Why This Loss Is Good For Ohio State

September 8, 2014 by 3 Comments

We here at MotSaG received this post from one of our loyal readers Cyndi Travis she is a fellow blogger who writes her own food and lifestyle blog linked below and she can be found on Twitter @cyndic88. Cyndi thought this post would work well for our site and we couldn’t agree more.

I was so worked up this morning I wrote this. It’s not really appropriate for
my site (which is about recipes and lifestyle) but I thought that it might work here…

Why this loss is good for Ohio State?

Losses can be good, they build character. They provide experience. They make
you hungry.

Don’t get me wrong, that one hurt a little bit. As a lifelong Buckeye fan and
alumni I hate an ugly loss, especially at home. But, I think this one will be
good for us. See I try to walk a thin line between being realistic and being a
fan at heart. I didn’t believe the hype of this team, even when Braxton was
healthy. I have been telling everyone for weeks, we need to get through
Virginia Tech before we celebrate anything that is going to be a hard game. All
I heard in response? Virginia Tech, no problem. Well, we have a problem now
don’t we.

The pressure that was on this team to go undefeated was tremendous. Local and
National media, either we were overrated or we were going to live up to the
hype. Fans added pressure. Coaches added pressure. Now the only pressure they
should feel should come from the inside. The pressure to right the wrong. The
pressure to prove that you are as good as you say.

Let’s be honest, we weren’t going to win a National Championship this year.
Did I want us to? I sure did, but the realistic part of my brain said that we
just didn’t have the experience to get it done. What we had in the pre-season
is what we had last night. A young OL that would have made it impossible for
even Braxton to make anything happen. A weak secondary that proved if you throw
against us you will have success.

I heard a lot on social media last night about how we don’t have much of a
playbook. In my opinion we could have had a playbook as big as War and Peace
and we would not have been about to execute any of it. The core of an offense
starts with the line, not the QB, protection equals the ability to make big
plays. They will get there. I think we have one OL lineman with more than 3
starts. One. We have young running backs which are tentative to provide extra
block protection. It will get better.

The defense, well it has a lot of potential. The secondary is young but shows
flashes of potential greatness. The penalties are a symptom of youth. They
will calm down, they will learn what they can get away with and what they
cannot.

Where do we go from here? Well, now that we have lost some of the bandwagon
fans, we do what we always do. We cheer. We support our team, and we support
our coach. We go into each game with the knowledge that these players are
growing with each snap.

This loss will be good for a young team. It will build their character. It’s
not fun walking off the field in front 107,000 fans that came to support you and
watch you win. It will leave that taste in your mouth, that chip on your
shoulder. It will drive you to do better in the weight room, on the practice
field.

So if you were one of those “fans” that tweeted about “when does
basketball season start” last night, good luck to you, this team doesn’t
need you. We need supportive fans in times of loss and victory. We will see
you next August as you climb back on the bandwagon.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

Leap Of Faith

September 7, 2014 by 1 Comment

This might seem like an odd place to talk about this, as it has nothing to do with Ohio State or the Big Ten or Brady Hoke’s waistline. This is way more important than those things. This is about kids–young athletes who just want a chance to make it in college football, an entity that has become an enormous star-making, money-printing machine powered by the passion of students, alumni, and fans.

This is about terrible people who exploit that passion, who take advantage of those kids, who make a mockery of the sport we love.

First and foremost, read this: Are There Two Fake Schools Operating On The Periphery of CFB? This was posted by reddit user /u/Honestly_ to /r/cfb on Friday. Many of you have probably seen it, but for those of you who haven’t, please go read it. You don’t have to read all the comments, but read through Honestly’s write-up and check out the links he provides. This is crazy, shocking stuff.

It’s important right now, because ESPN posted a story the same day about a new NCAA defensive record set by D-II Tusculum College. The school they set that record against is the College of Faith, one of the two schools Honestly investigated. Do we want the record books rewritten against programs that aren’t connected to legitimate institutes of higher learning?

