On the Ohio State beat, we reporters pride ourself on asking only the hardest-hitting questions day in and day out.
We bring up subjects that will make a source give careful consideration before they dare to give an answer. On Tuesday, Ohio State center Luke Wypler was asked about perhaps the most controversial topic of all in the year 2021: Food.
A Montvale, New Jersey native, Wypler is having a mixed bag of results trying to find either bagels or pizza in Columbus that can compare to his home state's cuisine.
In short, he thinks bagels in Columbus are a lost cause, but he loves Tommy's Pizza on Lane Ave. Free advertising for Tommy's and they didn't even have to sign him to an NIL deal! Or, did they?
Personally, this is the first I've ever heard of bagels being amazing in New Jersey, but what does a Midwest dude like me know? I guess I can give a full report after I head there alongside the Eleven Warriors team this weekend for the Rutgers game. You can hear Wypler's full answer for yourself if you'd like (question starts at the 5:19 mark).
Personally, I'm not sure if I'll give the heated bagel debate of 2021 much thought past this weekend, but don't ever tell me New York pizza is better than Chicago style. Before you start, it's not a casserole, damn it!
One last food-related opinion before we move on: Kansas City BBQ is the best BBQ in the world, I don't care what Memphis or Texas says. Eat at Joe's Kansas City at your nearest opportunity. It will change your life. That just made me hungry.
Word of the day: Barbeque.
OH YEAH, SATURDAY IS A HOMECOMING FOR WYPLER. Wypler told reporters Tuesday he attended lots of Rutgers games growing up but wasn't a huge superfan or anything (C'mon, we all know those don't exist anyway). He'll have around 200 friends and family members in attendance at SHI Stadium on Friday rooting him on. Side note: Wypler was recruited by Rutgers, but not by the Greg Schiano regime.
This seems like it could be a cool moment for the Wypler family. But Ryan Day said Tuesday that Harry Miller, who was supposed to open the season as OSU's starting center, is back with the team after missing the first four games for an undisclosed health reason, so it's possible Miller could earn his way back into the lineup this week.
DAY BELIEVES IN FIELDS. I'm going to be real with you all for a second. I was giddy as hell to watch Justin Fields' first career start, even if the optimism was guarded for two reasons.
1. You don't become a Bears fan without developing a severe case of QB PTSD.
2. That Browns defensive line is no joke.
Anyway, Sunday was not a fun day for me.
I don't have too many die-hard loyalties with pro sports anymore, but the Chicago Bears are certainly one of them. Seeing the face of the franchise get walloped for nine sacks behind a hapless offensive line and a play caller that seemingly has no idea how to get the most of Fields was deflating to say the least.
Day was asked on Tuesday for his thoughts regarding his former quarterback's rough day at the office. While he didn't watch the game, Day provided some context regarding Fields' rough first start that may help talk Bears fans like myself off the ledge.
"Not a great start, but there's a lot of young quarterbacks that haven't had great starts," Day said. "You think about Peyton Manning's rookie season and everything he went through there, the hardest thing in that league is just pulling yourself off the canvas and continuing to work through. He and I talked about that after the Northwestern game (last year), when you go to the NFL, you're going to have several days like this. Days you'll wake up and you have to go figure it out again. I think what survives in that league is the resilience of young quarterbacks that identify what went wrong and get better and fix it. One thing I know about him is that he's competitively tough, he'll fix the problems and he'll be back."
I feel slightly better, although not as good as I'd feel if Matt Nagy had his play calling duties taken away from him.
MARYLAND IS PISSED IT HAS TO PLAY ON FRIDAY AGAIN. Even though Maryland has been in the Big Ten since 2014, apparently the Terrapins aren't feeling the love from the Big Ten schedule makers.
After already playing Illinois on Sept. 17 on Friday earlier this season, Maryland is tasked with another short week when it will host Iowa on Friday. Coach Mike Locksley was not pleased!
Maryland, hosting Iowa on Friday, will be playing its second B1G Friday game in the first month of the season.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 28, 2021
Mike Locksley: At some point, maybe well get full membership so we dont have to do this.
pic.twitter.com/SjeBnncZ7I
Then again, the Terrapins are undefeated thus far, so it can't be that bad, right?
HASKELL GARRETT LOVES HIS NEPHEWS. With a bunch of veteran defensive players hurt against Akron on Saturday, Haskell Garrett stepped up and had the best statistical game of his collegiate career, racking up three sacks in the victory. But the 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackle still wasn't too cool to walk to the locker room with his nephews Kaisen and Kamden. Pretty hard not to crack a smile looking at the image.
My guys Kaisen and Kamden https://t.co/sXN74Jgh0H
— Haskell Garrett (@HaskellGarrett_) September 27, 2021
SONG OF THE DAY. “Welcome to the Jungle.” So, earlier this week, someone happened to casually mention that Guns N' Roses played last week at the Schottenstein Center. After I finished saying, "Son of a bitch, I would have gone to that," I called my father to let him know what I missed out on. He proceeded to make fun of me for liking “old man music” made before I was born. Whatever, he can be a hater if he wants to, I'm over it.
THE BEST OF THE REST. So a Florida man allegedly hijacked a FedEx truck in violent afternoon crime spree ... The Dispatch has an article suggesting 10 things you could do if you won a $570 million lottery but buddy I can think of a few things on my own just fine ... An in-depth analysis on how Matt Nagy failed Justin Fields ... 247Sports ranks the Big Ten QBs ... College Football Playoff expansion is running into problems.
