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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
Ohio State's men's basketball team plays today, and I made the arbitrary decision to crack the Loko like it's a football game day. Why? Because the Sun came up, the Buckeyes play, and there's somebody out there that needs knocked off their high horse.
Maryland... what can you say, really? They're congenial people who identify with balls of compressed crab meat. Kinda bizarre if you ask me, but at least their basketball team is respectable... unlike Rutgers, who is still drunk and unresponsive in the corner. (I refuse to waste my minutes on calling an ambulance, somebody else can pick up that tab because I know that slob doesn't carry insurance.)
Could Ohio State get mopped? Maybe. It's a young team and anything could happen. But I'm content with my place in the sand.
| TIME (ET) | MATCHUP | TELEVISION |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | OHIO STATE at No. 3 MARYLAND | ESPN2 |
| 12:00 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE at No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA | ESPN |
| 12:30 | INDIANA at MINNESOTA | BTN |
| 2:00 | TEXAS CHRISTIAN at No. 1 KANSAS | ESPN |
| 2:00 | No. 7 XAVIER at MARQUETTE | FS1 |
| 2:00 | NOTRE DAME at No. 9 DUKE | ESPN2 |
| 4:00 | No. 11 WEST VIRGINIA at No. 2 OKLAHOMA | ESPN2 |
| 4:00 | No. 14 KENTUCKY at AUBURN | ESPN |
NEW KING SLOB WELCOMES STUDRAWA. King Slob Taylor Decker is dead. Long live King Slob Taylor Decker!
Alas, there is a new Slob era upon us, and the crown has befallen to Pat Elflein, a three-star recruit turned All-American. How does Elflein feel about bringing Greg Studrawa into the fold?
From espn.com:
“Coach Warinner is a very gifted coach, and we utilized him to the full potential in those last two games we played,” Ohio State captain Pat Elflein told ESPN.com. “We let him do it, we ran a lot of tempo, we were in good plays and good situations, and I feel like he knows us -- knows the offensive line and what we can do, and I feel like that had something to do with it. It worked out, and I think it showed how good he is, too.
“And now with [Studrawa], I got the chance to sit down and talk to him and kind of see what he’s about, what he expects. I think he’ll be a great fit for our room. We’re all excited about it, get a little different perspective on things. It’s not that Coach Warinner’s stuff wasn’t good, this will just be adding to it.”
Having two of the nation’s best offensive line coaches on the same staff could prove even more useful for a unit that will have to replace three starters this offseason and is already planning on moving Elflein to center after he elected to return for his senior season.
I'll always be thankful to Tim Hinton for his resurrection of Marion Harding football. Without it, I doubt I would be the football fan I am today.
But it's impossible to see this move as anything but an upgrade.
Tim Beck caught the slander (welcome, new fella!), but it's hard to argue with the results of moving Warinner to the box. It's a shame Ohio State's loss didn't come earlier in the season, because it could've altered championship history.
TAYLOR DECKER: MR. CONSISTENCY. Taylor Decker could be an NFL player right now. But he made the business decision to come back, and he emerged as one of (if not the) most consistent offensive tackles in country.
Of course, "Taylor Decker is good" is no revelation, which is why I like draft season because it means football minds dissecting former Buckeyes' games.
From thedraftwire.com:
As a run blocker, there may be no more enjoyable lineman to watch than Decker. The Ohio State product just blows defenders off the ball, playing with surprising leverage for a 6-8, 315-pound man. Decker meets his target with exceptional initial pop to gain control, then continues to sustain contact with excellent balance and leg drive to displace defenders and create gaping holes. He understands angles at the second level, and is patient enough to avoid lunging and getting overextended trying to reach his target. Decker is so stout and immovable with such a long reach that it allows him to seal off edge players trying to defend the boundary against perimeter runs. The Buckeyes left tackle complements his power well with the tenacity to finish blocks and deposit defenders on their backside in the run game.
