Oh hey, there you are. So nice of you to join me on this Thanksgiving 2012. I know you might be a little blurry-eyed from last night’s festivities, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot to be thankful for. For starters there’s this (lots of W’s there) and this and of course the fact that you don’t look like this.
So give thanks and have a great Turkey Day everyone, let’s get to it.
THE TRAIN GOES THROUGH MICHIGAN. On paper, Braxton Miller’s best game last season was against the team up north. The true freshman threw for 235 yards, 103 more than his previous career high, and ran for another 100, ultimately accounting for 335 yards and 3 TDs. The eye-popping stats weren’t enough to pull out the win, but they certainly put No. 5’s name on the map.
This season, name recognition is a foregone conclusion. So much so that Braxton’s moniker is being bandied about in Heisman conversation. The talk is deserved. The sophomore has racked up 3,064 total yards and 27 TDs. But, as The Plain Dealer’s Doug Lesmerises argues, it’s going to take a big game against Michigan to get Miller to NYC.
The latest CBS Sports Poll has Miller sitting fourth with Johnny Manziel, Manti Te’o and Collin Klein ahead of him. According to Lesmerises, between three and five finalists will be invited to the Big Apple.
To break into that top three, Miller will need to shine much brighter than he did last week against Wisconsin. The Buckeye offense will be the first to tell you, last Saturday was painful for them as well. This from OL Reid Fragel:
"I can't speak for Braxton completely, but I know as an offense we weren't satisfied."
"I think any time you have a one-dimensional offense, it doesn't really go too well for you. You have to be able to hit the deep balls when they matter, and at the same time you've got to pound the rock to move the ball."
The big stage has been fairly kind to Braxton in the past, and my hope is Meyer’s priorities on Saturday are (in this order): 1. Win the game. 2. Give Braxton a chance to get to New York.
Miller won't be the only Heisman contender playing in a marquee matchup this weekend. Te’o and Klein have matchups with USC and Texas, respectively.
Here’s hoping Miller can use The Game as a springboard rather than a roadblock to the stiff-armed statue. In the meantime, do your civic duty and vote for him in the Davey O’Brien race here.
TAKING IT TO THE TOP. According to Fox Sports, some avid Buckeye fans decided to ask the man in charge for an NCAA pardon. No, I’m not talking about the NCAA president, I’m referring to the actual president.
Bo: "Who the hell is Brady Hoke?" Woody: *shakes head*The fans put together a petition pleading their case and sent it to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Needless to say, the pardon was not granted.
The petition was recently removed by whitehouse.gov for violating their terms of participation, but here’s how it read:
“The Ohio State University football team is one win away from an undefeated season. However, due to imposed sanctions, they are not allowed to participate in their conference’s championship game or the following bowl season. While a punishment for past indiscretions is to be expected, a bowl season ban is too harsh for a few young men trading memorabilia for tattoos and some change. The offending players and coach who covered it up are no longer part of the program. Please exercise your executive power to pardon the NCAA’s excessive sanctions placed on The Ohio State Buckeyes to enable a rightful, satisfying culmination to the college football season for the American people.”
I guess it was worth a shot.
This is your friendly reminder that political banter in the commenting section is a big no-no. So hey, enjoy the story for what it is and don’t be weird about it. Much appreciated.
PREVIEWIN'. You know it’s fixin’ to be game time when CBS Sports rolls out their rapid report preview for the Buckeyes.
It says a lot of the things you already know. Devin Gardner and Denard Robinson on the field at the same time is a dangerous combo, the Buckeye D-line is vital to success and this game will begin to define both coaches in what is likely to be an ongoing saga of year-end battles.
But, what stood out to me was who CBS said could “steal the show”: UM LB Jake Ryan and safety Jordan Kovacs. The piece states both players will be tasked with keeping Braxton from getting loose, and says Michigan could employ a game plan similar to the one Wisconsin designed last week that largely shut down Miller.
The piece goes on to argue that Hoke may want to blitz Ryan and Kovacs, putting faith in their secondary (on paper the best in the country).
Raise your hand if you actually think Michigan’s secondary is the best in the nation….no one? Ok, me neither.
While you can’t fault the secondary for playing the teams on their schedule, the Big Ten hasn’t exactly been a prolific passing conference this season. Couple that with the fact that UM has yet to play a QB with the elusiveness and downfield awareness of Miller and blitzing all day could be quite an issue for the fighting Hokes.
Not to mention, Wisconsin’s strategy largely bottled up Miller but allowed Carlos Hyde to run wild to the tune of 5.8 yards per carry and 2 TDs. If the coaching staff feeds Carlos more last week one of two things would have happened: a) Hyde's game is even bigger b) the passing game opens up for Miller.
Don’t expect Meyer and Herman to ignore the hot hand this Saturday. Blitz away, Michigan.
RIVALRY TIMELINE. Cleveland.com put together a pretty comprehensive interactive timeline of the Mich/OSU rivalry dating back to 1897.
Complete with stories, photos and videos, the effort to pull something like this together was no small feat.
You could literally spend an hour or so perusing everything from OSU’s horrendous 34-0 loss in the first meeting to wonderful pictures of Na’il Diggs “readjusting” Tom Brady’s chin-strap during the Buckeyes 31-16 win in 1998.
So pour another whiskey sour, gather the kids around the laptop and serve up a heaping pile of hate.
Indeed we have much to be thankful for.
TURKEY LINKS. Here's a little something to get you ready for tomorrow, Black Friday or Actual Riot... Sometimes you just gotta watch cats bounce... This is kind of terrifying... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