While Honestly raises the possibility that the “student” athletes may be complicit in this (possibly getting paid since they wouldn’t be subject to any regulation,) I’m more inclined to think that’s not the case. The schools seem set up specifically to target the unsuspecting and naive, using religion as a hook in the way politicians and televangelists often do. The admissions requirements are non-existent. There are nonrefundable fees and “tuition deposits.” There are charges for adding and dropping courses. One the schedules implies that three of the games will be televised by ESPN, but this is pretty obviously a lie.

Davidson College played College of Faith on August 30th. The shutout victory was Davidson’s first win since November of 2012 and their first by more than eight points since September of 2011. Davidson plays in the Division I-FCS Pioneer League, the same conference that houses the University of Dayton’s football program. While it’s unlikely that an FBS school would schedule a game with one of these “colleges,” it’s concerning that they have managed to get on the field with a Div-I program, even one that’s not very good.

While I personally think these organizations should be thoroughly investigated and immediately shut down, I understand that’s probably unlikely. At the very least, I hope this serves as a cautionary tale for young athletes looking for an opportunity to show their stuff at the next level.

Filed Under: College Football, High School Football, Miscellany

Football: Coaching with Urban Meyer Weeks 1&2

September 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Since this is my last semester at The Ohio State University, I knew I had to find the class about which I had heard since freshman year: the football coaching class, taught by the football coach. The night before I scheduled, I happened to be at a friend’s house, and one of his roommates was looking for the class as well. Once we found the official class number, I knew I had to add it to my schedule for the fall semester.

The class meets at 7:30 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, meaning I have to wake up around 6:15 to get ready and then drive over to get there before 7:25 (you don’t want to be late to this class). The class has met twice this semester, and Coach Stan Jefferson, Director of Player Development, and Coach Hiram A. de Fries, Football Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach, have been in class both days. Coach Meyer came in and spoke for about 20-30 minutes each day. We haven’t gotten into football play and the like yet, as it’s mainly been lessons on motivation and, as Coach Meyer says, “how to build a great team.” Coach Meyer did, however, teach us about the “Buckeye Plan To Win.” (If you would like to read further on the plan to win, here is an article about it from when Coach Meyer came to Ohio State.)

  1. Play Great Defense
  2. Turnovers
  3. Score in the Red Zone
  4. Win the Kicking Game

There isn’t much more to say about this class as of yet, though I can tell you there will be some exciting things. I have to scout a high school game on offense and defense, write two practice reports (one of which will be an OSU practice report), and we’ll soon start learning about individual position play. Coach Meyer isn’t slated on the syllabus to teach another class. Rather, we have each position coach teaching their position. For example, Linebacker Play will be taught by Coach Fickell, QB Play and the Pass Attack taught by Coach Herman, and so on. This should be a great class, and hopefully I’ll be able to transfer some of the knowledge on football scouting, position play, and game planning on to the fine readers of Men of the Scarlet and Gray. Go Bucks.

Filed Under: College Football, Miscellany, Ohio State Football

5 Things I Think: CFB Week 2!

September 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Week one started off with six straight nights of college football and it felt great. As can be expected, none of the so-called top teams looked terrific. It makes sense, though, as it’s the first time they’ve played against players that aren’t teammates. Adjustments will be made, new players will become acclimated, new coach’s styles will become second nature to the teams. For some teams starters still haven’t been decided, so after one week there’s no reason to get too excited or too disappointed just yet. There are several intriguing matchups this week some of which will be games that will be indicators for fans and media alike and that will likely be referred to later in the season by the selection committee.

Let’s jump in!