The strides Decker has made as a pass protector are eye-popping. He gets out of his stance with a smooth kick slide to set up cleanly before pass rushers have a chance to reach him. Decker leverages well with his hands, getting up and into defenders’ pads to stymie their forward progress quickly. His punch is so powerful that Decker typically gains control of pass rushers almost immediately, keeping his hands inside with a strong grip.
Obviously my offensive line knowledge is minuscule, but one of the best features of Twitter is the minute breakdowns of offensive line play:
Great patience by Decker. So many young tackles lunge trying to initiate contact. Stays in his stance w/act... https://t.co/eAmBWho9zJ
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) January 15, 2016
Going to miss Decker, but the Happy Jamarco era is one helluva consolation prize.
BOSA GETS SLATE'D. As mentioned in Friday's Skull Session, Joey Bosa—spurred by an offseason suspension–made a business decision of moving into his own apartment and basically taking the year off from social perks awarded to big-time college athletes.
This was a decision Bosa made of his own free will and one he said he rather enjoyed.
This is bad according to some guy who didn't talk to Joey Bosa.
From slate.com (via Steveoz49):
NFL rules, which have been upheld in federal court, mandate that players be out of high school for three years before they can enter the draft. And so—for his own protection and for the benefit of NFL general managers who want to see him perform contrition—Bosa goes to live in a dark cave. Ohio State won a national title and earned millions thanks to Bosa’s incredible play. The player, meanwhile, must spend three years hoping to escape injury and avoiding the kinds of news stories that pro football personnel people will see as a “red flag.”
For Bosa, then, spending a year palling around with his Xbox is a smart business decision. If he can’t make any money as an Ohio State Buckeye, then he might as well lock himself in an apartment, turn off the lights, and watch the clock count down to draft day. As he twiddles his thumbs, he can take pride in knowing that Ohio State’s new 15-year, $252 million deal with Nike is a lot bigger than the sportswear giant’s deal with Michigan. Beating your rival is what college sports is all about.
Point about Ohio State caking off Bosa's talent aside, this only holds up if Urban Meyer sentenced Bosa to solitary confinement against his will. If only he'd read the article off which he based his attack in full, or was familiar with Joey Bosa the person.
OHIO STATE CITED WIKIPEDIA IN LEGAL CASE. Caesars Casino Group wants to use "The Shoe" in marketing for its Horseshoe Casino in Cincinnati.
That doesn't fly with Ohio State, an organization that keeps cease and desist letters on deck. PEOPLE MIGHT THINK OHIO STATE ENDORSES A CASINO, after all.
Facing an opponent with equal resources, however, OSU is fighting an uphill climb in court. And like a freshman throwing shit against the wall the night before a term paper is due... they're citing Wikipedia.
From bizjournals.com:
Caesars' Atlanta based-attorneys said a mark must be undeniably famous before it qualifies for protection under trademark law.
"For a mark to meet this standard, it must be a 'household name' to all consumers across the United States," lawyers from Alston & Bird LLP say. "(Ohio State) has failed to state a plausible claim that its mark meets this standard."
The motion says establishing nationwide fame is a tough standard and that few meet the requirements. Even the Longhorn logo for the University of Texas, another large, football-famous university in a state capital, does not meet the requirements. (Ohio State's November opposition filing used an article from Wikipedia describing a 2005 game against Texas as proof of The Horseshoe's widespread use).
I think the judge should rule in Ohio State's favor on the ballsiness of the legal salvo alone.
EVERYTHING OKAY, ARNOLD? One of my favorite things about Columbus is we have a statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger... not the "kindly businessman" Schwarzenegger either; we built a hyerbolized statue of the Schwarzenegger that started his day with a balanced breakfast of horse steroids.
How times have changed. pic.twitter.com/GdFo0BHjKK
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 15, 2016
We signed Homeless Schwarzenegger, baby! The Discovery City is steamrolling to 2020.
THOSE WMDs. A bad #take.. The high-tech world of fish matchmaking... This is how toxic Flint, Michigan's water is... The story of what happened after 'Back It Up At Krispy Kreme'... Subway cars at the bottom of the Atlantic... Office fans, who will Pam choose this time?
