It seems everyone outside Buckeye Nation thinks we don't know this, so in case you were kept out of the loop, I just thought I would let you know:
OHIO STATE IS NOT GOING TO A BOWL GAME!
You hadn't heard yet, right? If that minor little detail hadn't made it across your radar yet, you must not socialize with enough people outside of the Ohio State fanbase, because it seems everyone else has taken it upon themselves to remind us, no matter how irrelevant the context, that the Buckeyes aren't going bowling this year.
Just thought I'd help them with their PSA. You're welcome. And I'm sorry.
All that said, you know who is playing in bowl games this year? A lot of other teams! And while we could debate for days whether or not there are too many bowl games (and thus, too many bowl teams), more football gets filed under the "does not suck" category. The Belk Bowl certainly did not disappoint, unless you bet on Duke and watched your money spontaneously combust in the last minute.
And we still have over twenty bowl games to go!
MOONLIGHTING AT THE WWL. It was announced on Thursday by ESPN publicist Mike Humes that Urban Meyer will be playing a role in the upcoming BCS Championship Game, after all. Meyer will be joining Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin on ESPN in studio for coverage of the title game on January 7th.
Though Meyer has admitted since the B1G Championship Game that the thought of not playing in the postseason, despite a perfect season, has been difficult, and covering the game will surely sting a bit, this really is a big win for everyone. He was pretty fantastic as an analyst for ESPN during his sabbatical from coaching; if I wasn't so excited to be gaining Urban Meyer as the head coach of Ohio State, I'd have been disappointed as a football fan to be losing his insights on a weekly basis. So, as this season comes to an end, we'll get to have both for one brief, shining moment.
Another thing to consider: Jim Tressel wasn't exactly a media favorite. While Tress certainly didn't bring all the hate with him to Columbus, his attitude towards the media didn't exactly help to promote a favorable image of the Buckeyes in the minds of those that help to shape public opinion in the sports world.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Urban era at Ohio State, given his open attitude with the media, helps to cast the Buckeyes in a slightly different light than the one cast over the Tressel era. It will be interesting to see how much media-hate we see in the next few years.
PAGING MISS CLEO. SI's Andy Staples came out with his ten predictions for 2013 this week. Among predictions regarding whether or not Johnny Football will win a second Heisman, whether or not Chip Kelly and Nick Saban will head to the NFL and the status of Notre Dame's relevance in the upcoming year, Staples predicts that Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes will continue to dominate the Big Ten.
Not surprising, considering Ohio State is coming off of an undefeated season, but the best part about it was the uproar he faced on Twitter, when Wolverine fans caught wind of this, leading to tweets such as this and this. Oh, and this and this. And, ooooh, sick burn.
Gotta love those Michigan Wolverines.
Holiday greetings from some of Urban's favorites.SWITCH HITTER. Often lost during the major man crushing that Urban did on John Simon this year, was the impact that Zach Boren had on the 2012 Buckeyes' undefeated run. Obviously, we know about the impact that he had when he made the switch to defense midseason, which was nothing short of impressive.
Tim May wrote an article this week on Boren's leadership role on this team, and the grind mentality that was instilled in the captains by Urban Meyer, and passed on to the rest of the team throughout the season.
I'd love to play spoiler and tell you all about it, but you should probably read it. It sheds some light on the role that Boren played, the way Urban was able to lead a team (that lost too many close games last year) to fight to the very end, and some of the close victories that the Buckeyes narrowly escaped early in the year.
It's a quick read, and the Buckeyes don't play for about eight months. What else are you going to do?
WILD, WILD WEST. What the heck is Lane Kiffin doing?! And how does this guy have that job? This is the stuff that keeps me up at night. And no, I'm not kidding... it keeps me up at night.
Here's a little recap of the Trojans' Sun Bowl experience, thus far. Kiffin has had at least two players tweeting smack about El Paso, the city that is hosting them. His fault? No, not really. But I guess when your coach is a P.O.S., you can't really expect your players to be respectful. Matt Barkley being a half-decent kid is a full-blown anomaly at this point.
One of the highlights of the week was the Sun Bowl's official Twitter account tweeting a picture of baby Kiffin, with the description, "Head coach Lane Kiffin states that they are excited to be at the #SunBowl!" Why so great? Because LOOK HOW EXCITED HE LOOKS!
Also, Georgia Tech got up and left a Sun Bowl dinner because the Trojans were no-shows. Apparently, they were an hour late (though there were conflicting reports about which teams were invited at what times, but GT insiders confirm that USC was an hour late), which just opens up a whole can of "Lane Kiffin can't manage the clock" jokes. Their reasoning was that their practice ran late, and they were on the other side of town. Again, clock management, BRO!
I get that the expectations for a lost kid at Take Your Son to Work Day can only be so high, but it was mentioned on Thursday that his press conference opened with a series of apologies and explanations for mishaps this week. This is different from any other week in the life of Lane Kiffin, HOW?
The worst offense of all, in the Trojans' Sun Bowl experience? The preseason #1 team IS PLAYING IN THE SUN BOWL! Now do you see how this keeps me up at night?
DID YOU GET THAT MEMO? In case you weren't aware, the University of Wisconsin football program has taken it upon themselves to monitor the unofficial gentlemen's agreement that all coaches everywhere have unknowingly consented to.
Tom Mulhern of the Wisconsin State Journal reported earlier this week that Barry Alvarez has asked the coaches leaving Madison to not poach Wisconsin recruits. A nice thought, and perhaps he felt it necessary to explicitly state his wishes, given the competitive recruiting environment these days, but what is with Wisconsin and their gripes on this matter? When did Wisconsin become the Mecca for such gentlemen?
Bielema stated that he won't contact any recruits that have already committed to Wisconsin, but won't turn away any recruits that contact him, as one already has. I have no Bielema joke here, unfortunately, as this is likely the classiest way to handle such a situation. But am I the only one who finds it odd that Alvarez has made a point of asking this of the departing coaching staff?
LINKS. LINKS. LINKS. Deadspin presents: The Year in Weird... In case you weren't aware, Lane Kiffin needs to grow up... It's not supposed to be funny, but this just makes me laugh... Your guess is as good as mine, as to what's going on here... What was Tommy Tuberville wearing last night???
