Yesterday, a cable installation guy spent six hours at my house making sure we were all set up and it was the best customer service I've ever received and that is when I learned that not everybody associated with a cable company is a heartless pocket sucker.
ICYMI:
- Stock Up/Down
- Snap Counts: Penn State
- Joe Burrow says "Ohio State has a little more depth" than LSU and he hopes for a playoff matchup.
- Chase Young had a huge game against Penn State.
- Mike Weber has been fighting through a foot strain since the TCU game.
- Chase Young named Chuck Bednarik award player of the week.
Word of the Day: Insouciant.
ONLY UP FROM HERE. Chase Young was arguably the most dominant player on the field on Saturday during Ohio State's 27-26 comeback win over Penn State. The dude was just unblockable for large stretches of the game and no lineman could match him physically.
And the thing is, he's still young. His ceiling is far higher than we've seen, and he's working to get there.
From Colin Gay of The Lantern:
“He’s a great learner, he wants to learn everything,” Johnson said. “He picks Nick’s brain every day on how to rush the passer, things he can learn. And I think that’s what you want out of a player who’s a highly competitive guy and wants to be a great player.”
...
So far this season, Young has shown potential. He leads the team with four sacks and is tied for the team lead with six tackles for loss.
However, Young still thinks he has a ways to go to meet the expectation he has for himself.
“Not close at all,” Young said. “I made a few mistakes and I got to get the corrected. Obviously, you never want to play a perfect game, but you want to play, you want to try and play a perfect game. That’s what I am trying to do.”
A take: Nick Bosa's injury was actually blessing in disguise for the Buckeyes.
If Bosa was healthy, he would have received the lion's share of snaps at defensive end against Penn State – and for damn good reason. But instead, those clutch-time reps went to Young, giving him valuable experience and confidence that will be vital going forward.
That defensive line is going to be NSFW when Bosa returns. Speaking of which:
Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa is back at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center today. pic.twitter.com/ShBvzexSSH
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) October 2, 2018
FOLKS LOVE TO WATCH THE BUCKS. The Buckeyes bring the numbers when they play in primetime.
The two most-watched games in college football so far this season: Ohio State vs. TCU and Ohio State vs. Penn State.
Most-Watched Games Season-to-Date:
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 2, 2018
- ABC Televises Top Two, Three of Top Four
- ESPN/ABC Combine for Seven of Top Ten
Complete Details: https://t.co/ALGMc06BtL pic.twitter.com/n6TfciFurK
Regretfully, Ohio State ain't adding to this list anytime soon. The Buckeyes don't play a ranked opponent until November, and even then, there's no telling what Michigan State or Michigan will actually look like at that point.
TYJON LINDSEY ON THE MOVE. Former four-star receiver and one-time Buckeye commit Tyjon Lindsey is on the move after just one year in Nebraska, after the Huskers granted his release from the program.
From Husker 247:
The Huskers have their first in-season roster departure of 2018, with Tyjon Lindsey deciding to move on from the team, an NU football spokesman confirmed on Tuesday night. Lindsey requested and has been granted his scholarship release, the official said.
The sophomore wide receiver's name disappeared from the team roster on Tuesday prior to the news being made official later that night. Since the season is just four games old, Lindsey can technically make this a redshirt season under the new NCAA rule.
...
One of the more ballyhooed recruits of the 2017 recruiting class, Lindsey came aboard the Husker program after once being committed to Ohio State. He played as a true freshman but admittedly never quite found his comfort zone, finishing his first year with 12 catches for 76 yards and seven rushes for four yards. He'll end his Husker career with 111 total yards of offense to his name.
If you remember, Lindsey and five-star receiver Trevon Grimes filmed a commitment video together, where they both announced their verbals to Ohio State at the same time. It seemed like they were two Buckeye playmakers of the future, but it never quite worked out that way.
For those of you undoubtably wondering, I highly doubt Ohio State will be Lindsey's transfer destination.
IVY LEAGUE'S KICKOFF RULE HELPS. The Ivy League took an interesting approach to kickoffs with their experimental rule change.
Instead of incentivizing the receiving team to call fair catch or take a touchback, they incentivize the kicking team to kick a touchback by moving the touchback line back to the 20-yard line. They also made it easier to kick those touchbacks by moving the kickoff spot from the 35-yard line to the 40.
All in all, it worked, significantly decreasing the number of concussions per 1,000 plays.
From Association Between the Experimental Kickoff Rule and Concussion Rates in Ivy League Football on jamanetwork.com:
In 2015 in the Ivy League, a Division 1 conference of 8 private universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), kickoffs accounted for 6% of all plays but 21% of concussions.2 In response, Ivy League football coaches recommended a rule change. In 2016, the kickoff line was moved from the 35-yd to the 40-yd line and the touchback line was moved from the 25-yd to the 20-yd line. The intention was to have more kickoffs land in the end zone and thereby reduce the likelihood the receiving player will advance the ball, thus increasing touchbacks. However, moving the touchback line to the 20-yd line could cause receivers to try to advance the ball, possibly decreasing touchbacks.
...
During 68 479 plays from 2013 through 2017, 159 concussions occurred (126 before and 33 after the rule), for an overall concussion rate of 2.3 per 1000 plays. Kickoffs resulting in touchbacks increased from a mean of 17.9% annually before the rule change to 48.0% after. The mean annual concussion rate per 1000 plays during kickoff plays was 10.93 before the rule change and 2.04 after (difference, −8.88; 95% CI, −13.68 to −4.09) (Table). For other play types, the concussion rate was 2.56 before the rule change and 1.18 after (difference, −1.38; 95% CI, −3.68 to 0.92). The difference-in-differences analysis showed that 7.51 (95% CI, −12.88 to −2.14) fewer concussions occurred for every 1000 kickoff plays after vs before the rule change.
Personally, I don't think kickoffs are good enough to justify keeping them in the game given the injury risks. Some would even argue that kickoffs are boring and bad and should be banned for that reason alone.
I don't think my viewing experience would be negatively affected at all if kickoffs were eliminated forever and instead you just gave the ball to the receiving team at the 20-yard line.
As far as onside kicks, just replace it with a make-or-break 20-yard play. If you make it, you keep the ball. If you don't, it's a turnover on downs.
WORLD'S CRISPIEST JACKET. Sean Nuernberger's girlfriend rolled into Happy Valley on Saturday rocking the coldest jacket imaginable.
The attention to detail is just flawless – she even painted the good sleeve stripes instead of the ones on the traditional whites and I fully approve.
The best part is, she seems to have an entire line of Nuernberger clothing (and this one even has a special beer pocket on the front!!!!!).
Sean, I think she's a keeper.
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