Eleven Warriors

Seems like there were a few of you this week. Did a quick scan and there is a replay listed on Tuesday (6th) @ 2pm. Big Ten Network (Ch. 58 for TW customers). If that helps anyone, great!

The body of my post is too short so I'm typing this sentence to get past it. I feel like a 11W rebel. Bad me, but meant in the best way!

The body is still too short so I'm adding this one as well. I think this is b/c of those pesky damn spammers who I'd love to smack upside the head. On that note, you have been pre-approved & have won a trip to Hawaii.

This afternoon ESPN conducted a conference call on the upcoming season with Lou Holtz and Mark May. It was moderated by Mike Humes of ESPN.

Highlights:

• Holtz is forced to choose between South Florida - coached by his son Skip - and Notre Dame when they face off this weekend. When asked about which team he'll be pulling for, he said he would be 100% behind the Bulls because he's been happily married for 50 years and isn't interested in getting divorced.
• Angelique Chenglis of the Detroit News asked about Michigan's chances this year.  May said that Greg Mattison had to be an improvement over Greg Robinson from a defensive standpoint, while Holtz was a lot more bullish on the Wolverines' chances suggesting that they could win up to ten games with the staff Brady Hoke as assembled.
• Several questions about Miami were asked. Both men feel the worst for Al Golden, whom they believe was blindsided by the multi-year scandal at Miami centered around booster Nevin Shapiro providing improper benefits to dozens of players. Holtz believes Miami should lock him up to a long-term deal and establish him as the leader of the program. May believes that the school has to be held accountable due to the relationship Shapiro had with school officials including university President Donna Shalala
• Interesting suggestion by Holtz to create a deterrent to taking money by players: Impose a penalty that would involve having to pay three times the amount taken back, if caught.  He didn't get into specifics.
• May's insistence that the school be held accountable was predicated on players coming from poor backgrounds being thrust into situations where it would be very difficult to turn away handouts, while schools are run by grown adults who need to be proactively guarding against this behavior. In regard to the latter, based on what has surfaced thus far Miami failed from the very top on down.
• May believes Miami deserves the death penalty, but won't get it on account of money (he didn't get specific, but I assume he means from a television, local, ACC and merchandising standpoint). He asked "anyone" to tell him what it takes to get the death penalty if Miami does not get it.
• My question, verbatim:

Welcome to my week one preview.  After perusing my in-depth analysis you should have an even greater appreciation for the actual 11W staff.

Thursday, Sept 1st

UNLV @ Wisconsin(10) - 8:00pm

A bottom feeder MWC team comes into Camp Randall for the second part of a home-and-home that saw the Rebels get crushed last year in a game, in which, ol'Bucky only showed up for the second half.  The only interesting part of this match up is the over/under on Wisconsin 100-yard rushers.  I'm going with 4.

Wisconsin 54 - UNLV 12

Friday, Sept 2nd

Youngstown State @ Michigan State(17) - 7:30pm

I did not approve of Ohio State playing the FCS Penguins and feel the same for Michigan State this year.  Boo!

Michigan State 49 - Youngstown State 10

Saturday, Sept 3rd

Northwestern @ Boston College - noon

In one of only 2 BCS match ups in week one the middling Wildcats visit the middling Eagles.  BC finished last year on a 5 game win streak against a regular murders row (Clemson, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia and Syracuse) before falling to Nevada in the Hunger Games Fight Hunger Bowl.  However I have little faith that BC coach Frank Spaz will do more than mind the store and think that a middling B1G team is better than middling ACC.  Persa should prove too much in a game that could be a dud.

Northwestern 32 - Boston College 24

Indian State @ Penn State(25) - noon

Another FCS match up.  The Sycamores should be just the prep game the Nits need leading up to next weeks tilt against Alabama, teaching Penn State how to lose, badly.

Penn State 42 - Indiana State 6

Middle Tennessee State @ Purdue - noon

The Blue Raiders are terrible, but Purdue has no quarterback and someone has to lay an egg.

Middle Tennessee State 28 - Purdue 24

Tennessee Tech @ Iowa - noon

Wow, the roads north out of Tennessee are going to be packed this weekend!  Or, well...  Anyway, another exciting FCS match up.  Come on guys!

