Happy Tuesday of Eat Too, Brutus week, 11W-ites. Just a reminder that there are a few spots left at the Hero and Urban Legend levels, so if you haven't purchased your tickets, you better act as quickly as Bradley Roby blocking a punt.
And if you've already RSVP'd, then I suggest that you rest up and start hydrating now for the weekend, especially if you're planning on coming to Drink Too, Brutus.
The raffle at Eat Too, whose proceeds will go to DownSyndrome Achieves, includes so many great prizes that I wish we took a page out of Tressel's book and rigged it so I could win those two tickets to the Nebraska game.
Whether I attend the game or end up watching in on the TVs that will be set up at the tailgate, I hope the rainy forecast for Saturday turns more pleasant, especially considering I am just beginning to get over the cold I picked up on Friday, right before going to the MSU game this past weekend. I wasn't able to yell as loudly as I would have had I been healthier, but somehow, the team managed to get along fine without my input.
Although Big Ten play began on Saturday, I welcomed its arrival on Thursday night, when I was driving along the highway at a safe speed and on the lookout for any deer when suddenly, one ran out right in front of me. Although my passenger and I were luckily fine, the vehicle and the deer were not, and to me, that mutually assured destruction seemed like an appropriate metaphor for the start of B1G season.
As sore as many of the players are probably feeling, the only sustained injury from the Michigan State game that we know of is Jordan Hall's PCL tear. Urban Meyer said he's "doubtful" for Nebraska, though he is still listed alongside Carlos Hyde as the #1 running back on the latest depth chart.
CJ Barnett is "probable" to return this week and remains a starter while Storm Klein has overtaken Curtis Grant at MLB and Nathan Williams is officially a first-teamer again, ahead of JT Moore and Michael Bennett.
YOU'RE THE BEST AROUND. BTN's Tom Dienhart took a look at the best the Big Ten has to offer this week and unsurprisingly, Ohio State vs. Nebraska dominated his list.
As the only matchup in the conference to pit two ranked teams against each other, it's his game of the week pick, but more than that, the Buckeyes want to make up for their second-half collapse in Lincoln last season.
Dienhart is also interested in the battle between offensive coordinator Tom Herman and defensive coordinator John Papuchis:
The Buckeye offense remains a work in progress—and a bit over-reliant on Braxton Miller to make things happen. Still, it has been an effective offense. Since getting shredded for 653 yards in a 36-30 loss at UCLA, the Huskers have allowed 286, 210 and 295 yards in the last three games. Which young, rising star coordinator has a little something extra up his sleeve?
While the Nebraska defense leads the conference in sacks, they're ranked tenth against the run, which is an area Braxton Miller and company could exploit. Speaking of Braxton, he and Taylor Martinez have been two of the top B1G offensive performers this season, and whichever QB plays better could decide the game.
Braxton is second in the league in both rushing and total offense while Martinez is third in total offense and first in...passing efficiency?!1
I AM CALM. Another matchup that people are going to keep an eye on is the one between the head coaches. Urban Meyer was a grad assistant when Bo Pelini was playing at Ohio State, and when Pelini returns to the Horseshoe, he'll be more worried about the opposing QB than his coach:
"Believe me, he's going to make his share of plays," Pelini said of Miller. "We're not going to shut down a player like that from the quarterback position. They use him in so many different ways. It all runs through the quarterback, but they have some other good players. They have good backs. They're physical and well-coached up front and they have some wide receivers that can hurt you down the field."
Other than sharing the same home state, Steven M. Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star believes Urban needs to find another commonality with Pelini, who claims he has figured out how to balance his work life and his home life.
Like Stansfield, Bo Pelini enjoys chillin' to BeethovenAlthough he totally convincingly maintains, "I'm not a real stressed-out person. I mean, I'm just not", I'm not sure I want Urban following the lead of a coach who recently left a game in an ambulance and has been known to turn redder than his school's creepy mascot in anger. Basically, he's the Big Ten's version of Gary Oldman in The Professional.
OH COME LET'S SING OHIO'S PRAISE. The state of Ohio is proving their football bona fides so far this season, with Ohio State, Ohio University, and Cincinnati all still undefeated.
FOX Sports Ohio's Zac Jackson examined the outlook for each team the rest of the way. While he expressed the same concerns many fans have about the Buckeyes—tackling in space2, riding Braxton too much—he concluded, "The Buckeyes can win 10, 11 or even 12. Miller is that good, the Big Ten might just be that bad and the Ohio State roster has enough talent to overcome the remaining hurdles."
He also thinks that Cincinnati could contend for a Big East title and unless the Bobcats continue to suffer injuries, Ohio is looking like a team that will win double digit games and earn a major, or at least less MAC-tastic, bowl bid.
TANK YOU FOR THE HONOR. Basketball season is nearing; at the end of the month, Ohio State will take on Walsh in an exhibition game before their season begins for real on November 9.
So, it's time for publications to start handing out preseason honors, and the Sporting News named Deshaun Thomas to their preseason All-American team. According to them, his challenge is the following:
Opponents will be more focused on Thomas, Ohio State’s primary offensive option. That will be an adjustment but one he should have no problem handling. He has an inside-outside game rare in college ball. He’ll be tested early, too—the Buckeyes open their season against Marquette and play at Duke in their final November game.
Also on TSN's first team are Indiana's Cody Zeller (preseason player of the year), Creighton's Doug McDermott, UNC's James Michael McAdoo3, and Lehigh's C.J. McCollum. Michigan's Trey Burke was selected to the third team.
MARK HIS WORDS. You know how North Carolina totally committed academic fraud and practically got off scot-free? Well, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported last night that NCAA president Mark Emmert has stated that UNC is still being investigated and more sanctions could be on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Miami better get ready:
May each school get what it deserves.
LINK TOO, BRUTUS. More about the 2002 national championship team reunion... Photo gallery of Ohio State's win over Michigan State... Anyone surprised that Zach Mettenberger is a Ron Burgandy fan?... Brandon Lloyd's troll face is stellar... I can get behind most of these holidays... Birdwalk Empire... A sneak peek at Drink Too... And one more.
- 1 C'mon, Big Ten defenses. For all that is holy about a spiral, do not let this stand. ↑
- 2 Other than the lone MSU touchdown, the defense was more adept at tackling this past Saturday, but will that hold true against the likes of Nebraska, who can spread it out more and has the weapons to take advantage of Ohio State's issues with bubble screens and dink and dunks? ↑
- 3 If he played for Ohio State, I would make constant Scooby Doo jokes. ↑
