Folks, go vote.
ICYMI
- Urban Meyer hasn't named Brendon White a starter, but says he "certainly will play."
- Ohio State has to have the same mentality running the ball against Michigan State.
- Micah Potter transfers from Ohio State.
- What Micah Potter's transfer means to the Buckeyes.
- Noah Potter remains firmly committed to the football team despite his brother's transfer.
- Film Study: Is Brendon White the missing piece to the Ohio State defense?
Word of the Day: Plebiscite.
REX RYAN THINKS BOSA'S MILKING IT. Joey Bosa hasn't been able to play yet this season, and Rex Ryan – whose opinion we presumably still care about – is accusing him of intentionally milking his injury.
From the New York Post:
While discussing the Chargers on ESPN, the former Jets coach mocked Joey Bosa for his recovery from a foot injury, while also taking a jab at his younger brother, Nick, who left Ohio State in the middle of this season — following a core muscle injury, which required surgery — to prepare for the NFL draft.
Ryan, who followed his father, Buddy, into football, also then took a swipe at the Bosa’s father, John.
“If Joey Bosa ever decides to show up — I don’t know if he has to ask his dad for permission — because we know the Bosas, if there’s an injury that’s a week to 12 weeks, there gonna take it all the way to 12 weeks,” Ryan said. “This is the NFL, man. … Nobody understands this injury. I think, speaking as a Chargers fan, we’re all like, ‘Where is this cat?'”
Ryan's son, Seth, is a member of the Chargers staff, which makes this situation all the better since Bosa and the Chargers' front office have had a notoriously positive relationship completely free of hiccups since Bosa arrived.
Honestly though, I should have known Ryan insert himself into this conversation. It is a foot injury, after all.
BRENDON WHITE NOT A STARTER? Though the bar was set pretty damn low, Brendon White came in on Saturday and had probably the best individual performance from a member of Ohio State's back seven this season.
The obvious move now would be to put both White and Jordan Fuller on the field at the same time. But on Monday, Urban Meyer wouldn't commit to starting White this week, and y'all flipped the hell out.
But let's pump the breaks on the pitchfork parade for now.
I know you all wanted to hear Meyer triumphantly proclaim White the starter for the rest of the season but the truth is, doing that would have made absolutely no sense, because Michigan State's gameplan is going to differ drastically depending on who Ohio State rolls out at safety opposite of Fuller.
If it's Shaun Wade – who's a converted coverage corner – they'll probably throw on him much less and force him to tackle in run support whenever possible. But if it's White – a sure tackler but unproven in coverage – they'll probably try to work matchups to test him through the air.
Meyer ain't about to tip his hand on Monday when he doesn't have to say a damn thing about it the entire week, and nor should he. The only reason Meyer would make that announcement on Monday is out of the kindness of his heart to Mark Dantonio.
There aren't many people associated with this program that deserve the benefit of the doubt right now, but I'm giving it to them anyway. But if Isaiah Pryor or Dril run out there instead of White on Saturday, I will have some online words to say.
WE'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT. Ohio State could run the ball again on Saturday, but we'll know for sure if the running game is fixed with how the Bucks perform this weekend.
From Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade:
But it all comes with a caveat. Nebraska ranks 81st nationally in rush defense. Saturday’s opponent Michigan State is first, limiting teams to just 71.6 yards per game and 2.5 yards per carry. The Spartans have allowed seven rushing touchdowns all season.
“The mentality has to be the same,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said Monday when asked if OSU’s running success against Nebraska was sustainable.
Only two opponents have rushed for more than 63 yards against Michigan State — Penn State (205) and Michigan (183), who happen to be the two best teams Michigan State has played. The Buckeyes hope to fall in line and find similar results. The rest of Michigan State’s rush defense numbers read like a PowerBall ticket.
- Utah State: 25 yards
- Arizona State: 44 yards
- Indiana: 29 yards
- Central Michigan: 63 yards
- Northwestern: 8 yards
- Purdue: 62 yards
- Maryland: 26 yards
I thought Nebraska was going to be the tell-all for how the rest of the season was going to go, but you can mark me down as fascinated to see how Ohio State looks against Michigan State this weekend in pretty much every aspect of the game.
ROWING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. Minnesota made an abrupt change at defensive coordinator this week after Goldy allowed 55 points to the fighting Lovie Smiths of Illinois.
From Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com:
Minnesota fires defensive coordinator Robb Smith a day after allowing 55 points in a loss at Illinois. Defensive line coach Joe Rossi will serve as coordinator for the rest of the season. The Gophers' defense really struggled during Big Ten play. "These decisions are always difficult, especially when they involve a close friend and colleague," Gophers head coach PJ Fleck said in a prepared statement.
I quick glance at Minnesota's schedule reveals that the Gophers have, in fact, been bad at stopping teams from scoring points – except Ohio State.
The Buckeyes put up just 30 points against Minnesota, the fewest of any Big Ten school. Meanwhile, Maryland, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois dropped an average of 50 points on the Gophers.
I guess the Buckeyes were just doing their part to keep a man employed, and it's really hard to fault them for that. Illinois should be ashamed of itself.
ROUGH WEEK FOR LSU. LSU couldn't manage a single point against Alabama this weekend, but at least we all got a good meme out of it!
Except the subject of said meme can't even properly enjoy her fame due to a grammar error in the most popular Tweet she'll ever Tweet.
when youre face is all you see when you open social media pic.twitter.com/EugIfVPIcE
— kailss (@kaileighthomas_) November 5, 2018
As someone who has made more than my fair share of absolutely egregious public errors, I am far from able to cast a stone here.
In fact, I have nothing but respect. She undoubtably noticed her clear grammatical gaff, but chose to ride it out and wear it as a badge of honor rather than delete it and lose the retweets.
She has the heart of a true poster.
LINK LOCKER. Florida man arrested after barging into homes seeking someone to fight him... Inside the tiny Louisiana town that is a battleground for LSU and Alabama... One man 's mission to exonerate his former cellmate... The heartbreaking story of a woman who died of an asthma attack just outside of a locked emergency room...
