Apologies to you bandwagon Cubs fans from boring towns in Ohio. Your scrub team okie-doked you into a false hope rally. Corey Kluber is throwing smoke tonight and Cleveland is celebrating a baseball title.
NFL better hope the Browns don't derail the Cowboys and end up in the playoffs, either. Cleveland might be talking secession by the spring.
ICYMI: Nike released the full Chic Harley throwback uniforms on Tuesday. I don't love 'em but I don't hate 'em. They're better than "1916 throwbacks" should be.
Also, the College Football Playoff Committee ranked Ohio State No. 6 (and Texas A&M fourth, lol?) in the first playoff poll of 2016.
NICKEL AND DIME LIKE IT'S 1909. Urban Meyer loves to know touchdowns. But this year *clenches fist* the touchdown rates are down. Defenses dare Ohio State to nickel and dime them into submission.
From 971thefan.com:
Lately, defenses are making it difficult to run consistently up the middle and are forcing quarterback J.T. Barrett to make more plays in the short-to-intermediate passing game.
“They’re playing off. It’s hard to run past people if they’re 10 yards off of you,” Barrett said, Monday. “This year, it’s like, ‘we see you have weapons, we’re going to back off and make you nickel-and-dime us down the field.’”
That was particularly apparent on Ohio State’s first drive against Northwestern. The Wildcats played a significant amount of cover three defense, which allows for safeties to play in the box against the run and still cover the deep middle of the field. It’s vulnerable in the flat, where the Buckeyes’ opening script attacked consistently.
Sounds like the Cover 3 is the new bear front.
Meyer stresses his team won't force the ball, and J.T. Barrett hasn't shown an inclination to shuck that creed.
Saturday night could be a watershed moment in the season. Will Meyer and Ed Warinner let the defense dictate the offense? It's hard to nickel and dime people with a running game they don't think capable of picking up three yards on fourth down against Northwestern.
GET DUMPED THEN, ALABAMA. Whether right or wrong, college football analysts rate Alabama, who runs the offense Nick Saban spent three years whining about, as the cream of the college football crop.
According to Vegas money changers, Michigan matches up better with 'Bama than Ohio State.
Projected Vegas Spreads:
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) November 1, 2016
Alabama ...
-8.5 vs. Michigan
-10 vs. Ohio St
-11 vs. Clemson
-13.5 vs. Washington
[via @GoldenNuggetLV]
A dance with Alabama is a long way away, but my mind's eye can see Meyer cackling and rolling a blunt at the prospect of being a 10-point underdog to Alabama.
The silver lining if Michigan beats Ohio State will be watching Nick Saban nuke Jim Harbaugh back to a time his newfound glasses were relevant. Then, when he gets there, I'm looking forward to Woody Hayes pulling a knife on him.
DID WE WIN, THOUGH? Recruits think it's gravy coming to Ohio State. Keep your nose clean, make a few good plays, and end up with a couple commas in your bank account after a storied NFL career.
But it's not all rainbows in Columbus, Ohio. Local fans are accustomed to winning, which means we grumble about a 12-1 season that ends with a double-kill of Michigan and Notre Dame because it wasn't a national championship.
Players always say they don't pay attention to polls, the media, etc. But apparently, they do.
From dispatch.com:
“I guess I'm not normally like this,” Meyer said, “but I see a lot of positives from our team because I know what we're playing and I know these young guys and they are getting better. I see it from maybe a different angle, viewpoint than a lot of other people.”
[...]
“Last year, we were winning games, but we’d come in and talk to y’all and it was almost like we lost,” quarterback J.T. Barrett said. “Remember that? We don’t want to go back to that place.
“It’s hard to win games. All the work we put in during the offseason, to not enjoy a win is crazy. I’m not doing that, myself. I’m trying to express that to the team, as well.”
I understand why athletes and coaches loathe talking to media, but at the same time, I don't.
The media can't seem to win because fans ride them for not asking "the hard questions" and their interview subjects think they only highlight the negative. That's why I rarely get off my couch.
