With the stomping of Miami kicking off the Urban Meyer era last weekend, the competition ratchets up sharply tomorrow as the Buckeyes welcome the UCF Knights to the Horseshoe.
We've heard all week about the Knights boasting a half dozen-ish NFL caliber players on the roster and with guys like Phil Steele bullish on the outfit, Ohio State fans should be salivating over the opportunity to better gauge just how good this Buckeye team is at present.
The old saying goes that teams make their biggest improvement from week one to week two. Specifically, I want to see if that holds true for Braxton Miller.
As discussed in last week's Five Things, though Braxton put up stellar numbers, he's likely still only scratching the surface of his true potential. He uncorked a few cutters last weekend and seemingly kept the ball on a few rushing attempts that stood to gain more yards if he shared the rock with either Carlos Hyde or Philly Brown on the zone read or option plays out wide.
That said, the beauty of this season is that each week presents immunity to meaningful consequences outside of injury while offering the opportunity for Miller to further enhance his skill sets in an offense tailor-made to exploit his strengths.
Immunity or not, Ohio State should still win this game, even if they don't cover the 18 points because the fact is the best player on either roster will have the ball in his hands more often than anyone else.
Basically, bring on Act II of the Braxton Miller Show. He's got just 11 more before failure is no longer an option.
GRIFFIN MAKING HIS OWN MARK. Lost amidst the pomp and circumstance surrounding Urban's debut and Braxton's swerve was the play of Archie's son, cornerback and special teamer Adam Griffin.
The redshirt sophomore and son of the most famous Buckeye in history, Griffin wasn't considered a blue chip prospect despite his exploits on both sides of the ball at DeSales and was nothing more than a backup special teamer during the Tressel era.
With a chance to impress a fresh set of eyes, Griffin has made the most of his opportunity. He's currently somewhat in the mix with Doran Grant as a backup to Travis Howard but more importantly, he emerged as a starter on special teams.
With two stops in kick coverage against Miami, Griffin earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors as his confidence continues to soar.
A tip of the cap to a kid that respects what his Pop accomplished but clearly wants to make his own mark at Ohio State, recently saying, "I don't feel a sense of obligation. I want to play for self pride, as opposed to Griffin family pride."
PAC-IN HEAT. Ohio State and B1G backers have mostly come to grips with the fact the SEC is a dominant football conference, thanks largely to the argument that oversigning, among other factors, creates a lopsided playing field.
What's lesser known is just how pitiful B1G squads have fared when taking on Pac-12 teams on the road. Since 1993, the conference has posted a dismal 5-25-1 mark, with Ohio State recording two of the wins. The Buckeyes beat Arizona back in 2000 and took care of the Huskies 33-14 in 2007 thanks to a big day from Beanie Wells. Also of note, the victory was the 200th of Tressel's career and the 21st consecutive regular season win for OSU, tying the school record set back in 1967-'69.
As Adam Rittenberg notes, the conference has a chance to chip away at the putrid record Saturday with Wisconsin favored by seven at Oregon State and Nebraska headed to UCLA as a 5 1/2 point favorite. Illinois could also help the cause, though they are currently a four-point dog at Arizona State.
Two out of three would be nice, though it would do virtually nothing to help the conference's mojo from the vantage point of the national media, and rightfully so.
H/T @kyleRbryantLAY OFF THE DRUGS, SON. Despite being a backup linebacker on a team currently listed as a 40-point dog to Alabama, T.J. Smith of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers couldn't help but say the unthinkable when asked about Saturday's tilt with the team that just waterboarded Michigan:
I'll tell you what, we're gonna play hard -- I'll tell you what, we're gonna freaking win this game. Truly, we got a great defense, great linebackers -- so watch this game, we're gonna win.
Calm down, son. I'm trying to appreciate your moxie but it always comes off cooler when the gum-runner actually sees the field. That said, Smith isn't all bad in that he hates Alabama as much as you do:
"We really don't like Alabama. Anything about Alabama. Dad, he didn't like Alabama. Momma didn't like Alabama, so I didn't like Alabama."
Word. Roll (into the fiery pits of hell) Tide.
WILLIE BUCKETS AND TERENCE DIALS INK DEALS. In case you missed it, following up a frustratingly average senior season with a perplexing string of efforts at various Pre-Draft events, William Buford recently signed a deal to play with Obradoiro, a member of Spain's top pro hoops league.
The move felt like a no-brainer based on Buford's stock plummeting faster than Enron and he seems at peace with the situation:
I thought trying to make it to the NBA this year was kind of a risk so I figured why not come to the best league besides the NBA.
A risk, indeed. Speaking of risks, Robbie Hummel will put his knees to the test as Buford's teammate, according to the esteemed Bob Baptist.
Meanwhile, Baptist notes that Terence Dials will play his seventh straight pro season abroad, this time with Limoges, a squad making the leap to France's "Pro A Division" and will open his season on 10/6 against the David Lighty-led Nanterre club.
HELP USA TODAY FIGURE IT OUT. Looking to identify the nation's best college football town, USA Today requests your input. The newspaper also turned to various CFB junkies in search of their opinions on the subject.
Just one of the four—and coincidentally a good friend of 11W—Adam Kramer, from Kegs 'N Eggs, has Columbus in his top three:
The dedication from the Buckeye faithful is both admirable and slightly sadistic, and the masses begin surrounding Ohio Stadium well before sunrise on game days. Buses, tents and grills are scattered throughout the 100,000-plus souls that flock to see Ohio State play. And while the weather will turn hostile at some point mid-fall, it won't even make them flinch. With head coach Urban Meyer back home in Ohio, you can expect this dial to be turned up a notch…if such a thing is possible."
Not surprisingly, six of the 15 venues named by the panel are located with the footprint of the SEC.
LINKY DINKY DOG. Eddie Rife's weed dealer gets 15 years in the hole... Grandma dances like Usher... Billy Gillispie is having a bad week... NFL to replace officials with player honor system... Pretty safe to say Nebraska won't hold another football clinic for women... Good on Beilein... 2012 College Football All-Name Team: Non-BCS Conferences... It was not a good 24 hours for my block.
