A college football team’s strength of schedule is an important section to highlight on its season-long resume, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.

Think about what the following quote is referencing: “Today is going to be a rugged day. As a young player, you won’t make it. At some point, you’re going to say, ‘I’ve had enough.’ For an older player that is not rugged, you’ll be exposed in a minute.”

Was that Nick Saban delivering a pre-game locker room talk to his players before a Week 7 SEC matchup? No, it was Urban Meyer addressing Ohio State players before a practice session earlier this Fall.

The concept behind the quote is probably pretty common. Every football coach in America wants his team to practice with that level of focus and hard-hitting intensity, but only a small fraction of them have the depth of talented players to pull it off successfully. And Ohio State is the only team from the Big Ten Conference in that select group.

That’s the kind of talent and depth that enables teams to win national championships. That kind of talent and depth is something that a team can have no matter what conference it plays in. No matter how many Big Ten teams are ranked in the Top 25 or how the Big Ten performs in non-conference play this season, the Buckeyes have earned the right to not have their validity as a national championship contender questioned because of the opponents on their schedule.

When a team is as loaded with talent as Ohio State is this season, their schedule shouldn’t play a big role in peoples’ objective analysis of how they’d fare against the nation’s other top teams. Skeptics may argue that Michigan State is the only real test that Ohio State will face this season – if they don’t count the Virginia Tech game or the always-tense game against Michigan. Arkansas Head Coach Bret Bielema may have pointed out, and rightfully so, that his SEC team has to play against eight ranked opponents – not including the Toledo Rockets – during the regular season, while Ohio State only has the aforementioned game against the Spartans. It’s true – the SEC is the most competitive conference, with the best accumulation of talent, in the country, and is still light years ahead of the Big Ten. But don’t question for a second Ohio State’s ability to run through the entire SEC if given the opportunity.

Consider last season – when given the opportunity, OSU took it to the SEC champion and perceived playoff juggernaut Alabama Crimson Tide, before dismantling the electrifying and competitive, yet perennially overhyped PAC 12 champion Oregon Ducks. With all the proven talent that the Buckeyes return to the gridiron this season, there’s no reason to believe that those outcomes wouldn’t be repeated again this postseason.

The best teams are going to win their games regardless of the teams they play each week. You can be assured that a team like Alabama or Auburn will be more battle-tested than OSU by the time it reaches the playoffs, but that won’t change the fact that the Buckeyes are talented enough to rise to the occasion and beat them when it counts. Ohio State’s skeptics throughout the country should keep that in mind when trying to use strength of schedule as an argument to downplay their status as one of the nation’s elite teams.

We here at MotSaG are honored to have an article written for our readers pleasure by Celebrity Buckeye fan Stephen Keszey. Many OSU fans will know him from his time starring with his brother Robbie on the Discovery Channel show Swamp Brothers where he wrestled gators and his fears and endured his brothers tough love. Stephen was always proud of his Buckeyes and wore an Ohio State hat on every episode and OSU fans love him for repping his Alma Mater on his TV show. Mr. Keszey’s love for Ohio State knows no limits but it is closely followed by his love for New York City. In this article Stephen touches on the 9/11 event and how Ohio State helped him through a tough time and how sports can transcend into real life.

So sit down and read this article and please follow our friend Stephen Keszey on Twitter @Kezbro2. You can follow Stephen on Facebook by clicking Stephen Keszey. Follow the Swamp Brothers on Facebook as well.

Last week was the 14th anniversary of 9/11 and I pondered upon it all day long. Be warned you’re about to go deep into the rabbit hole of my neurotic, tangent-scattered mind!

After graduating from The Ohio State in 1992 I moved to New York and called it home for fifteen years. On September 11, 2001, I was living in Corona, Queens. I saw the first plane smash into the Trade Centers on television but it did not register with me at all as I ran to catch the 7-train. “The 7” is elevated in Queens and there is a nice stretch right before it goes underground into Manhattan where you have a splendid view of the Manhattan skyline. But the view that day was horrific and a nightmarish reality dropped on me like an anvil as we went underground into Manhattan.

Every September 11th since then I end up staying away from Facebook and spending all of the day just thinking about my favorite city. I remember incredible courage of our firemen, policemen and EMS; I remember New Yorkers in general… How great everyone was in the face of this tragedy. I also remember how sporting events were a great elixir to combat this horrific act for myself, and tens of thousands of other New Yorkers.

