There's only one more game until The Game.
It's time to beat Maryland.
It's time to block out the noise. Beat Maryland. pic.twitter.com/dljM3zWQbd
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 17, 2022
Let's have a good Saturday, shall we?
BEAT THE TERPS. It's been really, really hard to care about Ohio State playing Maryland on Saturday. I mean, with a potential (and likely) No. 2 vs. No. 3 battle between the Buckeyes and “That Team Up North” next weekend, can you blame me for not being incredibly interested?
This week, Ryan Day made several comments about how “talented and dangerous” Maryland is as a program, especially in 2022, as quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa returned with NFL-level receivers Rakim Jarrett and Dontay Demus out wide and running back Roman Hemby moving the rock on the ground. But through 10 games this season, I haven't seen either of those qualities to be true about the team.
I'll acknowledge that Maryland played Michigan for its closest game this season. A good performance from the Terps in that matchup built some optimism for how the rest of the season would play out. However, it couldn't have taken a more drastic turn toward the contrary.
Tagovailoa hurt his knee in the contest, and many of the Terrapins' struggles followed. Since the injury, Maryland has lost to Purdue, barely beat Indiana and Northwestern, lost to Wisconsin and was blanked 30-0 by Penn State last week. Tagovailoa completed only 11 of 22 passes for 74 yards while looking very uncomfortable and immobile in the pocket against the Nittany Lions.
Perhaps Maryland was “talented and dangerous” at one point this season, but that is simply no longer the case heading into Game 11. Honestly, the Terps are more “talented and wounded” at this point.
Knowing that, I don't expect the Buckeyes to offer sympathy to the Terrapins. I believe Ohio State will run away in this one, adding another blowout win to its resume in the final tune-up before The Game next weekend – the matchup we've all been waiting for.
Ohio State 42, Maryland 17.
TODAY'S MENU. Imma keep it real with you, chief. This weekend's slate of college football games suuuuucccckkkssssss.
There is a reason ESPN's College GameDay is out in Bozeman for a battle between Montana and Montana State. No disrespect to those programs, as both are having good seasons, but if there were literally any other good games across the country on Saturday, GameDay would be somewhere else.
Still, I think the matchups of TCU at Baylor, USC at UCLA and Utah at Oregon offer some intrigue, as does Illinois at No. 3 Michigan, of course.
Here is a question: Do you want Illinois or Michigan to win on Saturday? I feel like the age-old debate between Ohio State fans is whether or not they want Michigan to lose every week or for the Wolverines to be undefeated when they face the Buckeyes. On what side do you stand?
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Navy at 20 UCF | 11:00am | ESPN2 |
| Virginia Tech at Liberty | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UMass at Texas A&M | 12:00pm | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| Duke at Pitt | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Florida at Vanderbilt | 12:00pm | SECN |
| ETSU at Mississippi State | 12:00pm | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| 4 TCU at Baylor | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Illinois at 3 Michigan | 12:00pm | ABC |
| Indiana at Michigan State | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Wisconsin at Nebraska | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Austin Peay at 8 Alabama | 12:00pm | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| UConn at Army | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| Louisiana at 19 Florida State | 12:00pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| Northwestern at Purdue | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| UTSA at Rice | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 15 Kansas State at West Virginia | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Washington State at Arizona | 2:00pm | P12N |
| Houston at East Carolina | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| North Alabama at Memphis | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Georgia State at James Madison | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 23 Oregon State at Arizona State | 2:15pm | ESPN2 |
| Boston College at 18 Notre Dame | 2:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| Old Dominion at Appalachian State | 2:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Akron at Buffalo | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| Utah Tech at BYU | 3:30pm | BYUtv/ESPN3 |
| 2 Ohio State at Maryland | 3:30pm | ABC |
| Louisiana Tech at Charlotte | 3:30pm | ESPN3 |
| Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| ULM at Troy | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| South Alabama at Southern Miss | 3:30pm | NFLN |
| 11 Penn State at Rutgers | 3:30pm | BTN |
| 24 NC State at Louisville | 3:30pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| Miami (FL) at 9 Clemson | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Texas at Kansas | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| Coastal Carolina at Virginia | ||
