Wednesday's Skull Session will offer some commentary on things happening around the Big Ten, certainly in anticipation of the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday.
Let's not waste any time. Let's jump right into it.
NEW DEPTH CHART RELEASED. Ohio State released its first postseason depth chart for the Big Ten Championship Game against Michigan State. There were no changes, and there have been none since the end of October.
The immediate items of interest involved Marcus Hall and Dontre Wilson, who were infamously involved in a fight following a Michigan kickoff at the end of the first quarter last week. Both were tossed for throwing punches. Whatever additional punishment they receive for their involvement will not manifest on the depth chart, or possibly even playing time. Wilson is still listed as the second team H-back and on kickoff returns. Hall is still the starting right guard.
The status of Curtis Grant is still uncertain. Grant's absence against Michigan last week showed in the run game. Camren Williams, his immediate replacement, did not look ready for game action. This allowed for some big runs for Michigan's tailbacks. He will be important against Michigan State's more conventional offense. Still listed as starting at middle linebacker, his situation is a little uncertain.
Kenny Guiton is still the first team holder in his first and final trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
BTN ROUNDS OUT AWARDS SHOW. Yesterday evening, BTN finished giving out conference accolades to conclude the regular season. It started on Monday evening with announcements of first and second team selections, as well as position awards. It concluded Tuesday evening with the announcement of the coach of the year, the freshman of the year, and the offensive and defensive players of the year.
Ohio State's Braxton Miller, the Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year for the second straight season, won his second straight Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year award. He beat out teammate Carlos Hyde, Michigan's Devin Funchess, and Penn State's Allen Robinson. Despite missing three games to injury in the non-conference schedule, Miller finished tied for first in touchdown passes, was second only to Connor Cook in least interceptions thrown, and was eighth in the league in rushing yards per game.
This is quite the turnaround. I would've assumed, entering November, that the offensive player of the year accolades among the skill players were for Wisconsin Badgers to lose.
Coupled with his QB of the Year honor yesterday, Miller now has six B1G individual awards, the most in conference history.
— Jerry Emig (@BuckeyeNotes) December 3, 2013
Miller was interviewed by BTN about winning the awards, also showing off his Montreal Expos hat.
Defensive player of the year honors went to Chris Borland, which, well, I don't know. Yeah, Borland is very good, but more deserving than Ryan Shazier for linebacker of the year? Or Darqueze Dennard and Shilique Calhoun for defensive player of the year? I don't know.
Ohio State fans were likely peeved that, despite not losing a game since he took the job in November 2011, Urban Meyer has yet to win the Big Ten's coach of the year award. No Ohio State coach has won it since Earle Bruce picked up the award in 1979, his first season as Ohio State's coach.
I actually like this. If Jim Tressel can't win the award for owning the league for nine years, and if John Cooper's mid-90s renaissance coincided with other stories in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Northwestern, why should Urban Meyer be any different? I hope no Ohio State coach ever wins the award again.
For those keeping track, Ohio State has won 12 Big Ten championships since it last won the conference's coach of the year award. This year's honoree was Michigan State's Mark Dantonio. There is no argument about this selection from me.
Christian Hackenberg won the Thompson-Randle-El Freshman of the Year Award, to which no one can really argue. Corey Clement and Dontre Wilson did nice things this year as true freshmen, but this award was always going to the Penn State quarterback.
"NO FLY WHAT?" I don't know how I feel about this. Some Ohio State players got to tweeting earlier yesterday in ways that were not very subtle or cryptic.
No fly what?
— corey brown (@phillybrown10) December 3, 2013
We fly whenever we please ✈
— corey brown (@phillybrown10) December 3, 2013
Does it look like we stressin'??
— Chris Fields (@Cfields_8Zero) December 3, 2013
Maybe I'm misreading Chris Fields' tweet. I'm not misreading Philly Brown's tweet, though. For those unaware, Brown is referring to the apparent "no-fly zone" that Michigan State's secondary imposes against opposing passing games.
EAST LANSING -- Members of Michigan State's secondary have put the word out on social media that they are instituting a "no-fly zone" this season on opposing offenses. And if cornerback Darqueze Dennard is the air traffic controller of the group, then fellow senior and third-year starter Isaiah Lewis is his wingman.
Lewis explained the no-fly zone in Spartan Football All-Access' season preview show Thursday.
"That term explains that if the ball's in the air, it's our ball," Lewis said. "We're going up and getting it. Either we're batting it down or it's our ball. If we can stay on our feet after we intercept it, we're going to take it back to the end zone."
The stats have backed up the "no-fly zone" talk. Michigan State has the no. 1 total defense in the country and the no. 9 passing defense. It is complemented by the no. 1 rushing defense as well. Make no mistake; Michigan State's defense is evil. And, yes, I'm a bit jealous.
So, should Ohio State's receivers be stressin', as Chris Fields inquired? Maybe. Maybe not.
No receiver has had a 100-yard game against Michigan State this season; just one, Western Michigan's Corey Davis, had more than 90 yards in receptions. But one potentially troublesome aspect for the Spartans might be that Nebraska had two 80-yard receivers when it played Michigan State: Kenny Bell and Sam Burtch. Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. has good mobility and occasionally hurt the Spartans with his arm. Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller is extremely mobile, and Michigan State's safeties will have to respect his ability to tuck and run.
Still, it doesn't sit right with me. It reminds me of Ohio State's players and coaches spending so much time on Twitter replacing "M"s in their tweets and names with emojis that they inadvertently took out the "D" for the Michigan game.
It should be a fun weekend in Indianapolis, though.
MISCELLANY. Jordan Lynch as Heisman finalist? Hmm... Pitt defeats Penn State... Syracuse manhandles Indiana... Thanks a lot, Illinois... You're seriously not helping, Illinois... Everett Golson set to re-enroll at Notre Dame... Jim Mora agrees to an extension with UCLA... This Week in Schadenfreude... BTN breaks down position battles in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State wins on offense and Michigan State wins on defense... LOL... Why not Michigan State? Why not Zoidberg... Recapping Steve Sarkisian's introductory press conference... Marcus Mariota will return for his junior season... "It's personal" for Denicos Allen, one of many Ohioans on Michigan State's roster not offered by Ohio State... Max Bullough is fired up.