In 2001, Most New Yorkers were honed-in on the Yankees, but I was honed-in on my very favorite team — The Ohio State Buckeyes and new head coach Jim Tressel. I saw first hand, and experienced first person, how sports could help people heal in the face of even the most tragic of events. Alright, enough backstory!

This September 11th I was reminded of the President throwing a great first pitch during the Yankees vs. Diamondbacks World Series. And OH! Those Buckeye games, culminating in a victory over that team up north which seemed like it hadn’t happened in FOREVER! I then started to think more on how sports can heal, energize and give hope to people.

I remembered Stephanie Spielman’s fight with breast cancer and how a man we loved through sport (her husband Chris) made use of his sports fame to help raise awareness and money for research against a heinous mutant enemy.

Of course, I thought about the “Miracle on Ice” and how it is thought of as the greatest moment in all of sports. Then I thought about an event well before I was born that I would consider, the greatest, most impactful moment in sports history. A great show of power… By a Buckeye!

In 1935 Jesse Owens’ achievement of setting three world records and tying a fourth in under an hour at the Big Ten track meet (in Ann Arbor of all places!) has been called “the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport”, but what he did the following year was much more important. There was a “Master Race” being built in Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler, wanted to show the world his Aryan race supremacy. Now I could take up five more pages telling of Owens’ greatness in detail, but I’ll keep it simple. Our Buckeye Jesse Owens, in a time when segregation was still the norm, represented our country with great class and honor, and showed the world that the “master race” was a myth by winning four gold medals on their home turf. I would go so far as to say he put the first “dent” in the Nazi armor, for the whole world to see.

I would love for everyone to learn more about Jesse Owens and honor a man that wasn’t honored nearly enough when he was alive. For example, how could FDR not invite him to the White House after going into Nazi Germany and bringing home four golds for The United States?

To think that Owens was ranked #3 on the list of the 50 greatest “Big Ten Icons”? I would have been fine with it had he also been numbers 1 & 2 to give him the extra “television story time” he deserves, but behind Red and Magic? Pure and udder idiocy!

I’d also encourage everyone to think about just how great an athlete Owens was — his world record long jump stood for 25 years! And just for kicks (with no disrespect to him), let’s time Usain Bolt in the 100m after he laces-up a pair of 1930’s track shoes then runs outdoors on a dirt or cinder track with no starting blocks. Let’s not even take into account modern training, diet and supplements!

Stop it Stephen! You really have gone Mad Hatter! You Start at 9/11 and end up wanting to slap a pair of shoes from the 1930’s on Usain Bolt!? Plus you are now typing to yourself in the third person!

Sports is a major fabric of history not just a decorative lace. Sports can inspire and show human decency on both the largest stages of history, and in the smallest communities. Google Jonathon Montanez and Mitchell Marcus and grab a tissue.

God Bless NYC, America, Jesse Owens and all those who use the platform that is sport to make our world better!
…AND GO BUCKS!

-Kez

Since College Football kicked off last year, there has been one thing one everyone’s mind, every week, for every game. The College Football Playoff. It’s exciting, it’s controversial, and lets face it, it probably should be 8 teams. The main thing it brings however, is speculation. That’s what we all d. We speculate. Whether it is who will make it, who won’t or who is the best, we speculate on all of this for one reason. It is a lot of fun. So, for weeks now, I have been speculating on how I think it will all unfold and these are my predictions on the College Football playoff.

The Four in:

1. Ohio State- This one is the easiest pick to me. This Ohio State team has so many weapons on offense, the most I have seen in a couple of years, and they have an above average defense that makes them virtually unbeatable in the big ten. The also have a favorable schedule, with really only one more true test in Michigan State. They obviously have to avoid the usual upset alert games with Penn State and Michigan, but as long as they play like they should, they will be undefeated come playoff time.
2. TCU- A lot of people do not really believe the hype of TCU for some reason. I am not one of those people. I think they have one of the best offenses in the country and a defense that is experienced and good enough to get them wins. Trevone Boykin is a Heisman candidate and he is well worthy of being in that conversation. The TCU defense is Experienced with starting 4 seniors and 4 juniors, so they know what they have to do to be successful. They have some huge games against Oklahoma and Baylor, but other than that a favorable schedule to run the table.
3. USC- This is one of my favorite teams this year. From their unbelievably accurate QB Cody Kessler to the best do it all player in the country Adoree Jackson, they are a very complete team and have all the intangibles to be a top 4 team in the country. The only issue they will run into is their schedule. They are in arguably in the toughest conference in College Football, the Pac-12. The play powerhouses like UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, and California and they have that annual out of conference game against Notre Dame. This is a team who is stacked with talent and, even if they drop one or two along the way, they can still make the playoff as a one loss team if they win the conference.
4. LSU- My final team in the playoff is LSU. This one was tough for me because the SEC is up in the air right now, especially with the near meltdown of Auburn. I see almost no scenario that this playoff does not have the SEC represented so the obvious choice would be the conference champion. Led by the hulk of a running back Leonard Fournette, LSU has a fantastic run game and a very tough defense. The only problem they could run into is their first year starter QB Brandon Harris and the not so existent passing game. In their match up against Mississippi State, he was 9-14 for 71 yards. If they want to make the playoff and win the SEC, they will need him to step up and hold his own.

