It's Friday, which means we're 24 hours away from pre-noon alcohol, delicious food and that patented 11W community, all for a cause.
Folks, it's officially Eleven Dubgate weekend.
Losses to Purdue and early kickoffs be damned – we'll see you at Dubgate 8 at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
ICYMI
- Kentucky has benefitted from Ohio State's national recruiting approach, building a team with Ohio talent.
- Basketball is back! The men's hoops team downed UNC Pembroke in an exhibition. Here's what we learned.
- This season's Ohio State team can embrace an underdog role in the playoff race.
- House Money: Our weekly picks against the spread.
- Five things to know about Nebraska.
Word of the Day: Kairos.
WHAT IT MEANS TO UNDERACHIEVE. Ohio State's defense has been decidedly not great so far this season, and that's pretty shocking given the proven defensive coordinators and elite talent.
From Michael Bird of SBNation.com:
Despite recruiting classes on par with Alabama’s and a coaching staff that should have gotten stronger with the addition of Alex Grinch, the Buckeyes have plummeted to 49th in defensive S&P+, good for eighth in the Big Ten. Conference rivals like Minnesota, Northwestern, and Iowa that recruit far less talent are getting better results.
Bird took a look at some other extremely underperforming defenses of the past 25 years and pieced together two possibilities for how this all turns out for Ohio State.
- This uber-talented roster is just young and a year away from success, like 1995 FSU and 2007 Florida. This is the optimistic scenario. The problem is that this defense is not especially inexperienced. Ohio State’s depth chart for the Purdue game showed seven juniors and four sophomores as starters (although one could play with the “or” designations). This is a reasonably experienced defense, especially for a team built to expect early NFL defections.
- Significant change could be coming in Columbus. The other eight defenses in this group would make head coaching changes in the following three years. A program that turns elite talent into below-average results is one that generates serious questions.
I think Ohio State's situation is especially interesting because Greg Schiano has been in the top five nationally in yards per play the past two season, so it's hard to completely blame him for this. And Taver Johnson and Alex Grinch haven't even been here an entire season, so I'm not sure you can blame a lack of player development on them.
I don't know what's gone wrong or who to blame, but my very hot #take is that they should try very hard to fix it.
UNLEASH THE BEAST. Vonn Bell is in his third season in the NFL, but he hadn't been fully unleashed – until now.
From Nick Underhill of The Advocate:
Marshon Lattimore has spent a lot of time watching Vonn Bell play football.
The two played together in college before being reunited in New Orleans last year. Lattimore knew all the safety needed was a chance. Even though the Saints often used three-safety sets, Bell was playing behind Marcus Williams and Kenny Vaccaro.
“He was boxed in like a caged animal,” Lattimore said. “I know what he’s capable of, and I know that he’s a great player. Even in college, you’d look at him like, 'Vonn’s the truth.' When I got here, he was kind of in and out, but if you just let Vonn get into his game, you’re going to see a different player.”
...
“The game slowed down,” Bell said. “Just knowing the situation of the game, because I’ve grown through situational football, which has helped me the most though every phase, the red zone, third down, two minute, and that’s what wins games. I think I’ve elevated my game with that, just being knowledgeable.”
Bell and Kurt Coleman are currently rotating in a safety spot and only see the field together in certain packages, but if I were the Saints I'd find a way to keep as many Buckeyes on the field at once, because that seems to work out for them.
Give me that all-BIA secondary. Give it to me.
JOE BURROW AIN'T SCARED. Joe Burrow has the game of his life this weekend and he wants you all to know he's ready.
We. Are. Not. Scared.
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 1, 2018
Were Not Backing Down! pic.twitter.com/A3r7srW5Ev
I can't wait to watch Big Game Burrow dump Nick Saban in prime time on Saturday night.
I know a lot of folks seem to think an LSU win will hurt Ohio State's playoff chances, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm not about to root against our nation's boy as he tries to make Bama bleed its own blood.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST. Chris Holtmann flipped on some tape of Klay Thompson splashing 14 threes in a single game to teach his team about what greatness looks like.
Except his team wasn't looking at the record performance, but his teammates.
From Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch:
Ohio State was concluding the 23rd practice of its 2018 preseason Tuesday when a flat-screen television was wheeled to a corner of the main court at Value City Arena. There, all 14 members of the team plus the coaching staff gathered around as Chris Holtmann showed them a clip from Monday night’s momentous NBA game between Golden State and Chicago.
The clip, of course, featured Klay Thompson and his record-setting shooting night that saw him hit 14 three-pointers. But it wasn’t the focus of what Holtmann was getting across to his Ohio State team.
“We were not showing 14 made threes: we were showing his teammates’ reaction to that moment and that night of his,” Holtmann said Wednesday. “That was the purpose of the film.”
Apparently the Warriors are elite celebrators as well. Who would have thought?
PRAYERS UP TO CALPOPPY. One of our own needs some support, as Calpoppy has been battling leukemia the past two weeks.
From his sister, Erniebuckeye over in the forum:
Many of you know my brother Shannon, or Calpoppy here on 11W. He’s one of the OG 11W readers and commentors. He and I joke about what we read on 11W and often send each other texts about the day’s offering and funny comments from you all. He really loves the community here.
Unfortunately, 2 weeks ago, he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was immediately admitted to the hospital and started chemo. He developed pneumonia and is now in the ICU, fighting hard like a good Buckeye should. He will be in the hospital for the foreseeable future. He could use all of your prayers and good vibes as he fights this. These are scary times for him and our family.
I wanted to write a post because I know how this online community is and he’s been absent lately. Trust me, he misses you. I’ll be with him Saturday and will have the game on in his hospital room. Please leave a comment below and I will be sure to read it to him when I see him.
Calpoppy has been my guy pretty much as long as I've been here. He helped guide my cross-country trip to the Fiesta Bowl a few years back, told me I was always welcome to visit him if my travels ever took me that far, and is always keeping an eye out for the numerous typos that seem to find their way into these Skull Sessions.
I'm praying for him, and I know he'll fight like hell.
You can head on over to that forum post to leave some kind words to our dear friend, and his family set up a GoFundMe for for non-medical expenses like gas and meals, because the hospital isn't exactly close to home, if you'd like to donate.
LINK LOCKER. Man jailed after wielding chainsaw on subway... Man finds possible remains of father in basement after 3 years of digging... What it's like to grow up in a cult... Meet the serial-killer whisperer... Biologists have started their attempt to sequence the DNA of every living thing on Earth...
