Hi there, ladies and men who treat those ladies gentle, welcome to your Thursday Skull Session. It seems like just yesterday we were watching the Buckeyes take down Miami and here we are just two days away from their next matchup against the UCF Knights. Time truly does fly when you’re having fun.
Let’s have some more, so just keep reading!!!!!
LEADERS LOOPHOLE. The Big Ten announced yesterday the Buckeyes will still have a chance to play for something this season: a Leader’s Division Championship.
The conference confirmed that both Ohio State and Penn State will have a chance to be officially recognized (with a trophy) as division champions despite their postseason bans.
Since neither is eligible for the Big Ten Championship, if one of the two teams does win the division, the second place team will end up going to Indianapolis to play for all the Midwestern glory.
It seems Meyer received the news during his press conference Wednesday:
"I never heard that. I never thought about it. And it's not going to make us play harder this Saturday. But somewhere at a point in November or something, yeah, that'll be interesting."
You’ve got to believe this could serve as the motivator Coach Meyer has been looking for in the locker room. The ability to go out and win a little hardware may become a rallying cry for this team.
Here’s what wide receiver Evan Spencer had to say about the news:
"It's great, actually. It was a weird atmosphere because we never really talked about it, `Oh, we can't go to a bowl game this year. Now that we actually get a chance to win a trophy it's kind of like a cherry on top. It's just something extra."
It’s clear Meyer is shying away from placing any emphasis on a division title this early in the season, but make no mistake, Urban’s wheels are spinning on ways to utilize this carrot. It should be interesting to see where he takes it.
KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR. At first glance, UCF might look like just another cupcake, but the Knights have a ton of confidence coming into their matchup at the Shoe.
Let's hope so.You can hear the swagger in Head Coach George O’Leary’s press conferences:
''I like playing nonconference games against tradition schools like Ohio State that have a great, long history of winning (and) a great tradition as far as the program's concerned. But we go into every game with an opportunity to win it.”
That kind of confidence might not be unfounded. According to John Cooper, who now works as an NFL scout, the Knights have five or six players who could definitely suit up on Sundays.
In addition, despite the loss of starting RB Latavius Murray to a shoulder injury, the team still has a pretty good back in Storm Johnson, a Miami (FL) transfer. Coming out of high school, Johnson was the Atlanta Journal-Constitution player of the year.
Coach Meyer certainly recognizes the talent on the UCF sideline. During his press conference Wednesday, he was quick to point out the Knights present a big challenge for the Buckeyes, adding their defensive line (the team’s best unit) could compete in the Big Ten.
Phil Steele also sees potential in the Knights. While Steele picked the Buckeyes to win, he had this to say about the matchup:
"If Ohio State plays a B-minus game, they could be in trouble."
UCF offensive lineman Theo Goins said Wednesday:
''A win is a win. You definitely go out to win, you don't want to lose. All of that stuff that's around it - Top 25, the school that you're playing - that's just hype. You strap on your pads, you put on your pants and you go play football.''
I suppose we’ll find out how much is hype and how much is talent very soon.
I'VE GOT ONE HAND IN MY POCKET AND THE OTHER ONE IS CATCHING A FOOTBALL. I don’t know about you, but I’ve probably watched the clip of Devin Smith making that redonkulous one-handed catch at least 20 times since last Saturday.
The grab was the spark that lit the offensive bonfire, and it’s not a stretch to say it might be the best catch we see in college football all season.
Apparently Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch couldn’t stop salivating over the snag either, opting to pen a piece hailing the catch as Smith’s potential coming out party.
Meyer told reporters in his weekly press conference he gave Smith the silent treatment following the play. While Meyer wasn’t quick to give praise, he has since come out and said this about the grab:
“I finally saw some still shots of (the one against Miami), and that was as good a catch as I have ever seen.”
I want to believe this is just the first in a long line of great receiving plays we are going to see from this unit. They were beaten down all offseason after their performance in 2011, but it’s hard to show your stuff when no one is throwing you the ball.
Smith seems to agree:
“We’re all looking forward to getting better, and we know this offense is going to click real well. If it’s not next game (against Central Florida) or the next game, we know it’s going to click.”
Here’s to seeing ridiculous one handed grabs all season long, instead of just against MAC opponents:
TWEETS UP NORTH. Apparently there was a little social media tussle in that mitten up there following Alabama’s glorious blowout of Michigan Saturday.
After the game, more than a couple MSU players took to the Twitterverse to lay it on thick, mocking Denard Robinson and the Sun Maize and Blue as a whole.
“Spartans starting linebacker Denicos Allen tweeted that Tommy Vento, a walk-on quarterback for Michigan State, is better than Robinson. Redshirt freshman safety Kyle Artinian was more direct, reportedly tweeting, "DENARD IS SOOOO BAD!" Freshman linebacker Jamal Lyles added, "I can play quarterback for the school in blue."
Mark Dantonio was none too happy about the 140 character smack talk, and made it incredibly clear during his press conference Wednesday saying, "Our guys need to keep their mouths shut. That blunt enough? … Especially the ones not even playing."
While it’s true you should keep your trash-talkin’ to a minimum if you’re barely seeing the field, I can’t help but love this type of thing. I mean, we’ve got a FRESHMAN LINEBACKER proclaiming he can play QB better than Denard. That’s poetry.
Personally I’m of the opinion that this is no different than the trash-talking that goes down on the field. Sure Twitter is public, but if you’re offended then don’t follow these individuals.
It’s bulletin board material for Michigan and it’s something to back up for Michigan State. Now if we could just get an asteroid to hit Ann Arbor on Oct. 20th, everyone would win!
LINKS ON LINKS ON LINKS. Apparently Gangnam Style is a whole Internet thing I was completely oblivious to... Celebrities read mean tweets guys... The 50 most desirable bachelorettes in NYC... Overly attached girlfriend was just trying to be nice... Something tells me this kind of bravado might subside a bit after last weekend.
