Archives for September 2011

Jordan Hall, Travis Howard, and Corey “Pittsburgh” Brown have been reinstated by the NCAA after serving a 2 game suspension for taking $200 in cash from a charity event. This news has come at a time when we will need them most with our first road game of the year at Miami coming up this Saturday. After last weeks debacle of OSU claiming the players were available and the NCAA smacking OSU on the hand 24 hours before last week’s game with Toledo, Coach Fickell played his cards close to the vest today not announcing their availability until the NCAA gave them the go ahead.

To read the entire NCAA reinstatement press release go here.

UPDATE:

Of special note taken from the last paragraph of the press release “Reinstatement decisions are independent of the NCAA enforcement process and typically are made once the facts of the student-athlete’s involvement are determined. This is typically well in advance of infractions decisions. The enforcement investigation into the Ohio State University is ongoing.”

It appears as if OSU isn’t in the clear from this case of a Booster gone wild and players taking money they shouldn’t have. My guess is NCAA wants to know why players have been attending this charity event yearly without approval from the OSU compliance office and if this “booster” is a bigger issue then appears on the surface.

Nike unleashed onto the world the 2011 Pro Combat uniforms given to specific teams and like always OSU is one of those schools. The uniform is dedicated to the 1961 OSU NC team and is suppose to resemble their uniforms and also form a Buckeye Tree with the gloves representing tree bark. Most people I saw on twitter HATE the unis. I like them and more importantly recruits and players LOVE them. One thing I always think is funny is when football fans start critiquing fashion as if they are some sort of Project Runway judge channeling their inner Tim Gunn. Next time you go to a game look around at the people in the stadium and after seeing what they are wearing you can start to understand football fans should never judge fashion.

Ohio State 2011 Pro Combat Uniforms

It only took the University of Michigan (“The Harvard of Ann Arbor”) 259 years to duplicate Benjamin Franklin’s most famous discovery.  If Franklin were alive today, he would have likely been too busy scrawling a scathing letter of protest to Netflix for jacking up their streaming prices before he finished season 3 of The Office.  But if he had flipped over to the most-hyped matchup of two unranked teams ever, he would have discovered the electricity (yeah, that happened) of one Mr. Denard Robinson as he once again orchestrated a last-minute victory over a Notre Dame team that just needs a cupcake, y’all.

In actual ranked-team news, the Coaches’ Poll had little movement this week outside of several one-spot flip-flops that didn’t really seem to be based on anything.  The biggest gainers were Arizona State (who beat the erroneously-ranked Missouri in overtime), West Virginia (who beat the possibly-fictional Norfolk State) and South Florida (who beat Ball State, probably the best team in the state of Indiana).

That overtime loss by Missouri is the only one suffered by a Big 12 team so far.  By Kathy Miles’ estimation, that makes them like the most awesomest conference ever.  That must be why everybody wants out.

This weekend’s slate is light on excitement but there are several world-shocking opportunities for unranked teams hosting ranked opponents.  I’ll be surprised if at least one of these games isn’t an upset:

Boise State @ Toledo
West Virginia @ Maryland
Michigan State @ Notre Dame
Ohio State @ Miami (please not this one please)

So as of this writing, we are about five hours removed from the end of another Ohio State victory and the 90 year streak of victories over other Ohio college teams continues for the Buckeyes. That is probably the best things that happened today in the 27-22 Buckeye victory. Toledo had more yards and more offensive points and really had more energy and will to win than OSU did all game long. Don’t get me wrong, Toledo is a good team and is favored to win their conference this year and most likely will easily win the MAC. It was a trap game that OSU seemed happy to walk into the trap and not fight to get out of it. Ohio State is lucky to escape today with a win. VERY lucky.

How did OSU get so lucky today? As well as Toledo played today, they lost the game all by themselves. Toledo racked up 14 penalties for 108 yards and most of those penalties were drive killers or OSU drive helpers and never in favor of the Rockets. OSU on the other hand only had 2 penalties for 13 yards. Toledo’s head coach Beckman did a masterful job play calling this game, he just really needs to teach fundamentals and intelligence. How in the world do you have so many illegal formations on punts? I counted 4 or 5 at least where they had 5 guys in the backfield. Somebody needs to learn how to count to 5 for the Special Teams. One of those penalties made Toledo punt again after a great first punt which the 2nd punt was returned 69 yards for a TD by Chris Fields of OSU. Which is the difference between winning and losing. Toledo also had an INT and missed a FG and screwed up the hold on another FGA. That is how you diagram losing a game.

