Archives for September 2014

MotSaG Live Episode #7 – The Buckeyes Win Over Cincinnati & Previewing the Maryland Game

Topics discussed were Ohio State’s victory over Cincinnati, reviewing the Big Ten’s performance in week five, the circus in Ann Arbor regarding the football program and the Shane Morris concussion, along with predictions on the biggest national games and Big Ten games. We were also joined by Maryland writer Michael Willis, editor-in-chief at Terrapin Station MD (terrapinstationmd.com), to preview Ohio State’s match-up against Maryland.

MotSaG Live Podcast #7: The Buckeyes Big Win Over Cincinnati & Previewing the Maryland Game

Time for episode #7! If you missed last week’s episode of MotSaG Live, you can watch it by clicking here. It airs live every Tuesday at 6 pm ET.

As always I will be hosting the podcast this week and be joined by fellow MotSaG writers. For this show, the following MotSaG writers will join me: Shannon, Andrew and Chip. On this show we’ll talk about the Buckeyes big win over Cincinnati, the Big Ten’s performance from this past weekend, the ongoing circus in Ann Arbor and preview the biggest upcoming games around the country along with the slate of Big Ten games this weekend. We’ll also of course preview and predict the outcome of Ohio State’s matchup with Maryland this weekend, where our special guest Michael Willis, editor-in-chief of Terrapin Station MD (terrapinstationmd.com), will join us in the show.

Now I’m going to list the following ways to view this podcast. Below is the video player to listen to the podcast. You will be able to listen to it here on the site every week. Don’t fret if you can’t listen live. Once the podcast is over with you will be able to view it as many times as you want, just like any YouTube video. If you’re unable to view it here on the site for some reason we also have you covered if this happens. I’ll link to our YouTube channel right above the player every week and you will be guaranteed to be able to view it there. You can also listen through our Google+ page or follow the main @MotSaG account on Twitter. I will also have the link posted on my Twitter page (@SchottJosh).

You can also subscribe to MotSaG Live on iTunes. You can find our page by typing “MotSaG Live” in the iTunes search box or click here. This episode should be on iTunes later tonight.

It’s going to be fun and informative as always! Hope you tune in!

To view it on YouTube, click here.

To view the Google+ event page, click here.

Negative Buckeye: Angry Thoughts Week 5

 

By: Ryan Black

Words to live by: “When life gives you lemons… use them for their acidity to make a sh*t stew and force everyone close to you to sample it.”

 

Ah Saturday’s in the fall… All week your boss has been hovering over your shoulder to make sure you finish some pointless work for some jerk above them who won’t even look at the 45 hour project you finally completed and you are ready to let out some frustration. If you are smart and held your tongue on the job then you need some place to put these giant balls of emotion.

I’m here to tell you that instead of burning that hate fuel on your spouse, pets or children you should let all of your negative energy out during an Ohio State football game. This team since the new millennium has been one of the best in the nation, yet still leaves plenty to scream about. Let it loose man, it’s a great excuse to curse the world that has been so unfair to you. To be honest, I’ve been using this method for about 3 years now and it has most certainly kept me out of the looney bin and/or prison.

I documented my week one gameplan here : Navy Complaints and Issues

The best way to release your Saturday temper tantrum is through sheer hate speech at a loud volume as I was able to do week 1. Unfortunately, sometimes you’ll find yourself in a public setting with your wife’s co-workers and are forced to hold off on the cynicism a tad to keep some sort of dignity for your family name. Half of the angry thoughts this week I had to think to myself since I barely knew anybody at the tailgate of this weeks game. Still, I was very excited to finally be back on campus for an OSU night game.

What follows are some of my thoughts and situations (I kept notes on my phone) to think about for your own therapy session this Saturday against Maryland. Here is the Cincy week Negative Buckeye…

 

The setup:   Some tailgate with wife’s work friends. I knew 3 of 40 people. 2-45 inch telivisions.

 

The spread: Chicken wings, chips, liquor and every poopy lite beer ever created.

 

Arrival time/Location: 3:00 p.m. on north campus.

