Monday Skull Session

The big Buckeye news of yesterday was Thad Matta's kids falling to 2-2 in Big Ten play after a 84-74 loss to the up-and-coming Iowa Hawkeyes. (Kyle had the full run down over here.)

I saw more Ohio State people on Twitter complaining about people flipping out about a Matta-led team in January than I actually saw people flipping out about a Matta-led team in January. (Who's flipping out about any college team in January besides degenerate gamblers?)

Oh, and Ohio State student section: chanting "OSU didn't want you" at Strongsville's Aaron White in a game where he dropped 19 on an Ohio State that desperately needed a consistent scorer isn't a very good look.

It's not that I have a problem with boorish chants — I once mockingly chanted about opponent's recently deceased/ran-over family's dog while ol' dude shot a free throw — it's just that I think Aaron White would definitely grab some minutes at Ohio State right now.

URBAN IS ABOUT TO FLIP A VT BRICK. Eleven Warriors' Director of Recruiting, Jeremy Birmingham, broke down the news yesterday Ohio State via Ed Warinner has made a late offer to local offensive tackle standout Brady Taylor (2014 Bishop Ready). 

Rivals lists the three-star Taylor as "a soft verbal" to Virginia Tech, and Taylor will be taking an official visit to Ohio State. Nobody has ever mistaken me for Vince Lombardi, but I don't think it's a bad idea to stockpile beefy dudes to throw into the offensive-line grinder, especially after Vic Beasley and company pillaged Ohio State's in the Orange Bowl.

Hopefully Urban can show Brady the mothership and the cache of trophies Ohio State has compiled compared to Virginia Tech, and this kid will flip to the good guys as we barrel closer to next month's national signing day. 

NEW OFFSEASON FOR MEYER'S BUCKEYES. It's been a dismal 2014 for Ohio State athletics — outside of the women's hockey team that dumped No. 1 Minnesota over the weekend, of course — and Ohio State football is entering an off-season very different than the one after 2012's magical 12-0 campaign. The venerable Doug Lesmeries of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer had a good read on this yesterday, about Ohio State having to "harness the knot in their stomach" this off-season:

“I hope the guys that are coming back feel that knot in their stomach like I do right now,” offensive coordinator Tom Herman said after the Orange Bowl. “That they're yearning to get right back out there and fix the things we've got to fix and make sure we don't feel like this again.

“The hunger after last year was a little bit different because we couldn't play in a bowl game, and they were hungry to go prove to the country that we belonged. And now this hunger will be a little bit different, having been stung here the last couple weeks. But a hungry team in the offseason is pretty good.”

Honestly, I didn't see Ohio State losing a close game to Clemson because I thought they'd learned the lesson about ignoring Carlos Hyde against Michigan State. I figured if the Bucks lost, they'd get the brakes beat off them. But even after a rough start, the Buckeyes never quit and were in position to win the game.

It wasn't a setback like I thought it would be, and I hope this loss spurns players this summer. Even Braxton Miller, one of the most decorated players in Ohio State history and who will likely shatter all relevant quarterback records next year, has something to prove. I think that bodes well for the future.

Big Nut has once again helped shame Buckeye fans.

 #BORGES4IRISH. Gorgeous Al Borges — the architect of the nation's 87th best offense this year and a guy who was replaced with a guy who was replaced by Lane Kiffin — isn't ready to go into the sunset and sip Mai Tais out of coconuts on a nude Caribbean beach:

Blue and Gold News, 24/7's Notre Dame site, reports the Borgmeister will interview for the same position at Notre Dame ($).

The Irish had the nation's 78th best offense last year, but to be fair to them, they were slightly handicapped after tossing the industrious Everett Golson out of school for cheating. (He has since been reinstated.)

After watching Devin Gardner get sacked 36 times this season, I'm titillated at the idea of how Borges would deploy an even better dual-threat quarterback in Everett Golson. I'd say that'd be like giving me a calculus book and might be the most unworthy gift in college football, but alas, Lane Kiffin got hired on Friday to tinker with Nick Saban's pile of five-star mutants down in Tuscaloosa.

But hey, Notre Dame: anytime you can hire the philosophically-rigid designer of the nation's 87th best offense who also doesn't recruit... YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY DO IT. Signed: an 8-year-old, lifelong fan in Columbus, Ohio, named "Cody" who wishes you nothing but the best!

A NEW TRESSEL RISES. Last week, our Jeff Beck mentioned Mike Tressel as a potential hire to fill one of the two jobs open on the defensive assistant staff. He is apparently not the only person who thinks highly of the rising star on Michigan State's defensive staff:

For those scoring at home, Mike is Jim Tressel's nephew.

I assume he is shamed at the Tressel family Thanksgiving dinner for bringing glory to the state of Michigan. There's a way to fix that, Mike: trade the black wool your family has marked you with in exchange for the Scarlet and Gray. I'm sure Uncle Jimmy has a bunch of old swag you can have. 

THOSE WMDs. Louisville gave Georgia's DC $1 million per year... Questions of grade inflation at OSU with B+ median... OSU spent $100k on smoking ban signs... Year from last night first CFB playoff champion will be crowned... A postcard from Owsley County, Ky., the poorest county in America... "The hunt for Mukhtar Ablyazov" Searching for the alleged Kazakh Bernie Madoff... "The Downfall of India's Kidney Kingpin" A self-taught MD and his lucrative organ-trading ring... Marcus Hall is signing pictures of his exit from Michigan Stadium... The 1927 US plan to invade Canada... Counties of Ireland with their literal English translations... Babe Ruth as Gopher footballer... History on the "Gators Wear Jeans" chant... OSU student shot multiple times in robbery attempt... Man stabs woman for bringing pizza home, not chicken sandwich... E! has fun with facts... /facepalm Texas... Franklin slayed his intro presser...