Congratulations! You survived long enough to witness a world where Dabo Swinney kill-shotted Nick Saban and Urban Meyer and Savage Tiger is a prophet.
After last night's this morning's instaclassic, I'm not sure ol' Savage survived the night. Hunter Renfrow embalming Bama with one second left probably caused his heart to explode.
But unfortunately for Clemson... nobody cares about their title anymore. It's the internet era, which means something four and a half hours old might as well be fossilized in amber.
We'll see what the Tigers bring in 2017 after weathering the shellshock of the Cleveland Browns reaping their once-promising friends into the Hunger Games.
ICYMI:
- Report: Torrance Gibson not enrolled.
- Curtis Samuel turned pro, and here are his top 11 plays.
- Tyquan Lewis confirmed his return.
- Report: "A lot of buzz" around the AFCA about Ed Warinner joining P.J. Fleck's Minnesota staff.
WE'RE TALKING LEGACY, FOLKS. Love to toss around the word "legacy," which is a word we fans use as if the world won't explode in 500 million years and erase all records.
But Curtis Samuel earned his place in Ohio State lore until then. Here is every touchdown of his this season. You will probably recall the last one:
We know. It's hard to remember all 15 of @CurtisSamuel4__'s touchdowns this year.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 9, 2017
Here's a refresher. pic.twitter.com/8ARJ0tKjNR
As much as I will forever cherish that daggering of Michigan—no 31-0 loss can take that away—I am almost as thankful for him finally killing "the Percy Harvin position."
From cleveland.com:
What the Buckeyes are indebted to Samuel for is reminding Urban Meyer what a true H-back can accomplish. Meyer said many times Samuel was his best H-back since Percy Harvin, and we saw what that can mean. Samuel was a stunning player and a rare talent. But if the Buckeyes feature the H-back again, they'll have players who can replicate much of what Samuel provided.
2. Samuel was nagged by injuries in 2015, but one of the mistakes of that season was still not playing Samuel more. Braxton Miller took up a lot of the H-back reps, but we've all seen now what kind of player Samuel is and I think he could have helped that offense. In 2015, Samuel had 39 touches for 421 yards (10.8 average) in 2015. Miller had 68 for 601 yards (8.8 average.) In 2016, Samuel had 171 touches for 1,636 yards (9.6 average).
Samuel isn't as freakish an athlete as Harvin, but he's a better football player and will enjoy a much longer professional career, and only in part because he's not an incorrigible asshole who fought teammates at every stop in his career.
But while Samuel seeks a greener pasture, Buckeye Nation turns its eyes to a native son built for the role:
Welp. pic.twitter.com/u7CaqwIgxK
— Andrew Ellis (@TeddyHeisman) January 9, 2017
Demario McCall told our Eric Seger at media day he's a "cool 192" right now, after arriving at Ohio State at 175. Another offseason working under Mickey Marotti should make McCall a prime candidate to replace Samuel's production.
STOP THE HOT TAKES. After the youngest team in the country crashed out of the playoffs, some fans were naturally disappointed in seeing pillars of a still-promising dart for the NFL with eligibility on the clock.
This has led to some takes—and I'm not calling out anybody, but those takes are only a couple clicks away—saying things like Meyer needs to "rethink" his recruiting strategy.
They should rethink their commentary. You don't win national titles with gritty three-stars, because not every three-star is Malik Hooker.
And as long as the NFL can pay money and CFB can't, it's not going to be a hard decision for players. It's a violent game and they want to start the clock towards that second contract ASAP. They can always come back to Columbus and pay to finish their degree.
Sure, Ohio State could once again be the youngest team in the country. But it's still talented, and with a revamped offense and a more favorable-schedule, it should contend for a Big Ten title... and thus a playoff spot.
ZONE-6 ON THE SPOT. It's a big offseason for Earle Bruce's grandson, Zach Smith, and his stable of charges. If Ohio State is going to become a "very good passing team" as Meyer promised for a second year in a row, it will need to rely on young talent.
Say what you will about not hyping them until we see the on-field product, the receivers at least know the task ahead.
From dispatch.com:
“I feel like we just need to hit more plays,” Victor said.
[...]
“Like when the ball is in the air, you’ve got to go attack, you’ve got to go get the ball,” Victor said. “We need to make some plays downfield, catch the ball. But that’s going to come. We’ve just got to keep working to get better.”
Though the final stats of 2016 will show the Buckeyes 44th nationally in passing efficiency (137.02 rating), that rating was just 112.87 in those six toughest games. Digging deeper, the last three games (a one-point win at Michigan State, a double-overtime win over Michigan and a shutout loss to Clemson) the efficiency rating was 68.51 (34 of 87 for 337 yards, three interceptions and one TD). In those three games, true wide receivers caught just 16 passes for 165 yards and no touchdowns.
If no vertical speed threat develops, at least the Buckeyes should have the ol' "toss it up to the 6-4 guy" in their arsenal. He's another guy that should be another physical plane with another season in Marotti's dojo.
OH HELL YEAH. Would you like to travel to Chicago or Pittsburgh from Columbus in a "near-supersonic giant pneumatic tube"???? Well, only 34 other applications stand between us humble Midwesterns and a blessing from a Los Angeles company.
From Tom Knox of bizjournals.com:
Hyperloop One has whittled down a list of 2,600 applications to 35 semifinalists in a challenge “to move passengers and cargo between two points immediately, safely, efficiently and sustainably.”
A MORPC plan to create a new Midwestern path that would run from the two major cities with stops in Columbus and Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been chosen as a semifinalist by the Los Angeles company.
The promise of the hyperloop – "a near-supersonic train in a giant pneumatic tube" – took off in 2013 in large part because of Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) founder Elon Musk, though he has no affiliation with this company. Success is anything but guaranteed.
Hyperloop "took off in '13" in large part due to a non-existent affiliation with Elon Musk? I need somebody to explain this to my simple mind.
DAMN, BRO. Throwing a football is harder than a throwing a baseball, but this atrocious:
To win $1 million and you do this? You serious, bro? pic.twitter.com/TH6XVcxENl
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 9, 2017
THOSE WMDs. Killing animals at the zoo... Life after a football death... How BlackBerry's bid to one-up the iPhone failed... I wrote to Carlos the Jackal... Behind Anbang's Starwood Courtship.
