It switched. Westworld was bad but Episode 4 got me back on the wagon.
ICYMI:
- Film Study: The trouble with Ohio State's inconsistent passing.
- Presser Bullets: Urban Meyer doesn't foresee offensive line or play-calling structure changes.
- Ohio State facing crossroads in season after loss to Penn State.
BILLY PRICE KEEPS IT 100. Folks, clap one time if you find "bad days at the office" to be relatable content. Any American worker who doesn't know a bad day at the office is either the boss or a soon-to-be-fired employee.
Now, imagine walking to your car after a bad work day and reporters incapable of doing your job ambushing you. It would not be fun.
Which is why Meyer tabbed J.T. Barrett, Billy Price and Tyquan Lewis to address assembled media Monday afternoon. Not many people want to rehash the time they took an L and fewer are capable of doing it in a manner of which the ol' ball coach would approve.
Bill Price still made me laugh.
From cleveland.com:
"The crazy thing is we've only lost five games in five years," Price said. "As we sit here and the world is ending, the sun came up and it's incredible ... We've been here before. This isn't an occurrence that happens often, but we learn from this. We worry about us, and we don't worry about fans, because everybody is a couch coach. We need to focus on who we are, and the guys in that room, and that's what matters to us."
There are questions, though.
Like how can an offense that rolled through the first four games of the season get back on track after shaky performances against Indiana, Wisconsin and Penn State? How can an offensive line that got exposed to the tune of six sacks and 11 tackles for loss on Saturday regroup? How can a defense that was mostly good but gave up two long scoring drives that led to touchdowns improve?
There were questions last year, and the home loss to Michigan State drained the swamp. These next two weeks will tell us all we need to know about this year's loss.
Judging by the tone of yesterday's interviews, the players don't seem to be melting down. That might be a good omen.
THE NEED FOR CREATIVITY. The common thread of all five losses in Urban Meyer's tenure is not controlling the offensive and defensive lines. Meyer's system isn't based on tricking teams. It's based on pounding them into submission with superior athletes.
Things get dicey when opposing teams weather the onslaught and impose their will.
Creativity could be an anecdote.
From 247sports.com:
One of our coaching sources offered some thoughts about the Buckeyes' offense - starting with the obvious.
“They didn’t look too good,” the source began. “Since the Oklahoma game they’ve regressed. Seems like they don’t always put the players in the best possible position. They haven’t been real creative. You look at Lane Kiffin and how creative he is at Alabama. The offensive line was a problem, but they are going to also need to be more creative and diverse.”
I watch Alabama games when I can, and Lane Kiffin has been on a blinder for awhile. (Can't wait until Purdue Godfathers him in January!)
Meyer said yesterday not to expect wholesale changes to the offense, but it's not like he'd divulge his game plan to the media. He'll find a way to adapt even without a reliable deep passing game. That's what great coaches do.
HERE COME THE CATS. Northwestern is on the docket this Saturday. I forgot it was a thing.
The Wildcats were bad this year but it switched in recent weeks. Meyer said yesterday, maybe in hyperbole, Northwestern was one of the most improved teams he's seen in his life.
Regardless, NU offers the perfect rebound opportunity.
From sportschatplace.com:
The Northwestern Wildcats look to stay hot by building on their three-game winning streak while staying in the Big Ten West race. The Northwestern Wildcats have four wins over ranked teams since the 2014 season. Clayton Thorson is completing 57.9 percent of his passes for 1,686 yards, 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. Thorson has three touchdown passes in each of his last three games. Austin Carr and Flynn Nagel have combined for 972 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns while Macan Wilson has 10 receptions. The Northwestern Wildcats ground game is averaging 137.4 yards per contest, and Justin Jackson leads the way with 792 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, Northwestern is allowing 21.9 points and 414.4 yards per game. Godwin Igwebuike leads the Northwestern Wildcats with 61 tackles, Ifeadi Odenigbo has eight sacks and Jared McGee has two interceptions.
[...]
The Wildcats are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Buckeyes are 25-9-1 ATS in their last 35 games following a straight up loss and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games. The Wildcats are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings in Ohio State and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 meetings overall.
I look for Meyer and company to drive Northwestern back into Lake Michigan. If they come out sluggish and don't look good, then we can start clucking and sending coaching suggestions to Meyer's inbox.
MORE INFO ON AIR FORCE DEAL. The Air Force signed a contract for "hands-on study" of Ohio State's football program for special ops purposes. That program will include more than just the football team (eventually).
From military.com:
Since Ohio State linebacker Joe Burger started working with AFRL two years ago, bio sensors have measured his physical depletion on a rating scale to determine what he needs to do more of to recover. The sensors, for example, can alert an athlete if he or she is nearing dehydration or needs extra sleep.
"It makes you more cognizant of the things you can do," said Burger, a 22-year-old senior from Cincinnati. "You can definitely tell a difference and seeing a difference makes you a believer."
Hagen, a key researcher in the development of a Band-aid-like sweat sensor measuring biometrics that AFRL plans to commercialize with a Virginia-based company, said the data are useful to understand the demands Special Forces troops may confront on missions.
Surprised the Air Force didn't contact me. I'm closer to Wright-Patterson and my training regimen is almost as rigorous.
KNOW THOSE FEELS. After today, I'm deleting the loss to James Franklin from my memory. It was a thing that happened, but in 20 years I'll just squint my eyes in confusion whenever somebody tries to remind me about it.
Until then, here's how the Internet will remember our loss:
That wasn't as bad as Josh in C-Bus, who should be banned from the local team's swagwagon due to treasonous belligerence:
My advice to these gentlemen is to deflect their pain through tweets laced with sardonic humor. It's a way to seem ironically detached while actually wanting to microwave your laptop while watching Happy Valley riot like the administration tore the Joe Pa statue down again.
DUBGATE SIREN. Nebraska at Ohio State on Nov. 5 could be a top-10 matchup under the lights in the Shoe.
If you're coming to Columbus that weekend, be sure to check out two key events thrown by the Eleven Warriors gang:
- Charity Banger at Land-Grant Brewing (Nov. 4th)
- Dubgate VI (Nov. 5th)
THOSE WMDs. Small fibs turn to big lies... Jared Fogle's ex-wife alleges Subway knew of his depravities... Road leads to more trouble for Charlie Strong and Texas... Origins of popular slang terms... Was one of these kids really murdered on Halloween 1974?
