Cleaning out the Inbox

  The inbox is overdue for a cleaning, so I'll do so here!

Apparently, whether you want to blame it on climate change or a natural coincidence, the range for animals continues to stretch, and when that happens, new breeds can intermix with each other.

Weather.com writes of the new hybrid species, the "Grue Jay," which is a breed comprised of a Blue Jay and a Green Jay.

The Green Jay, a warm-weather bird, has moved a few hundred miles north from its previous northern border along the Texas/Mexico border.

The Blue Jay has extended its range westward, and now the two have started interbreeding, producing birds with mixed characteristics.

NHL.com shares the inspirational story of Seattle Kraken reporter Piper Shaw, who has overcome a challenging childhood to achieve her goal of working in media. 

Shaw's story has to be read to be believed that she survived such awful treatment, and I'd recommend that you do so!

The Athletic offers "Trouble with the Snap, which discusses the tenth anniversary of the Michigan-Michigan State game that saw the Spartans win on the final play of the game when Michigan's punter fumbled the snap, and Michigan State recovered and scored for the victory.

The article also digs into the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, which is often overshadowed by the Ohio State-Michigan wars but is almost as heated between the two schools.

Cleveland Magazine writes about the retro Pizza Hut restaurants that pop up around the country, yet the chain doesn't actually acknowledge they exist.

The Pizza Huts are decorated and designed exactly as they looked in the 1980s!!

The redesigns were offered for a limited time and aren't available after a change in management.

Ohio State Smacks Sparty 38-7

      Will Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Michigan State Spartans 38-7 in their first road game of the season in East Lansing, Michigan.

Jeremiah Smith ran for one score and caught another with the highlight all over social media with Emeka Egbuka with a touchdown catch and ninety-eight yards receiving to lead the offense.

Ohio State improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten with the win.

The Buckeyes will host Iowa next Saturday.

Olentangy Offerings

1) I am guessing here that few of you who read this are fans of the 2000s television show "Charmed".

While I wouldn't say I'm a fan, I'm not a hater either and there is one scene that while I don't remember the episode, context, or anything else, a scene where Holly Marie Combs's character literally sucks the life out of some poor schmuck popped into my mind during this game.

That's how Jeremiah Smith took this game over in the latter stages of the first half.

2) Holly Marie Combs and Jeremiah Smith may not have much in common, but they both just rendered their opponent lifeless.

Smith is double-covered as he leaps through two Spartan defensive backs to grab a Will Howard pass with one hand for a chunk of yardage, that's amazing enough BEFORE you watch the replay and see a Michigan State DB faceguard Smith AND grabs his facemask yet STILL catches the ball!

3) Then and THEN (cue Ray Stevens from his gimmick hit "Along Came Jones"), Smith snares another pass with one hand and just drives into the end zone for the score that broke Sparty.

You so rarely see a football team walk into a locker room that is clearly lifeless and deflated as Michigan State was after that display.

4) Will Howard did throw an interception but overall looked sharp and I'm impressed with his poise.

For now, Howard is what teams hope to receive from veteran transfer quarterbacks,

5) As spectacular as Jeremiah Smith is, you forget Emeka Egbuka at your peril and Egbuka might be the first receiver taken in next year's NFL draft- Smith may be the next great receiver but there is no way that Egbuka should be looked at as Smith's version of Alvin Harper.

6) Howard took a huge hit on the final scoring drive of the first half, so it was Devin Brown who threw the touchdown to Jeremiah Smith.

I'm really torn on giving Devin Brown playing time over freshman Julian Sayin as Brown deserves snaps for what he has gone through at Ohio State but it's Sayin who is the future of the program.

7) Michigan State was in this game for most of the first half, three times driving down the field into the red zone before the defense forced turnovers.

The Spartans fumbled twice and were stopped on a fourth and one at the OSU twenty-yard line.

Bend but not break defenses can break but the Buckeyes didn't in this one.

8) The offensive line still causes me to worry a bit and the protection (especially on the hit on Will Howard) hasn't been perfect.

Even more than the protection is in the run game where I didn't see the line pushing off the ball and opening holes against the Spartans.

Granted some of that is better competition but I would like to see a little bit of power football next week against Iowa, a rough and physical team.

9) The run game wasn't as spectacular as in non-conference play but it wasn't chopped liver either as TreVeyon Henderson averaged 9.9 yards on his seven carries and Quinshon Judkins 4.9 yards on his eleven.

