Bootleg Brutus is me calling my boss from an Applebee's parking lot somewhere in the Miami Valley during the fifth IPA and third hour of lunch and saying my house is on fire and I can't post anymore today.
I know, I can't believe it either. So many memories literally up in smoke. Thank God for insurance, am I right?
(Plot twist: Starcat arsoned my house for an insurance check. [As the Architect of the Universe, she works in mysterious ways.] Hey, bartender, run that play back! This one is on the overpaid protection cartel that naively thought it could extort a Marionaire.)
ICYMI:
- Film Study: USC's 4-2-5 defense.
- Scouting Report: With a future NFL signal-caller at quarterback, USC struggles to stop opposing offenses on the ground.
- Best Ohio State quotes of 2017.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Fugue.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE. The more I read about the USC Trojans the less I—and folks, you might want to sit down for this one—the less I like it for the Men of Troy.
As we know, fortune favors the Buckeyes when they control the line of scrimmage and establish the run, which the Buckeyes will undoubtedly try to do against a rushing defense that can only be described as "feeble."
It's no surprise USC is hoping to clean it up ahead of the Cotton Bowl.
From foxsports.com:
“It starts with the running game,” linebacker Cameron Smith said of slowing the Buckeyes. “That’s kind of our key every single time we walk out on the field, is we’ve got to limit that running game and make them one-dimensional.”
Doing so is a tall task. Though USC features a talented front seven, including standouts Smith and Uchenna Nwosu at linebacker with breakout performers Rasheem Green and Christian Rector on the line, opponents have not had much success containing an Ohio State rushing attack averaging 249.4 yards per game.
At 732 yards rushing, veteran quarterback J.T. Barrett complemented running back J.K. Dobbins and his 1,364 yards. Running back Mike Weber provided another 608.
Maybe a three week break will cure the USC defense of its ills. Crazier things have happened in the sport.
But the Ohio State offensive line answered the door when Branden Bowen went down. It could've gone left, and it didn't. I expect that level of play to continue against the Trojans.
If it does, it could put J.K. Dobbins into the second level and a matchup that could decide how the Buckeye rushing metric goes on the night.
DOBBINS VS. SMITH. Here's an example of why college football is fun: Men from Roseville, California and La Grange, Texas could decide the outcome of a bowl game played in Texas between Southern California and Ohio State.
From cleveland.com:
When Ohio State has the ball, the skill player to watch for the Buckeyes is freshman running back J.K. Dobbins. Against Wisconsin, he rushed for 174 yards on 17 carries and was named the Big Ten Championship Game MVP.
Dobbins showed he can be the feature back for Ohio State and will be for the next two seasons.
USC's defensive front seven is anchored by the tackling ability of junior linebacker Cameron Smith. He leads the Trojans in tackles and is a big inside linebacker at 250 lbs.
You can watch Smith in action, here:
Smith looks like the type of linebacker USC has bred for generations.
The good news for Ohio State is Smith won't have to contend with just Dobbins. And by the fourth quarter, there's not a linebacker in the country that looks forward to dealing with Dobbins or a healthy Mike Weber in the open field midway through the fourth quarter.
LITTLE BEAR CONTINUES ASCENSION. Nick Bosa, during swaths of play this year, looked like the most tenacious defensive lineman on a unit that will have at least four players in the NFL this time next year.
He has improved every year in Columbus, and if all goes according to plan, 2018 will be the same.
From 10tv.com:
"I'm not even close to where I could be," Nick Bosa said. "I watched film on Joey, I watched his freshman, sophomore, junior film and the biggest jump he made was the year from sophomore to junior year. His stats weren't the same, obviously, because he was getting triple-teamed and everybody knew who he was, but the jump he made as a player is why he's doing what he's doing right now."
Defenses will no doubt key on Bosa next season, but Nick's unit will be deeper than Joey's in 2015. Little Bear could easily surpass the statistical output of his brother.
RIDING THE MANZIEL WAGON. Hey old timers, remember when Johnny Manziel won a Heisman? It seems like that happened in 1967.
A lot has changed since the era of LBJ's bunghole demanding room.
Manziel's former offensive coordinator reflected this weekend on riding with one of college football's most notorious gunslingers.
From sportsday.com:
"We did a really good job of not handcuffing him," Spavital said. "We knew he was probably the most talented kid out there with his playmaking ability and we allowed him to do it. When he crossed the white lines, he was a cold-blooded guy out there."
The result?
"You can ask Coach Sumlin and we've talked about it before, those headsets are absolutely hilarious to listen to in the process of a Johnny Football moment," Spavital said with a chuckle. "There could be guys open and then he makes 10 guys miss and then runs and gets the first down. There are just so many emotional highs and lows with that kid."
Avoiding handcuffs and a ruthlessness around white lines... sounds just like the quarterback TMZ coffers would come to love and know.
TOUCHE, MORDOR. I'm all-in on Big Ten bowl solidarity this season. But America wins free Bloomin' Onions if South Carolina dumps Michigan in the Outback Bowl. I don't like South Carolina. I don't like Outback. I don't like Bloomin' Onions. But all three mixed together? Hell, Michigan gotta go.
I can still get behind this fundraising of the #ChadTough foundation.
From reddit.com/r/cfb:
Michigan DE Chase Winovich came up with the idea a couple months ago to raise money for the Chadtough Foundation, a charity that supports DIPG research in memory of Chad Carr, Lloyd Carr's grandson who sadly passed away two years ago at the age of five of a brain tumor. With over $125,000 raised, Chase Winovich, Grant Newsome, Mo Hurst, Devin Bush, and honorary team member Larry Prout Jr will be dyeing their hair orange for the Outback Bowl. Additionally, Michigan DC Don Brown has pledged to dye his moustache orange for the game!
Fans interested in donating to the cause can do so over here.
And will somebody please hire Don Brown as a head coach already? I'm starting to worry he killed three hikers in the 70's, and I'm the only one that doesn't know about it. It would explain the Harbaugh association at least.
THOSE WMDs. Hunting for the perfect sugar... Following John McPhee to Florida... Complicated life and death of Hideki Irabu... LA Times shareholder pays himself $15M, cuts staff before Christmas... Social isolation is killing us... Different prices for the same product.