 

The anger:

Cincy 0- Ohio State- 0.

-Man I miss coming to campus, but holy hell I’d rather spend a night in Franklin County than try and find parking on gameday again. Luckily I found my old spot under the bridge on Iuka. Didn’t even bother me that a homeless man was making eye contact with me while pounding off as we exited the car.

-I’m so upset with myself, I swear Bradley Roby just walked by me on High street and I was too chicken to say anything. Really wanted to tell him that I wanted to name my dog after him two years ago, but no, the wife won… we are stuck with the little tallywacker -Jaxson.

-Finally made it to the destination after a treacherous walk. Decent set up and seems like they are friendly people but one thing is really pissing me off…

-Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for the food and drinks at the tailgate but they ran out of plates. Here I am eating chicken wings out of a red solo cup like a meth-head Mississippi State fan.

Cincy 7- Ohio State- 0.

Here we go the game is finally about to start; I expect a three and out to put these “Squarecats” in their place and set the tone. Well that was quick, already losing. At least I don’t look like Gunner Kiel. He looks like Ellen if she started shooting HGH into her veins.

Some drunk chick just asked why I look angry. I haven’t spoken to a girl on campus in years and was too distraught to put together a coherent thought so of course my response was, “Flippin Fickell.”

Cincy 7- Ohio State- 7.

-Phew, the Bucks with the answer. I decide to give Rod Smith a new nickname after that touchdown and scream “Rod the Bod” to nobody in particular. No reaction what-so-ever so I’m looking down and hope nobody noticed.

Ohio State- 14 Cincy- 7

Bucks with another touchdown and I decide now is a great time to piss. I am on cloud nine and I Ric Flair walk to the restroom line. Sometimes you just know you’re going to be forced to talk to somebody and I make smalltalk with some dickweed in front of me who really wants to chat. He talks about how he knows Bobby Bullshite and how he works for random insurance whatevers for what seemed like twenty minutes. And finally it’s my turn to solo swordfight;  I relieve myself and hustle to get back to the game.

Of course I was stopped by Captain Peeboy on the way back to the t.v. and  I am forced to look him up on Facebook. He literally took my phone and searched for himself-There was no sanitizer or any form of handwash in these porta johns. His weiner juice is now on my phone forever- I-PHONE 4 FOREVER UNCLEAN!

Ohio State- 16 Cincy- 7

-There is a wave of crowd noise so I am forced to stiff arm this goon and I see the Bucks just got a safety. I’m happy yet a little disappointed I missed it live. I’m even more gutted to learn that my love Joey Bosa has just killed a quarterback on live telivision. All thanks to some fool I missed my fantasy; man I wish I was watching this in my own house.

Ohio State- 23 Cincy- 7

-I nudge my way back to my spot and before I can grab another wing for my cup Ohio State has scored again. I missed another one dagummit. This new hurry up offense is very unfriendly for this type of environment. I feel like walking a few streets over and giving Urban Meyer a piece of my mind.

-Things are going well but I’ll be damned if some drunk ass does not keep trying to play music every commercial break. He would stumble over to the sound set up every t.v. timeout and try to set up his i pod for a 60 second struggle with the payoff  being 30 seconds of a Lady Gaga song before the game came back on. Every freaking commercial break.

-Ezekial Elliott looks great but man is it depressing to see abs like that and look down at my gut. What’s happened to me? Oh nice, they’re bringing out more chicken wings!

Ohio State- 30 Cincy- 7

-I agreed to be a responsible driver tonight and I can see my wife is a little intoxicated so I ask if we can head home to beat traffic and watch the second half  on my couch so I can start getting wild myself to celebrate the win. We’re up 23 and I can listen to the end of the first half on the way home. My wife politely asks if she can play music for the 30 minute drive to Pickerington-uggggg. I’ll be nice since we are killing these clowns.

-After hearing every British female singer around for nearly half an hour, I arrive home and turn on the t.v….. What in the….

Ohio State- 30 Cincy- 21

-Not believing the score I sit down with my stupid dog and drunk wife and get ready for the second half. God I hate my dog’s name.

