Programming note: The men's basketball team hosts Maryland at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
If you haven't seen it, this video is aces:
Maryland comes to Columbus tomorrow night, and the Basketbucks look ready. pic.twitter.com/w9IfwqAh0e
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 11, 2018
ICYMI:
- The Situnational eulogizes another Very Good Season of Buckeye football.
- Some Ohio GOP insiders want Jim Tressel to run for Senate.
- Across the Field: How Alex Grinch changed the culture of Washington State's defense.
- Ryan Shazier visits Steelers practice.
- Reserve your (or your business' spot) next to the life-size statue of Woody Hayes coming to Newcomerstown!
Word of the Day: Maffick.
FOLLOWING TROY SMITH. It's been a hot minute since the Heisman Trophy returned to Columbus. While the offseason is a magical time where every Buckeye has the potential to win the most storied trophy in the sport, only two have odds in Vegas at the moment.
Dwayne Haskins (30/1) and Nick Bosa (35/1), however, are outside the Top 10 as of January 10th.
From sportsbettingdime.com:
| PLAYER | POSITION | UNIVERSITY | ODDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| JAKE FROMM | QB | GEORGIA | 10/1 |
| TRACE McSORLEY | QB | PENN STATE | 14/1 |
| JONATHAN TAYLOR | RB | WISCONSIN | 14/1 |
| D'ANDRE SWIFT | RB | GEORGIA | 14/1 |
| BRYCE LOVE | RB | STANFORD | 15/1 |
| SHEA PATTERSON | QB | MICHIGAN | 16/1 |
| JARRETT STIDHAM | QB | AUBURN | 20/1 |
| KHALIL TATE | QB | ARIZONA | 20/1 |
| JALEN HURTS | QB | ALABAMA | 22/1 |
| KELLY BRYANT | QB | CLEMSON | 25/1 |
| SAM EHLINGER | QB | TEXAS | 25/1 |
| DWAYNE HASKINS | QB | OHIO STATE | 30/1 |
| JUSTIN HERBET | QB | OREGON | 30/1 |
| DEONDRE FRANCOIS | QB | FLORIDA STATE | 30/1 |
| KYLER MURRAY | QB | OKLAHOMA | 35/1 |
| ED OLIVER | DT | HOUSTON | 35/1 |
| NICK BOSA | DE | OHIO STATE | 35/1 |
| NICK FITZGERALD | QB | MISSISPPI STATE | 35/1 |
| JAKE BROWNING | QB | WASHINGTON | 35/1 |
| McKENZIE MILTON | QB | UCF | 35/1 |
| TUA TAGOVAILOA | QB | ALABAMA | 50/1 |
Jake Fromm at No. 1 is no surprise. He had me ready to order a Browns jersey Monday night. It's also hilarious Jalen Hurts is ahead of Tua Tagovailoa, though a season of football is a different animal than a half.
As for Haskins' chances, I'd put them above Shea Patterson's, who might not even play next season for Michigan.
Seeing Nick Bosa on the list is no surprise, even if he'll probably lack the stats (due to double and triple teams) that roughly a third of voters entirely base their decision.
EXPECTATIONS CHANGING FOR BASKETBUCKS. Ohio State whooped No. 1 Michigan State on Sunday in a game I'm still not sure was real.
It was a long time coming for the Buckeyes. But there is still much work to be done, and they won't be sneaking up on anybody anymore.
From Edward Sutelan of The Lantern:
The script might not be entirely flipped on this Buckeye team, but no one is going to sleep on them anymore. Other teams will take notice, starting with Maryland at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said the Buckeyes need to be prepared. Speaking as someone at the helm of one of the top teams in the nation, he knows what comes with the low number next to his team’s name.
“This is what’s going to happen every night. It’ll happen to Ohio State. When you’re 15-2, 14-3, you know, 15-3, [the Buckeyes will] get ranked, and deservingly should be,” Izzo said Sunday. “You got to handle things a little differently because you’re going to get somebody else’s best shot.”
The team might not go undefeated (or make the Final 4 like Dan Dakitch prophesied). The team may be aided by a down Big Ten.
I'm just thankful it no longer feels like a chore to watch. Let's just hope the basketball team responds better coming off a big win than the football team.
PRICE: A RARE PROSPECT. Pat Elflein was one of the best rookie offensive linemen in the NFL last year, and Billy Price is a much better prospect due to an elite blend of size and strength.
Not many men are built to tangle with a 0-technique DT.
From nflspinzone.com:
While he doesn’t show the same athleticism of some of the top centers in the NFL, like the Pouncey brothers, he does have enough to be a good NFL center. He makes up for what some see as a lack of athleticism with intelligence and awareness.
What sets him apart in his one-on-one ability against bigger nose tackles. It’s very rare, and with more and more teams switching to an odd front, that skill is becoming more and more vital.
GRADE: FIRST OR SECOND ROUND. The center is the most important position on the offensive line. He makes all the offensive line calls, and he has to be the smartest player on the line. Price has a good combination of skills and intelligence to be a productive center in the NFL for a long time. It took a season, but the Jets have finally found their guy that can replace Nick Mangold.
To me, Price's mind seals the deal. He'll be able to handle whatever coaches throw at him.
Can't wait to see the Browns and Bengals pass on him.
KIRK FERENTZ GOES TO WAR. I have never owned a home, and yet I detest Homeowner Associations, one of the most fascist institutions in America. Imperious stooges always sit at the head of the monster.
And yet... Kirk Ferentz sounds like the dick here?
From the Associated Press:
A Feb. 6 trial is scheduled in a lawsuit that pits the nation’s longest-tenured college football coach and his wife against the three other families who live along a private road outside Iowa City. A judge is expected to decide whether the Ferentzes breached a 2001 agreement and trespassed by planting trees and installing landscaping items that neighbors say encroach onto Saddle Club Road.
The lawsuit is part of a long-running dispute in which Ferentz and his wife, Mary, have been portrayed as difficult, stingy and privacy-obsessed, clashing with their image as friendly philanthropists who support the Iowa Children’s Hospital.
A judge ruled in September that the Ferentzes aren’t required to join the homeowners’ association that their neighbors formed in 2015 to share road maintenance costs. That freed the Ferentzes from having to pay a $9,400 assessment for road repairs and dissolved a lien the association obtained on their property to collect payment.
Ferentz, by the way, earned $4.5 million in 2017. Iowa is the second-cheapest state in the Union.
THOSE WMDs. The mystery of the exiled billionaire-whistleblower... Feds charge Ohioan with spying on millions of computers... The stowaway craze... Stolen vodka bottle, said to be worth $1.3 million, found drained and dented... Why was Clinton Township never annexed?
