It's Tuesday. Let's all hope 11W's server knows it's role today.
REPLACING TOM HERMAN. Well, it finally happened. Touchdown Tom Herman is headed to Houston. (I'm baffled by people who don't understand what a great opportunity Houston is.) Houston will reportedly announce its five-year agreement with Herman later today.
The silver lining for Ohio State fans is Herman will coach Ohio State through the playoffs. It's likely, however, Urban Meyer already began his search to replace Herman. What are some possible names to watch?
The Ozone's Tony Gerdeman compiled the best list of possible replacements I've seen (21 names in total) thus far. Boise State's OC/QB coach, Mike Sanford, and East Carolina's OC/QB coach, Lincoln Riley, top his list, but a third name intrigued me:
Another con: It was not readily known if Brian Johnson is a member of MENSA, the organization for geniuses.
There are only two things of which I am certain, however: 1) Urban Meyer will hire an up-and-comer. 2) That guy will be the right man for the job. Meyer has been on such a blinder this year he could announce Brady Hoke as the new OC and I'd say "You know, that's so crazy it just might work!"
BTW, the Urban Meyer Coaching Tree is getting ridiculous:
The Urban Meyer Coaching Tree is impressive: Whittingham, Strong, Mullen, Addazio, Holliday, McCarney, G. Andersen, Beckman & now Tom Herman
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 15, 2014
CAGER DROPS BUCKS. It's definitely not a blow like losing Torrance Gibson or Joe Burrow, but Ohio State lost its first target due to Herman's promotion.
From Ari Wasserman of Cleveland.com:
Cager told cleveland.com on Monday evening that his latest top five, in order, is Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Alabama, Virginia Tech and Mississippi.
It was interesting when Ohio State, once figured to be one of Cager's leaders, wasn't on it. He said that's "mainly because of the coaching change."
Although Cager is only a consensus three-star wide receiving prospect, don't be fooled: The guy drips talent. In the end, though, I suppose it's understandable.
BAMA IS GOOD BUT MORTAL. Not to get too hot takey this early in the morning... but I think Alabama is a good football team. Are they, however, the Death Star reincarnated? No.
For example:
The last 4 games Alabama has given up 1,239 passing yards; Average of 309 yards a game the last 4 weeks.
— jbook (@jbook37) December 14, 2014
I'm no X's and O's guru... but that sounds bad. And interestingly enough, there are even more chinks in Alabama's armor.
From GumpinOnSaturdays of RollBamaRoll.com:
Alabama hasn’t hit a lot of home runs this year, largely because they don’t have a ton of explosive players outside of Amari Cooper. That problem was exacerbated followingKenyan Drake’s season ending injury. Further, as great as Cooper is, if teams are so determined, they can limit his big play ability by way of bracket coverage. We saw this against Ole Miss and Missouri, in particular. Cooper is the best player in the country, but trying to beat bracket coverage over the top, no matter who is on the receiving end, is just asking for trouble.
[...]
[Defensive back] Geno Smith is a good player, but right now he’s struggling to play the ball in the air. Of course, this hurts the most on balls thrown down the field. We saw this both against Auburn and Missouri. The good news is that, coming off two subpar performances, you can bet that this will be a point of emphasis in practice over the next three weeks.
[...]
I never thought I’d say this about a Nick Saban/Kirby Smart defense, but this defense really isn’t that great in the manufactured pressure game. The timing of the blitz is usually off and the coverage players rarely seem to play the hot routes properly. So they either have to improve in this area or just scrap it altogether and trust your front four to get home on passing downs, something they’re better equipped to do this year than any other year under Saban. I’m not even going to bother to speculate which route they should go … this one is above my pay grade.
Hmmm... an offense that can go through swaths of pedestrian play with a defense that has questionable back-end play and isn't great at manufacturing pressure? Hell, I'd take Ohio State against any team with that kind of blind synopsis. (I guess this also speaks to the powers of Amari Cooper.)
ANOTHER HYPE VIDEO? SURE. There is no easier way to earn my click right now than putting the phrase "hype video" into a sentence with one of my favorite teams.
Dramatic music and effects! Slow motion highlights! I'm a sucker for it all.
And I know a national semifinal really needs no extra hype... so tell me why I watched this thing like three times today?
Future headline: Hermit/Blogger Found Dead From Likely Hype Video Overdose.
URBAN MEYER WANTED BAMA FOR A LONG TIME. Wise decision on Vonn Bell's part here... carpooling is always so much cheaper (and easier on Mother Nature).
Via @OHIOBoyer:
Coach Meyer told Vonn on his official if u go to Bama your gonna end up seeing me anyway you might as well ride w me to the game lol
— Volonte Bell (@VdatDudee) December 7, 2014
THOSE WMDs. 22-year-old man saves his money to send a 32-year-old man afflicted with cerebral palsy to Disney World... Taylor Lewan sentenced to year probation for assaulting Ohio State fan... This #teen's self-awareness is worth a scholarship from Urban Meyer on its own... The story behind the yellow AOL Guy... World's oldest gorilla turns 58 in the Columbus Zoo.