Possible Dark Horses:

1. Texas A&M- I absolutely love Texas A&M and Kyle Allen and the team they have this year. The Arizona State game was just the beginning in what I feel will be a great year full of upsets and surprises for A&M. The big games they need to look at if they want to make the playoff is an October 17th match up against Bama and a November 28th showdown to end the year against LSU. Kyle Allen is one of the best young players in college football and, as long as the defense can stay strong on these powerhouses they play, they will undoubtedly have a shot.
2. Northwestern-Now I know you may say this is an overreaction to one win, and might very well be, but I think this team is on the move north. They play phenomenal defense and they have  more favorable schedule than Ohio State, due to them avoiding Ohio State and Michigan State in the regular season. If they could win the division and then more than likely see Ohio State or Michigan State and beat them to win the Big Ten, you would have no choice but to consider them for the playoff. I know it is a long shot but it is called a dark horse for a reason.

Predictions:

Semifinals

Ohio State 34, LSU 24

TCU 31, USC 28

Championship Game-

Ohio State 31, TCU 24

Champion- The Ohio State University

Week 2 for the Buckeyes did not go exactly to plan. When you have beaten some of the best teams in the country over your last 4 games, the expectations can be pretty high so when you come out and look less than impressive, hard core fans start to sweat. Let me be the first to calm the waters. Everything is fine! Let’s go over a few of the reasons our beloved Buckeyes did not look up to par.

First of all, let’s make sure we give the defense the respect it deserves by saying they were bullet proof in this game. The Rainbow Warriors had no clue what to do with the silver bullets and let’s be honest, if the defense had not played so well this game really could have been pretty interesting!

But, let’s get into the real issue. Why did our offense look like they were all on a different page of the playbook. The excuse everyone is using is the fact that they were playing on a very short week. Coming off a very physical game agains VT Monday night, coach Meyer talked a lot about how they were focusing on making sure they were not pushing the guys too hard this week due to them still being tired and sore from their previous game. Some people may say that’s just an excuse, but I really believe it has some merit. You have to realize that the players and coaching staff have been preparing for VT for weeks before the game. It was all they were thinking about. Mainly because of how the game turned out last year. So after that game was over I would bet it wasn’t easy to refocus the players to give just as much effort and focus in practice to a team that you are favored over by 41 points.  Thankfully the Bucks do not have to play on a shortened week again this season, so we won’t have the ability to use this excuse the rest of the season.

The next concern the Bucks faced this week was the complete opposite offensive scheme that Hawaii uses compared to VT. on Monday. VT was using their infamous “bear” defense which stacked the box and can put up to 5 players on the line of scrimmage making it very hard to run the football. Hawaii ,on the otherhand, runs a 3-4 defense leaving only 3 guys on the line and allowing a tone of movement by the linebacker group to make things confusing for the offensive line to know what gap the pressure was coming from. Again, is this just an excuse? Maybe. But this ,with being on a short week, is something that any coaching staff would struggle with.

Another matter that I think needs brought up that I have not seen anyone talking about is the change in offensive play calling. Losing Tom Herman has been a big blow so far in the Buckeyes season. Tom is known around the country as an offensive genius, so replacing that is no easy task. That is not to say that Ed Warinner will not be able to do well in this position, but it is just his second game in this position. He has been in this position before as a coach at Kansas, but it has been a few years so I think it is going to take some time for them to all feel comfortable with the new head man at offensive coordinator.

