Tick, tock...
ONLY 3? Ohio State is one of the most talented teams in the country, but maybe not as talented as you think (according to PFF rankings).
Joey Bosa gets some love, but only three Buckeyes appear in the Top 50 players.
From ProFootballFocus.com:
| RANK | PLAYER | POSITION | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | JOEY BOSA | DE | OHIO STATE |
| 2. | VERNON HARGREAVES | CB | FLORIDA |
| 3. | SCOOBY WRIGHT | LB | ARIZONA |
| 4. | MYLES JACK | LB | UCLA |
| 5. | NICK CHUBB | RB | GEORGIA |
| 6. | EZEKIEL ELLIOTT | RB | OHIO STATE |
| 7. | SHILIQUE CALHOUN | DE | MICHIGAN STATE |
| 8. | SHELDON RANKINS | DT | LOUISVILLE |
| 9. | ANDREW BILLINGS | DT | BAYLOR |
| 10. | CODY KESSLER | QB | USC |
| 11. | JOSHUA PERRY | LB | OHIO STATE |
| 12. | DeFOREST BUCKNER | DE | OREGON |
On Bosa: The best player in the country dominates games as a pass-rusher (93.3) and against the run (87.4).
On Elliott: Elliott boasts the nation’s highest running grade at 91.6 and he’s coming off one of the more dominating three-game stretches in recent history with his 689 yards and 9.1 yards per carry in postseason action.
On Perry: One of the best coverage linebackers at 91.2, Perry is no slouch against the run (82.9) and as a pass-rusher (81.2).
Joshua Perry is a great linebacker, and I don't mean it as an insult when I say I was surprised to see him so high up on the list.
Still, Ohio State didn't hit its stride until overtime against Penn State last year, so maybe some of these rankings are skewed.
LET'S TAKE A TRIP BACK TO JAN. 12. The Ohio State football team might be over the 2014 championship, but that doesn't mean we plebes can't throw it back to January.
From FootballStudyHall.com's diagramming of the national championship box score:
From this, we learn that Ohio State lined up mostly with one back, three wide, and a tight end or H-Back attached to the line. Oregon, meanwhile, operated mostly from one-back/three-wide and one-back/four-wide. (The charting template asks for things in terms of # of backs and #wide, but obviously this could also be listed in football parlance like "10 personnel" (1 back, 0 tight ends).
[...]
We see that Oregon had a bit of an advantage on passes near the line of scrimmage -- Ohio State was 10-for-13 for 53 yards on passes thrown within 10 yards of the line (4.1 yards per pass), while Oregon was 15-for-21 for 119 (5.7) -- but while both teams struck it rich on longer passes, Ohio State's big passes were bigger. Passes thrown 10 or more yards beyond the line: Ohio State 6-for-10 for 189 yards (18.9), Oregon 9-for-17 for 224 (13.2). Combined with the fact that Oregon couldn't generate much explosiveness on the ground, and you have a big key to the game.
[...]
Neither offense fared very well between the guards, and there wasn't a ton of success to be found out wide. But off tackle, Ohio State was quite a bit better.
... And now you have a better understanding of Ohio State's taxing of Oregon.
THEY KEEP GETTING SMARTER. Here's the main reason I plan on finishing my Ohio State degree: In like 15 years, people will see it as a public alternative to Harvard.
via BucksinNYC:
Incoming class at @OhioState has average 28.9 ACT score. When I was admitted 10 years ago let's just say my score wasn't 28.9
— Tom Knox (@TomKnoxBiz1st) August 21, 2015
Mediocre/bad students don't sweat: Just serve your time at a smaller school (it's cheaper) and transfer in.
HERE COMES THE B1G. Recruiting rankings, by and large, matter. So it's good to see the Big Ten is on the up and up, and not just in Columbus either:
OSU (1), PSU (4), UofM (10), MSU (12), first time ever having four B1G teams in top 15 of class rankings at same time http://t.co/4GDoDHFKbm
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) August 20, 2015
From ESPN.com ($):
For validation of that hypothesis, look no further than the recruiting trail, where it's August and the Big Ten already has more ESPN 300 commitments in the 2016 class (39) than it had through signing day of the 2015 (35) and 2014 (37) classes.
What's more, with approximately 27 uncommitted ESPN 300 targets still considering Big Ten teams -- including No. 1-ranked Rashan Gary -- that number could be on the rise soon.
Now, if only we could get some of these Big Ten West teams to figure out this recruiting business...
CAN I INTEREST YOU IN MICHIGAN INEPTITUDE? John U. Bacon released a new book, Endzone, and if you enjoy reading about broken Michigan hubris and ineptitude... then this may be the book from you.
From MGoBlog.com's excerpt, we pick up in the aftermath of the Shane Morris concussion scandal:
Finally sensing that a national story was rising around them, the department sent out a press release from Brady Hoke Sunday evening. It said, in part, “. . . Shane Morris was removed from yesterday’s game against Minnesota after further aggravating an injury to his leg that he sustained earlier in the contest . . . The University of Michigan has a distinguished group of Certified Athletic Trainers and team physicians who are responsible for determining whether or not a player is physically able to play. Our coaches have no influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition . . .”
The release addressed some important points—that Morris had been pulled for his ankle, not the hit to his helmet, and that the coaches have no authority over the medical staff—but failed to answer the most pressing question: Did Morris have a concussion or not? If he did, why did he go back in the game?
Needless to say, instead of bringing closure to the story, this half-baked attempt would only raise more questions.
As much as we may never see anything like Urban Meyer's Ohio State again... we may never see anything as magnificent as the Dave Brandon/Brady Hoke Michigan either.
Alas.
THOSE WMDs. This man makes $10k a month sending messages on potatoes... The New Orleans Superdome: A great American comeback story... A flag frame that simulates blowing wind... London's sky pool will let the super-rich swim through the air... A train to Bangladania.
