Folks, please break open the finest FourLoko can in your reserve and hoist it into the air; for today is the 96th anniversary of President Warren G. Harding's inauguration. The world just wasn't ready for the Marionaire-in-Chief's vision, and that's a fact I mourn every day of my life. Please use #ThankYouPresidentHarding on all social media platforms to show your respect to the greatest president in human history.
TV REMINDER: The Basketbucks play Penn State in Happy Valley tonight at 6 p.m. on BTN. (Ohio State didn't get into Happy Valley until ~2:15 a.m.)
JIM TRESSEL DROPS SOME #TAKES. Jim Tressel — I can't be the only one who remembers him, can I? — dropped some hot but sensible takes to the Akron Beacon Journal while speaking at a Pro Football Hall of Fame event in Canton yesterday.
From Marla Ridenour of Ohio.com:
Ousted in May 2011 during an NCAA investigation into illegal benefits, Tressel left Ohio State with just one loss to the Wolverines. He said he believes that starting with his 25-member class of 2002 — which included Troy Smith, A.J. Hawk, Maurice Clarett and Nick Mangold — the Buckeyes have kept the state’s top players from being lured to Michigan. He said Meyer, who led the Buckeyes to the 2014 national title, must keep it that way.
“I think we might have lost one guy that whole year to Michigan,” Tressel said of 2002. “The door closed and it hasn’t been open.
“How far behind (is Michigan)? It (depends) on how long that door stays closed. That’s the key. Urban will do a great job, they know how to win, they’ve got a great staff. But you’ve still got to keep it closed.”
It amuses me that, 13 years later, Tressel can still tell you about the recruiting battle he lost to Michigan, despite that class going down as one of, if not the best class in Ohio State history. (Michigan wasn't ready.)
Personally, I think Michigan's bigger problem is getting Michigan's top players back on board.
Secondly, and this might be a little too #hot #takey (like that's ever stopped your boy before), but I don't think Harbaugh will emphasize Ohio as past Michigan coaches did. He has connections in California, Texas, and Florida. All of those states are good, and none of those states are lorded over by Urban Meyer.
It's a fact Michigan wouldn't be Michigan without the blood of Ohioan traitors, and football is all about alpha male competition, but what kind of shot does Michigan really have with Ohio's top talent these days? Remember, the Wolverines have been a joke for a large swath of these prospects' lives, and Meyer is a three-time champion in that span as well.
I suppose the better question is why in the Hell I'm up here rendering advice to that clown cabal up north. Let's move on.
MCLAURIN TABBED AS A BREAKOUT CANDIDATE. Remember last year, when I prophesied Mike Thomas' rise to greatness? (I do. I remember.) Well, Ohio State is back on the hunt for a receiver to make The Leap, and there's one name in particular I've noticed people tend to forget about.
From Kevin Ryan of MichiganState.247Sports.com:
McLaurin, who redshirted in 2014, is one of the fastest players on the team. He will be one of a handful of wideouts vying to replace Devin Smith as the Buckeyes' deep threat. McLaurin (6-0, 195) was ranked as the No. 34 wide receiver and the No. 241 overall prospect in the country in the 2014 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He's a product of Indianapolis Cathedral and was named Indiana's Mr. Football in 2013 when he had 58 receptions for 953 yards (16.4 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns, 750 rushing yards (9.7 yards per carry) and six touchdowns on the ground. He added two touchdowns on kickoff returns for good measure. According to wide receivers coach Zach Smith and other OSU staffers, McLaurin was one of the clear standouts on the scout team as a redshirt in 2014 and is expected to play a key role in 2015.
I was jazzed when Ohio State signed McLaurin, because it's always a good thing when your favorite team signs a guy with elite speed. And while I love Jalin Marshall, I'm not sure he has the same caliber straight-line speed that made Devin Smith so dangerous.
Granted, not many people do, but McLaurin is one.
I'm ready for the McLaurin experience, but my pick for "breakout" receiver is Noah Brown. I love that dude's game.
HOW THE BUCKS BROKE THE DUCKS' BACK. Behold, the dagger that went through the then-beating heart of the Oregon Ducks:
From Charles Fischer of FishDuck.com's excellent and succinct breakdown of a play Ohio State ran with ruthless efficiency:
It is recognized that Ohio State beat Oregon in the National Championship game due to its superior run game, and last week we covered the first of the two major running plays that hurt Oregon, the Wham/Trap play. This week we will cover the one primary play that the Buckeyes destroyed the Ducks with, the Counter play, of which had great execution and great strategy utilized in its implementation.
It is hard as a devout Oregon fan to write all the superlatives for the opponent…but they are deserved, and this review will help us learn what to look for in the coming year, and how the Oregon fan will have an informed perspective about what occurred in the NC game. As the coaches would say, this is “a learning experience,” and it is for Duck fans!
[...]
Why didn’t [Oregon DC Don] Pellum adjust? Sometimes when you make on-the-fly changes it can backfire by creating mistakes which lead to explosion plays against you. He might have thought that our offense would score more (a safe assumption) and that as time went on the Ducks could defeat those blocks. That is the chess match and guessing game that makes you the hero or the goat as a defensive coordinator. Oregon did end up second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, which is pretty darn good for Pellum in his first year. He and this defense will be better.
I remember reading Oregon's defense had the ol' "bend but don't break" attitude and focused on not surrendering big plays. While doing so, visions of the 2013 Big Ten Championship and 2014 Orange Bowl danced in my head, but I also remember thinking it didn't seem like a wise strategy to employ against an Urban Meyer-coached team. (Oregon wasn't ready.)
I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Pellum still wakes up in cold sweats about the number the Slobs did to his gaggle of fellas.
SLAM THOMPSON PLAYING LIKE A SENIOR. Switching to basketball: It's no secret this senior class has been a disappointment. But the one bright as of late has been Slam Thompson, who despite his flaws, is putting in some yeomen's work for the set.
From Bob Baptist of Dispatch.com:
Who’s/what’s hot?
Ohio State’s defense is one of two allowing less than one point per possession in conference play and forcing turnovers on more than 20 percent of opponents’ possessions. Solid defensively all season, Sam Thompson has raised his offense as his senior year winds down, averaging 14.4 points the past five games and scoring in double figures in each. D’Angelo Russell, who had 17 points in the second half against Purdue, was named Big Ten freshman of the week for the seventh time this season.
Thompson got busy the last time these two teams met, so hopefully he's in the same mood tonight. D'Angelo Russell could use some rest before he averages 40 minutes a game through the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
I WANT TO PARTY WITH THIS #TEEN. This video made the rounds on social media last Friday, but I didn't get to include it.
Basically, this Onion segment on a 13-year-old drinking prodigy getting accepted to Ohio State is poetry:
Ah, beer pong. I'm still amazed I didn't contract a disease from playing that filthy, filthy game. ("Just dunk the germy ping pong ball into the disgusting, lukewarm cup of water, bro! Chemistry is so tight!!1111")
This prodigy, however, doesn't recognize the troll rule — a fatal mistake. If this kid had the misfortune of running into my college friends or me on the pong table at 1824 Summit Street, we'd have kept his tiny ass under that table like our own personal pet.
THOSE WMDs. How bees snitched on a pot farm... They really do think Jim Harbaugh is Jesus... A new Stephen King short story... The story of a serial killer's daughter... The 25-year quest to solve America's largest art heist... Cross-Channel Trip-I... BENTEKE!!!
