Archives for July 2013

Since this is the final year of the Bowl Championship Series Championship Game era I decided to try and figure out which Buckeyes team would be the best during this tenure. The BCS is being replaced next season with a four team playoff system for the 2014-2015 season and we will have more on that later in another post. The BCS began at the beginning of 1997-1998 season, through the years there has been it’s fair share of controversies on who plays in the championship game. I’m not going to go into all of that. I am going to try and pick one Buckeye team during this era as who I feel is the best. This is not going to include the obvious choice of the Champions from the 2001-2002 season. The only reason is it would be to short of a post and not very interesting. Is it one of the best teams? Yes they brought home the crystal football.

During this tenure the Buckeyes were one of the best teams in the NCAA. They had 94 players selected in the NFL Draft, 21 of them being selected in the first round. Ohio State has a record of 147 wins to 39 losses. They won 79 percent of their games averaging 9.8 wins a season to 2.3 losses placing them second overall behind Boise State (85 percent) as best win loss percentages. (hater adjustment alert) If you figure in the vacated games due to Tattoo Gate then they fall to third Oklahoma moves into second. Buckeyes are one of 5 teams to play in 3 or more National Championship games. I know it could have been and should have been more but we will just stick to the facts. Oklachokma Oklahoma Sooner’s went to four NC games going 1-4, Alabama has won all three of their appearances to date, LSU has gone 2-1 in their three appearances, the Buckeyes and Florida State both went 1-2 in their respected games .Now you can see why everyone hates The Ohio State Buckeyes, they are one of the best in the nation.

I have whittled my choices down to four. If you care to debate it I would love to talk with you about it. My choices are the 1998, 2005, 2006, 2007 seasons. What 2010 and 2012 seasons not on the list. Nope they aren’t, last years team while they did finish undefeated, had some great players on it overall they weren’t that great compared to my final four. The 2010 season will not be recognized by me because of my anger in what those players did and the turmoil that ensued afterwards. I have to say this is very hard with all the great teams Ohio State has fielded over the years, plus it’s sad that one of the greatest teams in my opinion wasn’t even during the BCS years. Just want to give a shout out to the 1996-1997 Rose Bowl Champions. My criteria for what I would constitute the best Buckeye BCS Era team would have to be strength of schedule, win/loss record and point differential, and who I felt had the best combined players.

The 1998 season had a 11-1 record the only loss was to unranked Michigan State. They opened the season on the road beating West Virginia who was ranked #11 at the time. Other ranked opponents they beat were #21 Missouri, #7 Penn State, #11 Michigan all home games. They beat #8 Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl. I feel if they would have made the championship game that year they would have taken home the prize. This team averaged 35.86 points per game while giving up an average of 12. Key players on the team were QB Joe Germaine, WR David Boston, DB Antoine Winfield, LB Andy Katzenmoyer.

The 2005 Season finished will a record of 10-2 their losses were to #2 Texas (at home) and #6 Penn State (away). Other key ranked opponents were #21 Iowa, #17 Michigan State, #22 Minnesota, #17 Michigan all being at home except Minnesota. They averaged 32.67 points per game and surrendered 15.25 each contest on average. A.J. Hawk, Donte Whitner, Bobby Carpenter, Santonio Holmes, and Nick Mangold were some of the stars from this squad.

2006 football team went undefeated in the regular season its only loss was to Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators in the National Championship. They beat #2 Texas in Texas, #13 Iowa and #2 Michigan were home victims. The Ohio State Michigan game was Numbers 1 vs 2 and dubbed the Game of the Century. You might remember some of the players that year WR and return specialist Ted Ginn Jr, CB Malcolm Jenkins, LB James “The Animal” Laurinaitis, and some guy who won the Heisman Trophy named Troy Smith. Their offense averaged 34.61 points per game and the defense averaged 12.78 points against them.

The 2007 campaign was successful in returning to the National Championship game making back to back appearances. They also unfortunately lost in the NC game to LSU for one of their two losses the other being to an unranked Illinois team. The ranked opponents they beat that year was both #20 Perdue, #23 Michigan both at The ‘Shoe and #25 Penn State, #19 Wisconsin were road games. The Buckeyes that year averaged 31.4 points offensively and surrendered 12.78. Key players were CB Malcolm Jenkins, WR Brian Hartline, TE Jake Ballard, RB Chris Wells.

That is my Final Four for the greatest Buckeye teams of the BCS Era. My final selection is going to be the 2006 season. Even though we got run out of the University of Pheonix Stadium in Arizona against Urban and Company I feel this team can stack up and beat another team out there. Please feel free to tell me yours and if you agree or disagree with mine.

