The Drought is Over
Caleb Downs scores Ohio State’s first punt return touchdown since 2014.
Good morning Wednesday Buckeyes (and Buckeyes on other days too, I suppose).
In case you haven't been introduced, I'd like you to meet the newest Buckeye, Mr. Kameron Williams, a 2013 hoops recruit from Towson, Maryland.
Kameron is the second commitment for Matta's 2013 class, joining Marc Loving.
I know we're in the middle of football season (and I love every single second of that), but I'm excited, if a little nervous, to begin the post-Sully era of Buckeye Hoops.
Williams is a 6'2" shooting guard that rates .9607 on 247's composite formula (remember they use a Gaussian distribution for that thing? Don't act like you're not impressed).
Dave has some more goods:
Kameron Williams is a 4-star recruit on ESPN (52nd overall), Rivals (80 overall) and Scout (#20 SG)
— Dave Sokol (@Dave11W) September 18, 2012
Matta has kicked off the 2013 class nicely, and here's to hoping more blue chippers follow Williams and Loving in the coming weeks.
TEBOW FOR PRESIDENT. Listen, I know you get enough Tebow coverage on the World Wide Leader (BREAKING: TEBOW EATS AT CHIPOTLE; NO COMMENT ON FAVORITE BURRITO), but this is just too good to pass up.
Tim recently commented on whether or not he might consider running for office once his playing days are through:
“I haven’t ruled it out. Whatever avenue I feel like I can make a difference in, I’d love to do,” the Jets’ backup quarterback told ESPN New York. “I haven’t ruled out anything like that. It won’t be anytime soon in my future, but it’ll be something I’ll at least look at and consider one day.”
Ok, so yeah, that comment is pretty much a non-story in and of itself. But you know what? I mean, whatever Tebow wants to do with himself after football is kinda his own thing, and I don't hate the dude for two three reasons:
- I respect the fact that he's committed to improving his game at quarterback even though he lacks the prototypical throwing mechanics of an NFL passer.
- Urban Meyer likes him. You know who else Meyer likes? John Simon. Braxton Miller. I think we have reasons to trust Urban's opinions on people.
- He's not Craig James.
Which got me thinking, instead of politics, it would be really sweet if Tebow came back and helped on Urban's staff at some point as a grad assistant. Would you be able to handle that?
Totally hypothetical, but I would have to think he'd be a hard worker, relentless recruiter, and good dude. Plus, we'd probably get more Buckeye TV specials.
A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS. I think it's clear that #FreeBruce Feldman is one of the best college football writers around, and I always tend to hold his analyses in the same class as Phil Steele's, Chris Huston's and Chris Brown's.
So I believe him when he says that Ohio State has one of the best odds at going undefeated this season:
Urban Bro, I see you Urban Meyer's team had its hands full with Cal last week, but led by Ohio State's terrific young QB Braxton Miller, the Buckeyes survived. They have no hope of playing in the post-season thanks to NCAA sanctions, but could make a run at boosting the Big Ten's rep if they can run the table where all the other power schools stumbled early and showed some serious flaws. OSU still has games vs. three ranked teams (back to back at MSU and then Nebraska) and the regular season finale vs. Michigan, which comes after a road trip to Madison.
Yeah, I'm standing by my 10-2 prediction until the Buckeyes get past MSU and Nebraska (does it still count if I adjust my prediction in the middle of the season?), but he's got a point - the schedule is pretty good for a run at going undefeated.
The team certainly isn't lacking for confidence (and when you play teams that have lost to Notre Dame, UCLA, or Oregon State, then it's understandable).
As for the top-5? Louisville (Big East), Ohio (easily the best in the MAC), Alabama (easily the best team, period), Florida State (weaker VT, Clemson, and Florida remain), and West Virginia (Texas and Oklahoma remain).
What if they're all undefeated? I know the country would love an Ohio-Alabama national championship game.
THE SEC PANTHEON. Should actually only include three guys: Saban, Miles, and you guessed it, Urban Meyer.
Bryan Curtis writes that while the SEC has easily the best conference in years past, it's really just three men that have dominated the whole of college football.
During that period, Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Urban Meyer won five of six national titles. They made nine appearances in BCS bowl games; the other nine SEC teams made three. In six years, Saban, Miles, and Meyer produced two of the SEC’s three Heisman winners. In the last three NFL drafts, they produced 17 of the SEC’s 25 first-round picks.
Especially now that the SEC seems to be way top-heavy with Bama and LSU (and maybe, maybe Georgia), these three coaches stand out. There a lot of theories about the SEC's dominance (population shifts, oversigning, Florida speed?, etc), but Curtis is safely in the "individuals matter the most" camp. Here's what he says about Urban:
Urban Meyer has relocated to Columbus. But if you saw Ohio State’s Braxton Miller fake a Cal defender out of his helmet last week, you noticed that Meyer’s genius doesn’t rely on coaching in the South. He has figured out how to use another wonderfully unusual talent, just like Percy Harvin and Tim What’s-His-Name.
I think it's probably a mix of the above factors (I'll have a review of Ray Glier's How the SEC Became Goliath on the site soon), but the above statement leaves me feeling pretty good.
YUM, SOME LINKS. CBS is feeling the love for Braxton. Me? I say wait until Nebraska before we can really judge him... Kentucky's dorms that basketball players stay in (along with some other students)...The NCAA doesn't buy Duron's hardship waver (insert joke about his Madden difficulty levels)... Great, here comes the rush of all-Boys schools... Oregon's leaked new uniforms... Rich Rod, you so funny... I heard you like stats.
