Tuesday Skull Session

By D.J. Byrnes on December 9, 2014 at 6:00 am
raekwon mcmillan puts melvin gordon into the turf
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The final Sons of Anarchy is on tonight. It will likely be a three hour show filled with two and a half hours of montages featuring actors looking into space like they've been prisoners of war in Pyongyang for the last decade. I will watch it too because I refuse to get out of my own way and let myself prosper. 

PETE THAMEL GETS RIDICULOUS ACCESS. I am stunned Urban Meyer, Gene Smith, or Jim Delany were ever nervous about making the playoffs. All three of those men are titans in this industry, and titans don't become titans by cowering.

Apparently, however, the nerves were real; not only for Urban Meyer, but for Ohio:

But let's turn back to Ohio State's Commander-in-Chief. From Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated:

Time passed. Meyer pushed the [TV] volume to 70, loud enough, it seemed, to drown out a Metallica concert. His left foot twitched relentlessly atop his right knee; he closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the chair. He fidgeted again, propping his elbows on his knees, pressing his fingers into his graying temples and staring at the floor. If we don’t get in, Meyer later said he was thinking, what am I going to say to my team? 

[...]

As the announcement began, Meyer kept his eyes off the screen. At 12:44 p.m., when ESPN finally revealed Ohio State as the playoff’s fourth contender -- joining No. 1Alabama, No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Florida State -- Meyer didn’t see his team’s name flash on the screen, but he heard the excited screams of his houseguests and reflexively jumped out of his chair. When he landed, his knees buckled, seemingly in disbelief. Meyer took one step away from the crowd gathered on the outskirts of his living room before raising his right arm in triumph and enveloping his daughter Nicki in a long embrace. “I kind of melted,” Meyer said later. 

His wife, Shelley, cried tears of joy. Neighbors Jeff and Bonnie Roby stepped forward and popped a $180 bottle of 2004 Dom Pérignon for a celebratory toast, the cork’s explosion coinciding with a merciful decrease of the TV volume. Meyer circled the room and gave everyone a hug, his look a mix of joy and relief. “Wow,” he said at one point. “This is history.”

(Note: I want to party with Jeff and Bonnie.) The entire article is worth a read, because as I said, nobody gets more access from Urban Meyer than Pete Thamel.

Speaking of the playoffs, though: That sound you hear is Ohio State's haters wailing to pull over because they've gotta puke:

MIKE BENNETT'S SECOND SEASON POWER UP. CBS' Dane Brugler, an NFL draft analyst, tweeted in October some disappointment in the play of Mike Bennett. He even went as far to say it seemed Bennettt was playing as if he were mostly focused on avoiding injury.

But it's funny how fast things can change in five and a half weeks:

Kyle Jones detailed some of Bennett's world-eating exploits (and those of his fellow defensive linemen) in his weekly installment that I consider a must-read, but I also got a chuckle out of this:

I love Mike Bennett, and I love his game. He'll also be one of the most important players in Ohio State's "upset" bid of Alabama. Ohio State's defense is such a different animal if it's getting pressure from players outside of The Man They Call The Big Bear.

TOM HERMAN AND URBAN MEYER MIGHT BE MAGICAL. I'm not trying to have a go on Ol' Joe Bauserman, but it's crazy to think where Ohio State's quarterback situation was before Urban Meyer rode his chariot into Columbus.

From Rob Oiler of The Columbus Dispatch:

More specifically, it is Meyer and Herman who deserve credit for coaching up the quarterbacks to resemble interchangeable parts. It’s called teaching, which receives short shrift these days. So often we praise coaches as motivators, tacticians and recruiters, while teaching gets lost in the shuffle. Why did Jones play so well in the win against Wisconsin? Because he was taught well. 

Further, this entire season has been built successfully through strong teaching; take one step, evaluate, then take another. 

The tutoring approach culminated in Saturday’s statement win at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Buckeyes did what was needed, and then some — 59-0 is more shout than suggestion — to convince the College Football Playoff selection committee that they should leapfrog Texas Christian and hold off Baylor for the final spot in the four-team field.

There aren't 32 competent NFL quarterbacks, and Ohio State appears is sitting on an almost sinful embarrassment of riches at position, and that's a testament to the coaching of Urban Meyer and Tom Herman. 

Speaking of embarrassments, Nebraska will rue the day it chose a 61-year-old Mike Riley over Touchdown Tom Herman. (Herman, by the way, is a MENSA member, which I'm obligated to mention by Ohio law. Like everyone else, it annoys me, but alas: I don't do jail well.)

DEVIN SMIITH: SOON TO BE MILLIONAIRE. Devin Smith was lights out on the two biggest stages on which Ohio State played this season. I mentioned last week a lot of executives/NFL personnel-types saw Smith as a fast-riser, and now we have an idea of just how far up draft boards he's moved.

From Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com:

With Cardale Jones making his first career start at quarterback, Smith, a senior, stepped up and helped the sophomore get comfortable in short order. Smith (6-foot-1, 199 pounds) is big, fast and physical. He has great ball skills to go up and get it. All of those attributes were on display Saturday night.

I don't see him going any lower than the second round of the draft, and I look forward to taking a closer look at him during the lead-up to the draft.

Smith isn't mentioned in the same category as guys like Alabama's Amari Cooper, Louisville's DeVante Parker and West Virginia's Kevin White. Smith might not be as well-rounded as those players, but he's a gifted vertical receiver and has a lot of good tools to work with as he prepares to develop his game for the next level.

Another thing I've come to love about Smith's game is his cool demeanor every time he scored a touchdown. After he opened scoring in Indy, he immediately hopped up from the turf without gesticulation, as if to say "Did you expect anything else?" Sometimes, that's the most baller reaction you can have.

WEBER COMIN'? Mike Weber is a four-star 2015 talent from Detroit's Cass Tech. He was once committed to Michigan, but decommitted after Maryland scored a game-winner against the Wolverines. Weber will take an official visit to Columbus this weekend, and the recruitniks seem to like Urban's chances of sewing the talented running back up:

For good measure, let's get The Lord of Whisper's #take on the matter:

Am I officially a predicting a commitment to the Buckeyes this week or by the end of the weekend? Yes, yes I am. If I am wrong does that mean he's not coming to Ohio State? Nope, not at all. Whether it's this week or the Army All-American Bowl, I think Weber to the Buckeyes is inevitable. 

I love how Michigan survived on Ohio talent forever and Urban came in and immediately started making them defend their own turf for a change. Beating Michigan in any recruiting battle is always extra spicy, but even more so when the prospect is from a former Michigan Man assembly line like Cass Tech:

SABAN VS. MEYER: THE RECKONING. Normally I try to stay away from hype, but I'm not sure I'll get exhausted of Urban Meyer-Nick Saban storylines for the next couple of weeks. For my money (all $38), Saban and Meyer are the two top coaches in the sport, and it's going to be a pleasure to watch those two duel once again.

Our nation's paper of record, Al.com, however, appears to be itching for a fight.

From Kevin Scarbinsky of Al.com (via reader K.M. Losh):

The last two times they met, Nick Saban made Urban Meyer quit.

Literally.

So with Saban and Alabama headed toward a Jan. 1 semifinal playoff game against Meyer and Ohio State in New Orleans, the Ohio State AD might want to update his list of potential coaching candidates.

Just in case.

That's some quality trolling right there.

Deadspin's Drew Magary was soliciting "worst sports 'career' moments" the other day on Twitter, and I remember mine: A charity dodgeball tournament at my high school alma mater in Marion in which my single-handed championship game comeback against the reigning champs was railroaded by some bush league "jailbreak" rule (if someone successfully made it into a basketball hoop at either end of the floor, their entire team was eligible again). After those scumbags broke me, I puked all over the gym floor in front of about 100 people. 

I would be willing to take an 80% of being crippled upon arrival in order to go back in time and replay the ending to that dodgeball game. That's how salty I am about a game that occurred eight years ago, and I'm just an some idiot with a rudimentary understanding of English and a WiFi connection.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if Urban Meyer thinks about those two losses every day of his life. I bet he still gets fired up thinking about every petty mistake he made. And that's before even taking into consideration Urban's track record as an underdog. (*Troy Smith nods wistfully in the distance*)

So that's why, I laugh at odds like these:

Don't get me wrong... I know why everybody thinks it's Bama's title to lose and why Ohio State only has an outside shot. But, I don't think most people have been watching the Buckeyes outside of the headlines and box scores.

And Urban Meyer wouldn't have it any other way. Only a fool or someone high on their own pomposity would count the Buckeyes out.

THIS IS BAD AND THE NCAA SHOULD FEEL BAD. The NCAA is by and large a horrendously archaic organization, but if it were interested in trying to prove otherwise, here's an easy chance at good PR.

This is Eli Apple's mom, Annie:

How dire is the situation? Here's Darron Lee's mom, Candice:

That is all bad.

#MAKESUTHINKTAKEOFTHEDAY. Good lord I'm surprised my corneas weren't incinerated after gazing upon this scorching #take:

Well, he did get one thing right: That wasn't Wisconsin football (it was Buckeye football).

THOSE WMDs. This holiday season, buy my ebook for a loved one: The Most Hated On: The Untold Story of Warren G. Harding.. The big men and women on these campuses don’t play NCAA sports. They play video games... The most viewed Hudl highlight reel of all time... Warning: Next week is peak "End of the Year" article week... I like your wit, suburban homeowner.

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Former Ohio State Shooting Guard Roddy Gayle Jr. Commits to Michigan From Transfer Portal

Roddy Gayle Jr.

Former Ohio State Running Back Dallan Hayden Transferring to Colorado

Dallan Hayden
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