1. #14 USC at #13 Stanford (9/6/14 3:30pm EST ABC): Stanford wants to avenge their loss to the Trojans last year especially given that the Cardinal have won the previous four contests. In fact, of the 92 times these two teams have met, this decade (the 2010’s) is only the second one in which the Cardinal have a winning the record (the other was the 1940’s) against USC. The Trojans faced the reigning MWC champions last week, and in the midst of scandals that included a faux hero and a quitting player calling Coach Sarkisian a racist, they beat the Bulldogs of Fresno State by 39 points. The Trojans ran an unbelievable 105 plays Saturday, second only to Northern Illinois’ 109, and redshirt junior quarterback Cody Kessler looked great. Kessler, however, had surgery on his toe this week to address what some are reporting was a staph infection. Though it sounds like Kessler will still play this week, we may see the former number one QB recruit in the nation (Rivals, 2012) in redshirt freshman Max Browne. The last time we saw the Stanford Cardinal (unless you happened to watch last week’s 45-0 drubbing of an FCS team that won five games last season) they were watching as Michigan State went into the victory formation and won the Rose Bowl. The Cardinal hope to return to the Rose Bowl because if they do it means they’re in the playoffs. Playmaker Ty Montgomery will have to play very well Saturday if that’s going to happen. Montgomery is a threat in the receiving game, the return game, and even out of the backfield on occasion. Trojans All-American defensive lineman, Leonard Williams, suffered a high-ankle sprain Tuesday. Stanford’s offensive line will surely try to exploit that and perhaps Barry Sanders, Jr. will have his breakout game. We didn’t get much insight into the strength of either team in Week 1, but this game will certainly give us — and the selection committee — a clearer picture. USC was a top-ten team in time of possession last season and last week kept the ball for nearly 39 minutes. If they can keep it away from Kevin Hogan, Ty Montgomery, and company, the Trojans will win this game. I just don’t think they’ll be able to because their depth issues on defense will hinder their ability to keep Stanford from eating clock. Stanford wins a very close game.

2. #7 Michigan State at #3 Oregon (9/6/14 6:30pm EST FOX): The last we saw Spartans quarterback Connor Cook he was in the aforementioned victory formation and he had just finished his second consecutive game passing for at least 300 yards and completing 60% of his passes. His team was known all season for its suffocating defense (finished the season 2nd in the nation in total defense), but the offense showed up during its two most important games. Cook, running back Jeremy Langford, and sophomore tight end Josiah Price are now as much worthy of game planning as Pat Narduzzi’s defense is. This week they face the high-octane Oregon Ducks in what is this season’s first matchup that has realistic playoff appearance implications. The Spartans travel to Autzen Stadium where the Ducks are 21-2 in their last home 23 contests (the two losses were by a combined 6 points and both were in November). This is the Ducks’ first season without Nick Aliotti at defensive coordinator since 1999, so it will be interesting to see the difference on that side of the ball. All-American cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is surely leaned upon as a steadying force, but he didn’t play the last three quarters in Week 1 against South Dakota with an ankle injury, so if I’m Connor Cook, I’m testing him early to see if his coverage skills are compromised. In years past, I’d have written that the Spartans aren’t built to make a comeback if they get down early, but I don’t think I can do so now because they’re a threat offensively under the much-improved Cook. Oregon only ran 70 plays last week, but they averaged 9.61 yards per play. Yes, it was against the Coyotes, but at least it showed Mariota is healthy and was efficient (70% passing). Would you believe me if I told you that the Spartans only had one more rushing attempt in 2013 than did the Ducks? It’s true. The difference is that the Ducks averaged nearly two more yards per carry! It’s a tough call. Pick the team with a fully healthy Heisman candidate at quarterback and has lost twice at home in three years or pick the team with a hot and much-improved quarterback and is finally a threat on both sides of the ball? Aflac by 10!

3. Michigan at #16 Notre Dame (9/6/14 7:30pm EST NBC): A lot of the talk surrounding this game is that this is the last meeting between these two teams in the foreseeable future because Notre Dame opted out of the matchup in 2012 when they committed to playing 5 ACC games yearly. Though this is certainly a big rivalry, it would surprise some to know that these two teams have only met 41 times. However, from 1980 to 2013 there have only been six seasons in which they didn’t square off. Given the last five games though, which were decided by an average of six points, it seems a shame that it has come to an end. In an amusing turn of events, it was announced Thursday that Notre Dame and Wolverines rival Ohio State have come to terms for a home-and-home in 2022 and 2023. Notre Dame is still dealing with what could potentially explode into a North Carolina-like academic scandal and Brian Kelly has announced that the five currently affected players are still unavailable due to suspension. Everett Golson, who missed last season due to his own academic scandal, looked like a much more polished player last week. I realize that it was just against Rice, but going into last week I felt fairly comfortable that sophomore Malik Zaire would win the job by season’s end. I’m not so sure now. Golson looked much crisper and more decisive than he did as the redshirt freshman that led the Fighting Irish to the BCS title game in 2012. The Irish’s secondary, however, did not look great at all. They allowed the Owls to complete 71% of their passes on first down and on third down and 9 passes of 15 yards or more. Part of the reason for that is they were without redshirt senior safety Austin Collinsworth who is out 2-4 weeks with an MCL strain. That means they’ll be without him this week against a Wolverines team that was 75th in the nation in passing offense last year, but is now under Devin Gardner’s second full season as starting quarterback. They’ll need to watch out for the Devin-to-Devin (Funchess) connection. Funchess, who was listed as tight end last season and was second on the team in every receiving category, is listed as a wide receiver this year and went for 95 yards and three touchdowns last week. Michigan has won four of the last six, but I think we’re going to see another crisp game by Golson this week and the Fighting Irish will win yet another close game. Notre Dame by a field goal.

