It's hard to believe but No. 1 Ohio State has just three regular season games left counting tomorrow's primetime tilt against what looks to be an overmatched Michigan State squad.
Of course the Buckeyes will always be the main story around these parts but the ongoing happenings to the north are also grabbing the attention of Ohio State fans as Michigan continues to deny, defend, attack its way through a sign stealing scandal.
For thoughts on all that and more, I welcome 11W's own Ramzy Nasrallah, Chase Brown and Matt Gutridge to this week's roundtable.
I know Ohio State’s playing Michigan State but it feels like we have to talk about Michigan first. The Big Ten, Michigan and the NCAA are going to do whatever they’re going to do and some level of penalties will presumably be leveled before we all die of old age. That said, if you had unilateral power and based on what you know to be true at this moment, what kind of punishment would fit the crime both in the short-term and long-term? I feel like the only answer is the electric chair for every current coach but maybe I’m being too soft.
Chase: You're too soft, Chris. But no. The short-term punishment is a suspension for Jim Harbaugh from Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. Wolverine supporters will be upset about that, I am sure, but it is reasonable given that Harbaugh is the head coach of the Michigan football program, and head coach's job (fair or unfair) is to know all that happens within their program. Whether or not Harbaugh knew about what Connor Stalions was up to — though I find it hard to believe he wouldn't — that doesn't really matter. Harbaugh's team, Harbaugh's punishment. As for the long term, I suppose we will have to wait until the NCAA investigation is complete. If the sign-stealing scheme went beyond Stalions to Harbaugh and the other coaches, I feel each person involved should be punished and the team should have their accomplishments receive a nice, big asterisk next to them so everyone knows the Wolverines used an unfair advantage to gain them.
Ramzy: The evidence thus far is damning and the hearsay is too cartoonish to even qualify as Ohio State erotica, so it's already checked both of my fetish boxes. College sports punishments are levied based on holistic, intact, documented and verified evidence - there's a higher bar to clear prior to making a final ruling. This isn't the replay booth at the 2019 Fiesta Bowl where you can just make shit up because you're an SEC crew, the decision is coming in from Birmingham and the only objective is giving LSU the best possible matchup in the CFP title game. Why is the room spinning? I forgot the question and need some oxygen, give me a minute.
The goal is to be right and fast when making a ruling like this, sacrificing neither for the other. Any game where Michigan benefited from intelligence gathered by direct subordinates at non-Michigan games should be vacated. Any game where Michigan simply cracked signal codes without evidence of any benefit of ancillary information gained through direct spying should be congratulated and preserved. Each instance needs to check every box in order to be ruled a forfeit. I think at some point the two ugly banners hanging in Lucas Oil Stadium next to the four beautiful red ones should come down, since even a partial nullification would impact how those banners were procured.
There's no integrity to be found in college athletics where the rules of the game are literally changed to allow for more Budweiser and Home Depot commercials - that's the devil's music. You cannot say this with a straight face, so protecting the integrity of the game is a nonstarter for me. Being committed, systemic and audacious cheaters is one thing, protecting the integrity of a game that lacks integrity is some bullshit designed to make bad people feel better about themselves. You don't need this to take a righteous dump on what Michigan did, just squat and push it out without the manufactured piety.
If Ohio State had a Conner Stalions type who merged fanaticism with extreme analytical competence, free time and dark money-funded Venmo I'd be impressed by it. If that dork then stood next to both coordinators in front of God and everyone else with giant posters that say SIGNS STOLEN FROM OTHER GAMES ILLEGALLY bold and legible enough to read from the International Space Station during nationally televised broadcasts, I'd be annoyed at how clunky the getaway car was - this should have never been discovered. The point of a heist is to get away with it and leave the cops keystoning in your vapor trail, bumping into each other and making odd noises.
No matter what happens to Michigan, the court of public opinion will hang a * on everything the Wolverines have accomplished since they were on the brink of firing Harbaugh for poor performance, just prior to just magically becoming a team that covered the spread in every single 2nd half they've played since. I don't give a damn for the whole state. There's no degree of punishment that will change that, so I am left not caring.
Matt: Short-term, I’d give indefinite suspensions to Slippin’ Jimmy Harbaugh and Jesse Minter. There would also be an investigation into the possibility of the BC2 LLC being owned by Connor Stalions and Blake Corum.
Long-term? Harbaugh wants to be William Wallace, so let’s give him the William Wallace punishment. Seriously though, Harbaugh and Minter should be fired with show-cause status. The forfeiture of all games between 2021 and today and a three-year post-season ban starting this season. If Corum did have a business with Stalions additional penalties should be levied.
They cheated, and what they did directly impacted game results. The Chicago Black Sox scandal of 1919 involved one series over eight games. Michigan cheated for three seasons. Michigan’s cheating is longer-lasting and farther-reaching. For the integrity of the game – yes, Ramzy, I’ll own the Boomerism - the punishment must match the crime. To quote the great wordsmith Stanley Kirk Burrell, “Hammer time.”
Back to the Buckeyes, last Saturday at Rutgers marked the sixth time in nine games Ohio State failed to generate more than 10 first half points. Is that just some fluky thing or what do you think are factors in those slow offensive starts? Are slow starts a huge concern moving forward or is this part of accepting the 2023 Buckeyes have a different winning formula than we’ve seen in the recent past?
Matt: Scoring 10 or fewer points in the first half of 66% of games this season is a concern. I hope it’s just a fluky thing. Unfortunately, it appears to be the identity of the 2023 Buckeyes: A dominant defense with a schizo offense. It feels like the ‘90s again when Ohio State would be world-beaters on one side of the ball, but not the other. Why can’t we have both?
