Hello and happy Thursday. It seems like just yesterday we were basking in the glow of a big win against Nebraska (and eating one too many City BBQ brisket sandwiches at Eat Too, Brutus), but we’ve already got college football on again! What will you be tuning in to peep? Mighty Western Kentucky v. Troy? UTEP v. Tulsa or Arizona State v. Colorado? The possibilities are not exactly endless!
Anyway, let’s get down to brass tacks. It’s Indiana week, which means we’ll all Google “What is a Hoosier?” while contemplating what Braxton Miller will do under the lights in Bloomington.
HERE WE GO FOLKS. Brace yourselves, Buckeye Nation, the “what could have been” articles are already starting to hit the interwebs. The storyline laid out by CBSSports’ Dennis Dodd was inevitably going to be conjured up if the Buckeyes kept winning. It’s the first of (what is sure to be) many pundits arguing Gene Smith and company should have self-imposed a bowl ban last season.
This from Dodd:
"Ohio State is the best team you'll never see this season -- in a bowl."
"Don't blame the NCAA for the bowl ban. Blame the leadership that didn't see it coming. Worse, convinced themselves it wasn't a possibility. In that sense, they were almost daring Big Brother to bring the wood."
Every Buckeye fan has played and replayed Smith’s decision to forgo a self-imposed ban since the penalty was handed down and hindsight is absolutely 20/20.
Here is part of Gene Smith’s defense from a NYTimes article back in December 2011.
“If you go back to Jan. 1 of 2007, which was when the committee really started to change, there were cases a lot more egregious than ours that didn’t get a bowl ban.”
In addition, here is a quote from Michael Buckner, a Florida attorney who specializes in NCAA cases, from around the same time frame:
"I was surprised; I didn't think a postseason ban would be in play. If you look at the case precedent, I think what Ohio State did was very reasonable."
Here’s Dodd’s closing argument:
"The president of both Ohio State and the Bowtie Revolution was eventually responsible for signing off on the strategy that landed the football program in its current situation. To be fair, it is a tightrope walk for any school to self-impose penalties that are enough for the NCAA but not too much to damage the program. But in the end it's better to impress the NCAA rather than tempt it. Some higher-ups at Ohio State badly misread the situation."
As much as I’d love OSU to be playing for a bowl this season, I honestly believe Smith (and in extension Urban Meyer) looked at the facts and determined a bowl ban imposed by the NCAA would be far too harsh.
That line of thinking may have cost this team a bowl, but again hindsight is 20/20.
Put yourself in Smith’s shoes. What would you have done last season?
PIRANHA MODE. We recently found out defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs has dubbed the Buckeyes’ kickoff coverage team “The Piranhas”.
BRING IT OUT OF THE END ZONE. DARE YOU!The name’s genesis seems to be twofold: one, there isn’t a player above 6’5’’ in the group and two, most of the unit is comprised of tenacious freshmen looking to make a name for themselves.
As the Dispatch’s Tim May explains, players like Devan Bogard, Armani Reeves, Najee Murray, Camren Williams, Jamal Marcus and David Perkins will eventually be studs on offense and defense, but for now they’re trying to get Meyer’s attention on special teams.
As Reeves stated, the unit is one of Meyer’s pride points:
“Coach Meyer pays a lot of attention to special teams, probably more than any coach in the country. He really prides himself on having the best special teams in the country.So when we’re out there, we want to make sure we’re doing that, we’re having the best special teams in the country. … We pretty much treat it like it’s the offense or the defense because it’s that important to him.”
The group will be given ample opportunity to shine this season. A new rule that moved kickoffs up to the 35 while spotting touchbacks at the 25 compelled the coaches to make a few tweaks to the kicking game. During the offseason, kicker Drew Basil worked on shorter kicks with more hangtime to give the Piranhas a chance to make a positive field position play.
The result:
"Ohio State is 38th in the nation in average yards per return (19.46), but only 11 of Basil’s 40 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks. On the 10 kickoffs against Nebraska, one was a touchback, and of the other nine, two were returned past the 21. On three occasions, Nebraska started at or inside the 15."
Keep getting after it young guns.
TBDBITL. The Plain Dealer’s Doug Lesmerises had a nice write-up about TBDBITL’s unbelievable halftime performance this past Saturday.
According to Lesmerises, the idea for a video game tribute was first pitched around five years ago, but put on the backburner until now.
It took 14 hours of onfield practice, 225 members and a number of additional nights of music memorization to pull off, but the result was stunning.
Since the performance, a video of the spectacle has garnered over 4 million views on YouTube. In addition, band director John Waters said he received recognition from as close as TSUN and as far away as China.
Waters said:
“I kind of feel like we won one for all the band guys around the country...in bringing attention to what we do. Getting some recognition for all the hard work is a really wonderful byproduct of this whole thing.”
Amazingly according to Waters, the arrangement didn’t take much longer to prepare than any other halftime show. I guess that’s what happens when you field the absolute best band members each and every week.
Here’s something I didn’t know:
"Waters said the 225 members are chosen during four-day tryouts each summer, where they are tested on music, marching and how they combine both. Unlike a lot of college bands, members must try out each year, so veteran members are guaranteed nothing. And once the band is formed, alternates retain the right to challenge current members for their spots each week. So while the band members aren’t on scholarship, the competition is stiff."
The Best Damn Band In The Land indeed. If you haven’t already seen the performance (what are you waiting for?), here it is. If you’re short on time, skip to 5:58. The Zelda horse is as impressive as you'll ever see.
ANTIHERO? Here’s something you don’t read everyday: a national sportswriter urging individuals to root for Ohio State.
The Wall Street Journal’s Darren Everson argues if you have to pull for a school other than the one you attended…why not pick OSU?
Everson refers to Ohio State as college football’s antihero and makes the case the Buckeyes have kept this season interesting with both their on and off-field performances.
This isn't some warm, fuzzy, overcoming-the-odds story. Oh no: This is a football factory. Which is ineligible for the postseason. And which just had a player tweet that classes are "POINTLESS." (His emphasis, not ours.) If any team ought to be elected the homecoming king of this cockeyed sport, it's the scarlet and gray.
Everson goes on to posit the Scarlet and Gray are the only true “BCS Buster” left after realignment has pulled (or will pull) teams like TCU, Utah and Boise State into major conferences.
Simply put, the Buckeyes are the only team with no shot of making it into a BCS bowl that still has the potential to cloud the bowl picture.
I guess I’ve never really looked at OSU’s current situation in this light. It's the flipside of Dodd’s earlier argument. Instead of feeling sorry for the team, fans should embrace the renegade role the Buckeyes have been cast into this season. Win out and put doubt in everyone’s mind about the best team in college football, especially if Alabama loses.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster I’d love to taste.
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