Demetrius Knox is a highly rated offensive guard out of the 2014 class. Demetrius is ranked number 1 in his position by Rivals. He is also rated a 94 by 247 Sports and was given a 82 from ESPN. Knox is 6’4 and 296 pounds. Knox was once committed to Texas but decommitted. He plays strong and is a force. It was a great opportunity to interview him and he has a very bright future.

Andrew: How has the recruiting process been?

Demetrius: It has been a huge headache. It is a very tough decision.

Andrew: What schools have been showing the most interest?

Demetrius: Ohio State, TCU, Florida, Florida State and Miami.

Andrew: How was your visit to Ohio State? What did you like about the school?

Demetrius: I liked everything! Great coaches, great facilities and great education!

Andrew: What coaches did you talk to and what did they tell you?

Demetrius: I talked to almost all of them. They told me that they have seen all of my film and I am their number one2014 OL target.

Andrew: What officials are scheduled?

Demetrius: Ohio state vs. Penn State, UCLA vs. CAL, Florida vs. Florida State, Florida State vs. Maryland and Miami after the season.

Andrew: What do you look for in a program?

Demetrius: I look for a place that I’d love to be at and can call home. Also a winning program with great academics.

Andrew: Is there an estimate when you plan on committing?

Demetrius: I will commit whenever it feels right.

Andrew: How would you describe your game?

Demetrius: I know it sounds funny but finesse. I am very technical. I wouldn’t say that I am powerful, its just that I know where and how to place my body.

Andrew: What do you plan on improving before you play in college?

Demetrius: Everything! You can never stop improving.

Andrew: What do you enjoy doing off of the field?

Demetrius: I am a chill kind of guy. Sitting back playing video games with some friends and listening to music is the life!

Andrew: Is there anything else you would like to say?

Demetrius: Yeah, I don’t know why but some people think my offers from UCLA and Ohio State aren’t committable. They are!

A huge positive for Ohio State fans is that Demetrius has been posting pictures relating to Ohio State. For example he posted a picture of an Ohio State he got on July 21st. Also, on July 23rd he posted a customized picture of him with the Buckeye stadium behind him. Ohio State is highly recruiting him so a commit from Demetrius would be a huge catch for the Buckeyes. I am excited to follow Demetrius through the recruiting process. below you can see his Highlights.

We don’t have a guy on the ground at the B1G Media Day, but we do have BTN2Go and we were able to listen in to Urban Meyer’s turn at the mic. A few thoughts.

First and foremost, it’s clear that Urban was going to get a lot of questions about the current status of Carlos Hyde (including responding to Braxton Miller’s claim of “we have good news”). He handled those questions deftly, defelcting any real answer to the “we’ll wait until we see all the facts” response.

He did mention he was “furious” when he received the call about the various issues that cropped up with players (Hyde, Roby, Baugh and Gardner) and mentioned a certain amount of lament that two of them were freshmen and that his staff wasn’t able to “educate them” on certain things. His concern for players really came through, referring to them as “family” and that “you have high expectations for your own children. To walk away from a player, it’s always very difficult to do (knowing their circumstances).”

That being said, he was quick to mention that there will be no leniency. He said that, “disruption is what bothers me. The head coach needs to set the standard, direct, guide, mentor, push and direct these guys but every young person is responsible.” He said that he has people looking to see what other programs do in their cases of discipline and that he “wants to make sure our punishment is hard or harder than any other discipline out there. I want to make sure we are setting the tone.” He feels for the other players who might end up suffering because of the mistakes of “a couple of knuckleheads.”

With respect to actual on-the field matters, he mentioned that Curtis Grant has had an excellent spring and is developing into a leader. He alluded to how Ryan Shazier was “average” at the beginning of last season but developed into a great playmaker. (I wonder if he is comparing the progression of the two. That would be good things if he is.)

When asked who would be the leaders on this team after losing vocal leaders like John Simon from last year’s team, he said that he is, “counting on our quarterback (who) has to become that leader. Our offensive line without question is the heart and soul of our team. They’re strong leaders.” He also said that on defense, he looks to his two safeties, Christian Bryant and CJ Barnett, to step into that leadership role.

It was clear Urban Meyer knows how to handle the media. The difference between his thoughtful, personal answers are in stark contrast to Jim Tressel’s coach/senator-speak. I think considering everything that has led up to this moment in front of the media, Urban Meyer handled things very well and was very much a great representative of Ohio State and its football team.

Thoughts?

Zach Zwinak (RB/FB) is heading into his senior year at Penn State. He is from Frederick, Maryland. As a high school recruit, Zach was offered from many schools such as Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Boston College and more. He was ranked the number one fullback by Scout.com. Zach also was given four stars from Scout and Rivals. There is no doubt his breakout year was the 2012 season.

