Cardale went into this a bit on Beanie & Boom's podcast. He said he hadn't shown the growth the Chargers needed to trust him as a number 2, so they went out an invested in a veteran QB. Then he came out and lit up the preseason, but the economics just didn't make sense to keep him.

He had a lot of phone calls about trying out for other teams, but life is hard as a guy on the edge of a practice squad - no job security, moving from one side of the country to the other at the drop of a hat. So playing in the XFL gives him a steady paycheck and a chance to actually play, with the idea being that he'll get a team to actually commit to him as a QB, even if as a QB 2, next season.

Was a really interesting look into the personal costs and challenges of being on the tail end of an NFL roster.

I see a few reasons for skepticism...

1) QB coach at OSU is a huge jump to go direct from Grad Assistant. We've seen this before with Nick Siciliano. Not even saying he's bad, but that OSU isn't really a "first job" kind of place.

2) Urban-related nepotism has not worked out well for us in the past (Zach Smith, Bill Davis)

That said, the votes of confidence from Haskins, Burrow and Chugs have me cautiously optimistic. I feel like I remember several of the OSU quarterbacks mentioning Corey un-prompted before as well, when being interviewed on "how Ryan Day teaches quarterbacks." Hopefully we've got another rising star on our hands in the vein of Hartline.

Oh, and one last one -- in terms of away venues, just how scary is Ann Arbor?

From last week -- how amazing was Pete Werner? As a linebacker yourself, did anything stand out that a fan might not notice?

Against TTUN -- Is there anywhere you see a concern matchup-wise going into The Game? If you're Harbaugh, where are you hoping to find enough of an advantage to win this one?

What did you, personally, see as the difference between the first and second quarters? Did OSU adjust play and protection calls or did the players just get a little comfortable executing against what Sparty was showing them?

And need to remember that the time on the board is probably their best run out of multiple attempts. Being able to run a 4.3 once out of all your runs last year is different from being able to do it on demand, especially when you add in the other variables mentioned.

They got hammered because the Vest left a paper trail.

So looks as though they'd have:

2014

A playoff caliber center, an oft-injured but near-pro-bowl-when-healthy ILB, a starting quality running back, and a super bowl winning CB

2015

A  bunch of injuries.

2016

Defensive Player of the Year, best rookie WR, and a solid DT. 

So it reads to me as though 2014 would be way ahead, 2015 would be behind, and 2016 would be *light years* ahead of what they actually got. I'll reserve judgment on 2017, but... man.

Would be neat to see "best of" teams for major college teams all face off for a virtual season.

I'd also like to see this redone with a more historical "what if the browns had just picked the best buckeye available" for the last 5 years or so.

The 2014 run has to be the bet 3-game stretch of being a buckeye fan ever. But none of the individual games win it for me. 'Bama that year wasn't the juggernaut that Miami was.

Agree with you on the jump shot, but wouldn't the DPOY award from the d-league indicate that he *can* guard NBA players?

Seriously, defensive MVP of the d-league isn't worth your last bench spot for depth?

The biggest outcome of Meyer not putting a wall around Ohio is a tougher B1G schedule. MSU, Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin can all build their programs on guys that OSU overlooks. And they're all hungry to pay us back for it.

Nice! Now do Tressel's and compare ;-)

How about a certain B1G defensive player of the year. I loved watching Swatterdale work.

Agreed. Penn State was quality most years, Iowa had some good ones, Michigan was a real blue blood, Wisconsin had a couple beastly years...

Tressel took us to 3 national championship shots, won 1, lost 1, got blown out 1.

Urban has taken us to 2 playoff shots, won 1, got blown out 1.

Awesome, Kyle.

Also I would love to much to be on that group chat during the game. A running feed of "things Kyle noticed" on game days would make me so, sooo happy.

Man, you're an NCAA wrestler and you're punching people? Just stick them in a twister until they say uncle and leave it at that.

Last bad year was 2006... you mean the year we had the Heisman trophy winner and one of the best Michigan victories in history? Yeah, the ending sucked, but so did the ending this year.... *that's* beyond entitled.

The worst part is that on your second one you've already used one of the potential grafts. You have to get a different kind or harvest from the other leg.

Don't have to insinuate what I think you are to come up with reasons to dislike Gene Smith.

I love that Gene Smith has hired winning coaches in a *ton* of sports. I hate that he has doubled down on the corporatization of college football, that he doesn't like the Band, that he loves the soulless Schottenstein and wants to tear down St. John's, that he will sell out to absolutely anyone who gives the university money up to and including wanting to move The Game and allowing custom uniforms in The Game if it pays enough.

But, as I said at the start -- he's hired a ton of winning coaches. So I can respect the dude for that.

Kind of makes me sad that we're selling out spring games... it was nice to have *one* game a year where you could make a decision day of and show up with no pressure.

I don't know about about "slacking" so much as "he's a young coach and maybe not good enough at it to work at Ohio State." Sounds as though Meyer gave him the "this is your last chance" talk.

When I got into lifting it was tempting as hell. It's much safer than people think as long as it's done carefully/not to excess, and the gains to your progress are literally huge. Literally double my progress to looking like a greek god instead of a geek? What's not to like?

If I could just go to my doctor and say "I want a clean plan for cycling through my next 6 months of workouts" and do the whole thing legally and safely I'd be on it in a heartbeat.