The football world came to a halt on Monday as it awaited news on the health of Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin after he collapsed during the team's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The NFL released this statement regarding Hamlin after the event took place:
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2023
My thoughts and prayers are with Hamlin, his family and the Bills organization during this difficult time. May his health improve and may he make a full recovery after this terrible incident.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 3, 2023
Tell someone you love them today and make it a great Tuesday.
STROUD STOINKS ARE UP. C.J. Stroud played about as well as an Ohio State quarterback can play in the Peach Bowl, completing 23 of 34 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns with eight carries for 72 yards (minus four sacks for 36 yards in the box score).
Unfortunately, Stroud's efforts in the CFP, though Herculean in nature, were not enough to propel the Buckeyes to a victory. However, that doesn't mean Stroud's efforts were in vain – at least when it comes to his own personal endeavors.
According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, NFL executives and scouts took notice to Stroud's fantastic performance in Atlanta and were especially pleased with how he carried his team on the biggest stage in college football.
“He really helped himself,” says one NFC exec. “And that he was doing it without star players was huge. It’s all the stuff he was busted on—that he was good, but it was more about the star receivers or the line. He was without his top two receivers, top two backs, best tight end, that all counts for something. And I don’t know if it was a conscious effort he made, but that he willingly pulled the ball down and ran is something everyone will notice.”
Perhaps it went unnoticed by some – though certainly not those within Buckeye Nation – Stroud put Ohio State in a position to win a CFP semifinal over the vaunted Georgia Bulldogs without Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson, who did not suit up for the Buckeyes. He also did it without Miyan Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Cade Stover for most of the contest.
At the start of the 2022 season, those five players were Ohio State's WR1, RB1, WR2, RB2 and TE1. So, yes, Stroud's efforts were indeed Herculean, and undoubtedly cement his place in the conversation of the greatest quarterbacks in program history (if he wasn't there already), which makes it such a shame the Buckeyes were unable to capitalize on his next-level performance with a victory.
Still, there's no doubt in my mind that Stroud should be picked within the top three of the 2023 NFL draft. There are plenty of quarterback-hungry teams in the league. One of them will hit the jackpot when they select the kid from Inland Empire, California. I can't wait to see which team it is.
WHAT IS TARGETING? In both CFP semifinal matchups on Saturday and the Cotton Bowl between Tulane and USC on Monday, which was a banger of a football game, in case you didn't watch, officials threw at least one flag for targeting.
The first occurrence took place in the Fiesta Bowl, as TCU cornerback Kee'Yon Stewart appeared to lower his head while converging on Michigan tight end Colston Loveland and made contact with his helmet.
This play at the end of the 4th quarter was reviewed and the play was not called for targeting. pic.twitter.com/fzVUgISaag
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2023
The second took place in the Peach Bowl when Georgia safety Javon Bullard's shoulder pad struck Marvin Harrison Jr. in the back of the end zone as Harrison attempted to make a catch for Ohio State.
Javon Bullard was not called for targeting after this hit on Marvin Harrison Jr. pic.twitter.com/COkUtGi6X1
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2023
The third occurred in the Cotton Bowl when former Buckeye and current USC safety Bryson Shaw landed a helmet-to-helmet hit on Tulsa wide receiver Deuce Watts, causing both players to fall to the turf.
After review, this was ruled as not targeting. Did they get the call right?
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 2, 2023
pic.twitter.com/EgOb36x5dZ
In each instance featured above, the targeting call was reviewed by officials and eventually overturned, creating a flurry of confusion for viewers as to what the heck qualifies for targeting and what doesn't. I mean, seriously, what is it? Why is there so much gray in what should be black and white?
Targeting, broadly stated, is when a player aims at an opponent for purposes of attacking or forcible contact beyond making a legal tackle or block. An official must consider three factors before calling the penalty:
Is the player defenseless?
Is there an indicator?
Was the crown of the helmet used to make forcible contact on an opponent, or, if the player was defenseless, do we have forcible contact about the shoulders?
Every play I included in the Skull Session had at least one of those three things occur, yet officials overturned the plays. Each of those calls had a significant impact on the outcome of the game.
Hopefully (and this is a very, very big hopefully) the NCAA can make the rules for targeting and how it is called more clear for officials so there starts to be more consistency with these calls. Media and fans cannot continue to live in the dark as we have for a long, long time. It's silly, and there needs to be a change. Time to step it up, NCAA.
COME ON NOW. Noah Ruggles and Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo both took game-winning kicks inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium over the weekend – Ruggles from 50 on Saturday yards, and Koo from 21 on Sunday. The former missed his kick, and the latter made his kick.
For some reason, the Falcons' social media team chose to compare the two different outcomes on the same turf. Alongside a video of Koo's game-winner that gave Atlanta a 20-19 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the team tweeted “this is how you make a game-winning field goal at @MBStadium,“ which was an obvious shot at Ruggles.
Like, what?
Thankfully, the stupid tweet sent by smooth-brained individuals was met with backlash, with plenty of Twitter users mentioning that Ruggles' attempt was 29 yards longer than Koo's and had much more pressure involved, as Ruggles could have sent his team to a national championship while Koo's kick helped the Falcons improve to 6-10 this season.
I loved this tweet from ESPN's Marty Smith, who properly called out the Falcons' social media team for their questionable attempt for a few laughs:
Super weird flex to throw shade on a broken-hearted college kidusing a 21-yard FG to beat a 4-win team to move to 6 wins, no less, as fodder. https://t.co/SOcOpC8YN5
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) January 2, 2023
The Falcons deleted the post on Monday. But, remember kids, the Internet is forever, and a digital footprint never, ever goes away.
Because they wanted to delete their douchebagery @AtlantaFalcons pic.twitter.com/NUup94hRol
— KW (@karson_wheeler) January 2, 2023
OLYMPIC VILLAGE. Folks, Ohio State women's basketball forward Cotie McMahon is a bucket and a problem. The Centerville, Ohio, native was named a Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fourth week in a row on Monday after averaging 18 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks for the Buckeyes against Northwestern and Michigan.
Four-in-a-row for @cotiemcmahon23
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) January 2, 2023
: https://t.co/TIXzmuAaKp#GoBucks x @B1Gwbball pic.twitter.com/PV8foZj8EK
Yes, you read that correctly. Four weeks in a row of being the conference's Freshman of the Week, a conference that features five ranked teams, including Ohio State (No. 3), Indiana (No. 6), Maryland (No. 13), Michigan (No. 14) and Iowa (No. 16).
In other words, the Big Ten has been really freaking good this year, and McMahon has been one of the league's best players for over a month.
Through Ohio State's first 15 games – in which the team tied a program-best start to the season with a 15-0 record – McMahon has averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.1 assists per contest. She also scored the third-most points in a single game for the Buckeyes this season when she dropped a 30-bomb on USF in December.
With matchups against 8-6 Minnesota and 13-2 Illinois on the docket over the next five days, we shall see if McMahon makes it five straight weeks as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. And, honestly, why not her? Let's run it back again, Cotie.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Going to the Country” by CAAMP.
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