4. BYU at Texas (9/6/14 7:30pm EST Fox Sports 1): It’s a battle of two “unranked” teams, yet it’s very intriguing nevertheless. It was this matchup last season that started kicking the legs out from under Mack Brown when the Cougars won by 19 and their quarterback, Taysom Hill, ran for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns. Texas gave up a total of 550 rushing yards that day. In comes Charlie Strong and the Longhorns want to avenge this loss and more importantly show the defensive toughness and discipline for which Charlie Strong-led teams are known. What will make the defense’s job a little more difficult is that they may be on the field a lot longer than they’d prefer. Quarterback David Ash is out with concussion symptoms and starting center Dominic Espinosa is reportedly out for the year with a fractured ankle. If that weren’t enough, Charlie Strong suspended both starting offensive tackles for this game due to the ever popular “violation of team rules”. Perhaps it’s a good thing that David Ash and his concussion history is out for this game because his immobility could possibly heighten his injury risk behind what will now be one of the most inexperienced offensive lines in the country. Texas has a stable of running backs and will now be starting 6’5”, 225-lbs. Tyrone Swoopes (distant cousin of Sheryl Swoopes) at quarterback. Swoopes is mobile, but how will these rushers do behind such a suspect offensive line? Longhorns fans, and defensive players, are hoping they do well enough to move the chains so that they keep Taysom Hill off the field. Hill, a sophomore, improved as the season went on last year. He started the season with three games (including the Texas game) in which he completed less that 40% of his passes but completed at least 55% in 7 of his last 10 games and 77.8% last week. If Texas’ offense weren’t so weakened, I’d take Texas because I believe in the culture change that Charlie Strong has and continues to implement in Austin. I just don’t think they’ll be able to move the chains, which will wear out their defense, and will allow Taysom Hill to play well. BYU won’t win by 19 like that did last year, even with a weakened Longhorns offense, but they will win and probably by a touchdown or less.

5. Virginia Tech at #8 Ohio State (9/6/14 8pm EST ESPN): This is the first time these two teams have ever played one another, which seems a bit unbelievable. The Buckeyes’ first game against Navy made it difficult to gauge them due to Navy’s unorthodox style of play; this week should be a better indicator. While Virginia Tech is currently “unranked” there are many who think they will be a better team than last year’s 8-5 squad. While they lost Logan Thomas (Arizona Cardinals) at quarterback, they were fortunate to avoid having to replace him with an inexperienced passer. Junior Michael Brewer transferred from Texas Tech and is a better passer than Thomas was (Brewer completed over 70% of his passes over his career); the Buckeyes were the 112th-ranked defense against the pass last year, so new co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash’ impact will have to be realized this week. The Hokies defense lost cornerback Kyle Fuller in the first round of May’s NFL Draft (Chicago Bears), but many people think his younger brother Kendall is as good, if not better, than Kyle. Virginia Tech boasted the 4th best team in the country in total defense in 2013, the highlight of which was holding an Alabama offense that averaged 454 yards on offense on the year to a mere 216 offensive yards to start the season. While the Tech defensive backfield returns three starters, their front seven only returns two. Contrast that against the fact that the Buckeyes only return one starter on the offensive line and the battle in the proverbial trenches will be vital to the Buckeyes’ offensive success. While scarletshirt freshman J.T. Barrett has mobility, he doesn’t have the level of mobility that an Urban Meyer quarterback typically has, so it is imperative that the front line play well. The Buckeyes, of course, have to be ready for “Beamer Ball” as well. Defense and special teams is what have defined Frank Beamer’s Hall-of-Fame caliber career which means Meyer’s squad must avoid turning the ball over, cover kicks and punts thoroughly, and beware of fakes. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw several screens early in the game to test that inexperienced Hokies front seven and put some of the Buckeyes’ speedsters out in space. I think it is here that the Buckeyes have the advantage and Meyer and Tom Herman will exploit it. Ohio State extends its home winning streak to fifteen games with a win by about 10 points.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

