Congrats to anyone who watched one of the stupidest football games of all time last night.
I mean, come on:
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) November 9, 2021
Bears are trying to sub in 2-minute drill (why?!?!?! why?!?!?!)
they sub off THE 11TH GUY, WHO NEEDS TO STAY ON FIELD
somehow, this tricks Steelers into spiking the ball on 2nd down
In any other game this is the funniest thing to happen. Not even Top 3
You can follow that up with some Buckeye basketball tonight because IT'S BASKETBALL SEASON, BABY.
There truly is no better time of the year than when you get multiple hoops games throughout the week AND Buckeye football on Saturday.
In the words of the venerable Taylor Swift, "'tis the damn season."
Oh, and Akron can go ahead and get dumped. Buckeyes by 25. Book it.
Word of the Day: Bucolic.
CLIFF JUMPING! I didn't really need a visual aid to tell me that Ohio State's running game has completely disappeared these past couple of games, but I'm not sure I truly grasped just how insane the dropoff was before seeing this chart.
The running attack fell off a damn cliff.
What happened to the Ohio State run game?
— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) November 8, 2021
Over the last two weeks, OSU ball carriers are averaging less than one yard before contact per carry. pic.twitter.com/Tdgrs6qops
To be fair, Penn State and Nebraska do have noticeably better defenses than any of those other teams, but not it's not anywhere near proportional to that dropoff in production. It's like everybody involved with the rushing attack simply forgot how to play football.
I'm not smart enough to actually know how to fix this, because I'm just a meager blogger posting through it online, but I'm kinda just hoping it will get fixed as magically as it became bad. It's certainly possible!
TWO KINDS OF GUYS. Michigan vs. Michigan State has been officially over for more than two weeks, but The Game Jr. is still being played out in the media with Mel Tucker and Jim Harbaugh trading subtle blows.
Harbaugh – and you'll be shocked to hear this! – is the clear asshole in this situation.
“I don't like to talk about bad calls,” Tucker said during his weekly news conference. “That's not part of our culture. We don't like to make excuses about anything. I think that makes your program soft. I think it gives your coaches and your players a way out, so I don’t even like to talk about it that much.
“But we do turn them in, because we need clarification. And if I disagree with something, I'll tell them and then we move on, because that's not gonna change the outcome, actually. It happens every week. It's a human performance business, and there's a lot of judgment calls as well.”
The not-so-subtle jab came about 25 minutes after Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was asked by a reporter in Ann Arbor if the Big Ten office called him to discuss the overturned strip-stack-fumble recovery touchdown by Aidan Hutchinson in the first half of MSU’s eventual 37-33 victory over the Wolverines on Oct. 31. MSU quarterback Payton Thorne's shin was ruled down by replay officials on the sack by U-M's David Ojabo.
Harbaugh: “Yeah, as we all expected, all saw, mistakes were made."
Reporter: “You heard from them?”
Harbaugh: “That was the response, they made a mistake.”
Reporter: “On that call?”
Harbaugh: “Yeah. And others.”
Reporter: “So they said they said they made mistakes on other calls?”
Harbaugh: “Yes.”
Reporter: “Just being clear.”
Harbaugh: “Can't be any more clear than that."
Reporter: “Well there were a lot of calls, that's why I wasn't sure.”
Harbaugh: “Yeah, there were. The film doesn’t lie, you know.”
Tucker was obviously referring to the comments Harbaugh made just a few minutes before, but honestly, even if Harbaugh hadn't said a word that day, we still would have known exactly who Tucker was talking about.
I mean, talking about bad calls, making excuses, leading a "soft" program – we know that guy. He wears khakis.
The best part is, even though Harbaugh may have actually been correct with some of the calls, he was still such an asshole about the process that pissed off the referees even further.
Big Ten coaches have agreed to maintain an open dialogue with officiating coordinator Bill Carollo about games and calls, with the understanding that feedback wont be made public. https://t.co/fEXj01My4M
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 9, 2021
It's getting to the point that I think everybody involved in this football conference would give Ryan Day a standing ovation if he actually hung 100 on Harbaugh. It would be like a public service.
“I'M A BUCKEYE NOW.” Jamari Wheeler has a degree from Penn State, but there's no question about his loyalties these days, even when it comes to football fandom.
Jamari Wheeler on being at the OSU-Penn State football game: "I still have that love for that family, but at the end of the day, I'm a Buckeye now."
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 8, 2021
Message to Penn State fans: if you want to experience a win in an Ohio State vs. Penn State game, the best move is to simply transfer to Ohio State.
Looking forward to Jamari leading the "Just Like Football!" chant on Jan. 16.
CHASE THAT NATTY. The 2021-22 athletic year is young, but Ohio State's already chasing a national title.
The women's soccer team earned an at-large bid to this year's NCAA Tournament and will take on Virginia Tech on Friday.
Ohio State has earned an at-large selection for the 2021 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament and will travel to Virginia Tech for a first round matchup on Friday, Nov. 12.
This will the Buckeyes’ 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th in the last 13 seasons. All 15 appearances have come under the direction of 25th-year head coach Lori Walker-Hock. The Buckeyes have a record of 13-13-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re super excited and thrilled to extended season,” said Walker-Hock. “Our players have done a lot this year. They have done a lot with a little, so they’re super excited. I think playing an ACC team that wants to try and play soccer is to our benefit. Coach Adair does a great job with his team, and I think it’ll be a great matchup for us.”
So if you're looking for something to watch on Friday night, you can go ahead and watch Virginia Tech get buried.
Side note – I knew she'd been there for a long time, but "25th-year head coach" had me doing a double-take. I had a hard enough time simply surviving for 25 years, I can't imagine holding the same high-level coaching position for that long.
You're a legend, Lori.
COME HANG OUT. This is your weekly reminder to come out and eat delicious food and pour back some cold beverages at Buffalo Wild Wings with Johnny and Andy as they record the famed Eleven Dubcast live right in front of you.
This week, the Dubcast will be heading to the Easton Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday at 7 p.m. and we want you, your friends, and your family to come out, too.
SONG OF THE DAY. "'tis the damn season" by Taylor Swift.
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