For Ohio State, the kind of offense Toledo runs has always given them fits. It doesn’t help when you have 8 players suspended for the game and another 5 players out with injuries. Then during the game you lose more players to injuries. Having to play so many inexperienced players isn’t any help either. I know we are only 2 games into a very strange season for OSU but where are our safeties at this year? What has happened to Tyler Moeller? They aren’t making plays and they don’t seem to be flying all over the field like usual. The only times we here their names called is when they have missed a tackle or got burned on a play. They need to get tougher and meaner on defense all around and start playing with an attitude again. On offense we are missing too many players due to suspensions to be as effective as we will be later on in the year. Bauserman was inconsistent today at best. Braxton Miller didn’t get to play at all. Carlos Hyde played well but not great. The WR corp did a good job when Bauserman wasn’t over throwing them by miles. Rod Smith I love you buddy but I don’t think we will see you on offense again this year if Berry is 100% next week and Hall and Herron get back from suspensions. You need to protect the ball young man. On a bright note for you I remember Eddie George fumbling the ball several times on the goal line when he was younger and he turned out “OK”. Stoneburner, I will forgive you for that drop on an easy pass on 4th down if you keep scoring TDs every game deal? Drew Basil, stop kicking like you are a wolverine for the love of Woody. John Simon had to go into the locker room in the third quarter to get an IV for fluids due to cramps and came back in the fourth quarter to win this game for the Buckeyes with TFLs and sacks and QB pressures.

To sum things up: OSU didn’t Shock the world or Silence the doubters today. They did, however, prove they don’t suck as bad as Penn St. and Michigan who have never beaten the mighty Toledo Rockets so at least they can tell that to the haters tonight right?

Answers to the Preview Questions….
1.) Stoneburner had 1 TD catch.
2.) OSU had 4 QB sacks.
3.) OSU did NOT pitch another shutout.
4.) Final score was 27-22 OSU.

Given that no one was even close on the final score I declare all of us LOSERS. Next up for OSU The U…..

SYR decided to give the live blog a chance during the Toledo game. Hit the jump to follow his thoughts during the madness:

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We’re here for another live chat for Toledo Game. We should kick it off around 11:45. Game starts at 12 PM on Big Ten Network.

Hit the jump for the chat window. RSS readers will need to come to the site.

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Ohio State trio not cleared to play

Brown, Hall, Howard to sit a minimum of two games
NCAA.com
Last Updated – September 9, 2011 5:25 GMT
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Contrary to recent media reports, Ohio State football student-athletes Corey Brown, Jordan Hall and Travis Howard are not cleared to compete in the game on Saturday with Toledo.

The nature and scope of their violations merit a minimum two-game suspension.

In addition, the facts submitted by the university have raised further questions that need to be answered before the reinstatement process is complete.

The Buckeyes have gone 32,844 days since their last loss to a backyard opponent.

Suspensions, NCAA investigations, a vacated season, a deposed coach and a departed quarterback have stung Ohio State. But by virtue of Saturday’s 42-0 beatdown of Akron, and the overwhelming popularity of the scarlet and gray, the Buckeyes continue to maintain their in-state dominance within Ohio’s borders.

The Buckeyes are 42-0-1 against their closest neighbors since their last loss, a 7-6 setback to Oberlin during native son Warren Harding’s administration back in 1921.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

So we are on to week two of the Ohio State Buckeyes 2011 and after a nearly perfect game (I am glaring at you Drew Basil and you, too, Rod Smith) the previous week against Akron, will OSU keep building on momentum or will they falter a little bit and get in a tight game? OSU proved they can and will put a world class defense on the field no matter how many players they lose for whatever reasons. Giving up zero points and 90 yards of total offense with five sacks and one interception they were flawless. The Buckeyes on offense were efficient and balanced. On special teams we were good on coverage and returns but Drew Basil missed both his field goal attempts and didn’t kick the KO’s deep enough for my liking.

Toledo, on the other hand, had a huge game against powerhouse New Hampshire. (Just kidding.) Toledo won their first game of the season 58-22 on a balanced attack of passing 304 yards and 5 TD’s to go with 287 yards rushing and 2 TD’s. The Rockets seem to want to use the 2-QB system this year since both QB’s played a lot last year. Expect a healthy dose of Austin Dantin a 6’2″ 200lb Junior from Tallahassee, Florida who completed 15 of 21 passes for 161 yards and 3 TD’s. We will also see Terrance Owens, a 6’4″ 180lb Sophomore from Cleveland who completed 10 of 13 for 122 yards and 2 TD’s.

