After this, only four more Saturday Skull Sessions until Bowling Green comes walking through the doors for a high noon dumping.
NO WIFI IN SHOE... YET. Big Ten schools, including Ohio State, are scaling back on stadium seating. It's a multi-variable situation. Ticket prices are up, televisions broadcast in high definition, most stadium seating is uncomfortable, etc.
In fact, attendance is down across the country.
So, a lot of schools are looking for ways to improve the "fan experience." That's why Ohio State planned to install stadium-wide Wi-Fi this year. However, even the best-laid plans are just that: Plans.
From dispatch.com:
Ohio State University football fans looking forward to seamlessly Tweeting scores and sharing selfies will have to wait at least one more season for Wi-Fi in Ohio Stadium.
Plans to bring Wi-Fi to the Horseshoe by this fall have been shelved after the university decided to prioritize funding for concrete repairs, Vice President and Athletic Director Gene Smith said.
That restoration is part of a $42 million, multi-phase stadium renovation project expected to begin next year.
This will satisfy the crowd that grumbles about fans more concerned with telling their social friends they went to an Ohio State game than the actual game.
But it's not like football is a free-flowing game, and the internet can be used for a lot more than uploading selfies. What if Michigan State's Nov. 26 clash with Penn State has conference championship implications? Wouldn't you want to check the score of that game while packed in your seat like an NYC subway at rush hour, freezing your ass off?
I would.
I'm disappointed for the fans, but it's good to see the university only moved them down the road for a year. As long as they don't double-back on that, it's hard to get angry #online about it.
GRAB THE PITCHFORKS Y'ALL, WE GOT A LIVE WITCH. As somebody who's been dead inside since 1968, one of the last feelings of which I'm capable is internet anger. Sure, I remember the day my ex-wife had my mediocre son... it pales in comparison to the chemicals that splash around in my pistachio-sized brain when I read a bad internet #take.
And to me, few things send me into a blistering, put-my-Arthur-fist-through-the-plaster than when a national writer disrespects the local team I love to know. I won't stand for it.
From Bill Connelly of sbnation.com:
RANK TEAM 1 MICHIGAN 2 MICHIGAN STATE 3 OHIO STATE 4 PENN STATE 5 NEBRASKA 6 WISCONSIN 7 MINNESOTA 8 NORTHWESTERN 10 INDIANA 11 MARYLAND 12 RUTGERS 13 INDIANA 14 PURDUE I've gone back and forth on this constantly. As you see below, all three of these teams have low numbers in returning production. While it feels each is a step ahead of the other 11, each has obvious questions to answer. The odds are good that one won't do so satisfactorily.
Ranking teams in this order comes down to one thing: I think Ohio State's biggest question mark scares me the most.
[...]
Ohio State's skill unit, however, worries me. There's obviously potential, and I assume any issues will be rectified by 2017, but last year Ohio State didn't get many big plays and was reliant on extreme efficiency. They were efficient when they had Zeke Elliott, Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall, and Braxton Miller. They're gone, and a lot of the potential replacements are extremely young. That should make Ohio State's offense really inconsistent.
In Connelly's defense, the headline of the article is, "2016 BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS: I have Ohio State 3rd, and I regret it already." Still, you only get one preseason bullet before your #take is written in blood on the Internet, which is forever.
I wouldn't surprise anyone with my preseason pick. A wise degenerate gambler once told me, "If you're going to pick a pony, pick the one with a .926 win percentage." It's why I type these things from a throne of empty Pizza Hut boxes.
As a wild card, Rutgers may be too low. It plays at Ohio State and Michigan State, but if it could knock off Michigan at home (people forget Big Blue has never won at Rutgers), it might surprise some people down the stretch. It could also serve as the coffin of Chris Ash's coaching career. Can't wait until the dice are thrown.
BUCKS SET AT QB FOR AWHILE. With yesterday's commitment of 2018 four-star QB Emory Jones, here could be Ohio State's QB room in 2018:
| NAME | CLASS RANK | RECRUITING RANK |
|---|---|---|
| STEPHEN COLLIER | (RS) SENIOR | NO. 17 DUAL-THREAT |
| JOE BURROW | (RS) JUNIOR | NO. 9 DUAL-THREAT |
| DWAYNE HASKINS | JUNIOR | NO. 4 PRO STYLE |
| TATE MARTELL | SOPHOMORE | NO. 2 DUAL-THREAT |
| DANNY CLARK | SOPHOMORE | NO. 15 PRO STYLE |
| EMORY JONES | FRESHMAN | NO. 3 DUAL-THREAT |
Obviously, some redshirts could be thrown in there, but...
From cleveland.com:
All of these players aren't going to stay. Competition at the position is a good thing, but once a winner is named people are going to start looking elsewhere. There's too much talent in that room to have guys holding clipboards their entire career.
When will we see the next quarterback competition? If Barrett leaves after the 2016 season -- which is possible with another strong effort like he had in 2014 -- then start the clock on all the guys behind him.
That means a battle between Burrow and Haskins for the starting job in 2017, one Haskins could certainly win despite being younger than Burrow and likely a redshirt freshman when that season begins. I would expect whoever wins that battle to hold the job through at least the 2018 season.
I agree 100% with the notion all those players won't be there. Collier, for example, is coming off ACL surgery. Danny Clark said he doesn't care if Ohio State brings in Joe Namath, but it's easier to say that in July before National Signing Day.
My guess is Burrow or Haskins will start that year. If it's another #QBgeddon, let's hope the staff learned something from the last rodeo.
BEAVER STADIUM: B1G'S TOUGHEST. ESPN.com caught up with some players at Big Ten Media Days and polled them on the toughest places to play in the conference. These were the results:
- Penn State — Beaver Stadium — 6 votes
- Nebraska — Memorial Stadium — 5 votes
- Ohio State — Ohio Stadium —1 vote
- Wisconsin — Camp Randall Stadium — 1 vote
I, like all fans, wish Ohio State would be higher up the list, but some things aren't to be.
MEAN TWEETS. BTN did that thing where they asked players to read mean tweets about themselves. It's hilarious, and Raekwon McMillan is featured:
Wes Lunt and @JBooty_88 claim top reactions to #B1GMediaDay mean tweets.
— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) July 29, 2016
What say you? https://t.co/uC6evcncra
The lesson is to never tweet.
THOSE WMDs. Seattle man threatens bouncer with spear, cops with Batarang... 90 million tweens, a free app, one goal: Fame... A trip through the world's most dangerous jungle... The fake factory that pumped out real money... TIL: Adults suck their thumbs.