Ohio State- 36 Cincy- 28

-Well that escalated quickly. I don’t even know what to say… Ohio State is giving up touchdowns like they are STD’s at Bowling Green. I need to start hitting the liquor.

-If I see that bloody Aaron Rodgers commercial one more time with those two SNL buckfutts I may snap.

Ohio State- 43 Cincy- 28

-(note from Sunday: I am trying to translate one of the last thought’s of the day I wrote down once the liquor hit, I think I started getting philosophical ): The boys are finally starting to pull away but I am making a sad realization. Braxton Miller is equal to Boardwalk Empire. He was so awesome the first few years and you are ready for him to go in to his final season to become legendary… And then you realize that somebody up above cut the last season short for no reason and you get depressed. I definitely appreciate you Nucky Miller I mean Braxton Johnson, but man do I feel you got the raw end of the deal.

-Piss off Aaron Rodgers. Though don’t piss off too much, I need you for fantasy tomorrow.

Ohio State- 50 Cincy- 28

-God I hate throwing up.

 

 

 

There it is, that was very therapeutic for me. I hope you can experience what a release of negativity feels like for yourself next week (with less urine phones and chicken cups of course).

 

Just try it, what’s the worst that could happen?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B1G Weekly Recap: Blowouts Highlight Weekend Action For Big Ten

With Big Ten play mostly in full swing with five conference games in play over the weekend, the conference also went undefeated in the four nonconference games it had. It was not a particularly entertaining slate of games, with every game ending in at least a 14-point margin of victory. Iowa’s 24-10 victory over Purdue was the closest game of the week.

Wisconsin 27, South Florida 10

It took awhile for the Badgers to get going in this one, as they were held to three points and were tied going into halftime. Melvin Gordon turned it on after the break, rushing for 131 of his 181 yards and both touchdowns after halftime.

Tanner McEvoy was efficient in Wisconsin’s victory, throwing for 160 yards on 11-18 passing and one touchdown. The Badgers open Big Ten play next week with a trip to Evanston to take on Northwestern.

Rutgers 31, Tulane 6

Gary Nova had a record-setting day for the Scarlet Knights, as he threw for 291 yards and four touchdowns. The four touchdowns on the day pushed Nova to 61 on his career, making him Rutgers’ all-time leader in touchdown passes.

Desmon Peoples and Justin Goodwin split the workload for rushing after Paul James’ season-ending injury last week as Peoples ran for 83 yards and Goodwin added 82. Rutgers hosts the dumpster fire that is Michigan football right now next week in Piscataway.

Iowa 24, Purdue 10

Darrell Hazell’s first Big Ten win will have to be put on hold for at least another week after the Boilermakers lost to Iowa made Hazell 0-9 in conference play. Purdue actually jumped out to a 10-0 lead before the Hawkeyes were led back by two rushing scores by Mark Weisman and a touchdown pass from C.J. Beathard to Kevonte Martin-Manley.

The Boilermakers have some serious offensive issues to address if they are going to get that elusive Big Ten victory. Purdue managed just 156 total yards on offense (72 passing, 84 rushing) in the loss. Purdue visits Illinois next week while Iowa is idle before taking on Indiana in two weeks.

Michigan State 56, Wyoming 14

The defending Big Ten champions made quick work of the Cowboys in their final game before starting conference play. Michigan State jumped out to a 42-14 lead at halftime as the cruised to the victory. Jeremy Langford ran for 137 yards and a touchdown and Connor Cook added 126 yards through the air as the starters sat for most of the second half.

Tony Lippett had 76 yards receiving and a score as the Spartans put up back-to-back games with more than 50 points for the first time since 1978. Michigan State welcomes unbeaten Nebraska into Spartan Stadium in primetime next weekend.

Northwestern 29, Penn State 6

Trevor Siemian, as well as the Northwestern defense, were the stars of this game as Northwestern opened Big Ten play with a win while Penn State dropped to 1-1 in conference play. Siemian threw for 258 yards and ran for three touchdowns as Northwestern led from start to finish.

