[Indistinct pre-meeting chatter amongst members.]
ICYMI:
- Due to lack of options, Kam Williams has worked extensively at point guard.
- Ohio State generated roughly $170 million from athletics in 2015-16.
- Men's athletics won the 2017 Capital One Cup.
- Five Sings: The five best Buckeye anthems.
- The 11W Offseason Mailbag returned.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Shivah.
ON THE BANKS OF THE OLENTANGY. Ohio State football returns in under eight weeks, which means we're in the thick of preview season. And unfortunately, Year 6 of Urban Meyer means it's impossible for the national media to sleep on the one true local team.
It's easy to see why. Sure, Ohio State won't be perfect—no college football team is (it's why we love the sport). But Chef Meyer has plenty of supplies in the kitchen.
From Bill Connelly of sbnation.com:
There are potential stumbling blocks. The passing game is a mystery, and the Big Ten is not without solid pass defenses. If the double-dip turnover in the secondary ends up problematic, Oklahoma and Penn State could exploit it.
Still, this is an Urban Meyer team that returns:
— a fourth-year starting quarterback.
— a 1,000-yard rusher.
— an offensive line with 80 career starts.
— the most disruptive defensive line in the country.
— every defensive lineman.You’ll take your chances with that.
S&P+ projects Ohio State second, gives the Buckeyes basically nine nearly sure wins (win probability of 84 percent or higher), and projects them as three- to seven-point favorites in three games against top-10 teams (Oklahoma, Penn State, at Michigan). The mere presence of three top-10 opponents means the odds of going 12-0 aren’t spectacular, but OSU will be favored in every game. I guess that makes sense for a team that’s lost six times in five years.
If Ohio State is going to lose this regular season, let's hope it comes early. After last year's Fiesta Bowl debacle, it's hard seeing the Buckeyes earning the same benefit of the doubt from the committee if it doesn't win the Big Ten championship game. (Won't be fair, but it's human nature.)
It's also amazing Meyer has built such an advantage on this conference that statistics basically guarantee nine wins.
FREAK, BEAST, MUTANT, MONSTER, ETC. Along with season previews, we're in the thick of subjective list season. One annual list to which I look forward every year is "the Freaks List," because I like to know the freaks on my favorite team while also realizing how quick I'd be condemned if the thread of society collapsed.
Breakout junior linebacker Jerome Baker is this year's local freak.
From Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated, who rated Baker at No. 17.
The Buckeyes’ recent 40-yard dash board in the Woody Hayes Center lists six players clocking 4.36 or faster in the 40 led by JC transfer CB Kendall Sheffield. But I’m going with the seventh-fastest player. The 223-pound Baker was timed at 4.37, and he looks every bit that fast on film. In his debut season as a starter, Baker piled up 83 tackles to go with 9.5 tackles for loss and two INTs. Better still, Baker was at his best in big games: He delivered a pick-six at Oklahoma; notched 13 tackles at No. 8 Wisconsin and came up with 15 tackles and an interception against No. 3 Michigan.
"Baker has ridiculous measurables,” said Mickey Marotti, Ohio State’s assistant AD for football sports performance. “He’s tough and he's Ryan Shazier-like if not faster. He can fly. He was 200 [pounds when he arrived at Ohio State]. He's now 223. Darron Lee is longer and more of a strider. Jerome is made for the walk-out [linebacker position]."
Crazy to see Baker has already put his name among the likes of Shazier and Lee after only two years in Columbus. Even crazier to think he could be playing at Florida right now if the Gators didn't fire ol' Will Muschamp.
NATIONAL GUY GETS IT RIGHT. One neat thing about football fandom is it allows you to abuse alcohol in a socially-accepted setting.
Schools used to avoid the suds biz, until they needed money and their morals switched. Ohio State did it last year.
Texas, needing money to pay for facility upgrades demanded by MENSA founder Tom Herman, went a step further this year by naming Corona its official beer. The Horns hope to give their fans something called "a brand activation experience," which I would've guessed was a hand job from a robot.
From Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated:
Texas football: Bevo, burnt orange, Vince Young, the Joneses.
Corona: Beaches, sunshine, cheekily lit palm trees.
The reality, however, is a little different.
Texas football: Twenty-one losses in the past three seasons.
Corona: A beer that needs a piece of fruit stuffed in it to taste good.
That's a good burn but not as good as his pairing recommendation for Ohio State football:
Ohio State: Stiff-Arm IPA
The Land-Grant Brewing Company has the most Big Ten name of any brewery in America, and it produces the most Big Ten beer of any brewery in America.
My pick will always be illicit watermelon-flavored FourLoko. I understand, however, malt liquor ain't for everybody in the morning, and the clear No. 2 is Land-Grant's Stiff-Arm IPA.
(Disclaimer: Walt Keys, 11W's art director, owns a stake in Land-Grant. I would recommend the Stiff-Arm IPA even if he weren't. It's that good.)
LOOKS LIKE FREEDOM. Knowing there are patriots like Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy in this country makes me sleep easy at night:
Mike Gundy hair update: Full-blown American Glory. #okstate pic.twitter.com/9fxZSrItFU
— Carson Cunningham (@KOCOCarson) July 5, 2017
There are two kinds of people when it comes to Gundy: Those that would drink 1,000 beers with the man and lying poltroons.
THOSE WMDs. History of Columbus' Topiary Park... The origin of giant novelty checks... Whitey Bulger's life in exile... Edward Albee's final wish: Destroy my unfinished work... A sudden fall for a mastermind of sports TV shouting... The annual home maintenance checklist.
