We made it to game-week folks. But before we slap each other's backs, let's realize we ain't won shit. We still must survive another six sunrises before we can say, "Buckeye football is back in our lives."
Some writers are flexing their knuckles and settling in for a grueling season. Not me. I've been in these streets (read: my couch) producing content six days a week. I walk around in game shape.
My sickle is polished and ready to tap an illicit keg of FourLoko, even though I haven't actually drank a FourLoko since the FDA outlawed caffeinated alcohol.
PROGRAMMING NOTES:
- The 10-Year Oral History of Eleven Warriors (and subsequent staff chat). Check it out.
- Friday, I promised a piece on my interview of Paul Finebaum. Plot twist: Friday afternoon was not as productive as I planned. It will post this morning.
- Urban Meyer speaks with reporters at 11:45 a.m. at the Woody Hayes Center. Y'all know the drill.
BUCKEYE SPEED. There was a time when Ohio State wasn't known for speed. Granted, the Buckeyes don't play in the SEC where players become faster upon enlisting, but those days done flipped.
But when speed is mentioned, it's usually in reference to offensive players. But speed plays a role in elite defensive play too (ask Michigan's linebackers from last year's Game).
Urban Meyer's team will be young this year but it will have speed on both sides of the ball.
From dispatch.com:
“I don’t know — we’re really fast,” [Kerry] Coombs said. “Darron Lee was really fast. Vonn Bell was really fast. Joey was really fast. Sam Hubbard (who is in Bosa’s spot now) is really fast.
“We have recruited for speed, and they play fast when they know the defense … and that’s probably the greatest emphasis, is to make sure all of these young guys know what they’re doing so they can just go play.”
[...]
“Last year they had speed, but this year we have a lot of speed,” [Marshon] Lattimore said. “We’re strong up front, our DBs from top to bottom is the best since I’ve been here. We have a lot on the defensive side we can do as far as just being physical or with speed.”
Speed isn't the only thing in football, but it equates to athleticism. And more athletes = more wins in college football. Add in an elite coaching staff, and there might be something special brewing on Columbus.
THIRD-AND-SHORT. Pass-protection will be key in replacing Ezekiel Elliott, but here's another area: Third-and-short.
From landgrantholyland.com:
But what the run game critically needs to replace is Ezekiel Elliott’s dependability on third and short. When the offense was in a must-convert situation, the team could almost always count on Zeke picking up the yardage necessary.
The most telling metric here is power success rate, where the Buckeyes ranked seventh in total last season. Power success rate is the percentage of runs on third or fourth down, with two or fewer yards to go, that pick up the first down or a touchdown. Ohio State was able to do this an astounding 77.2% of the time (7th in the country), which is likely why they ran the ball on 44% of passing downs (14th-most in the country).
In short, the Buckeyes were able to convert over 3⁄4 of third and fourth downs by running the ball, so they ran the ball on nearly half of all passing downs last season. That’s because Zeke could be trusted to pick up the first down.
While Weber will shoulder the burden of replacing Elliott, pass-protection is on him. Success on third-and-short will depend on him and the offensive line.
While all the newbies will be talented, it's may take a few weeks to put together. Once it does (and it will), Weber is going to be a tough hombre to corral.
SURE? Lee Corso coached college football. He's been paid for decades to follow it and spindle opinions. He's everybody's kindly father on Game Day.
Yet he dropped a horrendously bad #take this weekend.
From 247sports.com:
"The fact Michigan plays six of its first seven games at home is big, so I’m drinking the Big Blue Kool-Aid,” Corso said. "Coach Harbaugh can coach. He’s won everywhere he’s been. He took this team and won 10 games last year and they destroyed Florida in the bowl game.
"Jim Harbaugh is Urban Meyer’s worst nightmare."
Corso's bold statement warranted a "this year?" wisecrack out of Herbstreit, who disagreed with the notion.
My favorite part here is who—besides idiots—says Harbaugh is a bad coach? Nobody.
But to cite Harbaugh's 10 wins and a victory over four-loss Florida (during the same season Meyer won 12 [including a four-touchdown one over Michigan] and smashed Top 10 Notre Dame as the reason Harbaugh is Meyer's "worst nightmare" is asinine and lazy.
If people want to believe Harbaugh will become Meyer's worst nightmare, that's fine. They're wrong, but that's fine.
If this is the standard of opinion giving on ESPN these days, I may know a guy who can give shitty opinions for half the price.
ARKANSAS'... GOOD IDEA? Here's something I'm 98% sure Bert Bielema didn't conjure:
.@UArkansas football graduates will wear this patch on their uniforms this season.https://t.co/gdLMUSPQhQ pic.twitter.com/46cM1Ow7ER
— Gridiron Now (@GridironNow) August 28, 2016
Ohio State (and all of college football) should swagger-jack that immediately.
#TEENS. No college coach is recruiting a student because he tweets well, but there are plenty who won't recruit them due to their tweets.
Kliff Kingsbury, however, is the first coach I heard admit to catfishing teenagers.
From cbssports.com:
Speaking to former NFL linebacker A.J. Hawk on his podcast, "The HawkCast," Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said the Red Raiders coaching staff sets up fake social media accounts using "cute girls" as avatars to spy on their players.
"We have fake accounts with cute girls that they add right now so we can see what's going on, who's tweeting what. Those are heavily monitored, for sure," Kingsbury said.
When asked if he thought players knew about the monitoring tactics, Kingsbury said "I think they do, but they can't resist that. Friend requests from cute girls are an automatic follow."
Shoutout to all the young women whose pictures are unknowingly being used by grown men to manipulate football prospects.
THOSE WMDs. Join the Unofficial 11W College Football Pick'em... SEAL Team 6 and a man left for dead... Meet the Nightcrawlers of Manila... The tragic story behind Canada's "Stay Alert, Stay Safe" PSAs... How men really feel when you keep your last name.
