Ohio State's practice starts at 4:45 p.m. today. Y'all know the drill by now.
THE DARKEST TIMELINE. To me, the worst case scenario for this season is still Urban Meyer and Mickey Marotti being led out of the WHAC in handcuffs under accusations of being the ring leaders of a multinational steroid rings. As I said before: Given their results, it's a scenario that cant be ruled out 100%.
The second-worst case is an 0-12 season. The third-worst case...
From Bill Bender of SportingNews.com:
The same sequel unfolds in Blacksburg on Labor Day. The Hokies upset the Buckeyes. Ohio State recovers to win its next eight games, but the Buckeyes lose in Columbus to Michigan State in a de facto Big Ten East title game. Michigan then upsets the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor. Ohio State settles for a 9-3 record and a berth in the Citrus Bowl.
I promised I wouldn't complain about this season, but if this season ends with a Citrus Bowl bid then I'm going to assume there were about 50 season-ending injuries.
Losing to both Virginia Tech and Michigan State can't be ruled out 100% — THAT'S WHY THEY PLAY THE GAME — but I will say there is less than a 0% chance Ohio State loses to Michigan if it loses the previous game to Michigan State. Urban Meyer just doesn't roll like that.
BARRETT HAS THE HOKIES MARKED. I'm a big proponent of the theory that an L is a better teacher than a W. If that's true, then the Virginia Tech Hokies better buckle up.
From Bill Landis of Cleveland.com:
"You can say I have that one marked on the calendar," Barrett said Monday, the first day of Ohio State's training camp. "It does mean a lot to me personally being that I did play the game that we lost and I wasn't prepared."
Forget all of the video game numbers Barrett put up last season. Here are the ones he remembers: 9-for-29, 219 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions -- 35-21, Virginia Tech.
Barrett will tell you he wasn't prepared. Urban Meyer will tell you the entire team wasn't prepared. That's all true, but that doesn't help the loss sit any better with Barrett. He knows that he became a better quarterback from that point right up until he broke his ankle against Michigan.
I re-watched the VaTech fiasco about two weeks ago, and it was startling not only how bad Barrett looked but the entire team/coaching staff. In fact, if you removed the names and the jersey colors and watched that game and the title game back to back, you might not believe the two teams were the same.
For some reason, I think Barrett will be prepared for that kitchen sink this time around (assuming he wins the starting nod, of course). He's clearly been salivating at the chance.
MAN, THIS MUST HURT THEIR SOUL. Jim Harbaugh has locked media out of Michigan's fall camp, so the #content is thin for those people up north. As such, they're stuck doing fantasy drafts. Let's check in on MGoBlog.com's progress:
All Ohio State's starters might get drafted, and I can't stop laughing. Being a Buckeye fan almost feels like cheating right now, which is probably why I've been sentenced to a lifetime of Browns fanship to counterbalance that.
ONLY A 23% CHANCE? I realize this is typical fuzzy math from ESPN, and going undefeated is hard, but I feel like this is nothing but bulletin board material for Urban and the gang!!!
23 days to CFB kickoff: Ohio State has an FBS-high 23% chance to go undefeated via FPI #CountdownToKickoff pic.twitter.com/hVxSA2ljlj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 11, 2015
This is where Ohio State is at for bulletin board material. "THEY ONLY GAVE US A NATION-LEADING 23% CHANCE TO GO UNDEFEATED!!!"
WE INTERRUPT THIS FOOTBALL BROADCAST...
Virginia is about to come a long way to take an L.
The Virginia @OhioStateHoops B1G/ACC Challenge game tips at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Value City Arena. ESPN will televise. pic.twitter.com/wOtN8AkWcP
— Dan Wallenberg (@OSUADAthComm) August 11, 2015
Here's the full schedule for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, in case setting your calendars months in advance in your thing:
Big Ten-ACC Challenge tip times and TV already set. pic.twitter.com/kpHPvw0udx
— Brian Hamilton (@BrianHamiltonSI) August 11, 2015
In other Ohio State news, Amir Williams got what he came for:
Please skip the snark about a young man earning his college degree. It's too early for all that.MY WHOLE TWITTER CAREER HAS BEEN A LIE. Is there anything better than typing a sick own into the internet? I thought not, but apparently it's all bad.
From Elizabeth Bernstein of WSJ.com:
The “e-vent”—expressing anger via email, text or chat, or on social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter—can be hard to resist. It’s speedy: We can share our frustration with a friend, or the world, almost immediately. It’s handy: We can e-vent from anywhere as long as we have our phone. And it feels safe: We’re behind a screen.
In studies, people report that they feel better after venting. But researchers find they actually become angrier and more aggressive. People who vent anonymously may become the angriest and most aggressive.
“Just because something makes you feel better doesn’t mean it’s healthy,” says Brad Bushman, a professor of communication and psychology at The Ohio State University in Columbus.
Makes you think. Makes you think real hard.
THOSE WMDs. Your Team Sucks 2015: Cleveland Browns... Don't fly drones around birds of prey... How 36 million "shade balls" will save LA from drought... A huckster agent and the extreme fringe of pro basketball... Archaeologists find new clues to “Lost Colony” mystery... The mysterious death of the poet Randall Jarrell... 28 creepy/beautiful abandoned places.