Finally the last point I want to make is one that I touched on earlier. Let’s be honest, we were playing Hawaii which, as I said, was a 41 point underdog. When you are dealing with 18-22 year old young men it is not always easy to get them to buy into the old adage “play every game like it’s your last” when you know and the players know you are physically head and shoulders better than the team you are playing. At the end of the day I guess we should be happy that we didn’t completely lay an egg like Arkansas did against Toledo. When you are the defending National Champions everyone in the nation expects you to come out and play your greatest game every week; unfortunately, that is just not going to happen. I’m betting that coach Meyer and the rest of the coaching staff will be able to get the guys ready to go this week after not performing up to their own standards!

With a game where the spread was 42 points, most people thought this game would over quicker than that segway took out Usain Bolt. I even saw one prediction that was 70-0. My personal prediction was 56-10 with the only touchdown coming in garbage time. However, for most of the first half, this game was way too close for Ohio State fans. With quotes like “We didn’t execute well” from Urban Meyer and “It wasn’t the performance that I wanted” from Cardale Jones, you can imagine this game did not play out to the predictions. Especially with the Auburn game just ending and them barely escaping an FCS team, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t on the edge of my seat at all.

The first drive for Ohio State was a good way to describe the first half, with Cardale fumbling a hand off and then a bizarre fake/fumbled field goal attempt that ultimately resulted in a turnover on downs. This was followed by a three and out for the warriors and then, after a couple Michael Thomas completions and a lot of running plays, Zeke punched through the Hawaii defense for his first touchdown of the game.

Then there was a stretch of 4 drives that resulted in 4 punts and a lot of confusion for Ohio State fans trying to wonder why they still had to be watching the game. Hawaii was attempting to punt for their third drive in a row when the normally cool headed Darron Lee drove the Hawaii punter into the ground for some reason and gave them the ball back. All this did was give Gareon Conley the chance to snag his first interception of the game and season and Ohio State capitalized with another Elliot touchdown at the goal line and it became 14-0. This drive just added to some confusion however, when JT Barrett came out for his first drive of the game in what can only be described as a strange attempt at a 2 QB system.

After a deja vu type moment and another interception for Ohio State, this time Vonn Bell, Ohio State’s drive stalled and they punted away to Hawaii that would begin a back and forth punting match until halftime came and for Ohio State fans, it could not have come at a better time. This concluded a bad and confusing first half for the Scarlet and Gray.

Even though it was a not so great first half, halftime brought a great show for everyone, with the annual alumni band script Ohio, where the alumni band and the current band do script Ohio four times on the field, in place of the normal one. No matter how old you are or how much you love Ohio State, this tradition is always very fun to watch and is a cool thing to experience. Then halftime ended and it was time for the second half.

The second half started just like the first half went, with 3 drives and 3 punts and virtually no movement on offense, with Ohio State having 2 drives, 6 plays, and whopping 0 yards and Hawaii just having one drive with 17 yards. Then finally came the play that sparked an offense run for Ohio State, a fumble forced by Darron Lee and recovered by Darron Lee even though I think every player with a uniform on touched it at least once.

The aforementioned offensive spark came after this fumble recovery, with a field goal by Jack Willoughby off the turnover. then Hawaii got the ball back and shockingly punted it back to Ohio State, who took advantage of the opportunity with a touchdown by Ezekiel Elliot and what I felt was their most complete drive of the game, with the offense going 91 yards in 13 plays and taking 8 minutes off the clock. It is to be mentioned that this was Elliot 3 rushing touchdown of the game.

That offensive drive was followed by the fourth Hawaii turnover of the game and a fumble recovery touchdown for Vonn Bell, who also had himself a nice game. Hawaii punted again and then Ohio State gave the ball to Bri’onte Dunn,who scored his first ever collegiate touchdown and made the score 38-0, which would end up being the final score of this match up.

I think it is to be mentioned that Ohio State played what I think was a below average performance and still won 38-0, which goes to show how lopsided this game was to begin with. They struggled a little early but found their groove and thankfully pulled away and blew Hawaii out. I am going to chalk the early struggles up to early season rust but if they play like that against Michigan State or any decent team for that matter, I can promise you the final score will not be a 38-0 victory.  It will be interesting to see how the first half goes next Saturday against a better Northern Illinois team and, since I will be in Columbus for the day and at the game, hopefully there are some more offensive fireworks early. 2 down, 13 to go.