I'm not worried about the running backs.

10) The pass rush provided four sacks, something that last season's squad accomplished only once.

Things are about to pick up as the returnees start to play more snaps and roll up those numbers.

I Tell Ya Herbie

    We are back for another edition of I Tell Ya Herbie, our weekly bootful of thoughts and notes from the world of college football.

Also, I have gotten one note about the gentleman to the right- Super Toe and I plan on a future post on the long (or short) range kicking toy of the 1970s!

I Tell Ya Herbie:

                           I wouldn't go as far as to say that I am all-in as a believer in the Deion Sanders experience in Boulder with the Colorado Buffaloes but I will say this, no matter if you are rooting for or against the Buffs, they are a fun team to watch.

Colorado's wild double-overtime comeback win over rival Colorado State may have been aided by a meltdown by the Rams but Colorado has been fun to watch win or lose and even though I believe that the wheels are about to come off as Colorado plays Oregon this week and without Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes are still worth watching.

I Tell Ya Herbie:

                            I'm not sure who Michigan State hires to replace Mel Tucker but that job isn't nearly as attractive as it could have been in the past.

The Spartans will be playing in an even tougher Big Ten next season with the new teams arriving and adding in what seems to be some sort of scandal every few years, Michigan State, while still a very desirable job, may not be what it once was.

I Tell Ya Herbie:

                            Mel Tucker may not be very smart or at least did a very dumb thing on his phone sex charges but one thing cannot be denied- Michigan State jumped on an opportunity to prove their commitment to the treatment of women in the workplace after their past issues with Larry Nassar in the athletic department but even more important (to them) was having the chance to shed themselves of the ridiculous contract that they signed Tucker to of their own making.

Michigan State signed Tucker to a ridiculous ten-year, ninety-five million dollar contract in 2021 when Tucker won his first eight games in East Lansing that most people thought was a premature extension for much more than a relatively unproven head coach should have been signed for.

Tucker's teams are 10-9 since the extension and it's no secret that Michigan State would have loved a reason to get out from under that contract.

Tucker's behavior may have answered Michigan State's prayers.

I Tell Ya Herbie:

                            Has the year finally arrived for the mighty SEC to not be the best conference in college football?

While Georgia is ranked first, Alabama appears to be in the midst of a down year, LSU has lost to Florida State in a game that wasn't close, Tennessee was pounded by Florida, the same Florida that was punished by Utah, and other than Missouri's surprising win over Kansas State with a sixty-one-yard field goal at the gun, the league lacks a big non-conference win.

It is possible at this point that both the Pac 12 and Big Ten could be better than the SEC by the end of the year.

I Tell Ya Herbie:

                           The Mountain West looks to be the best league in the Group of Five and this past week proved it in losses along with wins as Colorado State almost stunned Colorado in a double overtime loss and Wyoming gave Texas all they wanted in Austin two weeks after the Cowboys upset Texas Tech.

Fresno State shut out Arizona State 29-0 in Tempe, two weeks after beating Purdue on the road, UNLV knocked off SEC member Vanderbilt on the last play of the game, and that is before counting the two usual powers of the league in Boise State and San Diego State.

The Mountain may not grab the G-5 bid to a New Years Bowl but they look to be the best of the group at this stage of the season. 

Buckeyes roll over Sparty 56-7

     Ohio State was expected to defeat Michigan State in a battle of two top ten teams and some thought that the win could be one won handily.

But no one (at least that I saw) saw the bloodletting in the first half as Ohio State scored seven touchdowns to take a 49-0 lead into the locker room and held the ball most of the second half to take a 56-7 victory over Michigan State in the home finale' at Ohio Stadium.

C.J Stroud completed 32 of 35 passes for 432 yards and six touchdowns while Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all finished with over one hundred receiving yards with Olave and Wilson each catching two touchdowns and Smith-Njigba grabbing one pass for a score.

Ohio State improved to 10-1 overall, 8-0 in the Big Ten and will travel to Ann Arbor next week against one loss Michigan with the winner winning the Big Ten East division.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Entering the game, one question that was asked was could the Buckeye defense stop the Spartans Heisman candidate Kenneth Walker?

Walker would finish with twenty-five yards but only on six carries because MSU had to throw the football against a deficit that increased with every possession.

