I think I speak for the entire Big Ten Conference when I say this: welcome home, Bert.
#illini Bret Bielema on how he's grown since last in the Big Ten: "Unfortunately, I've physically grown. I have to take care of that."
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) December 21, 2020
Word of the Day: Hark.
POSTPONEMENT IS POSSIBLE. The College Football Playoff has seemed massively inflexible with its schedule up to this point, but apparently, they're prepared to postpone a game, if it comes down to it.
Bill Hancock told me, "We are planning to play the games when theyre scheduled. Weve said all along that we will be ready for any circumstance, and we will. But if one or both teams are not available and have to postpone a bowl game or the championship game, we will do it.
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) December 22, 2020
I have no idea how the logistics of this would work, how it would impact the other team, what the timeline would look like, how it would impact any other games, or any of that. And to be honest, I've got a strong hunch they don't either!
So while this is super cool and good to hear, but let's just go ahead and try to play it on schedule. Cool?
MR. OHIO STATE. If you want to see the culture of Ohio State's football program personified, take a gander at Jonathon Cooper.
The dude is selfless, relentlessly hard-working, inspiring, charismatic and detests Michigan enough to use his last game of eligibility to earn another pair of Gold Pants over a conference championship game or a playoff game.
I truly appreciate everyone who has believed and stuck with me through it all. Lets go finish this the right way https://t.co/TzFMkEw2LF
— Jonathon Cooper (@JonathonCooper7) December 22, 2020
There have been countless impressively shitty things about this year and season, but if there's one thing I'm happy about – no matter how the playoff ultimately turns out – it's that everything seems to be magically working out for the players who needed and deserved to play this season the most.
Jonathon Cooper is having the best season of his life. Justin Hilliard is finally looking like the five-star player he is. Haskell Garrett is getting first-team All-American honors months after getting shot in the face. Trey Sermon broke Ohio State's single-game rushing record after he was at risk of never even getting to play after transferring to Ohio State.
It's been a fairytale for more than a few Buckeyes. I'm now just praying we get the most fairytale ending possible – Dabo in a pine box.
“I'M BACK SUNSHINE.” There are going to be a lot of Buckeyes seeking redemption for what happened on the field against Clemson last year, but you can be damn sure Shaun Wade is going to be at the top of the list.
See, he didn't even have a chance to feel the game slip through his fingers on the field like the rest of his teammates. He had to watch it happen alone on television from an empty locker room.
Beneath a throbbing crowd, Wade sat alone. The equipment manager passed through a few times. J.K. Dobbins ran in to get his ankle taped, then bolted back out. Wade watched him leave and wished like hell he could go with him. But otherwise, he was left by himself, with the TV and the sour taste of disappointment. He fielded a slew of FaceTime calls to ward off a creeping loneliness. His mother FaceTimed him, but she was still in the belly of the stadium and it was hard to talk above the din. His godsister FaceTimed him too, and he put on a brave face and a small smile for her 6-year-old son, who wanted only to regale Wade with tales of seeing Uncle Shaun on TV. Finally, he FaceTimed his girlfriend, Jordan Fields, who was back home in Florida.
...
"If you don't feel like talking, if you just want me to be on the phone ...," she started. "Whenever you're ready, you can just talk."
Ten minutes passed. Fifteen.
"I think he was ... just stunned," Fields says.
Eventually, Wade broke the silence.
"I wish I could go out there and coach," he said. "At least stand on the sidelines."
...
Wade isn't a rabble-rouser, she's saying. He isn't prone to histrionics. Wade swears he allowed himself a month to put that play, and that night, behind him. But the line between moving beyond calamity and burying it is thin and precarious and sometimes easier for others to see than it is to see yourself.
"He couldn't go out like that," Fields says. "That did not sit right with him at all."
Which is perhaps why Wade didn't just choose to return to Ohio State once. He chose to do so twice.
I'm not going to pretend Shaun Wade's had anywhere near the dominant season I think he was universally expected to have, but if you don't think he's about to play the game of his life on Jan. 1, then you just haven't been paying attention.
REF SUFFERING FROM BLINDNESS? For those of you into praying for Christmas miracles, this referee from the Big Ten Championship game apparently desperately needs his sight to be miraculously restored.
Ref told me he couldnt see the hold https://t.co/vfHjFS674Q
— Tyreke Smith (@T_23_baller) December 21, 2020
It's wild that the Big Ten would think it wise to employ an openly blind referee. I sincerely applaud the attempt at inclusion – we need more of that in the world! – but I'm just not sure it's going to work out in this case.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Angels We Have Heard on High" by Phil Wickham.
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