Throwback Monday:
Nick Sabans face the moment I told him Jimbo Fisher said he was going to beat his a$$... Coach replied, in golf? #RollTide pic.twitter.com/3VzCPe1o05
— Simone Eli (@SimoneEli_TV) May 7, 2021
I've never had many kind words to say about Jimbo Fisher, but the man called his shot like the damn Bambino and then proverbially slapped Nick Saban's ass over the centerfield fence.
And for that, he will forever have my respect.
Word of the Day: Maelstrom.
B1GTIME HISTORY. The notorious SEC lizard king Paul Finebaum must have thought he was trapped in a bad dream when he glanced at the AP Poll on Sunday afternoon.
The Big Ten seems well-positioned to have 5 of the Top 10 teams in this weeks AP Poll. It would be the first time that has EVER happened.
— Dave Revsine (@BTNDaveRevsine) October 10, 2021
B1G in latest AP poll:
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 10, 2021
2. @HawkeyeFootball
6. @OhioStateFB
7. @PennStateFball
8. @UMichFootball
10. @MSU_Football
That's half of the top !
Full poll: https://t.co/sEFLF2nhNA pic.twitter.com/UMtDCZaP8h
Cincinnati and Iowa ranked ahead of Alabama gives off extremely 2007 energy, but I'm absolutely here for it. The best part is, of those three teams, only one of them is overrated in the poll, and I don't even need to tell you which one it is.
HIS TEAM NOW. Any lingering doubt that C.J. Stroud was Ohio State's starting quarterback died cleanly and quietly on Saturday afternoon as he sliced apart Maryland's secondary like an angry surgeon for three quarters.
But as my good pal and fantasy football opponent Bill Landis points out, it may have been his on-field performance that solidified his status as the team's starter, but it was what happened after he went to the sideline that proved this is now his football team.
I watched Stroud on the sidelines late in the third quarter and into the fourth as McCord and Miller got valuable reps in garbage time. Stroud moved from teammate to teammate, regardless of which side of the ball they played on. There was a quick chat with safety Craig Young and a side conversation with center Luke Wypler. There’s been a sense that Stroud had won over this team since the spring. That shows up most in the way that teammates rally around him on the field but also in those moments on the sideline when Stroud’s work is done and players just seem to gravitate toward him.
Stroud’s understated confidence was always going to serve him well as he competed for the starting job. Now it’s starting to show up in games. You’re seeing an Ohio State offense that scored 56 points on 56 plays before the starters sat on Saturday that looks like it’s about to take off and re-write the program record books.
It's refreshing to see Stroud seem to be only getting better and more confident while pretty much every other supposed elite quarterback in college football is rapidly coming down to Earth – preseason Heisman favorite Spencer Rattler got benched, D.J. Uiagalelei has as many picks as touchdowns, and even Bryce Young looked human on Saturday.
It's great to see Ohio State finally having a great quarterback for a change.
7 ON 7. Speaking of C.J. Stroud and great quarterbacks, he just did something that's only previously been done by the most prolific passer in Big Ten history.
And real recognized real.
Balling ! @CJ7STROUD https://t.co/jkRZ6bbJoG
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) October 10, 2021
I admittedly have a tendency to forget about just how absurdly good Haskins was at Ohio State because of the way his NFL career has gone so far, but the honest truth is that he is still the most naturally gifted ball-thrower I have ever seen.
If Stroud is putting up comparable numbers to him, I'll gladly accept it as good company.
PSA: DO THIS. BE THIS. Iowa fans are notoriously nice (which is wild, given that they are also notoriously drunk). So it's not exactly shocking to hear that they were wonderful hosts for the country's biggest game this weekend.
But actually seeing it in action is still wild.
Iowa was loud, they rushed the field, but just take a look at the respect shown here to @ellis_brooks13 at the end of the game.
— Colin Cahill (@colincahill13) October 10, 2021
Brooks led @PennStateFball in tackles last night.
Respect. @J_SchaefferWOI @weareiowa5news pic.twitter.com/EXTpnOeGa5
I'm not the sort of guy that enjoys telling people what to do or how to live their lives but... Please, do precisely this to opposing players, coaches, fans, and really just any other humans in general.
Be exactly like that as often as you can and the world will be a better place.
SONG OF THE DAY. "everything i wanted" by Billie Eilish.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. How tracking grizzly bears is helping veterans find a way back from trauma... A man builds a rotating house so that his wife has a diversified view... A husband and wife are arrested in a nuclear submarine spy case... Sweden has a hotel for sourdough starters... America is running out of everything... The COVID-19 hotel scam that took New York City for $400,000... A streamer named "SquidGame" is banned from Instagram over the Netflix show that he long predated...