2) C.J. Stroud stepped forward on the Heisman stage with his 32 for 35 performance and if Stroud is able to repeat that performance this week against Michigan,  Stroud may have a chance of winning it.

3) When people look back at the loss to Oregon, what has changed in the passing game has been C.J. Stroud's ability to get the ball out of his hand quicker.

Stroud has improved in that area so much since the week two loss to the Ducks and the Buckeye passing game has flourished due to the improvement.

4) All three Buckeye star receivers with over one hundred yards and five touchdowns among them.

The difference between those receivers and the Spartans defensive backs were massive and yes the Michigan State pass defense was rated near the worst in college football entering the game but this bunch is capable of doing that to any team on any night.

5) Another positive from such a big win was that Ohio State didn't have to use TreVeyon Henderson as much as Henderson carried only nine times for sixty-three yards.

The reduced usage could come in very handy in the final game vs Michigan and possible post-season outings.

6) The much-maligned Buckeye defense allowed a single touchdown and that didn't arrive for the Spartans until the fourth quarter.

7) That touchdown was against the backup Buckeyes and it was on a short field as backup quarterback Kyle McCord threw an interception around midfield.

Give the Buckeye defense plenty of credit for the improvement, Michigan State offense isn't a weakling and shutting them down in that manner gives the Buckeye faithful some hope that the defense can keep Ohio State into games and give the offense a chance to build leads rather than trade scores.

8) The offensive line kept C.J. Stroud upright and clean for most of this game.

The offensive line gave up only two sacks and one of those was one that Stroud gave himself up for the easy sack.

Like Stroud himself, the line improvement has been great as the season progressed, and opposing defenses are having more and more problems getting pressure on Stroud.

9) Chris Olave's two touchdown catches tied and then surpassed David Boston to become the all-time Ohio State leader in receiving touchdowns.

People forget just how good David Boston was because he was on the John Cooper era Buckeyes that lost to Michigan all the time and during his time with the Arizona Cardinals, David Boston looked to be a new wave of receiver with the size of a tight end with the speed of a wide receiver.

Boston didn't play well after leaving Arizona for a big contract with the Chargers due to weight gain, steroid use, and off-the-field problems but at his best, David Boston was a damn good receiver.

10) Win over Michigan in Ann Arbor, the season keeps rolling with a trip to Indianapolis.

Lose and you go straight to a New Years Day bowl.

Don't take it for granted.

As well as C.J. Stroud has played, he is still a redshirt freshman on the road against a coach and program desperate for a win- Don't assume this is a gimme. 

Buckeyes stomp Spartans 52-12

  Ohio State managed to squeeze their game in against Michigan State and despite three missing starters on the offensive line and others on defense, Ohio State scored the first thirty-five points and easily dispatched the Spartans 52-12 in East Lansing.

Justin Fields threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, while Trey Sermon topped 100 yards in rushing while Chris Olave did the same in receiving yards.

The now 5-0 Buckeyes are scheduled to play Michigan next Saturday, but the Wolverines canceled their game with Maryland on Saturday and may not be able to play next week either.

Ohio State may be able to play another game if someone has an opening or they can hope the Big Ten changes their edict on teams needing to play six games to be eligible for the Big  Ten title game in two weeks.

Olentangy Offerings

1) This one is shorter than usual after a crazy day and more Ipad problems, but rumblings have begun that should Michigan not be able to play and Ohio State finishes 5-0 that the Buckeyes may be allowed to play in the Big Ten title game after all.

2) Justin Fields showed lots of poise in a situation that begged for poise to be lost, but what was most impressive was as simple as concentrating on getting the snap.

Harry Miller's snaps often weren't on the money, forcing Fields to move around to get the football like a shortstop roaming the infield.

3) Haskell Garrett's tip and grab of a Rocky Lombardi pass in the first half in the end zone was a score that when you know about Garrett's offseason has to make you feel good for Garrett.

Garrett was shot in the face while breaking up a fight and it wasn't sure that Garrett would be able to play this season at all, let alone at a high level.

4) Trey Sermon's day was paced by a long run of sixty plus yards, but Sermon showed that he has the breakaway speed to keep defenses honest.

Sermon has been a mild disappointment since arriving from Oklahoma as a grad transfer, but he seems to be rounding into form at just the right time.

5) The offensive line played well for missing both starting tackles and their center and shows one thing above all others- Recruit well and emergency situations become far easier to handle.

