Always electrifying to wake up on a day when even the measliest sliver of the wretched wastes to our north is on the dumping block.
The gentleman above is freshman WR/Arkansan K.J. Hill (last-minute flip from Bert — great decision, K.J.), who's expected to be unleashed today at 3:30 p.m. Get aboard the hype train while you still can.
With Central Michigan at No. 2 Michigan State and Western Michigan at No. 1 Ohio State, it could be the greatest day in MAC history. I could also wake up on a yacht tomorrow. Both scenarios are about as likely.
As for the rest of the day... well, it's all downhill after a high noon banger between Kansas and Rutgers, where the Scarlet Knights are favored by two tugs. (Seriously, how bad must Kansas be? Meanwhile, Charlie Weis is cackling while breaking open a Swisher on a yacht somewhere in the South Pacific.)
| TIME (ET) | GAME | FAVORITE | TELEVISION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | KANSAS at RUTGERS | RU (-14) | BTN |
| 12:00 | No. 22 BRIGHAM YOUNG at MICHIGAN | UM (-6) | ABC |
| 12:00 | CENTRAL MICHIGAN at MICHIGAN STATE | MSU (-27) | BTN |
| 12:00 | No. 8 LOUISIANA STATE at SYRACUSE | LSU (-24½) | ESPN |
| 3:30 | No. 24 OKLAHOMA STATE at TEXAS | OSU (-3½) | ESPN |
| 3:30 | TENNESSEE at FLORIDA | UT (-1½) | CBS |
| 4:45 | No. 3 TCU at TEXAS TECH | TCU (-3½) | FOX |
| 5:00 | CAL at WASHINGTON | CAL (-3) | PAC12 |
| 7:30 | MISSISSIPPI STATE at AUBURN | AUB (-2) | ESPN2 |
| 8:00 | HAWAI'I at No. 22 WISCONSIN | WISC (-22½) | BTN |
| 8:30 | No. 9 UCLA at No. 16 ARIZONA | UCLA (-3) | ABC |
| 8:30 | No. 18 UTAH at No. 13 OREGON | UO (-11½) | FOX |
| 10:30 | No. 19 SOUTHERN CAL at ARIZONA STATE | USC (-6) | ESPN |
Upset (2-1) pick: BYU over Michigan.
THE BRONCOS DOSSIER. Here's what we know on Western Michigan:
- Preview.
- Roundtable, featuring Ramzy, Andrew, and Kyle.
- Mailbag.
- Trailer.
- Guess OSU QBs' combined total yardage and win a free t-shirt.
- Counters to deploy against odd 3-4 fronts.
- Game poster.
- Fleck shows love to Ohio State.
- Mike 0-4 Hart left EMU for WMU because it was too much like Michigan.
- Video: WMU WR Daniel Braverman vs. Purdue.
URBAN THE EMO? Urban Meyer is often criticized — by idiots — the circumstances of his exit from Florida. It's always been a bad take, but yesterday it was laid bare as to why. Urban Meyer's reasons for leaving Florida were good, actually, because it's honesty from a coach that we rarely see in big-time college sports.
From Grantland.com:
How many coaches would use the phrase “overwhelming mess” to describe the psychic burden inherent to playing high-profile college football? How many coaches would even hint at the workings of their interior monologue?
But this is what makes Urban Meyer unique. He is the first emo college football coach; he is as much Woody Allen as he is Woody Hayes.
[...]
So here we are, in 2015, with Meyer having built the beast at Ohio State faster than anyone could have reasonably expected, and the maintenance phase is setting in. Now is the difficult period, the part of the process Meyer dreaded in the past, the part of the process that dragged him down in the first place. You can feel his anxiety in the way he seems to be mulling over his decision-making in his own press conferences, the way he seems to be obsessing over his own shortcomings, the way he’s legitimately torn about what to do and about how to win games without wounding the psyche of any of his star players.
That’s maintenance, and that’s the thing Urban Meyer found so awful in the past. And there’s something fascinating, even admirable, about watching a man as accomplished as him publicly wrestle with it now. “You’re the hunted instead of the hunter,” Meyer said this week, and how he deals with that will determine not only the tenor of Ohio State’s season, but his very future as a coach. And as someone who just spent several minutes overthinking the writing of this very sentence, I kind of want him to succeed.
I'm not sure I would compare anybody to creepy-ass Woody Allen. They missed me with that one.
Conquering the summit has never been the problem for Meyer. We'll see how he handles this round, but all earlier returns indicate a changed man. Besides, it's not as if Ohio State fans will be calling for his ouster if Ohio State fails to repeat.
CAMREN WILLIAMS: LOYAL TO THE GAME. The problem with elite recruiting is there are only so many minutes to dole out. Take, for example, backup MLB/"punt team QB" Cam Williams, who arrived at Ohio State sandwiched between two five-star recruits.
From Scout.com:
After backing up Curtis Grant in 2013, Williams slid down to third in the pecking order last fall thanks to the arrival of true freshman Raekwon McMillan. After splitting time with Grant in 2014, McMillan won the job outright in 2015. It was never a competition in the way that the quarterbacks and kickers have been auditioned and scrutinized, and it would likely take an injury or something similarly dire for Williams to move into the starting role. That’s no knock on Williams, either – McMillan just happens to be a freshman All-American who has the look of an instinctual, once-in-a-generation linebacker.
Williams would start at several Big Ten schools, and a transfer could have put him in a better position to follow in the footsteps of his father Brent and brother Brennan, both of whom have played in the NFL. But Williams never considered leaving Columbus, even though he knew that was probably the most convenient path to significant playing time.
“I’m all about the team,” he said. “I’ve had great experiences here that I wouldn’t have had anywhere else. That’s not a complacency thing, either. I’m always pushing Raekwon and I’m always pushing to be the best I can be. Obviously you always want to get better and continue to push and continue to want more, and that’s what I’m doing every day. I love it here. I love Ohio State, love the university. I love the opportunities I’ve had and the guys I’ve been around. Leaving never crossed my mind.”
Shoutout to Camren Williams, who I can unequivocally say is my favorite Massachusettsan — next to "We be witnessing a baby whale, kid" guy, of course.
THAT TIME BO WANTED BYU OUTLAWED. Last week, I put my undefeated "upset pick" on the Fighting Illinois. A week later, I'm still unsure why I did that.
This week I'm picking Michigan to get washed in the Littler House. Michigan is certainly better — its defense went from subpar to okay — but I think BYU's offense is eventually going to wear UM down.
It also helps that they once trolled Bo Schembechler.
From 1985 via LATimes.com:
Then, after nearly two decades of carryings-on, there were some nasty rumors last season that Bo had mellowed. Michigan football fans in and around Detroit--who like their football coaches to be like the cars they manufacture: big and powerful--began to worry that the opinionated Bo they had come to love was turning into a Phil Donahue doll.
That rumor was put to rest last season after the Holiday Bowl, where BYU pounded Michigan, 24-17. After the game, Schembechler criticized the Cougars' offensive line for holding and, taking on another favorite target, criticized the Southwest Conference officials for allowing it.
"I think BYU should be outlawed," Schembechler said. "BYU is the worst holding team in the United States, and you have my solemn promise I'll never again criticize Big Ten officiating."
Oh yes, that's the salt I crave in any breakfast.
THOSE WMDs. Hilarious patent illustration... Following heroin from Uruapan to Dayton... Oral history of Vince Carter's leap over Frédéric Weis... Yes, you can grow potatoes on Mars... The fake traffic schemes that are rotting the internet... How has Chinatown stayed Chinatown?