Anthony Walker’s 49-yard interception return for a touchdown was the highlight of the day for Northwestern’s defense, which held the Nittany Lions to just 50 yards rushing and only allowed the two field goals. The Wildcats host Wisconsin on Saturday and Penn State will have next week off as they prepare for a trip to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines in two weeks time.

Maryland 37, Indiana 15

A week after knocking off Missouri on the road, Indiana got blown out at home by conference newcomers Maryland. The Terrapins lost starting quarterback C.J. Brown for the second half, but it didn’t matter, with backup Caleb Rowe throwing for two scores. The Buckeyes will have to keep an eye on Stefon Diggs on Saturday after Diggs again posted big numbers, pulling in 6 catches for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Tevin Coleman was the lone bright spot on offense for the Hoosiers and he ended up with 122 rushing yards and a score. Maryland hosts its first Big Ten conference game next week when Ohio State visits, and Indiana looks to get back to the winning ways when they welcome North Texas to Bloomington.

Minnesota 30, Michigan 14

The Wolverines made history on Saturday, but not the kind they were hoping for. For the first time in their football history, the Wolverines have lost three games before the month of October. Minnesota dominated this game as David Cobb led the way with 183 yards on the ground for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota won the Little Brown Jug for just the second time in 24 years.

The main thing that will be remembered from this matchup is Brady Hoke’s mishandling of Shane Morris in the second half after this game was as good as over. Morris was already hobbling due to a lower leg injury when he took a nasty hit that left him dazed and barely able to stand on his own. Hoke left Morris in the game after the play, and even allowed him to re-enter the game after Devin Gardner’s helmet came off during a play. Minnesota has the week off, while the Wolverines head east to play Rutgers.

Nebraska 45, Illinois 14

Once again, Ameer Abdullah stole the show as the Cornhuskers easily dismantled the Illini defense in the rout. Abdullah had 196 yards by halftime and finished with 208 on the day as he continues his quest for the Heisman Trophy. Imani Cross added 109 yards on the ground as Nebraska rushed for 458 yards as a team.

Illinois was missing starting quarterback Wes Lunt due to a leg injury suffered last week and went with Reilly O’Toole in his place. O’Toole finished with 261 yards and a score on just 17-38 passing while being intercepted three times. Illinois hosts Purdue on Saturday in Champaign and Nebraska takes a visit to East Lansing to take on Michigan State in the B1G game of the week.

What were your biggest takeaways from the first real weekend of Big Ten play? Will Brady Hoke even make it to the end of the season as the Wolverines’ head coach? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Cincinnati Highlight Video

Michigan AD Admits No One Watches Their Football Games

Did you think this media storm and public outcry was just going to go away for Michigan? Dave Brandon apparently hopes it will with his statement that was released at cover your butt AM, not sure if that’s still central time or what. I would put the whole statement on here but really you can click the link to read it, besides wouldn’t it be more fun to dissect some of it together. Let’s show that either a cover up has been going on or,here’s my favorite, no one in Ann arbor really knows what the heck is going on. With the whole Brandon release we might as well and splice in some of Brady Hokes press conference too right.

Before we begin I just want to point out that in no way am I calling anyone a liar, I truly don’t believe that there is a cover up going on either. I do however believe that there is complete and utter incompetence coming out of the athletic department, the coaching staff, and medical staff but that is my own opinion.

During the Monday afternoon Brady Hoke press conference, where he was questioned like a billion times about the upcoming Rutgers game, I mean the “consussiongate”.

“The one thing I can tell you is during the process of… let me share this first. Number one, we practiced yesterday. We practiced last night and Shane Morris would have practiced were it not for a high ankle sprain, and that’s one reason I’m telling you that is because that’s what I’ve been told and a high ankle sprain, they have a new word for it that I can’t really pronounce but he would have practiced if it wasn’t for that.

I don’t know coach but either someone is throwing you under the bus or your previous concussions have made you forget that that new medical term is called a Concussion.

