I'm going to be real, this would normally be a game that I truly would not give a damn about.
A 3:30 p.m. game against a winless team from The American that lost its opener to an FCS program? In most scenarios, this is a snoozer of a game where the most intriguing part is which backup quarterback gets in the game first – a mentality that could always allow for Tulsa to surprise some folks and make things interesting, if the Buckeyes weren't careful.
But unfortunately for Tulsa, it drew the short straw of having to face Ohio State following Ryan Day's first regular-season loss after he made it extremely clear he was pissed as hell at the performance and is planning to roll some heads if things don't improve.
Needless to say, due to no fault of its own, Tulsa is about to be stuffed through a meat grinder over and over and over all afternoon. This is a team that's about to be the ultimate sacrificial lamb – and we in Columbus greatly appreciate it.
I sincerely apologize for what my football team is about to do to your football team.
Word of the Day: Ravage.
TODAY'S MENU. Sing praises: there is plenty to watch today.
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| NIU at #25 Michigan | 12:00pm | BTN |
| UAlbany at Syracuse | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Tennessee Tech at Tennessee | 12:00pm | ESPN+/SECN+ |
| Western Michigan at Pitt | 12:00pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| #15 Virginia Tech at West Virginia | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| Boston College at Temple | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Chattanooga at Kentucky | 12:00pm | ESPN+/SECN+ |
| #8 Cincinnati at Indiana | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| #16 Coastal Carolina at Buffalo | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Michigan State at #24 Miami (FL) | 12:00pm | ABC |
| Nebraska at #3 Oklahoma | 12:00pm | FOX |
| New Mexico at #7 Texas A&M | 12:00pm | SECN |
| UConn at Army | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| Southeast Missouri at Missouri | 12:00pm | ESPN+/SECN+ |
| Minnesota at Colorado | 1:00pm | P12N |
| Nevada at Kansas State | 2:05pm | ESPN+ |
| Purdue at #12 Notre Dame | 2:30pm | NBC |
| Kent State at #5 Iowa | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Florida State at Wake Forest | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Georgia Tech at #6 Clemson | 3:30pm | ABC |
| Baylor at Kansas | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| #1 Alabama at #11 Florida | 3:30pm | CBS |
| Tulsa at #9 Ohio State | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| SMU at Louisiana Tech | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| LIU at Miami (Ohio) | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| USC at Washington State | 3:30pm | FOX |
| Idaho at Oregon State | 3:30pm | P12N Oregon |
| Bryant at Akron | 3:30pm | ESPN3 |
| Elon at Appalachian State | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Delaware at Rutgers | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Eastern Michigan at UMass | 3:30pm | FloFootball/NESN+ |
| Colorado State at Toledo | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| Sacramento State at California | 4:00pm | P12N Bay Area |
| Northwestern at Duke | 4:00pm | ACCN |
| Mississippi State at Memphis | 4:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Georgia Southern at #20 Arkansas | 4:00pm | SECN |
| Ball State at Wyoming | 4:00pm | Stadium |
| Arkansas State at Washington | 4:15pm | P12N |
| Murray State at Bowling Green | 5:00pm | ESPN3 |
| East Carolina at Marshall | 6:00pm | |
| Fordham at Florida Atlantic | 6:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Old Dominion at Liberty | 6:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Middle Tennessee at UTSA | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Troy at Southern Miss | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Grambling State at Houston | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Utah at San Diego State | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| South Carolina at #2 Georgia | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| UIW at Texas State | 7:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Charlotte at Georgia State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| FIU at Texas Tech | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida A&M at USF | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Furman at NC State | 7:30pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| Utah State at Air Force | 7:30pm | FS2 |
| Virginia at #21 North Carolina | 7:30pm | ACCN |
| Stony Brook at #4 Oregon | 7:30pm | P12N |
| UAB at North Texas | 7:30pm | Stadium |
| Central Michigan at LSU | 7:30pm | SECN |
| #22 Auburn at #10 Penn State | 7:30pm | ABC |
| Alcorn State at South Alabama | 8:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Rice at Texas | 8:00pm | LHN |
| Stanford at Vanderbilt | 8:00pm | ESPNU |
| Tulane at #17 Ole Miss | 8:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Jackson State at ULM | 8:00pm | ESPN3 |
| SC State at New Mexico State | 8:00pm | FloFootball / CW El Paso |
| Oklahoma State at Boise State | 9:00pm | FS1 |
| Northern Arizona at Arizona | 10:00pm | P12N AZ |
| #19 Arizona State at #23 BYU | 10:15pm | ESPN |
| #14 Iowa State at UNLV | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| Fresno State at #13 UCLA | 10:45pm | P12N |
RAZZLE-DAZZLE OFFENSE. One key reason why I am sincerely sorry to have to desecrate a Golden Hurricane today: Tulsa's most famous head coach is actually a Buckeye legend, too.
Not only did Francis Schmidt absolutely smash teams during his time at Tulsa (and Ohio State, for that matter), as we talked about yesterday, but his offense was basically just a more organized version of backyard football, which is extremely fun and good.
Schmidt created the “razzle-dazzle offense.” As described by Jerry Brondfield in his book, “Woody Hayes and the 100-Yard War,” Schmidt “stunned the opposition by displaying — in the same game — the single wing, double wing, short punt, and, for the first time ever seen, the I-formation.
“He used reverses, double reverses and spinners, and his Buckeyes of the mid-30’s were the most lateral pass-conscious team anyone had ever witnessed. He threw laterals, and then laterals off of laterals downfield, and it was not unusual for three men to handle the ball behind the line of scrimmage.”
His team became such a prolific scorer that a season opening 60-0 win over New York University in 1936 earned Schmidt the sobriquet “Close the Gates of Mercy.”
...
In 1919 he garnered his first head coaching job. His first Tulsa team went 8-0-1; his second went 10-0-1. Despite a 6-3 mark in 1921, Schmidt retains the highest winning percentage of any coach in Tulsa history.
After his first Tulsa team beat Arkansas, 63-7, the Razorbacks would have no rest until they stole him as their own coach, another tradition that lives on today. From 1922-1928, Schmidt’s teams went 41-21-3 (including a phenomenal 24-3-2 at home). No Razorback coach topped his record until Frank Broyles arrived 30 years later.
Here's hoping at least one of these teams channels their inning Francis Schmidt on offense today. It will make the game a hell of a lot more interesting.
WINNERS.
- Ohio State -24.5 against Tulsa. Bounce back, baby!
- Buffalo +14 against Coastal Carolina. Coastal Carolina is a solid football team, but so is Buffalo. And I think the Chanticleers are getting a little too much hype based on how they played last year, not necessarily this year, especially on the road in a tough game.
- Minnesota +2.5 against Colorado. Even without Ibrahim, I think Minnesota is the better team here. It may be on the road, but I think the Golden Gophers control the ball and get it done.
- Kansas St +1.5 against Nevada. I was really impressed with Kansas State against Stanford and I expect to see something similar against Nevada.
- Florida +14.5 against Alabama. I'm not saying Florida's going to win, but this is Bama's first real test of the season (sorry, Miami) and I think it's closer than two touchdowns.
- Penn State -5 against Auburn. I simply think that Penn State is the decidedly better team in this game, and I don't think Auburn is ready for that white-out.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Umbrella" by Rihanna.
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