Wednesday, which is almost Thursday, which is almost Friday. Nice.
RELIVING MICHIGAN MISERY. I make no bones about it: I probably detest the average Michigan fan more than they can look down their nose at me. Whatever. I've been to Ann Arbor. It's like Athens but without the scenery and devoid of any of the debauchery.
So I don't care. I'm a hater. Guilty as charged, your honor. I'm ready to accept my punishment of 30 polishes of the original College Football Trophy.
But let me get off my heap of trash and empty El Tacoriendo boxes and bring on a surgeon to give a final autopsy of the Michigan's 11th L in its 13th swing:
From Marcus Hartman of Scout.com:
Among the many odd things about Ohio State's 42-28 win over Michigan was something that was not new, and that is Devin Gardner raising his game against the Buckeyes. He didn't go as bananas as he did in 2013, but he also had a worse supply of skill players to work with.
After his obviously ill-advised interception to open the game, Gardner repeatedly kept drives alive with great individual plays. Using his feet and his arm, he reminded everyone why he was a highly coveted recruit in high school, but of course decisions like the first one also revealed why he never reached that potential.
His job was made easier at times by the fact that for the second year in a row, Michigan was able to use the traditional running game against the Buckeyes. The Wolverines offensive line improved as the season went on, turning into a somewhat respectable unit after being the worst in the country in 2013, but the biggest key was probably Drake Johnson. Though he lacks the pedigree of the other backs on the Michigan roster, he has a knack for finding holes and making cuts. He's kind of a poor man's Boom Herron, and I don't think it was a coincidence Michigan's offense ground to a halt after he got hurt in the third quarter (until a garbage-time touchdown).
Fun fact: You can survive a nuclear winter by getting high on Michigan schadenfreude.
VA TECH GURU TALKS BUCKEYE ADJUSTMENTS. Most OSU fans (author included) credit the Slobs' development and Ezekiel Elliott's power going over 9,000 as key developments in Ohio State's championship run.
A Virginia Tech X-and-O guru whom I respect delved deeper into the run and compared it to fiasco last September.
From french60wasp of TheKeyPlay.com:
Defenses Allowed Ohio State to Play to Their Strengths
Most of the changes in the Buckeye offense were subtle. Urban Meyer continued to run his base plays like inside zone, power read, quarterback counter-trey, and power that I highlighted in last year's previews of the Buckeyes. I strongly recommend reading each prior to the game. However, Michigan State and Alabama didn't use Bud Foster's aggressive approach of loading the line of scrimmage to take away blocking angles. Alabama and Michigan State both featured eight men in the box, however both retained their basic defensive philosophy of using four down linemen against Ohio State's option-spread offense. The Hokies used five men on the line of scrimmage and worked aggressively to take away blocking angles and penetrate so the Buckeyes didn't have time to let plays develop. Often against Tech, the Ohio State backs and quarterback J.T. Barrett were dodging defenders before getting downhill. That disrupted the timing for blocks to develop and allowed other defenders to come up in support.
Michigan State and Alabama didn't copy the Hokies' model. Instead, the Tide and the Spartans defensive lines worked to eat blocks, while their linebackers and safeties read the play and flowed to the ball. This allowed Ohio State's runners to get downhill and wear down the defense. After only rushing for 108 yards against the Hokies, Ohio State rushed for 268 yards against the Spartans and 281 yards against a massive Alabama front. This play is a great example:
The Buckeyes have a second-and-goal from the five-yard-line. They call a quarterback sweep. Michigan State uses a four man front with man coverage. The edge defender for Michigan State is the left defensive end (Marcus Rush, No. 44 at the top of the screen). Unlike the Hokies Bear front, which featured an edge player well wide of the tackle, Rush is susceptible to a down block by the H-Back. The receiver slants hard to the inside, taking the corner with him. As result, the Spartans have no edge presence. The Buckeye tailback wipes out the safety with a great lead block and J.T. Barrett walks into the end zone.
Playing to the Buckeyes strengths, eh? That was a bold, bold strategy.
Ohio State saw the Bear (and variations of it) after Virginia Tech, but none with the ferocity/talent that culminated for Virginia Tech that night.
Ohio State was a different team then too, though. It didn't approach its final form until Joey Bosa hurled Akeel Lynch's mangled corpse into Christian Hackenberg to blot out Penn State's white out.
The article leaves me to believe the Hokies may roll the dice with "the Bear" again. If they try it, I still contend J.T. Barrett will be the best Pokéball to deploy in that situation.
PATIENT 0'S HEIR EN ROUTE. D'Angelo Russell is gone, but JaQuan Lyle is on deck. Can I interest you in some #JulyHype?
From Jerome Scherwin Jr. of BTPowerhouse.com:
Why should the average Big Ten fan be excited to watch him play?: Welp, quite simply, if you enjoy watching And-1 Mixtape jockeying, basketballs that seem to defy gravity, crossovers that lead into step backs that lead into more crossovers and mind numbing passing, then JaQuan Lyle is 1000% for you.
Lol caught on camera ...who got this move down? pic.twitter.com/bRfvSMEDbz
— JaQuan Lyle (@JMamba13) May 30, 2015
What do his former coaches say?: From John Mahoney via cleveland.com:
"I think he's a pro. He's a 6-foot-5, big body who sees the floor very well. His eyes are constantly scanning the floor."
I loved the arrogance with which D'Angelo Russell played, but JaQuan's game might even be arrogant-er. I'm not sure where the Basketbucks will finish next year, but they'll be fun to watch.
URBAN BACK TO HIS OLD THUGGISH WAYS. His maniacal desire has driven him to purchase unregistered weapons off Oregonian streets at The Opening.
More from #OhioState commit Demario McCall, who called himself and Kareem Walker "illegal weapons" for the #Buckeyes: http://t.co/SFm2J9NNU4
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) July 8, 2015
The Lord of Whispers' full (and of course non-paywalled) preview of the blue-chip extravaganza is over here.
THAT GRAPHICS WORK. Ohio State's graphics team is so good, they can make preseason "watch lists" intriguing:
Who would win in a tug of war? One Taylor Decker or five Dontre Wilsons? I go with five Dontre Wilsons.
THOSE WMDs. #BoycottFreshbrewed... New York City Abuzz About New Resident... Chasing California wildfires at night... Gator killed, officials find remains of man inside body... Ten Great Writers Nobody Reads... #BLACKBERRYBACK... Ronaldinho, Robinho and Roberto Carlos.