From Dave Brandon:

Following the game, a comprehensive concussion evaluation was completed and Shane has been evaluated twice since the game. As of Sunday, Shane was diagnosed with a probable, mild concussion, and a high ankle sprain. That probable concussion diagnosis was not at all clear on the field on Saturday or in the examination that was conducted post-game. Unfortunately, there was inadequate communication between our physicians and medical staff and Coach Hoke was not provided the updated diagnosis before making a public statement on Monday. This is another mistake that cannot occur again.

Here’s my thing on these two statements. Sunday the medical staff had informed Hoke that yes Shane Morris has indeed suffered a high ankle sprain, but from the time of that conversation to the wee early morning hours of Tuesday NO ONE has informed him that the kid suffered a ” probable” concussion? Are you kidding me what kind of outfit are you running up there? You are suppose to be the University of Michigan on the forefront of concussion research and prevention.

You mean to tell me you got it right in 2008 when you took Denard Robinson’s helmet and wouldn’t let him play, Tate Forcier had to play in the third quarter and onto multiple overtimes? You mean to tell me that being on the forefront, having helped so many programs across the country set up guidelines and protocols about concussions, that after the Concussion-Gate that the Cleveland Browns went through certain things never crossed anyone’s minds in Ann Arbor?

More from Brandon:

Going forward, we have identified two changes in our procedures that we will implement immediately:

We will have an athletic medicine professional in the press box or video booth to ensure that someone will have a bird’s eye view of the on-field action, have television replay available and have the ability to communicate with medical personnel on the sidelines.

We are also examining how to reinforce our sideline communication processes and how decisions will be made in order to make sure that information regarding student-athlete availability to participate is communicated effectively amongst the medical team and to our coaches

So why wasn’t this done across the NCAA after the Browns incident in the first place? The NFL changing their concussion protocols? Remember you are U of M and are on the forefront of these things.

More from Brandon:

In the fourth quarter, Shane took a significant hit and stumbled after getting up. From the field level and without the benefit of replays, medical and coaching staffs did not see the hit. Because they did not see the hit, the athletic training staff believed Shane stumbled because of his ankle injury. The team neurologist, watching from further down the field, also did not see the hit. However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane.

Not to make light of the situation here but your telling me that NO ONE on that sideline had seen that hit or that young man stumble and being held up? Yeah why would you I would be watching on my phone the big ten network to see a real team move the football up and down the field too. I guess that even everyone on the sideline wasn’t into the game and you trying to sell this to your fan base?
.

Are the Buzzards Circling Ann Arbor

Today Pete Roussel from coachingsearch.247sports.com is reporting that a source has informed the site that Michigan has gauged the interest of a couple of people for the Athletic Director position in Ann Arbor. According to the report the two primary targets currently are UConn Director of Athletics Wade Manuel and Boston College Athletic Director Brad Bates. Last week Gregg Henson on his site was reporting that there was change coming and had the same two targets reported by coachingsearch.247sports.com. Today Gregg Henson is basically confirming the report with an added twist.

I’m told Brandon knows he’s gone and will simply negotiate his departure from this point forward, that is why you don’t see him ANYWHERE right now.

This has been reported on mgoblog.com also and I have to say they have been on point with the whole Brady Hoke and Dave Brandon saga. They also have reported that John U. Bacon has come out saying the search for new AD not true.

Not sure what to make of all this, but where there is smoke there is fire. There is a national media frenzy over what happened with the Brady Hoke and Shane Morris situation plus Michigan has lost three games in the month of September for the first time in history. There undoubtedly is going to be changes made to the athletic department and coaching staff with the public outcry for Brandon’s and Hoke’s jobs, now its just going to be a matter of time.

In Depth Recap: Ohio State-Cincinnati

The Buckeyes continued to bounce back from their early season loss to Virginia Tech with another impressive offensive outing versus the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday night. After trailing 7-0 early in the first quarter, the Buckeyes went on to score 30 unanswered points. The Buckeyes then showcased their youth midway in to the second quarter through early in the third which allowed Cincinnati to close within 5. From that point forward the Buckeyes scored another 17 unanswered to end the game and win the Battle of Ohio. Here are a few of my personal takeaways from the solid, yet still roller coaster ride, of a game the Buckeyes played on Saturday.

