Good morning, Buckeye fans. Today is Wednesday, meaning Drink Too, Brutus and Eat Too, Brutus are almost upon us. I hope everyone's in the final stages of preparation.
I'm on Day 12 of my two-week cleanse. I've consumed nothing but shakes consisting of lemon juice, beets, and cayenne pepper, and I've only passed out eight times1. It's a small price to pay for the amount of gluttony that will be enjoyed in a couple days.
Besides picturing myself as a Kevin Spacey murder victim, I also imagine this weekend will involve behavior that everyone will have to apologize for the next day2. Luckily, to clear our consciences a bit, proceeds for the event go to a worthy cause. As Cher Horowitz put it, "'Tis a far, far better thing doing stuff for other people."
And hey, if you happen to wander into the Schott, pass out, and wake up there the next day, you might get the chance to watch the basketball team's secret scrimmage against Ohio. The actual Ohio University, Brady Hoke.
31 DAYS vs. 3 DAYS. Unlike Tressel, who seemed to know the exact days, hours, and minutes until Ohio State would take on Michigan, whether Eastern Standard Time or Yekaterinburg Time, Fickell isn't so precise. According to The Plain Dealer's Bill Livingston, that's fine because Ohio State should be concentrating on Wisconsin.
Livingston doesn't just assert that because Wisconsin is next on the schedule. He also brings up that competitively-speaking, Ohio State vs. Wisconsin has been more balanced than Ohio State vs. Michigan as of late. Since 1999, the two teams have split their 10 games evenly, and it was the only conference school that Tressel, who was 4-4 in the series, did not have a winning record against.
There has been plenty of bad blood between the two squads recently, ranging from Wisconsin handing Ohio State their only loss in a now-vacated season to freshman Terrelle Pryor's game-winning TD in Madison to Robert Reynolds introducing himself to Jim Sorgi's larynx. Plus, the article mentions that with the Buckeyes' hope for a B1G title still alive, a win, especially versus a division rival, would be huge. It would also be a boost to Fickell, who hasn't exactly been aces on the big stage.
While those are valid points, and OSU fans and players find Wisky increasingly loathsome, I doubt many are ready to put the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry on the backburner. There's too much history and tradition in The Game. If anyone feels less acrimony toward the Wolverines right now, all it would take is for Ohio State to lose to them for the hatred to return tenfold. That's certainly something I'd prefer stay theoretical.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS. Tim May checked in with the offensive line that has become more physical since the return of Mike Adams. As the 115th ranked passing offense, the OL needs to excel in the running game, which Adams is a fan of:
“As an offensive line you like that a lot, when you’re running the ball, and they know it, and you kind of just go out there and say, ‘Well, stop it,’ ” Adams said. “We say football is a game of momentum, and that is definitely a way to get momentum on your side — run the ball all over a defense.”
Nevertheless, during the bye week, the team practiced more passing plays because it'd be a challenge for a one-dimensional offense to beat the likes of Wisconsin. Supposedly, Fickell wants to see more short passes from Braxton Miller, which most of us have been in favor of for weeks.
On the other side of the ball, Adam Rittenberg detailed the rise of Johnathan Hankins. Thanks to offseason conditioning, the 335-pounder can play 60 snaps a game, way up from his average of 15 last year. Two pros that he tries to model his game after are defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh from the Lions and B.J. Raji from the Packers.
Big Hank has played better as the season progresses and is currently second on the team in tackles behind Andrew Sweat. Between Hankins and John Simon, the two have contributed 14 TFLs and five sacks so far.
Speaking of Sweat and Simon, those two, along with should-have-been-named-captain-in-the-first-place Mike Brewster, are the three captains this week. Again.
He doin' Big Hankin' up in OSU
RUSSELL WILSON PRESENTS DEF QUARTERBACK JAM. Despite brief contact with some mysterious presence at Ohio State this summer, Russell Wilson was already deciding between Wisconsin and Auburn. Fast forward a few months and he's preparing to face off against OSU, and like most upcoming opponents, he had complimentary words, comparing the defense to Michigan State's and saying, "They’ve got a lot of athletic ability obviously, starting up front all the way to the back end of the defense."
Although Sparty rattled him for the first time this season, Wilson played his best during the fourth quarter and led the Badgers to two touchdowns, the second of which tied the score with a minute and a half remaining.
In his weekly press conference, Bret Bielema, who grew up on a hog farm and is engaged to a 26-year-old from Florida3, spoke highly of Ohio State's kicking game and defense. While he'd like more game film on Miller, he said, "They look more and more like the traditional Ohio State as they get further into the season, really settled in."
HOOP, THERE IT IS. Because I know that Chris and I aren't the only ones who care about basketball during football season, it's time for a little hoops news. Before the Big Ten Media Day tomorrow, BTN's Brent Yarina offered a bold prediction for each team this year. With regard to Ohio State, his claim is that "the Buckeyes will enter the NCAA tourney undefeated."
Obviously, given how long it's been since that's occurred in college BB, it's unlikely. Though Ohio State only lost two games during the regular season last year, in both cases the opposing team had a player who channeled Salem circa 1692. It's too easy for someone to have an off game or for another player to become unconscious from the floor for me to believe it will happen. I'm not sure how confident Yarina is either since his bold prediction for Wisconsin was Jordan Taylor winning Player of the Year in the B1G. Last week, he chose Sullinger for that honor.
His less audacious predictions for stat leaders include Sully as rebound champ and Aaron Craft as the steals champ. Due to his peskiness and ability to frustrate opponents, Yarina refers to Craft as "the Big Ten’s new Chris Kramer"4, and I am now insulted on AC's behalf.
Just in case you needed a little more to get your basketball juices flowing, Gus Johnson will announce close to 30 games on BTN. I will still miss him during the Tourney. HA HAAAA!
B1G TALK. Before they hooked up for the instant classic game-winning TD, Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol competed for the starting QB job. Nichol committed to Michigan State during John L. Smith's tenure, but when he was fired, the QB recruit was wooed by Bob Stoops. At Oklahoma, he lost the starting spot to Sam Bradford and decided to transfer to MSU and again was beaten out. His switch to wide receiver eventually led to the legendary catch.
Legends-dary will be the battle between Michigan State and Nebraska, which could be decided in the trenches. Sparty's ranked #2 in the nation in total defense will look to stop Nebraska's option.
On the other end of the spectrum, Minnesota extended Jerry Kill's contract, despite producing truly terrible stats. They have given up 144 points and only scored 31 in their three Big Ten contests. Of those 31 points, 14 of them came late in the game against Nebraska. And yet, they continue to believe they can notch a conference win5.
LINKED IN. Saturday will be a busy day... The NCAA's Graduation Success Rate (GSR) is improving... One hundred years of The Oval... HBO and Tom Hanks are developing a show about college athletes... Parks & Rec and Breaking Bad have more in common than you might think... Need a Halloween costume idea from 1985-93?... Adulthood.
- 1 None of that is true, but I have tried to snack more on carrots and less on candy corn the past couple of days.
- 2 I'll let you debate it among yourselves as to who will be ingesting the parakeet medication. My money's on DJ.
- 3 Of course he did. And of course he is. EW, EW, EW.
- 4 Betcha Chris Kramer can't solve a Rubik's Cube in under a minute.
- 5 For the sake of all that is holy and good about football, Minnesota and Indiana thankfully do not play each other this season. The mere thought sends my eyeballs into spasms.