Chase: I think a lot of it, if not all of it, has to do with Kyle McCord's trust in himself, his offensive line and his wide receivers. Last week vs. Rutgers, McCord didn't seem too confident in himself early, settling for some checkdowns when he could pushed the ball down the field. Now, I know Rutgers was playing in a two-high shell for most of the game, limiting what the Buckeyes could do downfield, but I would love to see McCord channel some C.J. Stroud "Marv down there somewhere" energy and let it rip from time to time. My expectation is to see that happen the next two weeks against Michigan State and Minnesota, which should lead to some earlier points on the board for the Buckeyes.
Ramzy: This is where leaning on an explanation designed to bring Buckeye fans comfort might be used. They're just lulling Michigan to sleep before coming out in completely unrecognizable formations to bomb them into submission okay sure, sounds great. I think they're just easing a bunch of guys who are still acclimating to playing full games, expecting their defense to buy them adequate time for the offensive line to reach a boiling point. This is a Kyle and Slobs strategy designed to minimize errors and maximize confidence and rhythm. Being impatient about it is wasted energy.
TreVeyon Henderson’s return has obviously been huge for not just the run game but the offense as a whole. Meanwhile, it feels to me like the offensive line’s run blocking has gotten a bit better. Do you think the offensive line is improving in the run game or is Henderson’s skill the sole driver of the recent improvement moving the ball on the ground? I’ll ask this somewhat tongue in cheek but should Henderson even play the next two weeks or should he be housed in a kevlar bunker in an undisclosed location until November 25?
Ramzy: TreVeyon needs to play the next two weeks on a pitch count to maintain the rhythm he has been showing at full health, following the cheap shot cracked ribcage he suffered in South Bend. He's wired to kill, and you can't bench a mindset like that out of caution. As for the geling offensive line, yes - and that's supposed to happen as the season progresses. That unit has a dedicated coach, so everyone should expect it to improve as the experience accumu-- *finger in ear* I'm sorry, I'm being told that "having a dedicated coach" is no reason to expect any improvement in a unit, but in the case of the offensive line it is a positive development.
All that said, I'd love the Trey plays designed to be exclusively in space, and not sliding between 300-pounders where linebackers can arrived one second late to piledrive into a ribcage again.
Matt: The line was showing signs of improvement prior to the return of Henderson. It appears the recent results were the perfect storm of better play and scheme from the line, with a dash of Henderson’s decisiveness and running talent.
Yes, having a healthy Henderson ready for those cheating ass cheaters to the north should be a priority. In a perfect world, the offense resumes to 2022 form, and Henderson gets reps in the first two quarters and doesn’t see the field during the second half against Michigan State and Minnesota.
Chase: I think Ohio State's offensive line has improved week to week this season, which is encouraging sign as the Buckeyes head into their stretch run. Yes, there have still been some missed assignments from time to time and some unblocked defenders that have had free runs to McCord or Ohio State's ballcarriers, but by-in-large, the big men up front have provided some solid protection for McCord to operate in the pocket and some holes for Henderson to run through. And, man, when Henderson sees the hole, he smashes through it at 1,000 miles per hour and has no intentions of slowing down, even if a defenders stands a couple of yards in front of him. To your final point, maybe Tony Alford should tell Henderson to take it easy on lowering the shoulder this week and next week before the Michigan game.
Give us two mild takes or one hot take on the latest batch of CFP rankings.
Chase: Mild take: If Ohio State is ranked No. 1 because of its resume, Washington should be ranked as one of the top-four teams because of its resume. The Huskies have several quality wins, including the best win in college football (based on the committee's own rankings) with a 36-33 victory over No. 6 Oregon. The Huskies deserve at top-four ranking, for sure.
Mild take: Rank James Madison.
Hot take: LSU, Notre Dame, Arizona and Kansas State all have three losses. There is no reason for any of them to be ranked outside of the committee wanting to use those teams as resume builders for the current SEC, Big Ten (Ohio State) and Big 12 contenders.
Ramzy: 1. It's silly stuff all the way until the committee puts its pencils down next month. The CFP Final Four on 11/11/2014 was 1) Mississippi State 2) Oregon 3) Florida State 4) TCU 8) Eventual champion Ohio State. It's carefully constructed theater, like professional wrestling. We need more silly stuff in our lives, so CFP rankings are good no matter where the Buckeyes are ranked.
2. The only consistent joy college football delivers is the pointless stuff - the July bowl predictions, the contentious recruiting battles for kids who will likely Go Pro In Something Other Than Sports, the serial cheating by Michigan's football program dating back to Fielding Yost infusing Ann Arbor's water supply with bovine hormones and cocaine. The football itself? Too many commercials. Refs are bad. Play calling sucks. Everything sucks. College football games are misery. Everything in between is silly and fun.
Matt: I don’t give one hot steaming pile of shit about the CFP rankings until the first Sunday in December.
Ohio State’s return to The Shoe sees them as a 31.5-point favorite over Sparty. Will Day’s squad cover the big number? Give us your final score and game MVP.
Matt: Is Michigan State this bad? Can Day’s 2023 team score more than 42 points for the second time this season? Ohio State wins 42-13, and Marvin Harrison Jr. gets MVP honors for becoming the first Buckeye to have 1,000 yards receiving in two different seasons.
Chase: Michigan State is bad. Like, really bad. The Buckeyes will cover the spread in a 44-3 win over the Spartans as Marvin Harrison Jr. gets back on track with his Heisman Trophy campaign. A 100-yard, two-touchdown game sounds good to me. How does that sound to you?
Ramzy: Ohio State 42, Michigan State 7. If they're truly committed to a future state where Marvin Harrison Jr. is a Heisman Trophy winner then the game MVP needs to be Marvin Harrison Jr. from here on out.