The WR corp is led by Bernard Reedy a 5’9″ 175lb Soph. from Florida who had 5 catches for 113 yards and 2 TD’s and Eric Page a 5’10” 180lb Jr. from Toledo who added 5 catches for 60 yards and a TD.

The running game is strong and anchored by a strong offensive line. RB Adonis Thomas is a do-it-all 5’10” 185lb Sr. from Newark, NJ and he had 9 carries for 115 yards and 1 TD and added 4 catches for 26 yards. On defense Toledo didn’t impress much giving up over 300 yards and 22 points to a 1AA New Hampshire squad.

Ohio State will need to build on the previous weeks positives and fix some of their issues. Luckily OSU gets back 4 of the 8 Buckeyes suspended for part of this season. Starting RB Jordan Hall is back as well as our best cornerback, Travis Howard. Backups DB Corey “Pitt” Brown and LB Jordan Whiting are all back from 1 game suspensions for taking illegal benefits. We will also get back injured RB Jamaal Berry as well which will give OSU 2 more experienced RB’s to run behind the impressive OL. Ohio State needs to take this game serious as these other Ohio teams always come to the ‘Shoe with dreams of knocking off the school that didn’t want them. This is not the week to be looking past Toledo in anticipation of next weeks big game against Miami. Let’s hope that the Buckeyes are preparing and getting ready for a battle and keeps building on last weeks near perfection and continues to try to SHOCK THE WORLD and SILENCE THE DOUBTERS.

This weeks questions will be easier and fewer I promise :).

1.) How many TD’s will Stoneburner have?
2.) How many sacks will OSU Def have?
3.) Will OSU pitch another shutout?
4.) What will be the final score?

The Big Ten will crank up the level of competition this week, which wouldn’t be hard to do as the 12 members of one of the toughest conferences in the nation played Alex and Dan’s Trucking School For The Awesome, East Toronto JV West, Poughkeepsie Beauty School, True Blood Academy, Jim Jay Bullock Actors For Freedom, Whitehall Kindergarten, Duck, Duck, Goose High, Chutes and Ladders North, and USC in week one.

Heck, Minnesota nearly pulled of the upset of USC but fell just short.

Alabama vs. Penn State

Penn State will take on #2 in the Nation Alabama. Last week PSU played some terrible D1AA school and won 41-7. Silas Redd had a decent game and should get a ton of action vs. a damn good Alabama team. Trent Richardson will get a bunch of work on the other side of the ball. Both schools really aren’t settled at QB. PSU will most likely start Rob Bolden. But they will also play Matt McGloin who is a giant douche. Alabama could also play two QB’s. Other than home field advantage, Penn State doesn’t have much going for them. They have a really bad QB situation, a struggling offense and a coach that needs this:

Notre Dame vs. Michigan

This will be the first night game in Ann Arbor…ever. So they finally figured out how to turn on lights in Michigan. Fantastic!

Next up we have a battle of two teams that have been struggling to get back to their once former glory. Michigan an Notre Dame. Both of these teams remind me of Andy Dick. They used to be decent back in the day, but now…now they are just REALLY embarrassing. I shall call this the Andy Dick Bowl.

I really don’t know what to make of either team. Notre Dame is already 0-1 after losing to mighty South Florida and Michigan played some other crap team in Michigan until Brady Hokes tummy starting growling and the refs called the game for thunder (and lighting). Can’t we just have both teams get swallowed up by Mego Streisand?

Anyway, here is a great video of my new favorite college head coach molding the hearts and minds of 18-22 year olds in Notre Dame:

Oregon State vs. Wisconsin

This will be Wisconsin’s toughest OOC opponent…and Oregon State lost to a D1AA school last week. When will the Honey Badgers sack up and actually play a decent OOC team?

This game will be a blowout. They will run all over Oregon State and Russell Wilson will have another big day. And I will be totally unimpressed. Anyway here is a video of the Badgers next opponent:

Here is the rest of the docket:

Iowa @ Iowa State
Florida Atlantic @ MSU
Toledo @ Ohio State
South Dakota State @ Illinois
Eastern Illinois @ Northwester
New Mexico State @ Minnesota
Purdue @ Rice
Virginia @ Indiana
Fresno State @ Nebraska