Q&A with an opponents blogger: Virginia Tech

September 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Bring on the Hokies. What is a Hokie? Well, I am glad you asked as we have that covered in our most recent podcast.

This week I had the great pleasure of working with Chuck Workman who is the managing editor of gobblercountry.com (he goes by flyer13 on the site) and they do a fantastic job covering Virginia Tech football. Please check out their site and get some more information on to what the Buckeyes are facing tomorrow so you can sound well educated in front of your friends and family like all Buckeye fans should (besides reading our site!!)

MotSaG: Which conference do you feel is better, the Big Ten or the ACC?

GobblerCountry: They are evenly matched, though the talent is distributed more evenly in the ACC. I think the top of the BiG often gets that extra at-large BCS bid historically; where it took VT until 2011 with our semi/very-bogus trip to the Sugar to get the first at-large for the ACC (where we beat Michigan, I’m sure you agree). With FSU and Miami not up to the standards envisioned upon the ACC’s expansion in 2004 (until recently of course for the ‘Noles) it’s been difficult to justify that extra ACC team. Now that the system has changed to include the playoff.

With the extra four teams, the at-large BCS bid will likely be eliminated as a distinguishing factor. But in a nutshell, the BiG has always had 2-3 behemoths at the top (and I’m sure you’re counting on Nebraska to join in soon) and a very deep basement with the Hoosiers, Wildcats, Gophers, et al all taking turns in the cellar. A lot of years, the ACC will have eight or nine bowl teams of their 12; and now likely even more with Louisville joining and the Irish trailing in our wake as they attempt with all of their futile might to remain independent. Most days I take the Buckeyes over most everyone in the FBS. Same with Michigan St (sorry UM). But if you stack up ACC teams 3-15 I have to say the ACC balance is better through the middle.

MotSaG: How much does OSU’s defensive line concern the Hokies?

GobblerCountry: Very much, though the Spence suspension helps. We have an offensive line that is veteran, but a lot of them are still having trouble with snap counts and motion in the spread we run. Consequently, we saw an uncharacteristic number of false starts; we even saw one in the backfield out of a RB. These things simply cannot happen vs an Urban Meyer team, who seems to maintain discipline on the field, though he is a little more lax with his players behavior off of it (Gator Haters all of us amirite? Or maybe you’ve learned to forgive the BCS Title Game loss. Teddy Ginn Jr. hasn’t)

Last week we unleashed some sick TEs on FCS opponent William & Mary. And we have a third equally impressive TE on the mend. He is questionable. This affords us extra blockers. Word to the Buckeye faithful, the more you see of J.C. Coleman as the tailback in the pistol formation, the better you should feel. He’s tiny, he doesn’t pick up weak-side blitzes well, and he doesn’t have the vision to find the holes in between the 300 lbers. If you see us come out with Shai McKenzie and Juice Williams, you may be in for a day of it in the trenches. They find yards where there aren’t any to be had.

As for the passing game, we have good tackles. I feel OK with the initial double team on the edge and then the TE releasing for an outlet. We could make a game of it this way. But the coaches, well, they probably won’t read this.

If I were Urban, I’d blitz early to see how we hold up. If it works, we’re yours. If this new kid Brewer we have at QB can pick your scabs though, you may have to sit back. William & Mary didn’t provide us with enough of a litmus test.

MotSaG: What do you think VT’s biggest concerns are?

GobblerCountry: Youth, youth, youth. Those are choices 98,99,100 on my list. The first 97? Coaching on offense, and the playcalling. What can I say except that our menu is comparable to The Cheesecake Factory’s. You spend an hour reading thru it and then you get something with the alfredo that tastes like it was cooked at the same station as the marinara. Either way the sauce the past couple years has been weak. The playbook/menu outstrips the kitchen’s ability to cook everything with their A game.

