Folks, it's with a heavy heart I report the Associated Press may have overrated the Tennessee Volunteers this year:
I have a lot of questions, but chief among them is where this ranks the Vols in the Life Championship standings.
ICYMI:
- Notebook: Tuf Borland shines, Greg Schiano moves to the field, and young Bucks debut.
- Buckeye Fan Takes: I only get my local takes from Travis now.
- Run-pass option plays spark Ohio State's offense.
- Efficiency and balance key in Buckeyes' latest win.
- Three Key Stats: J.K. Dobbins works, Army's one-dimensional offense, and Bucks have zero turnovers.
- The win in GIFs.
- Video: Ohio State, Army unite for Carmen Ohio.
- Video: TBDBITL loves New York.
- Video: J.T. Barrett becomes the Big Ten touchdown king.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Eclectic.
LET THE HEALING BEGIN. Our long national nightmare is over. The local team won the game this weekend. It wasn't a big a game of last week, but it's the first necessary step to righting the ship.
From dispatch.com:
Army is hardly a powerhouse, after all. The Black Knights’ triple-option offense is unlike anything the Buckeyes will face the rest of the season. They seldom pass, probably good news for an Ohio State defense that ranked last nationally in pass defense.
But for the Buckeyes, jumping on Army early, withstanding a 99-yard touchdown drive and then dominating the second half was a needed salve for their psyches anyway.
“Being hit in the mouth last week humbled a lot of us,” hybrid receiver Parris Campbell said of the 31-16 loss to visiting Oklahoma. “It’s not something Ohio State expects. We came back an angry offense and an angry team.”
Angry is good, because Ohio State needs to dump everyone on their schedule from here on out.
That win was about as solid as I'd hoped against a team like Army. I liked the new RPO wrinkles. It offers some hope going forward, though the true results of the changes won't be known until Ohio State plays Penn State.
But at least we can all go back to being friends. RIP to those who passed in the hot take wars of last week. We will never forget you.
DOBBINS THE TOUCHDOWN MAKER. J.K. Dobbins loves the jump cut, and rightfully so, but my favorite attribute is his fluid hips.
He can change direction on a dime and be back to full speed like two steps later. It's insane.
And right now, he is, unquestionably, the best playmaker on the team.
From Jacob Myers of theozone.com:
Three games into the season, this much is clear: He also happens to be Ohio State’s best offensive weapon.
Dobbins carried the ball 13 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State’s 38-7 victory Saturday against Army, which included five gains of 10-plus yards and a 52-yard touchdown run that extended the Buckeyes’ lead against Army to 24-7 in the third quarter. It was another impressive outing from a first-year player who has been OSU’s most consistent offensive playmaker.
“We saw [what Dobbins did] against Indiana,” Urban Meyer said. “He’s a perfect tailback. He’s a space player that we need.”
It's delightful to think of his projection over three years. I have a feeling Tom Herman will rue that miss for a lot longer.
DWAYNE TRAIN DEBUTS. Dwayne Haskins, probably the most popular man in Columbus at the moment, made his collegiate debut against Army. He went four for four and looked good doing it.
From cleveland.com:
But Haskins did what we expected: Make strong, confident throws and confirm that, for everything else that goes into playing quarterback, his arm is much stronger than J.T. Barrett's. Haskins looked much like he looked in the spring game.
There were questions immediately after (and frankly long before) Ohio State's loss to Oklahoma last week over whether Haskins should replace Barrett, or at least play more than he had prior to Saturday. Meyer admitted he had questions of whether Haskins was "game ready" and wasn't going to throw a green quarterback in against the Sooners when he has a fifth-year senior and three-time captain at the position.
What now? Barrett isn't getting replaced, but did you see a game-ready quarterback when Haskins was out there? And what should that mean for Ohio State moving forward?
Haskins is built like a smaller Cardale Jones, and his throwing motion is just as effortless. For all J.T. Barrett's attributes, he can't match Haskins' arm.
It will be interesting to see how Meyer uses Haskins going forward, or if Joe Burrow supplants him when he returns from a broken thumb. We all know Meyer loves his mobile quarterbacks.
TAKE 'EM DOWN, PEAY! Ohio State lost two of three games and Buckeye Twitter cannibalized itself in ritualistic fashion for the pleasure of our enemies.
Imagine if our team had lost the last 29.
From theleafchronicle.com:
Austin Peay tears down goal post following their win over Morehead State breaking a 0-29 losing streak.
[...]
Austin Peay football ended its 29-game losing streak, defeating Morehead State 69-13 Saturday night in Clarksville.
The Governors dominated on the ground and on defense, jumping out to a 42-7 lead in the first half without much trouble.
The streak lasted through two coaching staffs and parts of four seasons. The last win came on Oct. 18, 2014, against Murray State and continued through the first two games of the 2017 season. Coach Will Healy picked up his first win in his 14th game with the Governors.
Props to the players for ending the streak. I can only imagine the mental fortitude required to labor through something that excruciating. Each player should get a piece of the field goal posts.
MICHIGAN HAS PROBLEMS, TOO. For large parts of this season, Michigan has looked one Oklahoma blowout loss away from having a lot of similar questions facing Ohio State.
Their best offensive player might be the kicker.
From mgoblog.com:
You could practically hear "...and that's why you don't schedule Air Force" echoing through the stadium as early as the first quarter, when the Falcons somehow used 6:13 of game clock to drive 24 yards in 12 plays for a field goal to knot the game at three apiece.
While Michigan's defense played up to their lofty standard, Air Force lingered in a contracted game that featured only 11 full drives from each team. The Wolverines could only move the ball in fits and spurts, generally going in the right direction until they hit the red zone, where all-too-familiar problems from the season's first two games cropped up again. Whether it was blown blocks, conservative playcalling, or missed opportunities, those problems forced Michigan to settle for field goals on all four of their trips to the red zone.
"They were doing a really good of disguising coverages, disguising blitzes," quarterback Wilton Speight said, noting Air Force did a particularly good job in the red zone.
I've seen Michigan fans say Speight is better than Barrett. That's the kind of comedy we love to know those schlubs for.
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