Christmas, baby! Let's hope nobody ended up in their hometown jail last night unless they deserved it, in which case they can use this weekend to cool off.
This week's SFW ANTI-WORK #BANGERS:
- Mankind stands no chance.
- Nat King Cole – The Christmas Album.
- The best of the Fonz.
IRISH EYES ON OHIO STATE. I always enjoy scouting reports on Ohio State from opponent media.
From blueandgold.com on what to expect from Ohio State:
1. Tempo, Tempo, Tempo
Despite averaging almost a half-yard less per play than it did a season ago, Ohio State ran six fewer plays per game. Ohio State struggled to push the tempo as well as it did a season ago. The Buckeye offense is at its best when it can speed up the game and get into a good rhythm, something it will certainly look to do in the Fiesta Bowl.
Notre Dame has not fared well against offenses that push the tempo. Combined with its propensity to give up big plays and its failure to put together four quarters of consistent football, the Irish defense is primed for a tempo push. The longer Ohio State takes to snap the ball the more settled Notre Dame can get, so expect the Buckeyes to do the exact opposite.
2. A Lot Of Mid-Direction[...]
The Buckeyes will incorporate a number of unique formations - and use those motions and shifts - to gain a numbers and/or leverage advantage to a side. How the Irish line up to those looks will also determine how effectively it can handle Ohio State's mis-direction concepts. Discipline will be key for the Irish.
I expect Notre Dame to lead with its rushing attack, and I hope Ohio State leads with tempo. Why didn't we see more of it from the Buckeyes in 2015? Those questions are best left to men of higher pay grade... but it seemed to me that was when J.T. Barrett did his best work.
Let's hope it happens, because watching Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett gash Notre Dame by 13-yard chunks while their linemen gasp for air will be the hangover cure I'll crave by 4 p.m. on New Year's Day.
APPLE TALKS SURNAME CHANGE. Eli Apple committed to Ohio State as Eli Woodard, but soon thereafter switched his surname.
We've knew Apple did it to honor the stepfather who raised him, but I don't recall a time Apple opened up this candidly about it.
From espn.com:
I don't remember my biological father, but my stepdad, he's been my real dad ever since I can remember. I didn't even know he wasn't my real dad until I got into middle school, and people were like, 'He looks different than you.' I'd never even thought about it. He's always been there, he's always taken care of me.
He's the one who really loved football. He used to wake me up in the middle of the night to go do drills. He's the main reason why I love football. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be playing. I wanted to like everything he liked.
[...]
You always play for your last name, and that's something I want people to see when they look at me, see my jersey, see that 'Apple.' I want them to think, 'He's going hard for his parents, going hard for his family, trying to protect his last name.' It's something I just wanted to carry on.
I suspect the Fiesta Bowl will be Apple's last game in the Scarlet and Gray. Some will disagree with the decision, but they'll fail to see the value of a 6'2" corner like Apple in the NFL.
"THIS YEAR'S OHIO STATE." As we trudge towards the playoffs—I'm still hoping Dabo Swinney and Clemson call-in sick—the media will fall over themselves in order to find "This year's Ohio State."
ESPN's Todd Blackledge says it's Oklahoma.
From swtimes.com:
What kind of season has this been in importance for a guy like Bob Stoops?
[...]
And obviously, he made some difficult changes on his coaching staff. … He brought in some new guys and I think the staff changes have been a real breath of fresh air for them. Of course, when you’ve got a quarterback that shows up at your doorstep and walks on and turned out to the kind of player that Baker (Mayfield) has been, that helps, too. It has to be a super rewarding season for Bob because when I look at their team right now, and I’ve said this on the air, they remind me very much of what Ohio State looked like last year. They are a team that had a disappointing loss early in the year, an upset loss, they made some fixes, they made some changes and then they continued to get better and grow as the year went on, and the more Oklahoma played this year, the better they got down the stretch. And that’s exactly what happened to Ohio State last year.
My theory is none of these teams are this year's Ohio State, because last year's story was so improbable it will never be replicated beyond "Here are two football teams that dealt with injuries and still reached its goals."
Sure, Bibibop and White Castle and both restaurants, but to compare the two beyond that is lazy. Ohio State's story should be left where it belongs... in the annals of sports history.
SOON EVERY PROGRAM WILL BE COACHED BY MEYER DISCIPLES. Tom Herman didn't take a page from Urban Meyer—he took the book. Looks like Chris Ash is doing the same, right down to "Real Life Wednesdays."
From app.com:
At Rutgers, they may be called “Career-driven Tuesdays” or “After football Fridays” or some other derivative of a creation by Ohio State coach Urban Meyer that his protégé Chris Ash plans to adapt as his own in Piscataway once he settles in as head coach.
Essentially every Wednesday from February through May a successful business professional visits the Ohio State football team to host a seminar on the life skills needed after the days of college and playing football are over.
“In today’s college football, it almost seems like everybody says the players are getting used,” Ash told Gannett New Jersey during an exclusive interview in his office. “Well, the players need to start using the school to set themselves up for life after football. That’s really what Coach Meyer’s approach is."
The brain drain on Ohio State's staff is the price of success and no fun... but it will be paid back in dividends for Buckeye fans when Urban Meyer's former assistants vie to take over the reins from their mentor in Columbus.
THOSE WMDs. The greatest lawyer who ever lived... Feds widen probe into lottery IT boss who rooted the game for profit... The nuclear targets of the early Cold War... Oliver Sacks on living with terminal cancer... A Force Unleashed: Covering a young Mike Tyson.