| 1 Georgia at Kentucky | 3:30pm | CBS |
| WKU at Auburn | 4:00pm | SECN |
| Iowa at Minnesota | 4:00pm | FOX |
| 25 Cincinnati at Temple | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| FIU at UTEP | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Arkansas State at Texas State | 5:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Stanford at California | 5:30pm | P12N |
| Georgia Tech at 13 North Carolina | 5:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Marshall at Georgia Southern | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 5 Tennessee at South Carolina | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Texas Tech at Iowa State | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Boise State at Wyoming | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| New Mexico State at Missouri | 7:30pm | ESPNU |
| 14 Ole Miss at Arkansas | 7:30pm | SECN |
| 22 Oklahoma State at Oklahoma | 7:30pm | ABC |
| 7 USC at 16 UCLA | 8:00pm | FOX |
| Syracuse at Wake Forest | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| UAB at 6 LSU | 9:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Colorado at 17 Washington | 9:00pm | P12N |
| Colorado State at Air Force | 9:00pm | FS2 |
| San Jose State at Utah State | 9:45pm | FS1 |
| Fresno State at Nevada | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| 10 Utah at 12 Oregon | 10:30pm | ESPN |
| UNLV at Hawaii | 11:00pm | Spectrum PPV |
MY PICKS. It was a tough week for My Picks in the Indiana Skull Session. Illinois couldn't beat Purdue to clinch the Big Ten West and Louisiana State only beat Arkansas by 3 points with a 3.5-point spread. Luckily, Penn State came through with a 30-0 win over Maryland to cover its -10.5 points.
So, after consecutive positive weeks picking games, I went 1-2 last Saturday. Brutal. But the good news is that I can make more picks today. Woohoo!
2022 RECORD: 15-15
- No. 1 Georgia (-22.5) at Kentucky: I'm not sure I will ever understand why there was so much hype around Will Levis this season. He is this year's Spencer Rattler. Levis threw for 98 yards and three interceptions against Tennessee earlier this year and last week completed 11 of 23 passes for 109 yards in his team's loss to Vanderbilt. Uhhhhhh... Bulldogs by a billion.
- Iowa (+2.5) at Minnesota: Don't look now, folks, but either of these teams could be the Big Ten West champion at the end of the season. This matchup is one of the deciding factors. Minnesota is 7-3 this season, but its losses have come to Purdue, Illinois and Penn State. As Desmond Howard might say, “If they play a team with a pulse, they struggle.” I'll take Iowa's defense to win the game and cover the spread for the Hawkeyes.
- No. 7 USC (-2.5) at No. 16 UCLA: I had to make a pick on the Battle of Los Angeles. I just had to. This game will likely be a shootout, as neither team has a defense. I feel it will end somewhere in the 40s or 50s, with the Trojans closing it out in the final moments. Caleb Williams will have a huge game and keep himself in the Heisman race with the win, making things interesting in the last games around the country next weekend.
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. I'm about to shameless plug here because I can, so buckle up. Earlier this week, Ramzy Nasrallah wrote a long-form feature on Kamryn Babb and his career as a Buckeye. It was titled "Unbreakable".
Kamryn Babb could have allowed setbacks and surgeries to define him. He chose to be Ohio States most inspirational player instead. https://t.co/KBgtDPvs5t
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2022
Of all the stories written at Eleven Warriors during my brief tenure here, it was by far the best. And that is not to say all our other works haven't been fantastic – of course, they have. This site is the best place to read, watch and listen to all things Ohio State football, men's basketball and many other sports. But Ramzy's work in this story was phenomenal. It was so good that it should be included in the press kit of Babb's nomination for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
If you haven't read Ramzy's story yet, please carve some time out of your Saturday (or a future day this week) to take it in. Fair warning: It's a big boy with over 3,500 words, but I promise it will be worth it.
That's it for me on this fine Saturday. Let's have fun watching the Buckeyes demolish the Terrapins in the late afternoon. Make sure to return to the website shortly after the game ends (approx. 7 p.m.) to participate in the first moments of Hate Week. I'll have an article ready where everyone is welcome to spread their vitriol toward the Michigan Wolverines and the Khaki Man.
SONG OF THE DAY. “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins.
CUT TO THE CHASE. New measures for size, as world’s people surpass 8 billion... Qatar bans sale of beer at World Cup stadiums in about-face... Ned Rorem, a prize-winning composer and writer, dies at 99... Buffalo could see 4 feet of snow this weekend amid a lake-effect snowstorm... Tim Allen talks about "The Santa Clauses" Disney+ series, Jay Leno, etc.
