The perfect Fall read: The Fisherman, by John Langan. I'm 192 of 263 pages through and I already recommend it. It's that good.
11W ICYMI:
- Mike Weber casually revealed he's golfing buddies with Barry Sanders.
- Across the Shield: Ezekiel Elliott leads NFL in rushing and former Bucks combine for 52 points.
- Film Study: The newest wrinkle in Ohio State's vaunted rushing attack.
TILT OF THE CAP TO THE DEFENSE. Urban Meyer's teams are known for offense, and rightfully so. His teams are good at parking the magic diamond in the paint.
But what I remember about the nightmare of the BCS 2007 game isn't Chris Leak or even Tim Tebow. It's how the Florida defense mangled Ohio State's (up until then) explosive offense and left it in a heap deep in its own end zone.
This is the first defense since Meyer's arrival that looks capable of the same whistle-to-whistle dominance.
From dispatch.com:
“It starts with defense,” Meyer said [Monday], with a 58-0 victory over Rutgers on Saturday a shining example. The OSU defense is No.1 in the nation in defense against the score and No. 3 in total defense.
The Buckeyes are preparing to host Indiana, which is coming off its most significant victory of coach Kevin Wilson's tenure, an overtime win over Michigan State on Saturday night. More to the point, the Hoosiers defense was as much or more a part of the victory over the defending Big Ten champion as was the offense.
And as Meyer pointed out, the past four years the Hoosiers have been a tough out for the Buckeyes, especially last year, when Indiana was throwing into the end zone with a chance to tie in the last 10 seconds before Buckeyes cornerback Eli Apple knocked away the pass.
People applauded my courage in picking Ohio State to beat Rutgers. I deserved that. But I disrespected the Bullets in predicting the opponent to score 13 points by way of a touchdown, an extra point and two field goals.
Thirteen points used to be considered a dominant performance. Crazy how times change.
HEAVY LIFTING. Billy Price revealed last month players know touchdown celebrations featuring linemen lifting the scorer into the air make solid Instagram photos.
He also revealed the "new thing," which is the scorer lifting the lineman into the air.
After Mike Weber broke the longest touchdown run of his Ohio State career against Rutgers, he found Pat Elflein and tried to give the big man a lift.
At turns out, the starting running back at Ohio State isn't even strong enough to lift the King Slob off the ground:
Chalk it up to miscommunication.
From cleveland.com:
"He came to me one day and said, 'Since we're always the guys picking up the running backs, how about you pick me up?'" Weber explained Monday, addressing the issue head on.
Weber said if that's what Elflein wanted, he'd do it.
"But you've got to at least jump and help me," Weber said.
Sounds like Elflein owes Weber a few good blocks because he did him dirty there. The good news for them is it happened against Rutgers. Still plenty of time to clean the execution up for when it matters.
INDIANA... TRYING ON DEFENSE? Rutgers felt and played like a bye week.
I wanted to make a similar jape about Indiana, but I had flashed backs to a male model running loose down the sideline in 2015.
Meyer says this is Indiana's best team, which it might be. The Hoosiers topped legendary football coach Mike D'antoni and the Michigan State Spartans last Saturday. Even more impressively, they're trying on defense now.
From washingtontimes.com:
“It was really great to see those guys respond and get a three-play stop (in overtime) because typically we’ve never done that,” Wilson said Monday, after poring through the film of Saturday’ 24-21 upset of Michigan State . “I was really proud of the defense for that overtime one-two-three stop there. That was awesome. “
Wilson hopes this revamped unit continues playing well enough to get them survive the next two rounds of a daunting three-game stretch - Saturday at No. 2 Ohio State (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and Oct. 15 at home against No. 12 Nebraska (4-0, 2-0).
One thing is already clear: This is a vastly different defense from the ones Indiana fans have grown accustomed to watching over the past two decades.
From 2005-15, the Hoosiers allowed 34.1 points per game. This year, under new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, things have changed dramatically as the Spartans learned the hard way. Indiana allowed only seven first-half points and wound up sacking Tyler O’Connor on second and third down in overtime, forcing a 49-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left.
Meyer's never had an undefeated season in which he won a title. His losses during championship seasons: to Tommy Tuberville's Auburn, a four-loss Ole Miss, and a six-loss Virginia Tech.
I'm just glad this game is at home and doesn't start at noon. (Do I believe Ohio State wins by six touchdowns? Sure, but I'm not talking smack about the Hoosiers until that corpse is in the ground [or I take two sips of FourLoko.])
CLARK TO KENTUCKY? Indiana or Kentucky seem to be the predicted landing spots for former Ohio State QB commit Danny Clark.
Wildcat fans could be looking down the barrel of cheering for a QB with a massive Ohio State tattoo.
From scout.com:
Clark will take his first official visit this coming weekend when the Akron (OH) Hoban star heads to Kentucky.
"I will be going to Kentucky this weekend for an official visit to see them play Vanderbilt," Clark stated. "I've been talking to them a lot lately, and I'm excited to get down there to see a game and check out the campus."
"The coaching staff seems so great, and I really like Coach (Darin) Hinshaw and Coach (Vince) Marrow," he added. "I've also spoken to Coach (Mark) Stoops. It seems like a great fit with the offense they run and how I could develop as a player."
Jokes about the football team at a basketball school aside, Kentucky low-key wouldn't be a bad place to get a free education.
THE G.O.A.T. CHRONICLES. How come when I wear a sweatsuit in public I'm ridiculed as a lazy slob but when Demario McCall does it he's hailed as the greatest running back in Ohio State history?
— Demario Mccall (@DemarioMccall) October 3, 2016
Actually, you know what? Don't answer that.
THOSE WMDs. The terrorist inside my husband's brain... Abandoned hospital in West Adams filled with fine art... Anand Pakash saved Facebook... CG Technology fined $22.5 million for illegal scam... Kim Kardashian tied up in France during $9 million jersey heist.
