Greetings from the "southernmost point of the continental United States", where I'm happy to report there is no shortage of Buckeye fans and one fairly cool Michigan fan who yelled, "Go Blue" upon seeing my Eleven Warriors t-shirt on Duval Street.
In between the endless Mile Marker 0 blonde ales and dips in the ocean side pool to escape the heat, I found a few minutes to check in on the world of college sports.
After last night's practice, Urban Meyer attempted to shed some light on the status of Braxton's sprained knee but with all options still on the table, it sounds like we might receive some more definitive news sometime later today.
It's interesting that both Ryan Damn Shazier and Christian Bryant noted Miller looked just fine during his limited practice time before he left to continue treatment which makes we wonder two things.
First, Meyer might be doing all he can to alleviate any pressure/expectation Braxton might be feeling to come back before he's physically and mentally ready considering the recent chirps sizing up his toughness. Second, Urban might have seen enough Cal film to feel perfectly comfortable with Kenny G managing the team to victory while providing Miller time to return to 100% with bigger games on the horizon.
As of this moment, it feels like the most likely scenario is Guiton under center to start things off then playing it by ear from there though this seems like a pretty fluid situation.
SPEAKING OF JAZZY G. After Guiton turned in another virtuoso performance last weekend in relief of Miller, running and throwing for a combined 235 yards and three touchdowns, the rhetoric about Kenny being the best backup QB in the land began to really heat up.
Though I watch my fair share, I frankly don't see enough college football to feel like I can offer a truly informed opinion on the matter though, if we're getting technical, I do feel comfortable saying Joe Germaine was the best backup in OSU history before putting up ridiculous numbers as a senior starter but I'm veering off topic here.
The venerable Doug Lesmerises took a shot at evaluating just how many teams Guiton would start for this year, after Tom Herman said earlier this season that KG could start for more than half of the FBS schools then Craig Krenzel did him one better saying Smooth Jazz could start for all but 12-15 schools.
Lesmerises didn't profess to consult NASA to help create his criteria saying:
This isn't to pretend that I hold expertise on every quarterback situation in the nation. Far from it. But I went through all 125 teams in FBS ball and looked at the starting quarterback. I tried to make a quick assessment on who has played well, or who has some experience at quarterback, researching the borderline situations and trying to ask, “Would this team take Kenny Guiton as its starter next week instead of the guy they have right now?”
Works for me because let's be honest, nobody has seen enough of all the current QB's to make a truly scientific argument. When all was said and done, Lesmerises had Guiton starting for 75 of the 124 FBS schools not named Ohio State, meaning just 49 teams appear to have a better starting signal-caller at present.
Five of those hail from the B1G (Gardner, Martinez, Colter, Scheelhaase, Hackenberg) with eight schools in both the PAC-12 and SEC boasting a better starting quarterback.
THOU SHALT NOT QUESTION MY AUTHORITAY!ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SCANDAL. With the college football world already abuzz amidst the five-day report from SI on alleged shenanigans transpiring at Oklahoma State for over a decade, Yahoo! dropped a potential bummer-bomb on Tuscaloosa and other SEC cities, reporting former Tide defensive end Luther Davis funneled a gaggle of impermissible benefits to both current and former SEC players on behalf of NFL agents and financial advisors looking to score off the players' future earnings.
One player in particular, D.J. Fluker, the starting right tackle on Alabama's 2012 national championship squad, is alleged to have received upwards of $33k in impermissible benefits ranging from airfare to hotel rooms to furniture to straight cash, homey, with Davis typically acting as the middle man.
Six transactions were tied to former Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray and current starting defensive end, Marcus Couch. Bray appears to have pocketed nearly a grand in cash transfers from Davis conducted via a Western Union outlet in Tuscaloosa while Couch scooped up nearly $1400.
While the SI piece has endured its fair share of criticism, the Yahoo! investigation might be a little more sticky. Now, that doesn't mean anything will of note will happen in the bass-ackwards world of college athletics but Tusca-Lucifer himself sure didn't feel like talking about the report at last night's presser.
GO FOR THE GOLD. The only thing better than no pants is gold pants, amirite? Of course I am so make sure you submit your entry on this week's Guess The Score contest as one lucky dubber will be awarded two tickets to the Gold Pants Social held on Friday, September 27th in the players' lounge at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Even if you can't make it, submit your entry because the tickets are transferable and technically, you'll still be able to boast of helping fund the kitty that procures those wonderful gold pants awarded to players following another beatdown of the sun and blue.
QUICK CLICKS. Ninja cop don't mess... Behind the Scenes of Jaws... Does this remind anyone else of that Price is Right game?... The Best Map Ever Made of America’s Racial Segregation... I've started doing this when I arrive at work. You should try it... Bobby V's lack of class knows no bounds... Flowchart: Is Your Favorite College Football Program Dirty?... How all current NFL owners made their money... Urban now 4th in all-time winning percentage.
