarlet and Gray representing the larger number, the sum of the two totals will also be a palindrome. And for an extra hint, my score predicts a total of five touchdowns and three field goals scored. And for an extra special hint, I would be smack dab in the middle of 10% of the survey respondents.
Think you figured out my score prediction? Drop your prediction of my prediction in the comments below before the predictions article is published.
Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Continue reading...