Tuesday Skull Session

By D.J. Byrnes on October 21, 2014 at 6:00 am
147 Comments

Slam Thompson, any thoughts on last night's Bulls-Cavs exhibition game in the Schott?

Looool. Well, Kyrie Irving was never drafted for his defense. And to be fair, even though it was preseason, Derek Rose looked like he's mutated back into his pre-injury form. Nobody could guard that dude.

It's a damn shame, however, the Cavs will lose every single regular season game this year due to this incredibly preventable monstrosity:

Whom better, Cavs? Here's a quick list off the top of my head: the rotted corpse of Pol Pot, Satan, or the hideous Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. (You might say "Literally anybody would've been better, but the Big Nut would have been a wash.)

HERE COME THE BIG, BAD BUCKEYES. If Urban Meyer's goal is a pissed off football team, then he's certainly had one on his hands during the last month. Ohio State's competition might not have been stiff, but the Buckeyes have done what great teams do to inferior competition: wasted it.

The numbers are pretty staggering.

From Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com:

Since the Virginia Tech loss, the Buckeyes' numbers are staggering. They've outscored their opponents 224-69. They set a team record with four consecutive games of 50 or more points and tied a team mark with four straight games of 500 or more yards. 

Barrett's four-game line: 1,170 pass yards, 17 touchdowns, one interception (none in the past three games), 68.3 percent completions, 263 rush yards, three touchdowns. 

[..]

[Barrett] has accounted for at least four touchdowns in all four games, the longest active streak in the country and the longest for a Big Ten quarterback since former Purdue star Kyle Orton in 2004, according to ESPN Stats & Information. 

Will it continue this week against Penn State? The opening line (Buckeyes [-11.5]) was suspiciously low, but Beaver Stadium offers a robust home field advantage, and Penn State's defense is statistically better than I'd originally thought. (More on that in a second, though.)

PSU's DEFENSE READY FOR THE CHALLENGE. I thought Penn State was bad, and while their offense is anemic, maybe their defense is, uh, not bad? Let's go to the facts.

From Joe Juliano of Philly.com:

"[Ohio State is] playing with a lot of confidence," [defensive coordinator Bob] Shoop said. "They play with tempo. They ran 101 plays against Cincinnati. They can speed it up. They can slow it down. They recognize mismatches and they have a great idea who they are and what their identity is on offense.

"They've tailored their offense to fit their skill set and things like that, and I think they have a really good idea of what they're doing. I think it's going to be a tremendous challenge for us."

Penn State should present a stout test for the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions are No. 1 in the nation against the rush while ranking sixth in both total defense and scoring defense.

Ohio State's running game is the coal that drives the entire offensive train, so if Penn State can stop the run then we might have a game on our hands. 

However, there is a major flaw with this whole "Penn State is No. 1 in rushing defense" meme. Consider the vaunted rushing attacks Penn State's shut down this year:

School rushing rank
UCF 116th
AKRON 103rd
RUTGERS 72nd
MASSACHUSETTS 111th
NORTHWESTERN 101st
MICHIGAN 65th

Not exactly a murderer's row. 

When Michigan's putrid rushing attack is the best rushing attack your defense has faced in six games... I'm sorry if I'm not taking your No. 1 rushing defense too seriously. (For the record: Ohio State's rushing attack — 259.8 yards per game — ranks No. 17.)

Ultimately, I disagree with Mr. Juliano: It's Ohio State offering a stout test for the Penn State defense, because the Nittany Lions defense has yet to encounter an offense as high-octane and balanced as Ohio State's.

PENN STATE FANS NEVER FORGET. Obviously, there are rational and cool Penn State fans out there, but I've never read anything about them.

Outside of Silas Redd transferring to Lane Kiffin's 21st century rendition of the Titanic, can you remember any other player who left Penn State when it was sanctioned for those 20 minutes? I didn't, but I also don't carry grudges like some Penn State zealots.

From Chris Adamski of TribLive.com:

Justin Brown, [a former Penn State and current Pittsburgh Steeler wideout], from time to time, hears his name yelled from the stands at Heinz Field. Problem is, it sometimes is not for the reasons he'd prefer.

“Traitor!”

“You turned on Penn State!”

Those people sound like they'd be awesome to hang out with. Let's see how Brown, a traitorous scumbag who transferred to Oklahoma rather than face penalties for crimes he didn't commit, talks about the team he betrayed:

“It took both schools to get me where I'm at,” Brown said. “I got a degree from Penn State, and I don't think I'd be here if I didn't transfer to Oklahoma. So I think both schools played a big part in my life.”

Brown said he “absolutely” considers himself a PSU alumnus. He keeps in touch with what former Lions teammates remain in Happy Valley, sending them well wishes via text at times.

It's unfair to characterize an entire fanbase due to the actions of a few... so I guess it's good for me that I'm not a judge or whatever.

I don't consider Ohio State a rival of Penn State, but outside of Michigan fans, there isn't a fanbase within the Big Ten I like watching my favorite football team inflict pain upon.

THIS IS LAUGHABLE PROPAGANDA, CITIZENS BANK. As somebody without a soul, one of my favorite things in life is when corporations piggyback on my interests in attempt to hawk their brand to me, an idiot who is incapable of seeing what's going on.

Normally, this move by Citizens Bank — gosh, I love banks — would excite me. But see if you can spot the flaw in this logic:

The only kind of lions that snack on buckeyes are dead ones. From The Arbor Day Foundation:

And while highly poisonous, buckeye seeds contain much protein and were used as a food source by Native Americans who boiled and leached them to remove their toxins.

Have you ever seen a lion boil or leech their food before ingesting? I DIDN'T THINK SO. The prosecution rests.

REDSHIRT WAS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THOMAS. Failure is often an incremental part of success, and make no mistake, Mike Thomas da Gawd looked at his 2013 redshirt as a failure. Zach Smith, however, thinks it was the best thing to ever happen to Ohio State's top target man.

From David Biddle of 247sports.com:

“You know what, I think the redshirt was the best thing that ever happened to him,” Smith said. “Because he came in as a freshman and really probably shouldn’t have played quite that early. I mean, he showed flashes, like in the spring game and a couple other times where we saw what he could be. And we also just didn’t have any depth that year (2012).

“And so, we came into his sophomore year and expected big things, but he really didn’t have a great training camp. So, that was a decision we made after the first or second game that he didn’t play to kind of let him have a year to develop into what he is today."

Is there a risk in redshirting sophomore like Thomas, and maybe causing a player to transfer?

"Well, we’re not going to waste a year on a kid that’s not going to be productive or worth it," Smith said. "So, I don’t think there was necessarily any risk involved. We know Mike, I knew the situation and he needed that year. I guess it’s case-by-case, but we’re also not going to throw a kid out there, play him 20 or 40 snaps on the year, have one catch and then say, ‘Well, there goes the year.’ We’re going to play you if you’re ready to play. If you’re not, you’re not going to play. If at the end of the year that means that a redshirt is still an option, then sure, we’ll do it. But it has nothing to do with where you’re at in your career. It’s based on are you ready to play or not. If you’re not, you won’t. And at the end of the year, if you have a redshirt, we’ll use it.”

Well, it was certainly the right call, and seems to have worked wonders for Thomas' game. (NOT THAT I'M SURPRISED.)

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