Iowa 45 - Tennessee Tech 9

Akron @ Ohio State(16) - noon

Sloppy first half.  Talent wins out.  Fickell's competiveness gets the best of him and keeps the foot on the gas in the 4th quarter.

Ohio State 56 - Akron 17

Arkansas State @ Illinois - 3:30pm

The best thing the Red Wolves have going for them is that their first year head coach is named Hugh Freeze.  However, unless he has super powers this game is over early as Zook begins another year on the hot seat.

Illinois 38 - Arkansas State 17

Western Michigan @ Michigan - 3:30pm

nom nom nom, Hoke hungry nuf to eat horse!  Many questions in a game the Broncos will be hoping they can sneak away with an upset in, as Michigan grinds through another offensive gear change.  Unfortunately Bronco's quarterback Alex Carder probably won't be able to adjust his throwing motion to counteract Hoke's gravitational pull so expect a ugly game that sees the wolvies on top.  Also expect the WE ARE BACK talk to reach new heights, at least for a week.

Michigan 27 - Western Michigan 24

Minnesota @ USC - 3:30pm

Welcome to this week's Marque Match Up®.  I would really love to see the Gophers represent middle American and pull out the win against a down USC team and their smarmy coach.  Sadly though, as Red told us all, Minnesota is no place for fairy tales.

USC 36 - Minnesota 28

Chattanooga @ Nebraska(11) - 3:30pm

Big Red shows they do belong in the B1G with an intriguing FCS tilt.  Yay!

Nebraska 54 - Chattanooga 9

Indiana @ Ball State - 7:00pm

How bad is Indiana football that they are playing away against a MAC team?  Okay, they aren't really away, it's at Lucas Oil.  Did you know you can get season tickets for Ball State, that include the grudge match in Lucas Oil, for $75.  The whole season!

Ball State 28 - Indiana 27

First posted at Inside The Shoe by Brady

These must be strange times for former Ohio St. head coach Jim Tressel. Strange times indeed. For the past decade, the first game week of the season was filled with countless interviews, press conferences, depth chart squabbles and meetings with his coaching staff. Today, Jim Tressel is watching from the sideline not able to immerse himself in the game and players that he loves. Luke Fickell will lead the scarlet and gray out of the tunnel this Saturday and a new era of Buckeye football will begin in earnest. Even though our new coach deserves our utmost attention this fall, many will let their mind wander to the embattled figure that was forced out the door over the summer.

I won’t beat a dead horse. Tressel lied to the NCAA. There is no doubt about it. The university was forced to be proactive, in the hopes that further sanctions wouldn’t be levied against OSU. I understand the move to force Tressel to resign. It was a last ditch effort to soften the upcoming blow looming on the horizon. Assuming that the NCAA doesn’t give the “show clause” penalty to a future employer looking to give the coach another shot, there is no doubt in my mind he will be patrolling the sidelines once again. In fact there should be a long line of potential suitors looking to upgrade their football program. Many have hypothesized that JT might be interested in an assistant coaching position in the NFL or a desk job in the front office. I just can’t picture him anywhere else other than on a college sideline though.

JT has never really shown any interest in moving up to the next level. There have been rumors in the past of the Cleveland Browns and others sniffing around to determine if there was any interest but I never got the feeling that he would seriously consider a move to the pay-for-play league. If a trip to the NFL is out of the picture than that obviously leaves a return to the college ranks. There are so many reasons other schools would covet our former coach.

Ten years ago, JT turned a struggling Buckeye squad into a perennial power with a national title, two other trips to the big game and numerous BCS bowl game appearances. Tresselball, as it would come to be known, incorporated field position and a dominant defense into the game plan to essentially suffocate opponents into submission. It wasn't always the sexiest way to win games but you can’t argue with the results. Along with the success on the field, Tressel was also a monster in the recruiting game.

He built a fence around one of the most talent rich states in the nation for high school football and made it hard for in-state stars to turn down the powerhouse in their backyard. He also made great strides into the south to coax talent away from the SEC and bring them up north. All of these positive traits should be more than enough to outweigh the one black stain on his resume. I am looking forward to this season more in some ways than I have others in the past decade.