Ohio State was plugging in backups that most schools would be thrilled to see as starters and yet didn't really miss a beat.

6) Guard Wyatt Davis did play but was injured in the fourth quarter.

Davis limped off the field, but no word on how serious the injury is.

7) Larry Johnson might finish his career as a head coach at 1-0 as he replaced Ryan Day for the game with Day sidelined by Covid.

I get the feeling that Johnson might have been an excellent head coach for someone and that they missed out on quite a coach.

8) I don't know if Ohio State will play Michigan next week, Northwestern in the Big Ten title game, or the winner of next week's Iowa-Wisconsin game in the Big Ten showdown Saturday game, but the Buckeyes will have to be impressive to keep their playoff hopes alive..

However, the victory will come first and I'm starting to think that the one scenario that could damage the Buckeyes most would be a Clemson ACC title win over Notre Dame and a Florida upset of Alabama in the SEC championship.

Clemson is likely to do the former, Florida is unlikely to do the latter and of the remaining teams, the only possible team to worry about would be if the SEC pushes one-loss Texas A&M for the 4th slot.

If it is the Aggies or the Buckeyes, I think Ohio State is OK.

Buckeyes black out Sparty 34-10

The Ohio State Buckeyes once again started a bit slow and then again once the WD40 had been applied, the machine ran smooth and over the Michigan State Spartans 34-10 in Columbus.

Justin Fields threw for 206 yards, ran for 61 more along with two touchdowns throwing and another rushing to pace the black-clad Buckeyes, while J.K. Dobbins ran for 172 yards and a touchdown as well as part of the strong Ohio State rushing attack.

Ohio State becomes bowl eligible with the victory (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) and will take next week off before a Friday night to Ryan Field to face the Northwestern Wildcats (1-4 0-3).

Olentangy Offerings

1) The all-black uniforms on "Black Out Night" look great as they always do, but I always feel conflicted because as good as they look, the colors aren't black!
If they were awful, I'd easily rap them, but I can't-they just look too good!

2) I think some of the sluggish starts to the night on offense was a stubborn insistence on the ground game, which Michigan State's defense managed to control for the first quarter.
Once, the offense picked up the pace between plays and tossed a few completions in the second quarter, the rushing yardage quickly piled up and the once stout Sparty began to weaken.

3) Justin Fields threw his first interception of the year, but it wasn't a totally bad throw as Fields was throwing to K.J. Hill, who was open and where he needed to be, but the ball floated a bit and with great recognition by Michigan State's Josiah Scott to leave his man and move to the football, Scott was rewarded with the interception.

4) Fields was plagued by a few drops in this one or his passing numbers could have been better.
Binjimin Victor dropped one that he certainly would have taken to the end zone and Austin Mack just missed a touchdown catch by a hair, although the throw wasn't perfect.
Fields could have had better passing numbers with a little good fortune.

5) Binjimin Victor did redeem himself for the drop with a 60 yard catch and run that saw him break the pylon plane in the photo above and showed that Victor, for all the frustration that he can bring, has such tremendous physical talent that he could be an impact NFL player down the road-IF he can develop consistency.
Victor could also be a talent that never makes it big if he cannot find that consistency.
With a veteran QB, a solid WR coach and a team that doesn't need him to start in year one, he could be one of those players that suddenly breaks out in their second or third season.

6) It meant nothing to the outcome, but the third-quarter interception by Jordan Fuller (grabbed off a tip by Baron Browning) that Fuller brought to the end zone on a tremendous return was overturned by a borderline at best blindside block call on that very Baron Browning.
Don't you just hate when a play that would live on films for years gets tossed into the dustbin because of a very questionable penalty?

7) J.K. Dobbins added another long TD run to his stat line when he ran 67 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Dobbins and his 24 carries wore down the Spartans, but in the first quarter, it appeared that Dobbins could be in for a long night.
Dobbins is certainly a back that needs the workload to get the engine purring and can look pedestrian until things click and then Boom.

8) I likely write this every week, but I wince every time that Justin Fields tucks the ball down and runs.
I've been concerned about the backups from the opening of camp and even if Chris Chugunov and Gunnar Hoak could be very fine quarterbacks, they still aren't Justin Fields or even play similarly to him, so I hate seeing him run with the ball with large leads on the scoreboard.