Hokie football was built on leaning on teams. What goes for one yard in the first, goes for two yards in the second, goes for six points in the 4th. (quote from ex-NFL/USC coach John Robinson). Now we’re integrating personnel into a spread system that used the no-huddle last week, so it’ll be interesting to see how much huddle time we use vs a viable opponent such as OSU.

Defensively, we have no real concerns. We looked pretty good against all the base formations. We got fooled once by the wildcat set (W&M gained 193 net yards, 100 were on three plays). We have two heavy watch-list names in Luther Maddy (DT) and Kendall Fuller (CB, in a long line of DB brothers). And I’d be completely underselling DE Cory Marshall (who will work his way onto the 2nd day of the draft at minimum) and his counterpart DE Dadi Nicolas, who can probably beat 3/4 of your WRs in a foot race.

MotSaG: Virginia Tech has one of the best secondaries in the nation — do you feel it will cause problems for scarlet shirt freshman JT Barrett?

GobblerCountry: Barrett would be best suited testing the edges to get the corners to creep in and help the nickel back and LBs out. That’s when he’s going to want to challenge our guys deep. Our second CB Brandon Facyson didn’t fare so well against the Tribe’s all-CAA WR (until he went out with an injury). The added pressure on him due to Fuller being so lock-down will reveal him very soon as our resident whipping boy or whether he’ll live up to all the attention he’s getting from QBs.

Our safeties include an NFL draft hopeful in Kyshoen Jarrett who really fits the mold of the hard-hitting Hokie SS (like Aaron Rouse and Kam Chancellor before him). Our Free man is Detrick Bonner, who excels in run support, but is toastable in man coverage. I’m sure Urban is aware of this. Chuck Clark is the nickel du jour, as Bud Foster defenses often eschew the extra LB for more speed.

MotSaG: How excited are VT players to get to play in the ‘Shoe?

GobblerCountry: I can only imagine that for a large percentage of these players that the experience will be once in a lifetime. However, OSU returns the favor with a return trip to Blacksburg, so they’ll have to get over the stars in their eyes and remember that they will be tussling with a lot of these guys next year. Now is not the time to genuflect, its time to see what we’ve got in terms of mental strength.

MotSaG: If OSU can shut down VT’s running game how much pressure does that put on Brewer?

GobblerCountry: Some pressure to be sure, but if they don’t put pressure on him, we have weapons on the edges that we didn’t possess the past two years. We have a TE corps that is the ultimate fire alarm to pull in case of emergency, and we have more seasoned receivers. I think we test your speed in the LB corps and see if they can keep the 6 and 7 yard hitches in front of them. I also think the seam routes are a nice attack point against the OSU team particularly if they decide to dial up the pressure. Brewer isn’t lauded for his arm strength, but I think he is very underrated, particularly rolling to his right. If you examine his HS tapes, you’ll see a little Drew Brees gunslinger in him. He also runs like a young Heath Shuler, or a Dee Dowis (lol, i always loved that name as a kid). We have some options, but it’s up to the coaches to adjust, and I never have confidence in the VT coaches to adjust mid-game. Pre-game? Great group of planners, but deer’ in the headlights when things hit the fan between the lines. There’s a reason there are only like 4 double digit comebacks in Coach Beamer’s career (spans to 1986).

MotSaG: What are some of the VT players Buckeye fans should keep an eye out for?

GobblerCountry: QB Michael Brewer, RB Shai McKenzie/Marshawn “Juice” Williams (you’ll cheer for Coleman if he’s in), TE’s Bucky Hodges/Ryan Malleck, WR Isaiah Ford, Willie Byrn, Josh Stanford

DT Luther Maddy, DE Corey Marshall, DE Dadi Nicolas, LB Chase Williams, LB Derek DiNardo, CB Kendall Fuller, SS Kyshoen Jarrett

P AJ Hughes….we know about your P too….but ours goes to 11.

MotSaG: Do you feel like VT was looking past William and Mary last weekend to this weeks matchup?

