Good morning Buckeye fans, and welcome to your early morning dose of ooey gooey Buckeye goodness.
It's been a very difficult year for the Buckeyes and their fans, and it's great to sense that familiar feeling of positivity and Buckeye swagger floating around Buckeye nation again (at least this week). Last week's instant classic against Wisconsin has turned a ton of frowns upside down, and the Buckeyes are back in the Big Ten title hunt after consecutive wins against ranked teams.
Luke Fickell, for all of his questionable decisions on the field, has done one thing remarkably well this season: the Buckeyes football team plays hard, whistle to whistle; each and every week. It's clear how much the young men on the football team respect and adore Luke Fickell.
Of course, the adoration and respect of your players does not a head coach make, but it's a positive sign for the Buckeyes moving forward.
WHAT IF WE GET CAKE AND CONSUME IT AS WELL "Why does Jeremy talk about the love and respect that the team has for Luke when he clearly is rooting for Urban Meyer to be named the head coach after the season is done?" That is an interesting question you've raised, and I am proud of you for forcing me to expound on my position!
What if I told you that there was some momentum, building to a crescendo, and that crescendo would result in a glorious, melodic explosion of good-tidings and best-of-both-worlds, pleasure overload?
What if I told you that Urban Meyer and Luke Fickell would both be coaching at Ohio State next year? How would that make you feel?
Well, I am not going to tell you that, but I am also telling you to not discount the possibility. It's out there. Of course, it's not something that comes to fruition without the express written consent of the Urbanator, and the grapevine indicates he's gung-ho on the idea. Urban needs all of his coaches to be balls-to-the-walls recruitaholics, and there's little doubt that Luke is the best recruiter on the Ohio State staff, and has been for some time. Couple that with Fick's popularity in Ohio, and it would be a smart move for Meyer to consider.
Would Luke take this "demotion"? That is of course an important question, but remember: he was only supposed to be Ohio State's head man for two games, and then five, and then all heck broke loose, so it's unlikely that he feels entitled to the position. I dare say he likely recognized his role as a placeholder from the beginning, and due to that, being moved to an assistant head coach spot, with a salary commensurate with the top assistants in college football, would not really be a slap in the face at all.
Keep that in your back of your brain, as this sort of thing is still less likely than likely, but it's worth holding out a bit of hope.
KOZAN, THREE STAR SUPERSTAR. Recruiting rankings are about as useful as mammary glands on a bull, so it's been said, and there may be no better example of that this year than example of Valor Christian's (Highlands Ranch, CO) Alex Kozan. Kozan boasts scholarship offers from many of the countries big-boy programs, including Oklahoma State, Iowa, LSU and most recently, Ohio State. The 6'4, 295 pound guard was very high on the Buckeyes early in the recruiting cycle, but the Buckeyes were slow to offer him, preferring to focus on their need at tackle.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, that vacuum at tackle remains, but fortunately for them, Kozan had not yet given up on his hopes for a Buckeye offer when they finally made the call two weeks ago. Since then, there has been rampant speculation that Kozan would likely end up donning the scarlet and gray, and while it's definitely not a guaranteed thing, the chances are getting better this weekend as Kozan makes an official visit to Columbus.
He will be the only recruit in town on an official visit, and as such, is likely to get a lot of individual attention from the coaching staff. Will he commit after his visit? Stay tuned to find out.
Ben Buchanan has been a relentless, football murdering WMD.
NOT LOOKING AHEAD After last week's heart-stopping, pulse-quickening win against Wisconsin, it's likely that the Buckeyes may suffer some sort of hang-over early in this weekends game with Indiana. According to Fick, that's just not something that his group of players will let happen.
"We focus on one game at a time. We're in no place to look past anything. But what we're thinking is a big part of it. And we can pound things into their head and us as coaches can do the same thing but it ultimately comes down to you controlling your mind. "
After the way the Buckeyes have bounced back from a couple of devastating losses, it appears that for the most part the team has done an excellent job controlling their minds so far. Of course, it's easier to get your mind right as you prepare to play Wisconsin than it might be preparing to play a 1-8 Indiana team.
SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL ONCE MORE. There was virtually nothing special about the Ohio State special teams' play in the now vacated 2010 season. Ohio State was bad at punting, average kicking field goals, and at times, embarrassing in kick and punt return coverage.
This season, however, the Buckeyes special teams play, once the hallmark of the Jim Tressel era, seems to have righted the wayward ship. Through 8 games, Ohio State has allowed a paltry 17.67 yards per kick-off return, and an outstanding 6.11 yards per punt return. On the flipside, the Buckeyes, led by Jordan Hall, are averaging nearly 27 yards per KO return, and over 11 yards per punt return.
Ben Buchanan is a "putting it inside the 20 yard line" monster, and Drew Basil, after missing his first four career attempts, has rallied with ten straight made field goals, and is a perfect 22 of 22 on extra points.
The improved special teams is a big reason why the Buckeyes, who have suffered from uncharacteristic defensive lapses to go along with an at times anemic offense, have been able to stay in some games the may have otherwise been knocked out of.
Look for Indiana's Shane Wynn, a Cleveland Glenville alum, to challenge the Ohio State kick return team regularly on Saturday, as Ohio State should be kicking off a few more times than normal.
QUICK SLANTS. The Sporting News weighs in on where they think Urban Meyer should coach next season...ESPN continues it's SEC assault on your TV...Another round of media bullets heading towards Ohio State is a result of a big win methinks...A celebration of the best 'staches in history...