Hawai’i at Ohio State – Ohio Stadium – 3:30 PM Kickoff – Attendance: 107,145

FINAL SCORE: Ohio State – 38   Hawai’i – 0

There was a buzz in the air in Ohio Stadium during pregame, and for good reason.  It was the home opener for the defending champions and the Buckeyes were coming off a big revenge victory over Virginia Tech.  The alumni band was present as were freshman who were attending their first game in The Shoe as students.  Add to that the 41-point spread for the number one team in the country and the reason for the excitement becomes obvious.

But the game didn’t go quite as expected.  The offense struggled mightily against the visiting Rainbow Warriors.  Urban Meyer and the coaching staff looked for a spark throughout the first half, forcing the ball to the likes of Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller but got very limited results.  There was even a new crease in the quarterback controversy when J.T. Barrett was inserted before halftime.  Ultimately the Buckeyes only amassed 14 points in the half, leaving the door open for Hawai’i to make a run.

Have no fear Buckeye Nation, the Silver Bullets did their job all day long.  Darron Lee was a standout with regular pressure on quarterback Max Wittek.  Joey Bosa made his presence felt early and often.  Gareon Conley played admirably once again, as did team captain Joshua Perry as the defense held their opponent out of the end zone all day long.  As much as the offense sputtered at times, the defense was a constant force that simply out-manned the Warriors from whistle to whistle.  They were the spark that Meyer was looking for, giving the offense the push they needed to put the game out of reach.

It was over when:

Ezekiel Elliot took his third touchdown over the goal line, making the score 24-0 with 9:07 left in the fourth quarter.

Player(s) of the game:

Gareon Conley, Joshua Perry, Curtis Samuel, Ezekiel Elliot

Next Game:

Northern Illinois at Ohio State – 3:30 PM

It was the most-asked question of the off-season: Who will start at quarterback for Ohio State? The decision was discussed, dissected, and debated on a daily basis, and every conclusion sounded reasonable: Braxton is so explosive, J.T. is so surgical, Cardale is so strong. No one could ever come up with a good reason for any of them to not win the job. Braxton Miller took himself out of the running with his decision to move to H-back.

Although not scrutinized nearly as much, Jim Harbaugh had a quarterback battle of his own to settle. Junior Shane Morris had only played in eight games in two years, completing just under half of his passes and never throwing for a touchdown. Jake Rudock, a fifth-year senior transfer from Iowa, was being passed over by the Hawkeyes in favor of C.J. Beathard, but at least he had a couple of years of starting experience and a decent—if not earth-shaking—stat line.

On Monday, Urban Meyer finally gave the world an answer: Cardale Jones is the starter, but Barrett will also play, and the situation remains fluid: Both QBs are listed as possible starters for today’s game against Hawai’i. Against Virginia Tech, four different players took snaps, and Meyer has never been afraid to defy conventional wisdom if he thinks it will help his team win. It’s still possible that we don’t—and won’t—have an answer to the OSU QB question, and it could easily turn out that it never mattered at all.

Harbaugh opted to go with Rudock against Utah, but a disappointing result has observers wondering if he’s a viable long-term solution. Overall, Rudock didn’t have a terrible outing in the 24-17 loss to the Utes. He completed about 63% of his passes for 279 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also threw three picks, one of which was returned for what would be the winning score.

The biggest question for Ohio State’s offense now is where is the ceiling? The performance against Virginia Tech was thrilling, and that was without three significant contributors and against the best defense the team will face until November. The Buckeyes showed that they are exactly what we thought they’d be: an offensive machine capable of scoring at any time from anywhere on the field.

Today, the Wolverines are playing Oregon State in the less interesting half of a battle between the states of Michigan and Oregon. Interestingly, Oregon State coach Gary Andersen used to head up Wisconsin, but this will be his first game against Michigan. Can the Wolverines handle athletic QB Seth Collins, who is just as likely to run as he is to throw? Will Rudock turn in another multiple turnover performance? And where does Harbaugh turn if he does?

Sometimes the answers are really just more questions.

I accomplished something this weekend that few people I know have accomplished: I got my first hole in one. A 141 yard par 3 upwind, where I took a 6-iron and tossed it up into the wind. It hit a foot above the cup and rolled back in. I wish I could say I planned all that, but honestly I was just happy I hit it towards the green that time. I proceeded to shoot 25 over par for the round.