9) So, when Chase Young left the field late in the game holding his hand in a game that was already decided, I was sweating bullets.
It appeared that Young was fine, but I have to say injuries are constantly a worry with the schedule's bullies beginning to show up on the schedule like the exits on an interstate, I have trouble seeing the reward in a game that you are leading by 24 with under four minutes to go.

10) The first quarter was good news with bad news.
The defense stripped the ball from the Spartans twice inside their own territory and established that it was going to be a long day for Sparty.
However, the Buckeyes were in the middle of establishing the run, didn't exactly dazzle with offensive creativity, settled for two field goals attempts by Blake Haubeil, who made one of the two for a 3-0 lead.
As good as the Buckeyes have been in the second quarter, they have been very pedestrian in the first period and that trend continued on Saturday night.

11) Blake Haubeil was two for three on field goals on the evening and is five of seven for the season.
Both misses for Haubeil came between thirty and thirty-nine yards, so hopefully, that doesn't become an issue.
Only with experience does a player gain experience and you always wonder how a player will handle crunch time until they actually do so.

12) Now Ohio State has handled the latest "toughest opponent" yet in the 25th ranked Spartans and the next three opponents should be wins, but two of the three shouldn't be taken lightly.
Northwestern on a Friday night road game looks like a trap, but the off week will help.
The Wildcats are 1-4, but in only one loss (Michigan State) were they beaten badly, so it's not a layup.
Erratic Maryland smoked Rutgers after being shutout by Penn State, but I think the coaching staff will remember that almost upset last year in College Park and have their team ready.
And Rutgers? Well, I can only shine a stone so much...

Back later if I have time with the narrow victory for Gennady Golovkin over Sergey Dereyvanchenko.

Things I think: College Football

Time for the weekly thoughts on college football and even though it seems like even when I try to get away from Fred Landucci's beloved Tennessee Vols, I just can't after this excellent ESPN article looking back at Lane Kiffin's one year in Knoxville.

1) The ESPN article on the crazy one season spent by Lane Kiffin was not only excellent, but it also made me think about what could have happened had Kiffin remained as the coach of the Volunteers.
Looking at the various messes since with Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and currently Jeremy Pruitt, I'm not sure that things could have been worse for Big Orange. but I'm not sure that they would have been much better either.
Kiffin was only 34/35 years of age as head coach of the Vols and I'm not sure he was mature enough to be a top-notch head coach.
Tennessee would have likely recruited well under Kiffin and that would have helped give them a chance at success, but could they continue to recruit well if the drop off in record occurred?
My guess as to the most likely result? Tennessee wins some games that they likely would have been the underdog in, lost others to teams of lesser talent and would have had lots of entertaining media events and clashes with other teams.
I would think that Lane Kiffin would have a shorter shelf life even with success and he would be unlikely to still reside in Knoxville.

2) The Arizona State-Michigan State game from East Lansing (10-7 ASU ) was a snoozer until the last three minutes or so, but two notes on the contest.
Mark Dantonio might need to either accept that offensive schemes for Sparty need to be updated because what the Spartans have been doing over the last three seasons just isn't getting the job done.
Dantonio might be so stuck in his Jim Tressel-like ways that he may not be able to make the changes that need to be completed, but Michigan State needs to at least talk to him about those potential moves.
The officials botched the final field goal attempt after Michigan State seemed to have tied the game at 10, a review saw Sparty called for 12 men on the field and another field goal try to tie the game.
On that kick, the kick drifted wide, but Arizona State had a player that should have been called for leaping, which would have given Michigan State another chance to force overtime.
The visiting team's conference provides the officials, so the mistake was by Pac 12 officials and an apology issued, which as always is too late.

3) The big run by Maryland sputtered to a stop after a 20-17 loss in Philadelphia to Temple.
It's not only the loss to a group of five school, but it is also that after showing a great deal of offense against Syracuse, the Terrapins had multiple chances to win this game.
Temple slammed the door twice on Maryland back Anthony McFarland from the one-yard line with three and a half minutes to go and again stopped Maryland at the ten with seconds remaining.
Now the conference schedule starts for Maryland against Penn State this Saturday and even though Maryland's four games that follow Penn State are all possible victories (at Rutgers, Indiana, at Purdue and Minnesota), the end of the season is brutal as they finish up with Michigan, at Ohio State, Nebraska, and at Michigan State.
The season's not lost, but it feels like a missed opportunity for Mike Locksley's first Terrapin team.