GobblerCountry: Not at all, it was a sleepy effort at times, crisp at others. A lot of bodies saw action against an FCS club. Not that W&M is Navy (but they could give Navy a game). But as a former athlete who is aware of world surroundings, I can’t imagine a few of the guys didn’t look ahead.

MotSaG: Do some of the redzone issues that VT had last week concern you?

GobblerCountry: Red zone issues always concern me especially when you have the bulk advantage up front. We need to establish a rotation, and stick to it. This RB by committee thing is a real thorn in the side for me, especially when we settle for FGs of 20 and 27 yards. But that feeling would be universal amongst all college football fans, wouldn’t it?? We need to impose ourselves down there, and that is the function half the time. The finesse stuff, we can put that in the round file, particularly inside the five. I like the fade pattern when you have a guarantee like Randy Moss. Otherwise, like your own immortal Woody Hayes once said, “When you throw the ball, three things can happen and two of them are bad.”

MotSaG: What’s your prediction for the game?

GobblerCountry: Hokies shock the world. Brewer matches Brown, several TOs kill momentum on both sides. OSU misses a long FG to win. Hokies 20-17, on a wet field (I think there’s a good possibility of rain in Columbus Saturday)

Thanks for this opportunity to converse with you guys. Check us out for VT Hokies sports news on www.gobblercountry.com or @gobblercountry on Twitter. We also have a Facebook page.

Good luck Saturday, and most importantly have fun as safely as possible!

I would like to thank Chuck for taking the time out of his busy schedule to help me with this post. While he made some fine points and may make some Buckeye fans nervous for the game tomorrow I do not believe for one second that William and Mary would have been able to handle Navy. Navy showed last Saturday they are a very talented and athletic team that no one wants to give credit to but we will see at the end of the year what kind of season they had and if I am the delusional one.

This game has the making of being a close game but after watching the VT and W&M match-up last weekend somethings just didn’t impress me with VT. I think their run defense might be suspect and I look for the Buckeyes running back stable to take pressure of JT and possibly opening up the play action big time for the Buckeyes. I hope that the tight ends get used more and that they don’t have to stay back to help with blocking on the line. The coaching staff hopefully fixed some of the problems on the offensive line especially going up against a more talented VT defensive line, VT secondary does worry me but JT and the coaching staff seem smart enough to figure out ways to get those guys out of position. We will finally see the new revamped secondary against a more traditional offense and I’m looking forward to a big night from the defensive line.

My prediction as I believe I said on the podcast is 34-14 Ohio State.

Remember have any questions for any of the upcoming games you would like answered email us at AskMotSaG@gmail.com. Would love to hear from you and Go Buckeyes.

Filed Under: College Football, Ohio State Football Tagged With: , ,

Ohio State & Notre Dame Announce Home-and-Home Series

September 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish haven’t met on the football field since the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. But that is about to change in the near future. They announced a home-and-home series just this morning, right before the Irish play Michigan this weekend. Coincidence, or some trolling? Here’s the details from CBS Sports:

Notre Dame and Ohio State announced a new series Thursday, with the first game to be played in Columbus on Sept. 3, 2022, and the return engagement in South Bend on Sept. 23, 2023. So not only are we getting a series between two traditional college football powers, but the games will be played on campus. Imagine that!

The two schools have played five times in history, with the last meeting taking place in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State owns the 3-2 advantage in the series, and has won the past three meetings.

What are your thoughts Buckeye fans? Excited about playing the Irish?

Filed Under: College Football, Ohio State Football

Predicting Every Single FBS College Football Game: Week 2

September 3, 2014 by 1 Comment

Week one is officially in the books! My record for my week one predictions: 72-12 (85.17% of games predicted correctly). That’s much better than I anticipated it to be. If you don’t believe me or you missed my predictions for week one, you can find them by clicking here. There were a lot of close upsets in week one that could’ve brought my record down a lot more. If week one is any indication as to how this season is going to play out, we’re in for a wild ride. That means picking games is even tougher for me. Yay! As I looked through the week two schedule I see a lot of potential upsets and trap games, as well as some big time match ups that will impact who makes the playoffs at the end of the season. Let’s take a look at week two…

Thursday Sept. 4
Arizona @ Texas-San Antonio – Pick: UTSA (Upset)

