An epiphany came to me in the midst of buying a humidifier yesterday morning. I realized nobody was forcing me to watch the Steelers' annual season-ending slaughter of the Browns.
The stroke of genius was a bigger power move than buying a humidifier... until I made the decision to spend the afternoon watching Netflix's latest documentary, Making a Murderer.
I played myself. I should've watched the Browns.
ICYMI: Ohio State men's basketball continued its hot streak on Sunday by downing Illinois, 75-73.
LEARNING FROM 2015's MISTAKES. Observers of the Gregorian calendar tend to use the New Year as a time to make long put-off changes in our lives.
If things go well, vices turn into youthful idiocy and we learn from past mistakes. As the football program turns the page 2016, what can it learn from its errors in 2015?
From dispatch.com:
“There were more egos this year, and complacency, but it happens,” said [safety Vonn] Bell, who like Elliott might be headed to the NFL. “When you taste success, it’s hard to repeat it.”
Ah, yes, complacency, the devil of defending champions. As explained by sophomore H-back Jalin Marshall, complacency is the evil twin of contentment.
“That was one thing about this year: We just wanted to get by and win each game, instead of playing with that hunger and thrive,” Marshall said. “Once you win so much, (Meyer) says, you kind of get bored with winning. And we did. And we got satisfied.”
The candidness of end-of-season interviews from players (likely) headed to the NFL is always refreshing.
But as a man who once went 14-0 in beer pong in a single night against a murder of Marionaires... I too can relate to the burden of winning. You end up drunker than you ever intended, and the hordes of begrudged fiends trying to woodwork you never ends.
Keep rolling the dice and eventually a fiend crow hops from your blind spot and levels you with a sucker punch to the temple. Next thing you know your ribcage is getting splayed open like you're a fallen dictator.
It's brutal stuff that's felled empires, and it's no surprise it happened in Columbus. It's human nature, and it's only a problem if those egos carry over to 2016. Given the final two results of the 2015 season, however, those egos probably died in the tire fire that was the Michigan State game.
2016: BRING ON THE YEAR OF DANKEY KANG. Darron Lee and Tyvis Powell declared for the NFL Draft over the weekend, and they won't be the last to announce their exodus.
Yes, Urban Meyer recruits as well as anyone, but even guys like Darron Lee and Tyvis Powell did not become game-changers overnight.
The problem is the 2016 schedule doesn't allow for growing pains:
| DATE | OPPONENT |
|---|---|
| 9/3 | BOWLING GREEN |
| 9/10 | TULSA |
| 9/17 | at OKLAHOMA |
| 9/24 | OFF |
| 10/1 | RUTGERS |
| 10/8 | INDIANA |
| 10/15 | at WISCONSIN |
| 10/22 | at PENN STATE |
| 10/29 | NORTHWESTERN |
| 11/5 | NEBRASKA |
| 11/12 | at MARYLAND |
| 11/19 | at MICHIGAN STATE |
| 11/26 | TEAM UP NORTH |
| 12/3 | BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP |
Compare that to the 2014 schedule, the last time Ohio State faced an exodus of similar magnitude. After Virginia Tech in 2014 the Buckeyes didn't face a credible threat until seven weeks later in Happy Valley.
Bowling Green ain't no slouch, and it will undoubtedly come into the Horseshoe with both barrels bucking in attempt to catch the greenhorn Buckeyes by surprise. After a date with Tulsa that would've been much more interesting had the Golden Hurricane hired Brady Hoke, then Ohio State is off to Oklahoma.
Neither of the first two games will help prepare a young team a (probable) night game in Norman just like six games didn't prepare Ohio State for Happy Valley in 2014.
The Big Ten schedule is as daunting as I remember nine months ahead of a season. Chris Ash, who drilled against Meyer's offense for the last two years, will have Rutgers ready to take their shot. The mid-October stretch featuring back-to-back games at Madison and Penn State is ridiculous as well.
Northwestern, Nebraska, and at Maryland all have "trap game" potential ahead of another season-ending stretch featuring Michigan State (away) and Michigan (home).
Other teams' coaches aren't going to include the phrase "rebuilding year" when they face Ohio State. It could make for rough sledding in 2016, but Urban Meyer's teams are at their best in the underdog position.
Another bonus of the schedule is Ohio State could survive an early season loss and still make the playoffs.
That talk may be premature, but I remain cautiously optimistic about 2016.
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CURTIS SAMUEL? One player I'll be watching in spring ball (where did the season go?) is Curtis Samuel. Two years in and Samuel has yet to show more than flashes of brilliances. He spent 2015 largely lost in the shuffle of the offense as coaches seemed unsure how best to use him.
So what's next for the Brooklyn-bred speedster?
From cleveland.com:
The spotlight on Samuel will be just a bit larger now that the calendar has flipped to 2016. Samuel, no doubt one of the best playmakers in Urban Meyer's offense, is entering an important offseason. On the other side could be a chance to emerge as the biggest weapon the Buckeyes have, even if Samuel isn't completely convinced of that yet.
"I'm not sure if my role will change or not," Samuel said. "I know I'll be playing some running back, some slot. It will be a mix of both."
His role is going to change. He should get the ball more than he has at any point the last two seasons. You could argue that Samuel didn't get the ball enough this year. The offensive structure was so diluted, so many players who wanted and needed touches, that the Buckeyes sometimes got bogged down, and guys got left out.
I think wherever Samuel ends up will depend on Mike Weber's development. If Weber shows he can be the workhorse, then I suspect they'll slide Samuel into the slot to get them both on the field.
If not, then I'd expect Samuel to get a majority of his snaps as a change-of-pace back behind Weber; the duo could turn into excellent offensive pistons working behind J.T. Barrett.
HARBAUGH DOME SHOTS 49ERS. The San Francisco 49ers relieved head coach Jim Tomsula of his duties on Sunday night.
A couple hours later Jim Harbaugh, who apparently recovered from the beating Urban Meyer rendered upon him about a month ago, popped into Twitter to subtweet his former organization:
Do not be deceived. You will reap what you sow.
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) January 4, 2016
In other news: Only 326 days until The Game.
THOSE WMDs. The #brand keeping Oprah in business... Too young to be keeping it this real... Crossing tundras with Russian reindeer herders... Kobe Bryant's career in video game screen shots... The math that decides duration time is decided for silent film subtitles.
