Well, it's the time we've come to know: The College Football Committee will release its first poll of the 2015 season at 7 p.m. on ESPN. What will they do? What is their criteria? Nobody can say, and yet this system is infinitely better than the last.
Progress is not punctual.
ICYMI:
- Ohio State–Michigan is a 12 p.m. kick, which prevents the world from ending by primetime kick.
- Urban Meyer Monday presser bullets.
- As part of his suspension, J.T. Barrett forfeited his summer scholarship but could earn it back at a later date.
- A copy of Barrett's citation, which shows that he was driving a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer. (Shoutout to the super-fulfilled "people" who mongered the rumor about J.T. Barrett driving a fancy loaner car from a local dealership. It's one thing to make shitty Tatgate jokes (redundant, I know) in 2015; it's another to accuse a high-profile college athlete of driving a loaner car, which we all know is a war crime.
LET'S TALK GAMBLING. I tipped Minnesota to beat Michigan on Saturday, but I didn't catch the game. When I awoke on Sunday morning people were still dumbfounded by the stupidity displayed by the Minnesota coaching staff in the closing minutes of the game. I figured I'd pass on any other viewing of the event.
So it sounds like quite the gut-punch from which Minnesota must rebound. According to Sportsbook, Ohio State is 23.5-point favorites over the visiting Gophers. Gambling on the Buckeyes (in Vegas or overseas where its legal) probably depends on your confidence in Cardale Jones' ability. (*shoves a pile of crinkled $5 bills and loose change into the middle of the table*)
As for the national stuff, Ohio State is still the odds on favorite to be the last one standing.
Per Bovada:
| TEAM | 10/26/15 ODDS | 11/12/15 ODDS |
|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 11/5 | 5/2 |
| ALABAMA | 11/2 | 5/1 |
| CLEMSON | 12/1 | 13/2 |
| BAYLOR | 11/2 | 7/1 |
| LSU | 15/2 | 10/1 |
If I were forced to bet on a non-Ohio State team, it'd be Clemson. Dabo Swinney is corny, but he's a helluva football coach.
As for the Heisman, Trevone Boykin is climbing up the ranks.
| PLAYER | SCHOOL | POSITION | 10/26/15 ODDS | 11/2/15 ODDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LEONARD FOURNETTE | LOUISIANA STATE | RB | 2/5 | 4/9 |
| TREVONE BOYKIN | TEXAS CHRISTIAN | QB | 15/2 | 5/1 |
| EZEKIEL ELLIOTT | OHIO STATE | RB | 9/1 | 8/1 |
| DESHAUN WATSON | CLEMSON | QB | 11/1 | 9/1 |
| DERRICK HENRY | ALABAMA | RB | 11/1 | 14/1 |
Given Elliott's 100-yard game streak, he's in prime position for stating his closing arguments against the defenses of Michigan State (not as good as years' past) and Michigan (overrated). There are worse bets you could make.
PRICE ON A BRICK GOING UP. Stop me if anybody has heard this before: Ohio State is raising ticket pr— Oh? Everyone here has heard this one before?
Well, shit.
From BizJournals.com:
Tickets to Ohio State University’s tilt next year with the University of Michiganare likely to be priced at $195 - the highest-ever face value for regular seating - under its variable-pricing model that hikes prices for more-anticipated games and discounts the less-attractive ones.
[...]
A season ticket will run $614, based on a 15 percent discount on the full slate of seven regular-season home games.
Student tickets will remain at $34 per game through at least the 2020 season, based on the council's proposal.
Assuming Dino Babers isn't snatched up by one of the 56 programs looking/will be looking for a coach and Mike Riley is still employed at Nebraska, you'll get more bang for your bucks (pun intended, y'all) with a Bowling Green ticket ($70) than Nebraska ($135).
Fans can grumble about tickets, but this is how a behemoth like Ohio State pays its bills, and it's a trend I expect to continue until fans stop showing up.
(Don't look now but Ohio State's 2016 home slate is assy: Bowling Green, Tulsa, Rutgers, Indiana, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan.)
THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE. You know who said Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, and Raekwon McMillan would be good this year? Me. I broke that story, and yet nobody ever seems to cite me, the guy who broke that story.
Congratulations to @EzekielElliott (Maxwell Award), @jbbigbear (Bednarik Award) and @Kwon_daTRUTH (Butkus Award) for their semifinal honors
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) November 2, 2015
OSU TO HONOR A DRUG KINGPIN. Ohio State is honoring the Viagra godfather, but in a shocking twist of events it's not for ushering in the phrase "four-hour erection," which apparently is a real thing. This fella, who I assume lives the life of a legalized Pablo Escobar, will probably fly into Columbus on a jet encased in platinum.
From BizJournals.com:
Ohio State University wants to bestow an honorary doctorate degree on the man who made Viagra possible.
Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist Louis Ignarro will receive the award, pending confirmation this week by the OSU board of trustees.
Ignarro is a well-known name in the global science community, most notably for winning the Nobel Prize in 1998. He and two colleagues received the prize for discovering how the gas nitric oxide can positively impact blood vessels and circulation.
The Ohio State degree better replace that dusty-ass Nobel on Ignarro's mantle. Otherwise, what's the point?
HERMAN KEEPS IT 100. The Houston Cougars attempted a black out of their own last Saturday night. Tom Herman's gang did their part (the Coogs rolled Vanderbilt, 34-0) but TDECU was only about 74 percent full.
Much like when Tom Herman founded MENSA, the organization for geniuses, a 74 percent mark isn't up to his snuff.
From The Houston Chronicle:
University of Houston coach Tom Herman was asked his weekly question about attendance during Monday’s press conference.
Media member: So, coach, what did you think about Saturday night’s impressive turnout (official attendance announced as 29,565) for the Vanderbilt game?
“You thought last week was impressive?” Herman asked with a serious look on his face.
The writing is on the wall in Houston. Herman doesn't accept mediocrity, and despite Houston's recent athletic investments, it's still an AAC school with no history.
As long as Herman doesn't end up at USC or Miami, I'm cool with it. It'd be captivating television to watch Herman battle his old sensei, Urban Meyer, in the playoffs in the next couple years.
THOSE WMDs. How one of the biggest swindlers in American history built a horse breeding empire... The man who flew like a bird... Driest place on Earth covered in pink flowers after rare rain... The latest cars off the North Korean assembly lines... Doritos deconstructed.