The Offense is Growing Up

Saturday night was the first time this season that we were able to see the very young Buckeye offense flourish against a legitimate FBS opponent. To my pleasant surprise, offensive coordinator Tom Herman seemed to give the keys to the Ferrari to J.T. Barrett, and allowed him to sit back and pick apart the Bearcat defense as he connected with 9 different receivers. Unsurprisingly, the large majority of Barrett’s success can be attributed to the steady dose of good protection, a very efficient run game led by Ezekiel Elliott, and very poised decision making.

The offensive line had its finest performance of the season against the Bearcats. They seemed to finally be able to generate a real push in the run game, opening up huge lanes for any rusher who touted the rock Saturday night. They were also solid in pass protection and provided Barrett, for the most part, a clean pocket that allowed him the time and space to scan the field and locate his target. When receivers failed to get open the pocket was also clean enough for Barrett to locate a running lane and pick-up whatever yardage he was able to gain.

The Bearcats did attempt the 46 Bear defense at points Saturday, as well as throwing stunts in to their scheme, and the Buckeyes offensive line had an answer for both techniques and movements. There were a few false start penalties and holding penalties that will need to be cleaned up, as well as solidifying the depth chart, but the offensive line has taken great strides since their embarrassing Virginia Tech performance.

In that loss to Virginia Tech the Buckeyes were unable to establish their identity which is, and always will be, a power run/inside zone team. Everything in Tom Herman’s offense starts at that base play and if Ohio State is unable to generate positive yardage off of that the offense becomes stagnant. With the consistent push that was created, stud running back Ezekiel Elliott was finally able to have his coming out party exploding for 182 yards on 28 attempts (6.5 ypc) and one touchdown. Other Buckeye running backs were able to contribute as well, as Rod Smith had a solid evening running (11 rush/61 yards), and Curtis Samuel looked to be set for a big night prior to his fumble which led to him sitting the rest of the night. Outside of the fumble, the Buckeye backfield looks primed and ready to explode going in to Big Ten play.

Was the offensive performance perfect Saturday night? Not at all. The offensive line suffered from false start penalties which should never happen at home. Freshman running back Curtis Samuel will have to improve his ball security because he will be needed moving forward regardless of how well Elliott is playing, Samuel brings a home-run threat that Elliott and Smith can’t quite match. And the wide receivers will need to decrease drops and continue to prove they can consistently get open. However, the silver lining in all of these mistakes is that they are fixable.

I walk away from Saturday nights performance impressed, but still not convinced. The sign of a good team is consistency. Going in to Big Ten play this Buckeye offense, starting with the line, will need to play at a very high level if this team wants to travel to East Lansing in November still in the hunt for a Big Ten title.

The Defense is fixed… Almost

For 49 of Cincinnati’s 52 offensive plays the Ohio State defense had a very good outing. Stifling the Bearcats explosive passing attack while also not giving them a sniff of running room in the ground game. However, you can’t take away those three plays where the Buckeye secondary left Ohio State fans and coaches alike frustrated. The three plays I’m referencing were Gunner Kiel’s three huge touchdown passes to receiver Chris Moore for 60, 83, and 78 yards respectively.

The first touchdown of the game was Kiel’s 60 yard connection to Moore and can solely be blamed on Vonn Bell. As good as Bell is in coming up and making a sure tackle, playing deep safety in coverage is something the youngster hasn’t mastered yet. Kiel under threw Moore with a wobbly and ugly pass, but Bell never turned to locate the ball, instead just throwing his arm up in the receivers face hoping he would miraculously knock the ball down. Bell will be grilled in the film room and to be fair to him the receiver made a nice play focusing on the ball and bringing it in.

The second big play forfeited was actually designed to beat the defense the Buckeyes were in. Tyvis Powell was drawn up to the inside receiver’s curl route which left Eli Apple alone in Cover 4 and left the post wide open for Moore to run in to. Big plays like these will be forfeited occasionally against good play callers. There is no such thing as a perfect defense and this play design proves it. Each player stuck to his assignment but the play call was perfect for the coverage.