With Tressel you knew that 10 wins was almost a guarantee and a trip to a January bowl was well within reach each year. This season, the Buckeyes get to play the underdog with a young and exciting coach behind the controls. There is something intriguing about the unknown. I am excited to see the younger guys get a chance to show what they can do and take their first step to becoming the next super stars on the banks of the Olentangy.

That being said, it is going to be a little sad not seeing our sweater-vested coach with the silver hair patrolling the sideline this Saturday. It will be an odd feeling for sure but I have no doubt that Tressel’s coaching journey hasn't reached its' end. I will wait with great anticipation as to where he may end up in the future. I may even have another team to pull for when that happens… well unless it’s against the Buckeyes. I don’t love him that much!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQ-T0rrWV6fqq11QRNuQx7...

this joke refuses to die. unlike purdue's hopes of ever being relevant at football.

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sorry, i needed this to be longer to post it. (that's what she said)

Is it bad that every time I see Brady Hoke I think of Fred Flintstone, John Balushi, or Norm from Cheers?

Is it a wonder that his last name happens to rhyme with such words as: Choke or Joke?

While Rich Rod did everything he could to kill "The Game",  Hoke inspires in me a new hatred for TSUN.  From his fat arrogant demeanor, to his traitorous past he has all the elements for bringing back what's been missing from the rivalry.  It's us, the good guys versus the bad guys, winner takes all.  

In a year of uncertainty for the program, there is one thing that remains true and burns even brighter now that Hoke is at the helm.  My hatred for a whole state I don't give a damn for.

I was a little concerned that this new kid would come to Ohio State and automatically start wearing number 36. I mean he is out on redshirt his first season here, healing from an injury and he is still keeping the vaunted number? I just read a little piece from Ourhonordefend and it seems that he has great potential and maybe I shouldn't be so critical after all. I know it is just hype at this stage in the game but I like everything I saw on video and the intangibles and effort in the off season really stood out for me. Here is to wishing him a successful number 36 career.

http://www.ourhonordefend.com/2011/08/better-know-a-buckeye-conner-crowell.php#more-5964

For the longest time ESPN had many people (including myself) believing that they were the premier place for sports news, updates and scandals. They had some witty announcers/analysts with catch phrases and seemed to be a great media source that provided everything you needed about sports in a relatively unbiased approach. I honestly would turn on the TV and immediately flip to ESPN to see what I've missed and watch the same segments over and over.

About 5yrs ago, after Ohio State demolished Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, I noticed the tide slowly starting to turn. It may have happened before this and I just hadn't noticed, but they seemed to make excuses for Notre Dame and leave out any praises for what the team had done. It bothered me a bit and I started to notice other pieces of it in their "journalism" and slowly started disliking what they produced. That dislike turned into extreme hatred after OSU was embarrassed by Florida and were made to appear as if they never belonged on the field after they were the ones to tout the lopsided matchup. I really didn't think I could hate Pat Forde anymore than I did reading that article until I read the one after the LSU game. I understand that most of the nation hates OSU and I even understand why, but for a writer to publish articles like that is just asinine. It was like a drunken teenager wrote it. Now, I try not to click on any ESPN links and avoid watching anything they televise outside of actual games. And despite the fact that I despise them so much it's not even healthy, I admit that I'm drawn to them sometimes out of curiosity and just to get me fired up.

Now, like all of you, we're watching them absolutely torch the program with never-ending speculation and "reporting" about Tat-gate. All of the sudden selling memorabilia and getting tats for autographs is just short of genocide. Yes, it was wrong and yes it happens at every school but just like they made Tiger Woods appear to be the only man ever to cheat on his wife, they blew this up into something it wasn't. Along with that, they couldn't wait to write pieces on how much evil Tressel has hidden from the rest of the world and that he's in the same class as the uni-bomber. It's unreal. Not only did this spew this nonsense, they actually got some brainless followers to believe and regurgitate it with consistency. Then, in the midst of what we all saw coming in college football, reports come out about Colt McCoy's wife sharing the shadiness at Texas and it's somehow a flash in the news and swept under the rug. Forget the investigation, where was this article even speculating about it?!