4) And there is the ACC, who deservedly pats itself on the back for the number one rated team in the nation in Clemson, but collectively appears to be about as competitive as the Washington Generals against the Harlem Globetrotters.
Other than 25th ranked Virginia (3-0) the conference doesn't have another ranked team and other than Wake Forest, doesn't have another undefeated team, which is pretty sad only three weeks into the season.
Last Saturday saw N.C. State lose at West Virginia by 17, which isn't a terrible loss, but also saw Virginia Tech need a rally in the fourth quarter to defeat 1-AA Furman, Pitt throw away a chance to upset Penn State and the two worst losses of the day with I-AA Citadel defeating Georgia Tech at home and Kansas, who hadn't won a road game against a power five team in eleven seasons, crunching Boston College by 24 in Boston!
I would say it is very likely to that the Clemson opponent in the ACC title game will have three losses and possibly four.
Not a great matchup to attract fans to your title game.

5) The hottest coaching seat has to be occupied by USC's Clay Helton after the Trojans road loss to BYU in overtime.
It's not just the loss to the Cougars, it's the next three games, all against ranked teams (Utah, Washington, and Notre Dame) that they will be underdogs against and two on the road.
A 2-4 start isn't out of the question for Helton and with a new AD to be hired soon after the resignation of Lynn Swann, Helton is more likely to be shown the door than stay around for 2020.

6) I found it interesting that former Northern Illinois and Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill has been brought on staff at Virginia Tech as a special assistant to Justin Fuente.
Kill was forced from the Gophers head job after 2015 by doctors that recommended he leave coaching to avoid neurological damage from epileptic attacks.
Fuente's Hokies finished 6-7 last season and their 2-1 record is less than impressive with a near loss to Furman and a road loss at Boston College, who as mentioned earlier was blasted by hapless Kansas at the same stadium.

Buckeyes pull away from Sparty 26-6

Ohio State scored a touchdown, field goal and a safety in a four-minute span between the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter to bust open a one-point game and pull away to a 26-6 win over the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing.

Mike Weber rushed for 104 yards and the game's final touchdown, while Dwayne Haskins threw for over 200 yards and one score.

Ohio State improved to 9-1 (6-1 Big Ten) on the season and will play their final regular season road game next week at Maryland.

Olentangy Offerings

1)  I know Michigan State offense is very weak and maybe the weakest one that Ohio State has seen since conference play started, but the defense showed up strong.
The Buckeyes held the Spartans to under 300 yards in offense and forced three turnovers, including the fumble recovery for a touchdown that essentially ended the game.
Let's see what the Buckeyes do in the next two games before saying the tide has turned for good, but this was a good start.

2) BUT, the offense reverted back to form and that's not a good thing.
Michigan State does lead the league in run defense and Mike Weber did rush for 104 yards, but much of that came when the game was decided.
The offense looks more broken than fixed.

3) J.K. Dobbins looked to have gained some confidence last week, but that had to have been hurt on Saturday as Dobbins finished with only 28 yards on 14 carries.

4) The offense looked so stunted at times that Tate Martell entered the game at quarterback to see if he could open things up a bit.
Martell ran for five yards on the first half drive that would eventually see Dwayne Haskins hit Parris Campbell for a score, but a similar second-half situation saw Martell fumble a poor snap and Michigan State recovered.
The mixed results saw the experiment to be worth the time giving Martell a few snaps next week in College Park.

5) I'm not a big fan of some of the receivers on the Buckeyes that seem to avoid contact.
 Parris Campbell is the biggest perpetrator of this.
I'm not saying that players have to put their shoulder down on every touch of the ball, but sometimes those few extra yards can make a real difference in a field goal attempt or even an easier attempt for a first down.
Just a little more physicality would be very helpful.

6) My pick for player of the game? Drue Chrisman, the punter that set a new OSU record for the shortest punt in the first quarter with a four-yard boot, but picked up his game thereafter with five punts that were downed inside the Spartans six-yard line on five different occasions.
Punters that can perform like that can be quite the valuable weapon.

7) And give plenty of credit to the coverage team on the Chrisman punts- Terry McLaurin seemed to be flying downfield on every play and the wideouts on those squads were hustling to down those kicks.
It's exactly what you hope to see from your special teams, which has upped their game in recent games.

