Apologies to everyone who awoke outside of Ohio today. The good news is there's still time to get your life together before football season kicks off.
ICYMI:
- 2019 four-star linebacker Kane Patterson committed.
- In Patterson, the Buckeyes landed a hard-nosed linebacker who loves to punish ball-carriers.
- Film Study: The toughest schematic challenges Ohio State will face in 2018.
- Have a tailgate recipe the world needs to know about? Submit it to the Official 11W Tailgate Cookbook. The author of the highest-voted recipe receives a $50 gift certificate to Eleven Warriors Dry Goods.
Word of the Day: Pilgarlic.
I'M LISTENING. Ohio State will be good this year. I know it. You know it. Apparently even advanced statistics know it, too.
From Bill Connelly of sbnation.com in an article entitled, "Good lord, Ohio State is stacked:"
The Big Ten East could be absurd, as four teams are projected 11th or better in S&P+. Plus, Ohio State heads to Arlington to play “at” TCU. And all this with a first-time starter at QB.
And yet, the Buckeyes are projected S&P+ favorites in every game, projected to win by fewer than 11 points in just two (at Penn State, at Michigan State). Despite a schedule that features four opponents projected 22nd or higher, three away from Columbus, they have a 15 percent chance of going 12-0, pretty much the most favorable forecast you’re going to see.
That’s how many toys Meyer, Wilson, and Schiano have. They have a wealth of proven stars — Dobbins, Weber, Hill, Campbell, Jordan, Bosa, Fuller, Arnett, Sheffield — and it seems there are three blue-chip sophomores for every opening, with two blue-chip freshmen after that.
I was one of the bigger Barrett proponents you could find, and I can’t even pretend to be worried about anything in Columbus. Even in one of the country’s most loaded divisions, Ohio State is a runaway favorite.
The 2017 defense radar almost being a circle is perhaps the most impressive stat I've seen about Greg Schiano's defense. Can you believe I actually fretted about that higher once upon a time? Just another remind that while it may seem like I know everything, I remain fallible.
Let's hope this season goes better than 2015, the last time the local team looked this stacked in July.
DANG... RUSHERS, TOO? Nick Bosa may be the best overall player on Ohio State, which means he's the most talented pass-rusher in the country according to the majority of a sports writer roundtable.
From espn.com:
Everyone who doesn't pick Nick Bosa is just trying to be cute. He's already better than his brother, and he might challenge Ed Oliver for the top pick in next year's NFL draft. He's an insane mixture of athleticism and strength, and it's really not a question of if he'll get to the quarterback, but when. You're standing on the tracks, and he's the train coming through.
…
Playing on one of the deepest defensive lines in the country, Ohio State end Nick Bosa will have ample opportunity to drop opposing quarterbacks. And Bosa, a near lock to go in the top five of next year's NFL draft, is the biggest reason why the Buckeyes will beat out Clemson for the nation's top sack total.
…
I really want to say Sutton Smith from Northern Illinois, who had 14 sacks last season, but I think Nick Bosa is going to keep building off of what he did in 2017. The Buckeyes lose Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmesthis season, which means that Bosa is going to have more opportunities to improve on the 8.5 sacks he had for Ohio State last season. Now a junior, Bosa should be one of the leaders of this defense in 2018.
The people who claimed Sutton Smith is the best pass rusher belong in prison. Not saying Sutton Smith's bad or that I even watch NIU games. But try to imagine a world in which Bosa plays in the MAC. He's likely already in jail for manslaughter.
BUCKEYE NATION WILL FIND YOU. Make sure your pitchforks and torches are at the ready, folks, as we may soon have to extract street justice upon the thieves that burgled former Buckeye Darryl Lee's home and pinched his memorabilia.
From fox28columbus.com:
A former Ohio State football player is crying foul after crooks over the weekend busted into his home, and stole jewelry he received while playing for the Buckeyes.
"They can't be replaced," said Darryl Lee, as he talked about the 1984 Big Ten Championship ring, Fiesta Bowl watch, and a pair of gold pants that vanished Saturday after thieves broke through the front door of his South Pendent Lane home.
"Those things are very important," said Lee, who played for the Buckeyes for four years during the 80's, "especially the older you get, you realize you were blessed to be able to do those things."
Probably a rabid Michigan fan looking to catch a glimpse at a fabled Big Ten ring. Everybody be on a lookout at the nearest pawnshop.
HARBAUGH! It's hard for me to express how happy I am to see Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh spending his time shooting commercials for car conglomerates:
Michigan fans probably wish Harbaugh's offense went as smooth as those donuts.
LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST. Here's former four-star linebacker VanDarius Cowan in 2016 on why as an Alabama commit he wasn't worried about Ohio State's No. 1 class.
From seccountry.com in 2016:
Cowan is the creator of the unofficial motto for the Crimson Tide’s Class of 2017, “Savages wanna play with savages.” That’s mainly why he isn’t concerned with what the Buckeyes’ 2017 class looks like. He thinks there are more savages in Alabama’s class than Ohio State’s.
“That’s ranked off of all those stars and junk, but we’re talking about Alabama having goons and savages in this class,” Cowan said. “I’m talking about boys who want to play and give it their all. I’m telling you all of my boys that are committed are savages. We are straight dogs.”
Here's how that savage mentality played out in 2018:
Alabama LB VanDarius Cowan has been dismissed from the team pic.twitter.com/Z82IxUPzj2
— Marq Burnett (@Marq_Burnett) July 9, 2018
At least he got a championship ring out of the ordeal.
THOSE WMDs. The obsessive search for the Tasmanian tiger... Catching the world's most prominent soccer match fixer... Seven days with the most talented theater #teens in the country... My husband hired a hitman to kill me — but I forgive him... The taming of Skatopia.
