I'm still thinking about this hit from Josh Proctor at the end of the game. And so is Jack Coan. And also Brutus.
Ohio State knock the taste out of Jack Coan's mouth to win the Big Ten Championship.#OSUvsWISC #B1GFCG pic.twitter.com/kvxv0Np1yq
— Loquacious Idiot (@IHaveFourBalls) December 8, 2019
Word of the Day: Gaiety.
FIELDS STANDS ALONE. Remember the vociferous sect of Buckeye fans insisting that Justin Fields was probably a bad quarterback after watching him play a non-contact fake game less than three months after he was allowed to even take a practice snap?
They're dead now.
So now Justin Fields has 40 passing touchdowns and one interception.
— Wyatt Crosher (@wcrosher) December 8, 2019
Players that have had 40 touchdowns with just one interception in a season since 2000:
- Justin Fields
- no one else
(Worth noting: That's almost surely an all-time record, because I'm pretty damn sure not many folks were tossing 40 touchdowns in a season before 2000, but Wyatt just didn't have stats past 2000).
This team is so gas across the board that I don't think most folks properly appreciate how insanely good and productive Fields has been as a first-year starter who's played no more than three full games of football.
It could be because he's arguably just the second, third or even fourth-best player on the roster at this point, and there's only so much hype to go around, but that doesn't change the fact that he just strolled right in and picked up right where the most prolific quarterback in Big Ten history left off.
But also, he can run.
BEST DAMN TEAM IN THE LAND, ALSO.
Tired: The Ohio State football team deserves the top seed in the college football playoff.
Wired: The Ohio State basketball team deserves to be the top team in the latest college basketball AP Poll.
Chris Holtmann's men have already defeated Villanova, North Carolina (in Chapel Hill) and Penn State by an average of 27 points per contest. Those are three opponents that, barring major surprises, will all play in the NCAA tournament.
Ohio State, in all probability, won't actually be No. 1 when this week's AP poll is released. Still, no team has put together a more impressive record of basketball so far than what we've seen from the Buckeyes over their first 605 possessions.
The Buckeyes have shown they can win very different types of games. Statistically, this is a defense that can rival Virginia's, yet on Saturday they exploded for 106 points in just 70 possessions in a 32-point win at home over a very good Nittany Lion team.
It's looking like we'll see two snubs in two days, so break those pitchforks out.
I know a significant portion of y'all won't give a damn about this until about the middle of January (listen, I get it), but the Buckeyes aren't just playing well, they're blasting the shit out of every team they face by historic margins.
And it's not like one or two guys are carrying the load themselves – eight dudes averaging between seven and 13 points. That balance is absolutely absurd. Sustainable? Who's to say! But still, absurd!
It's early, but so far it's legitimately the most impressive Ohio State basketball team in almost a decade. But Chris Holtmann will never, ever admit that.
"He's the biggest sandbagger you've ever met in your life."
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) December 8, 2019
You see what @CoachMiles is saying about you, @ChrisHoltmann? pic.twitter.com/SiFatau8s9
If you would have told me a month ago that the Ohio State basketball team would have the same ranking as the football team at this point in the year, I would have just assumed Ohio State would got waxed on the road against Rutgers, because for some reason that would have made a hell of a lot more sense than reality.
But hey, reality is good!
CHRISMAN FOR QB. At some point after Matthew Baldwin transferred from Ohio State, I started kicking around a story idea about which players could serve as an emergency quarterback if both Fields and Chris Chugunov went down.
It was by grace that I didn't finish it, because I would have made one glaring omission.
Ryan Day says Drue Chrisman was taking some snaps at quarterback in practice before Chris Chugunov entered the program early last year. So, the coaches were familiar with his skills as a passer.
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) December 8, 2019
So that pass wasn't a fluke, and every team in Ohio State's path will now be terrified every time he's back to punt. That's a special kind of awesome.
WHERE'S WALDO? Technology is probably going to kill us all eventually, but sometimes it does some pretty sweet things – like photograph an entire stadium in extremely high detail in a scrollable 3D panorama.
A special yet-to-be-named (and decided) prize awaits the first individual to find my estranged father amongst the game-goers. He'll be the midlife-crisisy fellow with the beard that he's absolutely lost things in.
Failing that, you can attempt to find Colin and Dan in the press box, but that's not an easy task either (and there's no special prize).
FROM GOAT TO GOAT. Regretfully, we probably heard our last "J.K., ALL DAY" call from Gus Johnson on Saturday night, but it seems he and J.K. Dobbins are going to have a special connection for the foreseeable future.
A gift from the GOAT
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) December 8, 2019
Gus Johnson gives @JKDobbins22 his signed game notes from the season pic.twitter.com/1x6prJHcBh
"You'll probably be in the NFL the next time I see you."
That's a pretty safe bet, Gus.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Why a forgotten 21-year-old film flop has taken China by storm and made millions... The secret history of the Hope Diamond... A woman arranged a deadly Medieval fight-to-the-death duel... Inside the drug rehab for the world's super rich... Chipotle has nurses to ensure workers really sick, and not just hungover... A United Airlines passenger is stung by a scorpion during a flight.