8) The Buckeyes turned this game on two fumbles that gave them ten points and both were Spartan drives that started deep in Michigan State territory off Chrisman punts.
Considering the Ohio State offense, it was fortunate that Dre'Mont Jones beat Sparty to the ball in the end zone or who knows what would have come about other than a two-point safety?

9) Speaking of safeties, the Spartans gave two points to Ohio State with an odd play,
The Spartans lined up for a punt from their end zone late in the third quarter and what looked to be a miscommunication occurred as one of the Michigan State punters (they used two and I cannot remember which) didn't appear to be ready for the snap and the ball went sailing over his head.
On replay, it was clear that the snap was planned and after the game, Mark Dantonio was asked about it.
It turns out that Dantonio didn't trust his punt team (understandable) against the Buckeye punt rush after their recent success and using inexperienced punters didn't give him faith either.
The call didn't affect the game, but at the time, it looked huge.

10) I've complained about the tackling of late and that was much improved yesterday.
The Buckeyes were flying to the ball and seemed more aggressive with much less read and react.
Some defenses (and defensive players) just need to either have freedom or in some cases discipline to fit their skills.
Perhaps some of the Buckeyes tacklers just needed some freedom to be aggressive?

11) Tate Martell's appearance in the red zone was a move that I thought might be coming.
Urban Meyer used J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones in a similar manner in their 2015 season together at times and I thought this could add an extra wrinkle.
Here's the thing- much like the "Wildcat" dying off in the NFL simply because, without a passing threat, it's just a single wing, If Martell cannot keep defenses honest with his arm- defenses will figure the gimmick out quickly.

12) And if Martell isn't a threat to throw, what will that do to next year's offense with the expected departure of Dwayne Haskins?
I'm not saying Martell isn't capable of doing things with his arm, but he's going to have to prove that to opposing defenses.

13) Michigan State wore white helmets this week vs the Buckeyes.
I much preferred their classic green helmet look, but here is an odd take for me.
I've always been someone that likes the colored jerseys for most teams over their whites, but for the Buckeyes, I do think the white jerseys with the silver pants is my favorite look.
I like the scarlet jerseys too, but the crispness of an autumn afternoon just looks so good with the traditional look of the white road uniforms.

14) I just don't know about two weeks from now.
Michigan looks as strong as they have in years and I just don't feel good about this team right now.
Urban Meyer has often done his best work when ruled out of a game (His Florida team over OSU and OSU over Alabama) and perhaps that can happen again and the game is in Columbus.
If this game was in Ann Arbor, I'd rate the Wolverines a prohibitive favorite, instead, I'm hopeful, but not confident.

See you later with the Browns against the visiting Atlanta Falcons.

Buckeyes Bounce Back, Crush Sparty 48-3

Photo Credit:Cleveland Plain Dealer

Mike Weber scored on runs of 82 and 47 yards and J.T.Barrett passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Ohio State Buckeyes firmly grabbed control of the Big Ten East with a 48-3 shellacking of the Michigan State Spartans at the Horseshoe in Columbus.
Weber, who finished with 162 yards on the afternoon teamed with J.K Dobbins (124 yards) to lead a ground game that rolled over Sparty for over 300 yards on the day.
Ohio State moved to 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference with the win breaking the first place tie with Michigan State.
The Buckeye finish their home schedule next week against lowly Illinois before finishing the season in Ann Arbor.
Wins in both of those games will clinch the division and earn a trip to Indianapolis against the Wisconsin Badgers, who clinched the Western Division yesterday with their win over Iowa...
This may be a shorter recap than usual as I'm not feeling well and I'm trying to shake it off as best I can...

Olentangy Offerings

1) Just as Mike Weber had been the forgotten man on offense, last year's leading rusher appeared with a running style that bordered on savagery as he slashed through the Spartans defense.
Weber had struggled all season in trying to return from a hamstring and hadn't looked to be the same player this season as he dealt with the injury.
Weber looks healthy and with a seemingly renewed commitment to running the football, which makes any quarterback better, Weber might make the Buckeye offense rev up their engine in these final few games.

2) Mike Weber showed that assuming that he is healthy, he might be a better back than last season.
Why?
Try those two long scoring runs, each of which set personal records for the longest run in his career.
If Mike Weber suddenly has added breakaway speed to his game, look out opponents.

