It's festival season in the Buckeye State. Many towns hold festivals named after corn or meat products. They're all grand in their own way, but for none of them stack up to Marion's Popcorn Festival, which kicked off Thursday night:
.@marionpopcorn parade makes the corner at Church & Main. #StarToday #LifeInMarion pic.twitter.com/0lQdhhZJky
— Andrew Carter (@AndrewCarterMS) September 8, 2016
You're damn right we have fire trucks in the City of Kings. We also have the blessings of Buckeye Kingdom's most powerful shaman:
#TheBuckIGuy at @marionpopcorn raising funds for @marion_police & @MarionOHSheriff. #StarToday #LifeInMarion pic.twitter.com/g5zGlyjPvz
— Andrew Carter (@AndrewCarterMS) September 8, 2016
Buck-I-Guy helped Marion prosper. So everyone here that hates him, guess what? It switched. He's good now.
This week's NSFW ANTI-WORK #BANGERS:
- Breaking Bad: "Explain yourself."
- Deadwood: The best of Al Swearengen.
- Boardwalk Empire: Enter Richard Harrow.
BOLD STRATEGY. Urban Meyer is a part of a generation that took college football by storm with the hurry-up offense. Years later, he sits atop a team stocked with elite athletes who practice harder than most programs play.
So trying Meyer at his own game is a risky proposition given any coach brave enough will be at a talent disadvantage. Yet Golden Hurricane jefe Philip Montgomery will try just that Saturday afternoon.
From landgrantholyland.com:
Like the Bears, Montgomery wants to play a chess-match with the defensive coordinator at a blazing tempo. Tulsa is going to run the ball when the defense gives them the look they want, or check to a quick pass — typically a screen — if they have numbers. They’re going to want to put pressure on the defense in a couple of different ways, whether it be by going horizontally or vertically, both in the running and the passing game. If the defense is not properly set after a big play, they’ll catch you napping and strike it deep.
[...]
One guy who looks to be taking a major, and important step for this offense, is running back D’Angelo Brewer. Brewer finished last season with 60 more yards on 39 less carries than the departed Zack Langer and racked up 164 yards and three touchdowns in their season opener versus San Jose State. As we mentioned, Montgomery’s offense needs a run/pass balance, and it looks like he has it this year.
Tulsa is in a tough spot. Teams run up-tempo to either wear down or bamboozle their opponent. It's not doing either of those things.
But not running their system isn't an option either. So it's full steam ahead. Everybody knows how this one plays out, though.
Of Tulsa's weapons, Meyer mentioned Brewer, albeit without name, during the Coach's Show. Tulsa wants to run the ball and "be physical," which is a grand plan until you can't get physical.
ELLIOTT READY FOR DEBUT. The Columbus city attorney's office refused to press charges against Ezekiel Elliott for five separate domestic abuse allegations (pro tip to those looking to set someone up for a sex crime: Texts are incriminating).
Elliott dinged his hamstring early in camp, and the Cowboys put their first-round pick in bubble wrap for most of the preseason. That comes off Sunday in Arlington against the New York Giants.
Jokes aside, Elliott is gunning for the record books.
From espn.com:
“I know a little bit about [Eric Dickerson],” Elliott said. “Eighteen hundred yards[, which set a rookie record]. We joke about it all the time. I told him I’m going to get it.”
Many truths have been said in jest.
“He told me through his agent that he was going to break my record,” Dickerson said this week. “I just laughed and said, 'Good luck.' Many have said that; all have failed.
Sounds like Dickerson is cruising for a dumping.
HOMECOMING TO FELLA FROM THE '90s. I talk a lot of shit about the 90s but I only remember 56k dial up internet, Nintendo 64, and EverQuest.
It stunned me when I heard Tulsa's DC used to DC at Ohio State. Imagine hearing Chris Ash DC'd at Western Michigan 20 years from today. Your first question would be, "Did he get caught embezzling?"
Yet Ol' Bill Young returns Saturday wearing Tulsa colors; however, he's more than willing to recall the time he had better players at his disposal.
From tulsaworld.com:
Bill Young speaks fondly of his time as Ohio State defensive coordinator, when he coached talents like Alonzo Spellman and Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson.
Spellman?
“I loved him,” Young told me this week ahead of Tulsa’s trip to Columbus. “Tremendous physical attributes. Long arms, fast, athletic. Probably one of the most conditioned athletes I’ve ever been around.”
And Wilkinson?
“Danny was the only guy in the history of football taken with the No. 1 pick in the draft as a sophomore,” Young said. “He was pretty good, too. Those guys made me a lot better coach than I really was.”
Urban Meyer described Tulsa's offense as "the opposite of its offense," which is a gloriously unintended backhanded insult. "Standard" was another adjective he threw out.
TIL the Ohio State coach who made Tshimanga Biakabutuka a household name is currently Tulsa's def. coordinator. So 100 points is possible.
— Ramzy Nasrallah (@ramzy) September 8, 2016
Bet the rent on the Bucks is what I'm saying.
PRO BOWL PRYOR EN ROUTE. Folks, the Terrelle Pryor NFL WR hype train departs Columbus at 6:00 a.m. ET Sunday. It's headed north for the Muni Lot to tailgate the Browns' 1 p.m. game in Philadelphia.
Anybody not present at departure will be forgotten by history.
From cleveland.com:
"I saw this day,'' Pryor said Thursday after practice for Sunday's opener in Philadelphia. "I envisioned myself doing this. I envisioned myself doing it last year, but I had a little injury. I'm happy and I can't wait to go and play with my teammates.''
Pryor acknowledged that he's excited to get his first season as a starter underway.
"It's not a thing where I just woke up and rolled out of bed and that's what happened,'' he said. "There's a lot of hard work into it and this is what I expect.
Speaking of people that need to get ahead of things, Ohio State should get cracking on that Terrelle Pryor statue. If I have to get off my ass to start a petition there's going to be Hell to pay.
THOSE WMDs. You don't need an iPhone... Hunter rescues deer from python's death grip... Mothballed aircraft carrier proposed as homeless shelter... The last Manning on Earth... Chipotle's Twitter captures its desperation for customers... World War II pilot breaks one last barrier.
