Good morning dubsters and welcome to the Wednesday edition of your Skull Session.
As I'm sure most of you probably watched ESPN's 30 for 30 last night, remember that the Big Ten Network's The Journey returns tonight as well.
You should watch it for a couple of reasons:
1. It's a good show.
3. B-1-G! B-1-G! B-1-G!
Ok, forget about the last reason - that just doesn't sound right.
TIME TO PICK 'EM FOR THIS WEEKEND. The analysts are starting to weigh in for this weekend's matchups and it's looking like it might be a tight one for the Buckeyes:
From Bryan Fischer:
At this point, the Cornhuskers look like the favorites to get the league's Rose Bowl berth with the Buckeyes ineligible and this game will go a long way to figuring out just how good each team can be in conference play after narrow wins last week.
Pick: Ohio State
From the BTN analysts:
Tom’s pick: Ohio State, 26-24 – Each team is coming off a big victory and is riding momentum behind a hot quarterback. What will be the difference? Defense. Led by Johnathan Hankins and John Simon, the Buckeyes d-line will be too much to handle.
Brent’s pick: Nebraska, 27-24 – The Huskers are the most complete team perfect Ohio State has faced. This one figures to be close throughout, and I see it being decided on special teams, either by a big Ameer Abdullah return or a long Brett Maher kick.
I also think this is going to be a close one for the Buckeyes. I felt pretty good last week before MSU, but I don't like the idea of Taylor Martinez throwing short passes all day.
BREAKING: STUDENTS HAVE MORE FUN WHEN THE FOOTBALL TEAM WINS. Applied economics is probably the best place to find empirical research about football this side of our own Ross Fulton, Xs and Os Labs, or Chris Brown.
In the past, behavioral and applied economists have found that it's usually smart to go for it on fourth down (once past the 45). Other studies have found that defense does not always win championships, addressed the real sources of homefield advantage, and many more football puzzles.
But the latest research is simply without peer:
According to a study published in the October issue of American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, male nonathletes were more likely than females to increase their alcohol consumption and partying, and decrease their study time, in response to the success of the team.
You've got to be kidding me! Never would've imagined that players students have more trouble studying when everyone wants to buy them free beer and girls follow them around constantly because of big wins.
Sarcasm aside, there are actually some cool findings in this longitudinal study of Oregon athletes:
- Male grades fell significantly with the success of the football team, both in absolute terms and relative to females.
- Forty-seven percent of males reported increased partying when the team won, compared with 28 percent of females.
- Females whose GPA’s increased with the success of the football team—including those with low ability, those with high financial need, and African-American students—were less likely to drop out of college after a successful season. (The researchers could not determine whether that was a result of their improved academic performance, or by more direct effects of the team’s success.) The study found no evidence that football success had any impact on males’ dropout behavior.
The results (though I'd probably take issue with some of the methods/theory) seem to indicate that there's no real way for schools to win: a football team's success brings in money and publicity for the school, but decreases male students' grades (and having kind of unclear results for female students).
Sigh. #multipleregressions
SOME XS AND OS LOVE. Though Urban's power-spread to run system is far different than Holgo's air raid, you might be interested in some new schematic advancements in WVU's air raid nonetheless.
You mean we weren't the only ones? :( For starters, there's the touch pass play action:
Against Maryland, Holgorsen and Smith used the "touch pass" to generate another touchdown for Austin — but not in the way you'd think. Late in the first half against the Terrapins, Austin lined up in the slot to the right, while true freshman wide receiver Jordan Thompson went in motion. At the snap, Smith faked the touch pass to Thompson, a nouveau play-action fake.
Other wrinkles include moving outside receiver Stedman Bailey into the slot in 5-wide receiver sets and some more fake touch-pass wheel routes. Good stuff for anyone, not just air raiders or Xs and Os geeks.
"SACK MAYNARD." Welp. Everyone 'round these parts was pretty psyched when the defense exploded for six sacks against Cal two weeks ago, but it looks like we're not the only team that has been able to get to Maynard.
Including the six sacks he suffered at the hands of the Sun Devils, Maynard has been taken down a staggering 22 times in the last three games, more than any other FBS quarterback has been sacked all season.
Now this doesn't mean that we shouldn't be proud of those six sacks, nor does it mean that the defense didn't look better against Michigan State, but seriously, Arizona State got to the QB the same number of times the Silver Bullets did. I guess that provides some perspective.
LINKS, IF YOU PLEASE. Foster narrows it down... I think we may be using different definitions of "power"... An apple a day keeps the hard arties away... Elika is killing it as Bleacher Report's CFB Lead Analyst... Found him!... New antibiotics... Meme thread.