I also tossed out all game-by-game expectations. It will be gas station parking lot brawls against Nebraska, Michigan State, and Michigan. I don't care if those three wins set Ohio State's offense back to the 1930s. I will enjoy every second of them and only sing the praise of the local team.
NOW THAT'S WILD. This is the most entertaining high school football play I've seen this year. If Westerville South's Bradley Robbins were Australian, I'd demand Ohio State sign him.
From usatodayhss.com:
A 5-star Nevada commitment from Westerville, Ohio, Robbins was on the receiving end of a very poor snap on Friday while backed up against his own end zone in a district game against Oletangy Orange. Rather than panic, Robbins pulled down the ball and took off to the left, eventually hitting a crease along the sideline and sprinting all the way to the Orange end zone for a memorable 90-yard Westerville South touchdown scamper.
(Spoiler: Olentangy Orange whooped South.)
I realize the above video doesn't qualify as a fake punt, but since we're all tossing out suggestions for the offense: When is Cam Johnston going to tuck the ball on one of his rollouts and pick up a first down?
SOME PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO BE FOUND. Sportswriter Jeff Pearlman teased a "Where in the World is Sports By Brooks?" story earlier this summer. (Brooks, for those unaware, was the publisher of a wildly controversial tabloid/blog before promptly falling off the face of the earth two years ago.
I teased the story in the Skull Session, and Pearlman didn't deliver. He clarified why earlier this week.
From awfulannouncing.com:
Earlier this week, Pearlman appeared on The Chris Mannix Show to talk about his new book Gunslinger. Towards the end of the interview the topic of Sports by Brooks came up. While he was careful not to go into details, Pearlman seemed to confirm the longstanding belief that mental illness may have played a role in the disappearance.
“Here’s what I can tell you. I wrote the story. I literally have on my computer a 10,000-word Sports by Brooks story that I busted my butt on hardcore. I wrote it for Bleacher Report and one of the editors said ‘I just don’t feel comfortable with this because it feels like a mental health illness.’ I did not find him, as in we did not have a face-to-face encounter. I found out, basically, what has become of him. And I’ll just say that I think my editor is correct in that it was the right thing not to…I’ll just say sometimes people go away for a reason. Not just because they fade out of prominence.”
Fair play to that Bleacher Report editor. That's why editors exist.
It's consternating to read this because this feels like my destiny. Eventually, I'll go insane and walk away to go fish in the Caribbean.
I've never fished a day in my life, either. But that's how my "career" ends. Feel free to place your bets accordingly.
CHIPOTLE BETS ON BURGERS. Chipotle had a great burrito hustle until they poisoned 30% of their customer base. Now, the once proud burrito magnate is groping for what used to be.
As such, it's turning to a new hustle: "Tasty Made," a burger joint. The first one in the nation opens tomorrow in Lancaster.
Here's Deborah Mitchell, Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing at Ohio State University, talking about Chipotle's new hustle.
From radio.wosu.org:
Sam Hendren: Chipotle made national headlines with some recent food safety scares. Do you think the company's diversification is an effort to win back customers?
Deborah Mitchell: In part, yes. Although it's also a very smart strategic move in general to diversify beyond just one type of cuisine and one real business line. So it has multiple benefits, but one of the nice side benefits or one of the major ones even, is that it will kind of give them another place to really demonstrate their excellence and without the kind of cloud or baggage associated with the food scandal.
The burger market is so crowded, and I don't see this ploy succeeding. Chipotle can call their new front whatever they want, but Taco Bell and Pizza Hut already perfected burrito-pizza matrimony.
DRINK FOR CHARITY. Nebraska at Ohio State is a top-10 matchup.
If you're coming to Columbus this weekend (or already live there like a savant), be sure to check out two key events thrown by the Eleven Warriors gang:
- Charity Banger at Land-Grant Brewing (Friday)
- Dubgate VI (Saturday)
It switched. I may drive to Columbus Friday night and stay through Saturday. Who's to say? Tough to plan your life past the next 24 hours.
THOSE WMDs. Five books making the news this week... The lost children of Runaway Train... A harrowing ocean rescue... How the biggest heist in U.S. espionage history was foiled... What it takes to clean the Ganges... What it takes for an independent record store to survive.
