Skull Session: Fiesta Bowl Tickets Slumping, Ohio State Defense Prepared, and J.T. Barrett Can't Hold the Ball

By D.J. Byrnes on December 29, 2016 at 4:59 am
Ohio State's Luke Fickell prowls the December 29th 2016 Skull Session.
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This week is garbage. There is no point. Christmas is over. The local team doesn't play until Saturday.

When the American people anoint me as President in 2024, I will ban all work from the day after Thanksgiving until the second Wednesday after New Year's. Yeah, that's right—it's all bad news for my 2024 opponent because they know I can out promise him.

 CAN I INTEREST YOU IN A FIESTA BOWL TICKET? The Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State fans love to know it. But even its PR flunkies would agree its old hat for fans of the local team.

And because of that, as well as Ohio State possibly playing another game, the demand for Fiesta Bowl tickets is down from the original 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

From cleveland.com:

* Bowl Fatigue: "Ohio State fans already shelled out last year for the Fiesta Bowl vs. Notre Dame. Interestingly, last year's game was more expensive than this years game."

* Saving up: "The average price for the championship game is $1,900 and fans are hedging their bets. If OSU loses, it was money not well spent. If they win, a trip to Tampa is closer and there's more on the line, and with the current cheapest tickets for the championship game at $655, they want to make sure they have money to spend on that game." 

According to TiqIQ.com, there has been an 18 percent decline for Fiesta Bowl tickets over the course of the past week. You can get into the game for as low as $63. 

Hard to hate on Ohio State fans' reasoning. Buckeye Nation works, and we support our families. Choosing between a semifinal and a championship is easy. Either your team loses and you save money or you go to the title game.

Demand may be down, but it will be 80/20 Ohio State fans. We run America, and we keep a small army in Arizona and Southern California.

 BULLETS LOADED. The Fiesta Bowl is two days away, and I already processed every possible result of the game. My body is ready.

My body also decided the result of the big game is on the backs of the Ohio State defense. If it plays to its potential, Clemson will be in a world of hurt. If not, well, we won't go there.

The Silver Bullets are prepared for the challenge.

From dispatch.com:

“I’m not going to say a team is going to score 45 points on us and we’re going to have to score 48 just to win the game,” McMillan said. “As a defense we never want to say that’s going to happen.”

But some think the College Football Playoff semifinal Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl could be a high-scoring affair, despite OSU being near the top in almost every major defensive statistical category this season, including fewest yards allowed (No. 5, 282.3 average) and fewest points allowed (No. 3, 14.2).

“At the most, I want to give up a field goal, but y’all are going to switch that up to say I’m gonna give up a field goal,” McMillan said. “We want to play with competitive excellence, be the most dominant defense in the nation.”

Tajh Boyd went for 500 yards in Clemson's last game against Ohio State. My question is thus: Would anyone from the 2012 defense start over anyone from 2014? That list ends with Ryan Shazier.

I watched Clemson this year. Their offense is good, but worse defenses than Ohio State's made it look average. 

 THROW THE DANG BALL AWAY. Urban Meyer drills it into his quarterbacks: The risks ain't worth it, bro.

One downside to this is J.T. Barrett holds the ball too long. You know it, I know it, and thankfully Barrett knows it.

From espn.com

“I can’t hold the ball,” Barrett said on Tuesday. “I have to make sure I get it out in a timely fashion. There were some things I could have done better to help the offensive line out, and that’s just getting the ball out as far as timing and things like that.

“It’s out pretty fast when we’re on time.”

The Buckeyes were running late a bit too often toward the end of the season, and opposing defenses have plenty of sacks to show for it.

When I saw Jadar Johnson's comments slither across my timeline, I said "Run that." It was a fair critique, but Barrett and Meyer won't take it that way.

Johnson only watched Barrett on film, which obviously didn't portray the Texan's power. Does he struggle with accuracy and arm strength? Sure, but dude has only lost two games as a starter. You just don't poke bears like that.

 YOU DON'T SAY. Shoutout to all the Tennessee fans tweeting at recruits like it helps their false flag local team:

That list looks right.

 COLUMBUS: WE LOVE TO POISON OURSELVES. Thank you to this study for allowing me to cloak my substance abuse issues in civic duty:

From bizjournals.com:

In this year’s study [of America's best beer cities], Columbus leapt up to No. 6, nestled between more established sudsy stalwarts of Denver and Portland, Oregon.

"Columbus also has cheap pints and lots of places to imbibe those pints. There are 29 bars per 100,000 residents in Columbus and the average pint costs $3.

Cincinnati is fourth in the study, up from 10th last year. Cleveland fell out of the top 25.

I failed biology twice like a boss, so I translate the word "study" translates to "facts." But others raised issues with this study's methods:

Based on this rebuttal, Cincinnati is disqualified and Columbus is No. 1.

 FOX COMING. As you may have heard, Fox has rights to Big Ten games next season. Astute viewers of the Foster Farms Bowl – all 104 of you – may have caught the network's Ohio State promo. Here it is, if you missed it.

 THOSE WMDs. 200 teens crash Philadelphia mall for Snapchat-planned brawl... "Steelhead Alley" boosts Great Lakers economy... The life and death of Wasil... The baby in the plastic bag... When the prosecutor in a 1924 murder case backed the suspect.

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