I'd like to offer my sincerest congratulations to you all for choosing the same Buckeye news source as the best receiver in America.
Thanks for being an @11W reader, @GarrettWilson_V pic.twitter.com/IMVmmryCUr
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) November 16, 2021
Good to see that my work is Garrett Wilson approved.
Word of the Day: Appanage.
GOOD AND GOOD! Admittedly, I've done absolutely no research to prove this, but I'd venture to guess that there hasn't been a single national champion that hasn't been at least above average on both offense and defense.
Well, I've got good news!
Y'all knew about the offense already, but I'm delighted to tell you that despite what you may read in comments sections across the Interwebs, Ohio State's defense is decidedly above average, actually!
College football's most efficient teams, through week 11:
— parker (@statsowar) November 14, 2021
good offense good defense
good offense bad defense
bad offense good defense
"some of us can beat Texas" pic.twitter.com/wDxUOshiGn
Biggest takeaways here:
- I never imagined I'd be so excited for my team to simply be above average in a category.
- Wisconsin would be one hell of a tune-up before taking on Georgia.
If it comes down to it, I know everyone is going to be talking about Ohio State's offense against Georgia's defense, but I'm infinitely more intrigued to see that Georgia offense vs. Ohio State's defense.
I've been around long enough to know that the weakness-on-weakness matchup decides more games than the strength-on-strength battle.
JUST A BIG TEDDY BEAR. Antwuan Jackson is a bad man on the football field, but off of it, he's a self-proclaimed "big teddy bear" that just likes to help. And he has a special heart for the homeless.
You said you like to be helpful. What's the most helpful thing you've ever done?
In high school, I used to give out blankets and food and stuff. And food I don't eat here, it's like a lot of homeless people where I live at, I just drop off food all the time. And I talk to them sometimes and see how they are. I did it a lot in high school, and I'm kind of doing it now, here. It's just not online. I don't tweet that out.
Homelessness is an important issue to you?
It is. It is. When you see, you just want to help out.
You're a very sweet guy.
I'm just a big teddy bear basically.
I have mad respect for those who not only give tangible things to people in need – food, clothes, supplies, money, etc. – but give their time. Because when it comes down to it, our time and attention are often way more valuable and much harder to give.
Anybody can toss a dollar in a bucket, but it takes a lot more to share a conversation or a meal with somebody.
Big ups to Antwuan.
YAC MACHINE. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was so good this preseason that it caused Ohio State to simply hand Alabama a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist. And amazingly, he's more than lived up to the hype as a first-year starter.
The guy is an absolutely perfect slot receiver; you just get him the ball and let him go.
The most yards AFTER the catch this season pic.twitter.com/PyKmCz2MyR
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) November 15, 2021
Stats are cool, but let's peep the tape.
It looked like nothing was there.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 13, 2021
No. 4 @OhioStateFB's @jaxon_smith1 is just a YAC machine. pic.twitter.com/v296lut3gl
It looked like this reception was going to end up as a 12-yard gain.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 6, 2021
Jaxon Smith-Njigba turned it into a 75-yard touchdown. pic.twitter.com/lt3eheYbu5
And sometimes it's not even those big chunks, it's just finding a few extra yards on otherwise average plays.
Im not generally a record the TV with my phone guy, but good lord. pic.twitter.com/MBQgW173mU
— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) October 23, 2021
Folks, that's the guy widely considered the third-best receiver on Ohio State's roster.
Pretty cool!
DOES NOT GO DOWN. I've watched plenty of Michigan State football this season and am very aware of just how good Kenneth Walker III is. But I had no idea how absurd his after contact numbers yards were until stumbling across The Athletic's NFL Draft rankings article yesterday.
45. Kenneth Walker III, RB, Michigan State (5-10, 212)
The only running back to make the list (Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller just missed), Walker has been a breakout star for the Spartans. I want to see more from him as a pass-catcher and blocker, but he is a hard-nosed, physical runner with the instinctive run skills to make defenders miss. According to PFF, Walker currently leads the nation in forced missed tackles (77) and yards after contact (976).
He currently has 1,483 rushing yards, meaning about 2/3rds of his yardage numbers have come after contact, which is insane. To put that into a national perspective, Walker has more yards after contact than all but 20 players in the entire country have yards.
On one hand, that's absolutely incredible. On the other hand, his offensive line must be complete ass.
In any case, I am absolutely imploring the Bucks to simply wrap up. Please and thank you.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Take It Easy" by The Eagles.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. A teen accidentally invited to a stranger’s Thanksgiving continues the tradition six years later... French President Emmanuel Macron changed the color of the French Flag, but no one noticed... A deaf football team takes California by storm... How the man behind Trader Joe’s turned extra-large eggs into a grocery store empire...
