Not sure I can take much more of this standing around while waiting for the Penn State game.
Shoutout to the patriots in Buckeye Kingdom managing to actually work this week. Couldn't be me.
ICYMI:
- Ohio State prepares for Penn State's Oklahoma-like offense, Saquon Barkley, and Mike Gesicki.
- Urban Meyer Wednesday presser notes.
- Hype trailer: AVENGE OHIO'S HONOR. (Florida QB Luke Del Rio is a fan.)
- Situational: Ramzy prepares for Evil Urban Hellfire Playcalling.
- Game Poster: Starks vs. Lannisters edition.
- Max Wray's father tells 11W why his sons left their team.
- Come to the 11W Friday Night Banger tomorrow night!
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Golem.
VAMOS LOS SLOBS. Last year's offensive outing in Happy Valley was a miserable experience as a fan.
That's what happens when Urban Meyer's offensive line gets dominated. And against Penn State, the Nittany Lions will once again throw everything they have against J.T. Barrett and the offensive line.
How offensive line responds to that pressure could decide the game.
From Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:
“They play so hard, they’re not out of position, they’ve got length to them on the back end,” [Indiana coach Tom] Allen said. “And (Cabinda), he’s a good one now, just great savvy, great nose to the ball. I think that’s an area, when I looked at Penn State, where they really improved the most. Their defensive play has been exceptional.”
Penn State leads the nation in scoring defense (9.6 points per game), is second in the Big Ten in average pass defense (167.6 yards), first in the conference in pass defense efficiency — largely because of having given up just three touchdown passes while making nine interceptions — and first in the conference in sacks (24).
Conversely, the Buckeyes are No. 1 in many of the Big Ten’s major offensive categories. They are riding a streak of five 500-yard games, an Ohio State record, that began after a loss Sept. 9 to Oklahoma, although none of those opponents have been ranked.
Despite last year's offensive nightmare, Ohio State probably wins that game without that blocked kick. If the offensive line plays better than they did last year in Happy Valley (again, not a high bar) I like the local team's chances.
I'm not worried about the PSU defensive line. Mutant Jason Cabinda could be a problem, though. He terrorized our team last year.
Let's just hope Urban Meyer, Kevin Wilson, and Ryan Day can abuse that aggressiveness. (Our James Grega looked at how they can do that.)
RED ZONE ALERT. Penn State has an explosive offense. It features the best running back in the country, and he's capable of housing any touch he gets.
But those big strikes have obscured an area where Penn State isn't as great: The red zone.
From mydaytondailynews.com:
Penn State’s offense is only 45th nationally in “finishing drives.”
This is surprising because of big red zone targets like tight end Mike Gesicki and receiver Juwan Johnson, not to mention a running back who is nearly impossible to tackle on first contact.
Plus the constant presence of McSorley as a running threat changes how teams have to defend the Nittany Lions not just in the red zone but everywhere.
Could be something to keep an eye on Saturday night as Ohio State ranks fifth offensively and defensively in this category.
I generally detest the "bend but don't break" defense, because it always seems to break at the most inopportune time. Could be successful against Penn State, though.
FRAUDSTERS AFOOT. Most Americans are unaware an army of scammers wake up every day with the sole purpose of separating honest working folks from money and property.
Big events are prime opportunities for fraudsters to do what they do best. Ohio State issued a warning Wednesday.
From The Ohio State University:
1. PURCHASE TICKETS FROM AUTHORIZED SOURCES
With the increased demand for tickets and the rise in fraudulent ticket activity associated with games of this magnitude, The Department of Athletics urges fans to purchase tickets only through Ohio State authorized sources. Those sources are:
- The Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office;
- Ticketmaster; and
- Ohio State Ticket Exchange.
[...]
2. TICKETS IN PDF FORMAT MUST BE PRINTED ON PAPER
PDF tickets (or print-at-home tickets shown with a standard barcode) must be printed and presented on paper for entry. PDF tickets will not be scanned from a mobile device. Requests to have PDF tickets printed by the ticket office will incur a per-ticket reprint fee.
If you post your tickets on social media (how else would you prove to everyone you're going to the big game?) Be sure to keep the bar codes out of the pictures. You'd be amazed what these hucksters can do with those these days.
CONTRACT TALK. College football is an amateur sport, but only when it comes to not paying players. Coaches, however, are free to cash as many checks as they want.
USA TODAY released its annual coaching salary database yesterday, and a man who is currently tied with Rutgers in the Big Ten East standings stands atop conference salaries.
From USA TODAY:
| COACH | SCHOOL | SALARY | NAT'L RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| JIM HARBAUGH | MICHIGAN | $7,004,000 | 3RD |
| URBAN MEYER | OHIO STATE | $6,431,240 | 4TH |
| JAMES FRANKLIN | PENN STATE | $4,600,000 | 12TH |
| KIRK FERENTZ | IOWA | $4,550,000 | 13TH |
| MARK DANTONIO | MICHIGAN STATE | $4,390,492 | 16TH |
| P.J. FLECK | MINNESOTA | $3,500,000 | 29TH |
| JEFF BROHM | PURDUE | $3,333,333 | 31ST |
| PAT FITZGERALD | NORTHWESTERN | $3,305,818 | 32ND |
| PAUL CHRYST | WISCONSIN | $3,200,000 | 36TH |
| LOVIE SMITH | ILLINOIS | $3,000,000 | 36TH |
| MIKE RILEY | NEBRASKA | $2,900,000 | 39TH |
| D.J. DURKIN | MARYLAND | $2,462,000 | 47TH |
| CHRS ASH | RUTGERS | $2,100,000 | 54TH |
| TOM ALLEN | INDIANA | $1,830,000 | 60TH |
$7 million for a QB whisperer with no effective quarterback. These are the amazing times of grift in which we live.
Here are the buyout rankings, courtesy of @DieHards:
| RANK | COACH | SCHOOL | BUYOUT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DABO SWINNEY | CLEMSON | $40,000,000 |
| 2 | JIMBO FISHER | FLORIDA STATE | $39,300,000 |
| 3 | CHRIS PETERSEN | WASHINGTON | $30,700,000 |
| 4 | NICK SABAN | ALABAMA | $26,900,000 |
| 5 | KIRK FERENTZ | IOWA | $22,500,000 |
| 6 | JAMES FRANKLIN | PENN STATE | $21,900,000 |
| 7 | URBAN MEYER | OHIO STATE | $21,300,000 |
Love how Iowa lives in perpetual fear of somebody coming along and throwing bags of cash at Kirk Ferentz, a guy that lost to Northwestern last week and hasn't won the Big Ten in over a decade.
CONSIDER THIS TWEET FAV'D. Michigan sucks right now. (Sorry to be crude. It's true, though.) BUT JUST WAIT UNTIL 2019 WHEN HARBAUGH CRACKS THE CODE.
From Sports Illustrated's media guru (and Michigan Man) Richard Deistch:
When Michigan goes 11-1/10-2 under Jim Harbaugh in 2019, please Hot Tub Time Machine all the takes this month. Thanks.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) October 25, 2017
Love how, even in Michigan Men's wildest fantasies, a dream season includes two losses.
El Chaleco psychologically damaged that program forever. May the FBI and CIA never apprehend him.
THOSE WMDs. This worm hasn't had sex in 18 million years... Norway building Europe's first underwater restaurant... LeBron's shot better after offseason injury... Fats Domino discovers good humanitarian in LSU quarterback... In Cold Blood: The Baltimore teen murders.