The third big touchdown falls solely on Doran Grant. Grant got caught looking for the screen which the Bearcats faked and threw the inside slant to Moore. Ash called Grant out for it after the game and it should be corrected moving forward.

The defense played very well aside from two of the three long touchdowns. Meyer stressed that they will look at the scheme on tape and see if they can adjust it to better prevent against big plays. Again, you can not subtract the big touchdowns from the game on Saturday night, but you can sure see that this defense gets better every time they take the field. For example the Bearcats were just 1/7 on third and long compared to Virginia Tech’s 5/10.

The next time this team takes the field they will face a potent Maryland passing attack led by former Buckeye target Stefon Diggs. Diggs already has two 100 yard games to his name this season and is one of the best young wide outs in the nation. The test will continue for this Buckeye defense as they look to sure up the schematic holes that were exposed against Cincinnati.

One Last Thing

J.T. Barrett deserves an enormous amount of credit for his performance Saturday. He is growing and learning very quickly in this offense. He continues to put the rest the question of his youth, arm strength, and mobility. He’s definitely not Braxton, but Barrett is creating is own name and leading the Buckeyes with his maturity, decision making, and outstanding understanding of his job in this offense. From what we have seen so far, even if Barrett does have another rough spot like he did against Virginia Tech, I expect him to whether any storm he faces and come out better. Meyer is doing a great job of guiding and teaching Barrett how to be the starting quarterback at The Ohio State University, and Barrett is doing an excellent job of learning and constantly improving.

MotSaG Power Poll Week 5

Week 5 of the college football season and we start getting into some conference games, finally.

1. Nebraska The last standing undefeated team in the B1G. They are looking like the Powerhouse of the West with beast RB Ameer Abdullah.
Last Week #2
Next Game: @Michigan State

2. Michigan State Can you believe Sparty is averaging 50.3 points a game? Michigan State is firing on all cylinders offensively and look like the team to
beat in the East
Last Week #3
Next Game: Nebraska

3. Wisconsin Don’t count the Badgers out of the race for the West with their workhorse RB Melvin Gordon.
Last Week #4
Next Game: @Northwestern

4. Ohio State Scarletshirt Freshman J.T. Barrett looks more comfortable running the Buckeyes offense and the offensive line is looking stronger.
Defensively still need to fix some things but improving as a team.
Last Week #5
Next Game: @Maryland

5. Maryland The Terps looked real good against Indiana. Maryland has probably the best WR corp in the B1G lead by Stefon Diggs
Last Week #7
Next Game: Ohio State

6. Minnesota The Gophers looked really good defensively against the Wolverines and are looking to make some noise in the West.
Last Week #8
Next Game:Bye

7. Iowa Hawkeyes came away with a win against Purdue but still not sure what to make of this team yet
Last Week #9
Next Game: Bye

8. Penn State The Wildcats of Northwestern stunned the Nittany Lions. Can’t say Penn State was dominated even thought the score seemed to indicate that.
Last Week #1
Next Game: Bye

9. Rutgers Kind of hate dropping the Scarlet Knight down even though they won this week against Tulane but that loss to Penn State hurt them.
Last Week #6
Next Game: Michigan

10. Northwestern Back to back wins and stunning Penn State allows them to climb the ranks.
Last Week #14
Next Game: Wisconsin

11. Indiana Lost to Bowling Green then beat Missouri then follow up with a loss against Maryland, this team is very inconsistent.
Last Week #10
Next Game: North Texas

12. Illinois Not surprising the Illini lost to Nebraska their head coach is probably on borrowed time.
Last Week #11
Next Game: Purdue

13. Purdue Even though the Boilermakers lost to Iowa you see signs of the team making small improvements
Last Week #12
Next Week: @Illinois

14. Michigan There is some serious trouble in Blue Country, first time in history they have ever lost 3 games in the month of September
Last Week #13
Next Week: @Rutgers

Should see some separation this next week with some good match-ups in conference play. Don’t forget to let me know your thoughts.