To top it off, this Hurricanes situation; It is absolutely baffling to me how Miami has been given the benefit of the doubt on all of this considering the amount of evidence and detail surrounding it. Somehow this entire documented circus is littered with "allegedly" and "potential" and "yet to be proven" while the OSU scandal was a sure thing from the start with no possible outs. They reported EVERY rumor as fact and had it at the top of their page or bottom line even after it had been disproven. While this Miami stuff has been swirling, you literally had to dig to find it, but sure enough Pryor's eligibility because of other violations was front and center. 

So thanks, ESPN -  you've shown the rest of the world that has half a brain just what a joke you are for a sports source and are hemorrhaging credibility with every article or show you create. You're TMZ that happens to talk about sports sometimes; you create and dispel the same rumors to generate ratings but people are getting wise to your ways. Suspending Bruce Feldman and sending the sports world into an uproar was the best thing you could have done to show your true colors and following that up with the Longhorn's network was a great cherry on top. You're an absolute joke of a network and people outside of Buckeye Nation are now realizing this quickly. You may be a monster in the sports world but I cannot wait for the day the wind shifts and networks expose you for what you really are.

Initial reports out of camp have the quarterback battle pairing down to the elder statesman and the young buck. This is not surprising as one is long on experience and the other long on simmering potential. That leaves Ohio State’s offensive minds two options to explore as far as ‘how’ to attack defenses with the quarterbacks in tow. The first, and obvious, is a run heavy, play action attack with Joe “the Buckeyes are going 7-5’ Bauserman. The second, and sexier, alternative is a no huddle spread attack with Braxton Miller.

If Bauserman waddles out there it has to be a run heavy attack because any defensive coordinator worth his paycheck will overload the box and dare Bauserman to win the game with his arm. Please no. If Miller comes out of the gate the opposing defensive coordinator has to acknowledge the running variable of the youngster.

The first offensive option the Buckeyes can utilize is obvious; pro I formation with Boren lead blocking for the stable of backs. This would allow clock management, field position and a tough defense to coalesce to overcome Bauserman’s lack of actual skill. This tactical theory would allow him a shot with effective play action buying him time to find Stoneburner or Hall.

The no huddle spread attack in either Trips (three WR to one side) or Aces (two WR to each side) is the other option Ohio State could explore. The fast-paced style of attack could play to the offense’s favor while turning an apparent weakness, inexperience, into a strength by forcing a talented athlete to just play.

Look at the quandary from the defensive coordinator’s perspective. If I see #14, I am walking the strong safety down over top of Stoneburner and run blitzing with the linebackers while reminding the defensive ends to sniff out screens on first and second down. On third down Bauserman is going to get blitzed because he has zero mobility and to ensure discomfort.

On the other hand, #5 has the ability to escape the rush and slash the defense. In other words, he is a threat to the defense. Imagine Miller in the gun with Berry flanking him and Hall, Stoneburner, and Brown off to one side. Picture Reed isolated on the other, I am taking the SAM backer out and asking an undersized nickel to cover Stoneburner or a slower linebacker to tackle Hall in space. Or, I am blitzing the young qb and risking his athletic ability buying him time to find the open man.

Todd Boeckman was replaced by Terrelle Pryor because USC blitzed Boeckman and Tressel realized that every team on out would follow that same successful theory (even with a healthy Beanie our beloved squad would have met the same demise). Bauserman is Boeckman’s shorter clone, both are/were bad.

The biggest reason for not embracing the no huddle is that it removes the fullback from the field of play which is less than optimal because Boren is one hell of a player. However, that is only temporary as the no huddle attack can set up the ground and pound clock-draining attack of the I formation which can be utilized, not as the offensive strategy of choice, but rather as one of the bullets in the offense’s overall assault package.

College Football News this morning has about 3 or 4 articles reminiscing about just how f'ing awesome the Miami Hurricanes football program was over the last 30 years.  My question is, WTF?!  Did Ohio State get the red carpet treatment for its transgression??  No.  Did they get the sympathy from the guys at CFN?  No.  I don't understand the college football world at all anymore.  Ohio State is one of the most historically clean, most historically relevant, most successful programs of all time.  It seems that the more serious the crime, the more everyone looks the other way.  It is making me, let me choose my words carefully, EXTREMELY P*SSED OFF.  I know it's just college football, but the chip on this fan's shoulder is about 40 pounds large and growing.

F-the-world.

This is garbage.

cfn.scout.com