You know it's real when you have a depth chart.
There's only days until Ohio State football, and I'm still not convinced the Buckeyes are scoring less than 83 points on Saturday.
ICYMI:
- Five interesting discoveries in the release of documents related to the Zach Smith and Urban Meyer investigation.
- Ohio State releases its official depth chart ahead of the 2018 season.
- Joe Burrow's Buckeye teammates react to news of him winning LSU's starting quarterback spot.
- Ohio State has been impressive in practice despite off-field distractions.
- Tuf Borland says he's ready to go after an achilles injury in the spring.
- Parris Campbell: "I think we're very angry."
- Ohio State's team culture has kept things business as usual despite turmoil.
Word of the Day: Sternutator.
BLOCKING A BOSA. I've often wondered what goes through the heads of an average college football player tasked with blocking a generational talent like Joey or Nick Bosa.
Every Division I starter is an elite competitor and I don't expect any of them to fold before even taking the field, but there has to be at least some level of awareness about the situation.
Matt Hayes of Bleacher Report spoke to some of the unlucky few tasked with blocking a Bosa, and one poor soul who's blocked both. The consensus is yes, they know exactly how good their opponent is.
From Bleacher Report:
"It all starts with his ability," Deiter says. "Then it's the motor. You see it with him, and you see it with his brother. Those dudes don't quit. They're the same. When you add freakish God-given ability with the way they work—and that they'll keep fighting even when it's not going well out there—that's what gives you that special player."
Deiter says he would get his way with Bosa occasionally, moving him where he wanted him to go. "Some guys, if you get them the right way and they feel like they don't have a chance, they shut it down," Deiter explains. "But not him. He's going to keep playing."
As a guard, Deiter faced Bosa in 2016 at Camp Randall Stadium. Bosa was playing defensive tackle in pass-rush situations. "He was true freshman at the time, and I remember thinking, 'Are you kidding me? That guy is a true freshman?'"
Deiter faced him again last year as a left tackle. "I was like, 'Yep, he's gotten better.' If you're going to lose to a guy like that, you just gotta tip your cap to him. He's good, and he's not in your face about it. He's just doing his job and having fun doing it."
The entire piece features plenty more quotes like that from the Bosas' competitors as well as anonymous NFL scouts dishing their #takes on the Buckeye pass rushers.
My favorite quote from the entire piece is the last, from Rutgers tackle Tariq Cole:
"All I know is Nick hasn't gotten a sack off me," says Cole, whose Scarlet Knights visit Ohio State on Sept. 8. "It's up to me to keep it that way."
Good luck with that.
Poor kid just signed his own death certificate.
NEVER CHANGE, DEZ. ESPN released their expert College Football Playoff predictions on Tuesday, and this may shock you, but Dez Howard is picking Michigan to be the No. 1 overall seed.
A tradition like no other. https://t.co/doBuIiDmcw pic.twitter.com/bievAcNoOb
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 28, 2018
The hilarious thing is, Michigan is far from the most ridiculous pick of his four, since he has West Virginia up there, whose Vegas win total is currently set at 7. Maybe that's all part of the plan, make a pick so outlandish that maybe folks will ignore the blatant homerism.
I thought I'd remembered Dez picking Michigan each of the last four years, but that's actually not the case. He picked the Wolverines ahead of the 2016 season, but last season's prediction excluded Michigan and was somehow the worst one yet.
Time changes. But Desmond Howard doesn't. pic.twitter.com/2b0jV5r6Mz
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 31, 2017
Alabama? Sure. Wisconsin? Alright. But his No. 1 overall seed finished 7-5 and Miami finished its season on a three-game losing streak. That's not really what you want.
This years edition seems to just be combining the two – one absolutely atrocious, utterly indefensible pick with a little Michigan thrown in there.
I'll give him this – Dez is nothing but consistent and never veers from his brand in the slightest. And for that, I tip the cap.
CONFIRMED STRIP CLUB GOER TOM HERMAN. It's been speculated, pieced together with Instagram evidence and reported with anonymous sources, but now we have confirmation from Ohio State about the big news: Tom Herman did, in fact, pay to look at naked women along with Zach Smith at a Miami strip club during a recruiting visit.
From Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch:
University spokesman Chris Davey told The Dispatch that Herman, now the head coach at Texas, is the coach mentioned but unnamed in the 23-page final report of the investigation into football coach Urban Meyer’s handling of domestic abuse accusations against Smith.
Earlier Tuesday, Ohio State released records of the transactions at the strip club among a batch of material produced by the investigation, which resulted in suspensions for Meyer and athletic director Gene Smith.
The Aug. 22 report said Zach Smith ran up “a significant bill” at a Miami-area strip club in May 2014, spending some $600 of his money.
Five transactions were listed among the documents OSU released on Tuesday — four from Miami Gardens Square One, Inc. totaling $592.50 and one from J.W. Lee, Inc. for $67. Miami Gardens Square One operates Tootsie’s Cabaret. J.W. Lee operates Scarlett’s Cabaret.
I kind of hate that this whole situation has the Newspaper of Record publishing a story confirming the libertine ventures of a dude who hasn't coached at Ohio State in almost four years, but then again, here I am consuming it.
But hey, maybe it's not newsworthy, or hard-hitting journalism, but it's pretty damn enthralling. I guess these are my Kardashians.
BARRETT BACKS BURROW. Joe Burrow was just named the starter at LSU, and conveniently, the guy he backed up for three years at Ohio State is down in the bayou trying to make the Saints roster.
Joe Thomas Barrett IV filled informed the New Orleans media about what they're getting in Burrow.
#Saints QB J.T. Barrett speaks on former teammate Joe Burrow being named @LSUfootball's starting QB: "I know he's a hard worker - he's going to do well." pic.twitter.com/HBySlCYQov
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 28, 2018
I love the line, "don't throw him under the bus after one game – I don't know how y'all work down here."
Barrett has just a little experience with how quickly a passionate fanbase can turn on you if things don't go exactly as planned. But given that LSU hasn't had a competent quarterback in over five years, I feel like the bar is extremely low.
I think Burrow will be just fine.
DILORENZO WINS FIRST US OPEN MATCH. The best women's tennis player in Ohio State history is turning heads early in her professional career as Francesca Di Lorenzo won her first match of a grand slam on Tuesday.
Moving on!
— Ohio State Womens Tennis (@OhioStateWTEN) August 28, 2018
In round one of the #USOpen, Buckeye Francesca Di Lorenzo posted a straight-set win to advance! She defeated Christina McHale, 6-1, 7-6 (1). #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/jjnxrS9hZM
She moves on to face No. 13 seed Kiki Bertens in the round of 64 on Wednesday.
THOSE WMDs. The high-stakes race to create the world’s first artificial heart... A man spends 30 years solving a rare bird’s murder mystery... "Wolf of Wall Street" warns investors of the next big trap: Bitcoin... The ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage...
Join the Eleven Warriors ESPN College Pick'em group and watch me slip embarrassingly low in the rankings with each passing week.