If you took my round and just looked at that one hole, you might think I’m pretty good at golf (I’m not). This past weekend of college football was very similar. Looking at just one game isn’t going to give us really how good a team is. Is TCU actually not great, or is Minnesota better than we all gave them credit for? Is Notre Dame a world beater, or is Texas just really, really bad? Is the Oregon defense terrible? (Oregon gave up 42 to Eastern Washington?!) We won’t know for a few more weeks where some of these teams stand, though I do still think that TCU and Notre Dame will be contenders for the playoffs. This weekend will start to clear some things up, like if Oregon’s defense is actually that bad. First, let’s take a look back at the three games I had my eyes on over the weekend.

Michigan 17 at Utah 24

Lol Michigan. They did a decent job at containing the Utah run game, but man did the Michigan backs miss some running lanes, and Rudock looked like Devin Gardner.

TCU 23 at Minnesota 17

Every time I flipped to this game from the Michigan game, I felt like I was watching TCU punt or make a dumb mistake. At one pint, I flipped over and watched them fumble in the red zone. TCU was missing some of their playmakers, and their offense should improve as they return.

Wisconsin 17 vs Alabama 35

Two words: Derrick Henry. Oh mama, there goes that man again. While QB Jake Coker didn’t look great, he was good enough. As long as Derrick Henry is healthy, he’ll be the focus of the Alabama offense. Somehow Alabama just produces good RBs – do they have them frozen cryogenically, and every two years they unfreeze a new one? Someone should look into this.

Week 2 Big Games

7 Oregon at 5 Michigan State

Week 2 is headlined by the matchup of Oregon and Michigan State. If I wasn’t going to be in Columbus for the Hawaii game, I would head to East Lansing with some of my MSU grad coworkers for Game Day and such that day. Oregon gave up 42 points to Eastern Washington last week, and over 400 yards passing. However, Oregon also rushed for nearly 500 yards themselves. Michigan State held Western Michigan to double digit rushing yards. As always, the battle will be in the trenches. Last year, Oregon’s offense was able to dig out of a hole in the second half. Michigan State has a shot this year, given that it’s at home. I also am curious to see what the Oregon secondary really is. Connor Cook is a much higher caliber QB, and WR Aaron Burbridge looked great in his first game taking over for the departed Tony Lippet. Oregon QB Vernon Adams, Jr. is coming off of a head injury from a real cheap shot from a former teammate last week, so his health will be something to keep an eye on. Will the game plan be changed to avoid getting him hit? I think Sparty has the slight edge this year. Let’s hope we don’t get a #SpartyNo again this year.

19 Oklahoma at 23 Tennessee

Between “Rocky Top” and “Boomer Sooner”, Neyland Stadium will become the most annoying stadium in all of America. Quick aside – Rocky Top isn’t Tennessee’s actual fight song, and as a somewhat native Tennessean and son of a Tennessee graduate, I feel it is my duty to point that out every time I see it. Now, as for the game. Tennessee played Bowling Green in Nashville and won, 59-30. The secondary for the Vols was iffy at best, giving up over 400 yards through the air. The Falcons also ran for another 100+ yards, for a total offensive output over 500 yards on the day. Tennessee ran for nearly 400 yards and amassed another 200 in passing yards. This game is going to come down to whether Tennessee’s secondary can play well enough for the Volunteer run game to establish itself and allow the Vols to chew up clock, keep Oklahoma off the field, and score 28-35 points. Starting QB Baker Mayfield threw for 388 yards last week against Akron, and is likely licking his chops looking at what Bowling Green was able to do to the orange and white. This should be a fun one, but I do expect Oklahoma to win.

14 LSU at 25 Mississippi State

LSU’s game was rained out last week, so there’s not much to go off of here. I do expect a heavy dose of Leonard Fournette, and then lather, rinse, repeat. LSU QB Anthony Jennings had a decent year last year, but was arrested over the summer, and has been in a QB battle with Brandon Harris for the starting job this year. Les Miles, like many before him last week, has not named a starter yet. Mississippi State returns Dak Prescott from last year’s team that at one point was on top of the country with in state rival Ole Miss. MSU did give up over 400 yards to Southern Mississippi, and containing Fournette could be problematic for the Bulldogs.

I’m still working on a name for this weekly bit, so if anyone has any witty suggestions, feel free to tweet them to me, @BigDaddyChrisO. I might be making a pre game appearance at the Varsity Club while I’m in town, so if that’s your jam, reach out to me and let’s enjoy some adult beverages.