Hoke fails to Deliver on Promise of Player Safety

Something appalling , disturbing and reprehensible happened Saturday at the Big House in Ann Arbor. No I am not talking about the loss the Wolverines suffered to the Minnesota Gophers. You have to give Jerry Kill and staff credit for having their game plan together and the Gopher players executed it, basically handing Michigan a old fashion butt whooping. The situation I am talking about is with Brady Hoke and Shane Morris.

“We’re not going to talk about injuries and I might as well bring that out now. And some of that is because you can say something about something and then you’re wrong. Everybody heals a little differently, and the other thing is for our kids. I want to make sure we’re doing a good job protecting them.”

That quote was from Brady Hoke at his press conference on 9/17/14 via mgoblog.com.

Saturday night versus Minnesota Shane Morris was taking a beating and on one play it appeared he hurt his left leg pretty bad after getting up from avoiding a safety, as the game wore on he continued to get hit and fall awkwardly on that bad leg. You could see Brady on the sideline watching Morris the entire time trying to encourage him. During this stretch something should have clicked in Hoke’s mind that we need to pull this kid before something really serious happens to him right. Nope later in the game Morris takes a shot that was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the passer and when Shane got to his feet and took a few steps he almost fell down and looked woozy. One of his offensive linemen caught him helping prop himself up then Morris decided to kind of shake it off and say no I’m good I’m staying in.

Here is the video of about six minutes of what was going on:

Here is where the very appalling, very disturbing, and very reprehensible actions took place from head coach Brady Hoke and the University of Michigan medical staff. Michigan has touted that they are on the forefront of concussion research and prevention. They have even helped coaches and athletes across the country identify and educate them on concussion symptoms and awareness. When Shane Morris was finally pulled and Devin Gardner was inserted into the game you could see the medical staff start to “work and talk” with Morris on the sideline. Couple of plays into Gardner’s possession after taking over for the injured Morris, Gardner’s helmet came off meaning he had to sit out a play or Michigan burn a time-out.

Michigan easily could have inserted the third string QB for one play just to hand the ball off for a running play or clearly used a time-out. Nope that’s not what happened. Morris went back into the game for that one play. No he didn’t get hurt again on that play but Hoke and the medical staff clearly dropped the ball and should have never let him back into the game period.

Brady, curious as to the decision to leave Shane in after he got hit. Might’ve had a concussion…

“Well, you know, I don’t know. I don’t know if he might’ve had a concussion or not. I don’t know that and that wasn’t something- Shane’s a pretty competitive, tough kid and Shane wanted to be the quarterback and so believe me, if he didn’t want to be he would’ve come to the sideline or stayed down.”

Was it your decision then to leave him in after the late hit foul?

“The late hit foul…yes.”

Brady, just to be clear on when Shane Morris got the hit to the head, did you see him kind of wobbling and fall?

“I did not.”

Okay, because it looked like he was out on his feet. Nobody saw that on the sideline?

“I didn’t see it. I can only answer for me.”

These quotes are from mgoblog.com post game press conference.

How did Hoke not see Morris after that hit stumble and being helped stay on his feet by his offensive lineman? How was Hoke not paying attention to what was going on?
When Morris came to the sideline and the medical staff was evaluating him how do they not go to the coach and say he can’t play we are still evaluating him even if the kid didn’t have a concussion?

Hoke has clearly shown he seems to have no clue as to what he is witnessing right in front of him or he is in denial. This is definitely a case were wearing headphones on the sidelines communicating with other coaches upstairs would have helped.

Today I am not here to bash the Michigan program or make fun of them but what Brady Hoke and the medical staff did Saturday night was beyond the scope of looking out for a players safety and something needs to be done to Hoke. Yes if this were to happen at Ohio State I would be calling out Urban Meyer, Hoke failed his players. Have to wonder if recruits are rethinking their commitment to Michigan when it looks like the head coach doesn’t seem to be looking out for them.