There's no Buckeye football tonight, so here's the most intense match of Paper, Rock, Scissors ever played:
In Japan they take rock, paper, scissors pretty seriously...pic.twitter.com/JHAEDNtdXS
— BigSport (@BigSportGB) December 14, 2016
ICYMI:
- Help bring a statue to Woody Hayes' hometown.
- Eddie George surprises Tate Martell with National Player of the Year award.
- Five Years Gone: "How Deep It Went."
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Five-star Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones decides tonight on ESPN (not ESPNU) at 8:30 p.m. ET.
ON THE TRAIL AGAIN. Raekwon McMillan could have played at any college he wanted. In the end, he liked Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State the most. He already beat Alabama in 2014 (yessir!), and now he'll have to face an old favorite once again.
From 971thefan.com:
“It’s crazy that my top three were Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama. I played Alabama my freshman year and I’m going to get a chance to play Clemson,” he said, last week. “Just seeing some of the guys across the field that I was recruited with is a great experience for me and, also, some of the players on the other teams I went on visits with.”
McMillan and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson crossed paths on multiple occasions, considering they grew up in the same state — Watson is from Gainesville, Georgia — and both graduated in the 2014 high school class.
Ohio State also recruited Watson and he tried to convince McMillan to join him at Clemson after committing early. In a parallel universe, perhaps they’re teammates.
Yes, in a parallel universe perhaps they are teammates... on the local team.
CHANGES COMING. Putting Watson into Ohio State's 2014 class opens an interesting set of hypotheticals, especially if Braxton Miller doesn't injure his shoulder in the first quarter of the 2014 Orange Bowl.
Everybody knows about the defensive change that occurred afterward (and were occurring regardless), but that game altered the course of college football history.
From dispatch.com:
Offensively, the Orange Bowl turned out to be the last game that Braxton Miller would play at quarterback for Ohio State. The Tigers battered Miller all game, injuring his shoulder. When Miller’s shoulder was slow to heal, he had surgery in February to repair what was diagnosed as a partly torn labrum. His labrum tore again late in training camp. J.T. Barrett, who had told family and friends in Texas that offseason that he merely aspired to be the holder on field goals in 2014, suddenly became the starting quarterback.
Who knows how things might have played out if Miller hadn’t been injured against Clemson? Would Barrett have taken over in 2015? Would Cardale Jones ever have seen the light of day or just been another guy who came and went without leaving a mark?
I'm not sure if Ohio State would've won the title with Braxton Miller. I'm not sure Cardale Jones would've beat out a freshman Watson. Meyer loved Watson as a recruit and Jones notoriously slacked.
Would a freshman Watson, as special as he was, have won a title for Ohio State? I don't think so, which is what makes what actually happened so incredible.
Probably worth remembering a lot of good can come from losing a big recruit and a fancy end-of-season exhibition game.
PASS BLOCKING. Mike Weber wasn't as good at as Ezekiel Elliott at pass-blocking, but pretty-damn-close ain't bad for a freshman who quietly pieced together a historical season.
Top pass blocking HBs in the Power-5
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) December 14, 2016
D'Onta Foreman, Texas
Ish Witter, Missouri
Mike Weber, Ohio St.
Tyler Bell, Wake Forest
Speaking of impressive stats, here's another reason ESPN draft gurus value Marshon Lattimore:
Only two college cornerbacks didn't miss a tackle this year:
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) December 15, 2016
Kentucky's Chris Westry
OSU's Marshon Lattimore
(min 50% of team snaps)
STOP CHEATING, BOBBY. When Wake Forest accused Louisville of spying, people asked, "Who needs inside info to beat the Deacons?"
Well, an assistant coach turned radio analyst leaked game plans for three years, and one of the beneficiaries... was Louisville.
From wxii12.com:
"Our offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway and Tommy Elrod have known each other since 2007. Lonnie received a call from Elrod during the week of the Wake Forest game, and some information was shared with him that week," Jurich said. "Among the communication were a few plays that were sent and then shared with our defensive staff. None of the special plays were run during the course of the game. Our defense regularly prepares for similar formations every week in their normal game plan.
Any other information that may have been discussed was nothing that our staff had not already seen while studying Wake Forest in their preparations for the game and the material was not given any further attention. I’m disappointed that this issue has brought undue attention to our football staff as we prepare for our upcoming bowl game.”
Of course, Bobby Petrino claims no knowledge of any subterfuge, no matter how small.
From al.com:
"I have no knowledge of the situation," Petrino said, per Mark Schlabach. "We take a lot of pride in the way we operate our program. As I've stated already this season, my coaching philosophy has always been to play the game with sportsmanship. Right now, our focus is on our game with tomorrow at Houston and finishing the 2016 season strong."
I can't wait until text records inexplicably link Petrino to the crimes. He's exactly the kind of guy who couldn't resist cheating against a team he beat by 32 points.
BLACK INSPECTOR GADGET SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT. Everyone from Hue Jackson to Pacman Jones criticized Terrelle Pryor for talking trash during the 13th loss of the Browns' season Sunday against Cincinnati.
But Pryor wants to set the record straight on another issue—he wasn't arguing with his teammate Robert Griffin.
From ohio.com:
Hang in there, T.P. None of those reporters have a mane like you and next year the Patriots will pay you millions of dollars to catch footballs from a competent quarterback, albeit one with poor college choices.
THOSE WMDs. Army's top secret, years-long plan to beat Navy... Osprey flights halted in Japan after mishap... After Newton shooting, parents enter the lonely quiet... How to be a Stoic... Atlanta police arrest notorious 86-year-old jewel thief... The bearer of bad Browns news.
