Wednesday Skull Session

Welcome to the Skull Session. It's such a lovely day, isn't it? The birds are chirping, the sun is beaming down on the flowers, and Orlando Pace doesn't have to road-grade the fools keeping him out of the College Football Hall of Fame anymore.

A dominant force at left tackle from 1994-1996, Pace was, in John Cooper's words, "not only the best offensive lineman I have ever coached, but he is the best I have ever seen." We've covered Pace's exploits before, and him not being a first-ballot inductee will remain a headscratcher. Nevertheless, he's in and we don't have to campaign for him any longer. Tommie Frazier and some other people were inducted too, but they're the terrified bystanders to Orlando Pace's Godzilla.

In other news about former Buckeye standouts, Mike Conley had one fantastic game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday evening: 26 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds in a Memphis victory. That's quite the evolution from the player who inspired this deranged rant not three years ago.

On a more personal note, the end of Sarah's time writing at Eleven Warriors has me feeling a bit melancholy, as she was such a big help to those of us starting out here. At least one aspect of here legacy will be preserved: for those of you bemoaning the end of footnotes, I've got you covered¹!

ADJUSTING TO THE NFL. With a number of Buckeyes entering the NFL either as drafted players (like John Simon) or undrafted free agents (like Zack Boren and Jake Stoneburner), the transition to the NFL is something that concerns all of them. Those three Buckeyes in particular were working out at OSU facilities on Tuesday, and were kind enough to be interviewed about the transition. John Simon's interview was particularly insightful:

John Simon talked about his fit with the Baltimore Ravens defensive scheme, and how the Ohio State defense helped to prepare him for the next level:

"It's an exciting time, it's a great opportunity for me to be able to play for the defending Super Bowl champs, and I'm just looking forward to the opportunity... I think playing at Ohio State really acclimates you for the next level, and the professionalism all our players and coaches show here prepares you for the NFL... I think I was pretty well prepared from Ohio State, and a lot of it is the same terminology and some of the very similar things we do here, so I think that helped me get an edge, and I think I picked it up pretty well. I'm still studying it, but I'm getting a grasp.

Simon said that the Ravens had completed their minicamp and he had spent some time at outside linebacker there. He had some positive things to say about the process of being drafted, John Harbaugh, what he would miss most about his time at Ohio State (Columbus), and other challenges of the NFL.

You can hear Zack Boren's and Jake Stoneburner's interviews here and here; unlike Simon they won't have the same level security in their contracts, but they each have their own motivations to succeed.

THROWING SHADE AT THE SEC. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops spoke boldly in denying that the SEC is wholly superior to the rest of college football:

"So they've had the best team in college football," Stoops said. "They haven't had the whole conference. Because, again, half of 'em haven't done much at all. I'm just asking you. You tell me."

Rather than focusing on the champions of the league, he wants to look at the middle and lower tiers of the conference as a form of evaluation:

"So you're listening to a lot of propaganda that gets fed out to you," he said. "You're more than smart enough to figure it out. Again, you can look at the top two, three, four, five, six teams, and you can look at the bottom six, seven, eight, whatever they are. How well are they all doing?

"What'd we (the Big 12) have, eight of 10 teams in bowl games this year? Again, you figure it all out."

Stoops's team was recently crushed in the Cotton Bowl by newly-minted SEC school Texas A&M and the article gives Stoops and the Big 12 a very sympathetic glaze, so there's an element of sour grapes and self-promotion to the criticism. All the same, he raises another interesting point about the ability of entities to shape narrative over time:

Before Ohio State played Miami in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State couldn't possibly keep up because of "southern speed". The term has since transmogrified into Ess Eee Cee Speeeeed.
In 2004 an unbeaten Auburn team was left out of the national title game; in 2014, skipping over an Auburn team with the same record and same level of skill would be unthinkable.
"The SEC beats itself up" used to be a talking point to attempt to legitimate a one or two loss SEC champion; now that it's not needed anymore, it has disappeared.
In 2006, CBS's Gary Danielson politicked on national TV for Florida's title game hopes because OSU/Michigan would be a rematch; in 2011, he politicked for Alabama to rematch against LSU over equally qualified Oklahoma State because he thought Alabama was the better team.

In national media, the conception of strength lies with the top teams in a conference, in part because outstanding teams are rarer than mediocre teams and in part because the top teams are more marketable to audiences than middling teams. The SEC's lower half is actually comparably strong to the other major conferences, but when the big dogs in the conference keep winning, the other teams will naturally get outsized credit those victories. The best way to counter that, as always, is to have your conference's teams beat those suckers.

Why's it called a pancake? Because he flattens fools.

Mmm... Pancakes.

IT'S A CAKEWALK, PROBABLY. In not-breaking news, Ohio State is the favorite to win the Leaders Division this fall. According to Las Vegas sportsbook The Greek, the Buckeyes are a -800 favorite to advance to the Big Ten championship game. Wisconsin is the next most likely winner at +300, and Purdue, Illinois, and Indiana are all long shots at +1000, +1200, and +1500. Penn State is ineligible, and thus unlisted.

In the Legends Division (oh, how I long for a switch to East and West ASAP) it's a tighter race: Michigan State is a narrow favorite over Michigan and Nebraska at +200, with Northwestern and Iowa a bit behind them and Minnesota straggling.

In terms of probability, -800 is roughly an 85-90% chance of winning the division. Translation: don't pop the bubbly yet, but do purchase a corkscrew.

DAVID PERKINS GONE? After a shaky 2012 year, a thin Ohio State linebacker corps couldn't afford to lose any more people. Unfortunately, it appears that could be the case, as David Perkins may be leaving the program according to Dave Biddle of Bucknuts.

At this time the reasons behind Perkins' supposed departure are not readily known. Perkins, who came to Ohio State in the class of 2012, has been in good standing with the football team as far as I know. His departure leaves the football team short on experience. Ryan Shazier is an obvious starter, and Josh Perry seems to be another starter. Beyond them and a reliance on Curtis Grant, the incoming linebacker class was expected to play a small role in the rotation. Without Perkins, the chances of true freshmen Mike Mitchell, Trey Johnson, and Chris Worley getting impactful playing time increase greatly.

If Perkins really is leaving the program, at least we'll always have Brutus.

RAKING IN THE DOUGH. Every year, USA Today publishes a spreadsheet of NCAA school athletic department budgets, and this year is no different. The 2012 information is out, and Ohio State is back up to #2 in total revenue at $142 million, leapfrogging #3 Michigan. Texas is the richest athletic department with $162 million, while the poorest athletic department is New Orleans at $3.1 million. Once again, Ohio State's athletic department received no subsidies.

No word yet on how the new figures change the amount spent per athlete in major conferences, but the answer is still GORILLIONS.

LINKS AHOY. Texas Tech doesn't consider pwning n00bs actual physical activity... Major League Baseball gets $16 from your cable bill next year... Wyoming's colors are ugly, but Wyoming's football field design is excellent... Scientifically Accurate Ninja Turtles ruins some childhoods... season previews already? #125 Georgia State... two distinguished coaches classed up the Kentucky Derby... Speaking of data sets, here's a well done, comprehensive & recently completed Big Ten basketball database... an American FIFA official allegedly embezzled $21 million while in office... This is the freshest nickname imaginable... Le Ouch... a gripping story on Ryan Pugh's NFL Draft day... horses can play the saxophone just like humans, horsists.