3) Weber's backfield mate, J.K.Dobbins didn't score in this game, but his one hundred yards plus outing enabled him to pass 1,000 rushing yards on the season.
Dobbins joins Robert Smith and Maurice Clarett as the only true freshmen Buckeyes to reach that number.

4) It might be a minor quibble, but two small ones.
Late in the first half and holding a 35-0 lead, the Buckeyes started throwing the ball downfield rather than run the clock out.
J.T. Barrett was intercepted and in the resulting final Michigan State possession, cornerback Damon Arnette was injured and did not return.
I wasn't mad at Barrett about the interception, but with that kind of lead, the resulting risk was hardly worth the reward.

5) I also didn't like Barrett's other interception as it happened in the end zone after the running game crushed the Spartans to get to that area of the field and got too cute in throwing the ball.
Too many teams are too smart for their own good in that situation.

6) Two linebackers missed the game from the starting lineup as Jerome Baker and Dante Booker missed the game.
It made no difference as the Buckeyes snapped Tuf Borland and Malik Harrison into the lineup and Chris Worley moved out of the middle and to the outside backer spot where he started in 2016.
The production didn't dip ( Each of the three finished the game with a sack) and Worley looked more comfortable than he has all season.

Going to stop here as I'm trying to feel better to concentrate on the Browns in Detroit.
Look for a Browns review and a boxing challenge tonight or tomorrow with some luck!

Buckeyes survive Sparty with 17-16 win

On a dreary and dank day in East Lansing that saw all sorts of crazy things occur to allow the Michigan State Spartans to hang tough with the second ranked Ohio State Buckeyes,it wasn't until a two point conversion was intercepted and then a floater deep inside MSU territory was grabbed by Gareon Conley to put the plucky Spartans away for a 17-16 Ohio State win.
Mike Weber and J.T. Barrett each rushed for over 100 yards in the nailbiting win.
Ohio State moved to 10-1 (7-1 Big Ten) with the victory and returns home to Columbus to play you know who next week..

Olentangy Offerings

1) Not sure what it is about Sparty,but even when they are bad (like they are this year),they play the Buckeyes tough.
A smart and well coached team,Michigan State is dangerous when overlooked and next week when they go to Penn State-the Nittany Lions better not take them lightly..

2) One thing that people (Including myself) tend to forget about Michigan State is the massive amount of Ohio high schoolers that wind up in East Lansing.
That means the OSU game is huge to players that likely grew up dreaming of a Buckeye offer and not to get one-Maybe that is some of the reason that Michigan State plays Ohio State so tough...

3) Many are debating Mark Dantonio's decision to go for two points and the lead after the 4th quarter touchdown to pull within a point.
I'm not.
Michigan State isn't going to a bowl and this game (and next weeks at Penn State) are their chance to make waves-I liked the decision,but

4) Not the play call,L.J. Scott had gashed the Buckeye run defense for that entire drive  (He may have been the only player to touch the ball) and what do you do?
Throw with Tyler O'Connor...

5) Once again,the Buckeyes just didn't get the ball in the hands of Curtis Samuel enough.
Samuel did have a 24 yard touchdown catch,but only touched the ball eight times (4 rushes,4 catches).
They'll need to do better next week.

6) It was windy and the conditions were far from great,but that doesn't excuse J.T. Barrett for a less than great passing day (1 TD 86 yards).
Yes,some balls were dropped,but a lot were off target too....

7) The Buckeyes finished with two sacks on the day,but the rush came big when needed as Tyler O'Connor's heave to avoid a sack sent the ball fluttering to Gareon Conley to end the game forced the pass.
The pass rush has been off and on this year,but it tends to show up when needed..

8) Rough day for the usually solid Pat Elflein at center,who had a bad snap,a few penalties and was beaten on a few plays,

9) Phenomenal interception by Chris Worley in the first half on a Tyler O'Connor pass that was not thrown poorly.
Worley showed terrific instincts in flying to the ball and nice hands in coming down with it with a leap and still inbounds...

10) Now onto the team up north,who didn't exactly polish their rep with a ten point win over Indiana at home.
Gonna be a tough one,but I have a feeling-we get this one...

Bonus: Eleven Warriors had a great idea for the game-Have both teams like UCLA-USC wear their home jerseys.
That Scarlet vs Blue would look great on TV and yet not be a sellout for the rivalry.
I love it!!

Podcast-Buckeyes Smacked by Sparty

Disappointed in the Ohio State loss,so I put my thoughts on the podcast...