Zach is going to be a huge factor for Penn State’s offense. With a competition for a starting quarterback, it is nice for the Penn State offense to have a steady running back. In his 2012 season, he ran for 1000 yards off of 203 attempts. Considering the fact that Zach only ran for 7 yards last year, Zach had a breakout year this past season. He is going to be the leader and the biggest contributor for the Penn State Offense.

Short highlights on Zach:

With all the controversy that happened at Penn State, it is hard not to show respect to the Penn State players for competing every game without a chance to make a bowl. Watching Zach throughout the season, he played every game with determination. It is going to be interesting to watch the Penn State offense with a new quarterback and a very experienced half back coming into this season.

Previously on MotSaG’s Best of the B1G
#19 Jeremy Gallon
#20 Mark Weisman
Best of the B1G, #25-21

I had the privilege of interviewing Terrence Alexander the playmaking cornerback from John Curtis High School in River Ridge, Louisiana. If what your looking for in a corner is quick hips and tremendous closing speed who runs a 4.4 40 yard dash then Terrence is the man, and I have not seen to many prospect that are better at this position. Standing at 5″10 178lbs he does not have the biggest frame but this definitely does not mean Terrence does not play big. Terrence plays with a huge chip on his shoulder as he feels slightly disrespected with being ranked only as a top 40 corner, this should tell you that he is not satisfied with being average and he is always going to strive to be great. He is slightly under the radar right now, but coming off an impressive week at The Opening I fully expect his rankings to skyrocket making him a consensus top 15 cornerback. I look for Terrence to make a visit to Ohio State towards the end of summer and hopefully gets a chance to see how great of a place Columbus is. I think Terrence is a talent you can not pass on regardless of how small the class is.

Q: When did Ohio State offer you a scholarship, and how did it feel?

A: Ohio state offered around the last week of spring ball after seeing me practice twice. And it felt great knowing that a prestigious school such as Ohio State wants me to be apart of their program.

Q: Who is your primary recruiter and how often do you speak?

A: I have talked with coach Coombs and Coach Withers , but i talk to coach Withers the most

Q: What about Ohio State makes you strongly consider them?

A: Being one of the top ranked preseason team is a factor , also know the great history about the school.

Q: Is it true you grew up a Buckeye fan? If so how did you become one?

A: Well they were one of my favorites teams and just hearing about them alot made that come about.

Q: What is your personal and team goals for your senior season?

A: It would be to let the nation know I’m without a doubt one of the best cornerbacks in the nation.

Q: What do you feel you need to improve on the most your senior season?

A: just changing the pace of the game , making it where everyone in he stands know that I’m in the game and that I’m a dangerous player.

Q: What do you personally feel is your biggest strength on the field?

A: Confidence , 1 on 1 coverage , and being aggressive.

Q: Which schools are recruiting you the hardest?

A: Ole miss , Stanford , Ohio State , Northwestern , Arkansas , Miami.

Q: Do you plan on taking a visit to Ohio State?

A: Im trying to get there before this summer is over.

Q: Do you have a timetable on when you would like to make a commitment?

A: I would definitely have a top school going in to my senior season , but no set commitment date.

Q: What is your impression on Coach Meyer?

A: I like how he is bringing that southern talent up to Ohio State , he has done well at almost every college he has been with. Last year can show you that.

Q: Name some of your other interests besides football?

A: I also run track. The 200 , 100 and triple jump sometimes.

Here are the highlights of Terrence in action you can also follow him on twitter at @Terrence_9

It what can only be described as awesome and welcome news to OSU fans Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports is reporting that the video surveillance recording shows that Carlos Hyde was the one punched and did not punch the victim back. Here is part of what he had to say.

Surveillance footage from a Columbus nightclub appears to clear Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde of an alleged assault, a source familiar with the investigation told Yahoo! Sports.

Charges are not expected to be filed against Hyde after video from Sugar Bar 2 shows he didn’t appear to make contact with an alleged victim who claimed to have been assaulted early Saturday morning, a source who spoke to Yahoo! Sports on the condition of anonymity said. The source said video shows Hyde speaking in the direction of the alleged victim just prior to her punching him in the head. The video then shows Hyde leaving the area and reaching back in the woman’s direction in a non-confrontational manner, the source said. From the video, it doesn’t appear Hyde ever made contact with the woman – either before or after she struck him, the source said.

From the outset I tried to remind everyone that the story I was posting was about an accusation and not the entire story. That eventually we would have more chapters written to this story and this is just the next in a long one but hopefully it will end happily for Carlos Hyde.