Friday Sept. 5
Pittsburgh @ Boston College – Pick: Pittsburgh
Washington State @ Nevada – Pick: Washington State

Saturday Sept. 6
Howard @ Rutgers – Pick: Rutgers
#20 Kansas State @ Iowa State – Pick: Kansas State
McNeese State @ #19 Nebraska – Pick: Nebraska
Western Kentucky @ Illinois – Pick: Illinois
Akron @ Penn State – Pick: Penn State
Central Michigan @ Purdue – Pick: Central Michigan
Western Illinois @ #18 Wisconsin – Pick: Wisconsin
#24 Missouri @ Toledo – Pick: Toledo (Upset)
Arkansas State @ Tennessee – Pick: Tennessee
Florida Atlantic @ #2 Alabama – Pick: Alabama
Buffalo @ Army – Pick: Army
#4 Oklahoma @ Tulsa – Pick: Oklahoma
SMU @ North Texas – Pick: North Texas
Stony Brook @ Connecticut – Pick: Connecticut
South Carolina State @ #23 Clemson – Pick: Clemson
Navy @ Temple – Pick: Navy
South Alabama @ Kent State – Pick: South Alabama
Alabama-Birmingham @ Mississippi State – Pick: Mississippi State
New Mexico State @ Georgia State – Pick: New Mexico State
Sacramento State @ California – Pick: California
Eastern Washington @ Washington – Pick: Washington
Fresno State @ Utah – Pick: Utah
Colorado @ Massachusetts – Picks: Colorado
Richmond @ Virginia – Pick: Virginia
Missouri State @ Oklahoma State – Pick: Oklahoma State
Ball State @ Iowa – Pick: Iowa
Middle Tennessee State @ Minnesota – Pick: Minnesota
Northern Illinois @ Northwestern – Pick: Northern Illinois
Virginia Military @ Bowling Green – Pick: Bowling Green
#14 USC @ #13 Stanford – Pick: Stanford
Ohio @ Kentucky – Pick: Kentucky
Maryland @ South Florida – Pick: Maryland
Eastern Michigan @ Florida – Pick: Florida
Nicholls State @ Arkansas – Pick: Arkansas
Eastern Kentucky @ Miami (OH) – Pick: Miami (OH)
Georgia Tech @ Tulane – Pick: Georgia Tech
#15 Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt – Pick: Ole Miss
Old Dominion @ N.C. State – Pick: Old Dominion (River Boat Gambler Upset Special)
Campbell @ Appalachian State – Pick: Appalachian State
Savannah State @ Georgia Southern – Pick: Georgia Southern
Wagner @ Florida International – Pick: Wagner
Gardner-Webb @ Wake Forest – Pick: Wake Forest
#7 Michigan State @ #3 Oregon – Pick: Michigan State
Florida A&M @ Miami (FL) – Pick: Miami (FL)
SE Missouri State @ Kansas – Pick: Kansas
Louisiana Tech @ Louisiana-Lafayette – Pick: Louisiana-Lafayette
East Carolina @ #21 South Carolina – Pick: East Carolina (Upset)
San Jose State @ #5 Auburn – Pick: Auburn
#17 Arizona State @ New Mexico – Pick: Arizona State
Murray State @ #25 Louisville – Pick: Louisville
Idaho @ Louisiana-Monroe – Pick: Louisiana-Monroe
Alcorn State @ Southern Mississippi – Pick: Southern Miss
Rhode Island @ Marshall – Pick: Marshall
Duke @ Troy – Pick: Duke
Citadel @ #1 Florida State – Pick: Florida State
Towson @ West Virginia – Pick: West Virginia
Sam Houston State @ #12 LSU – Pick: LSU
Northwestern State @ #10 Baylor – Pick: Baylor
BYU @ Texas – Pick: BYU
Lamar @ #9 Texas A&M – Pick: Texas A&M
Michigan @ #16 Notre Dame – Pick: Notre Dame
San Diego State @ #21 North Carolina – Pick: North Carolina
Virginia Tech @ #8 Ohio State – Pick: Ohio State
Idaho State @ Utah State – Pick: Utah State
Grambling State @ Houston – Pick: Houston
Northern Colorado @ UNLV – Pick: UNLV
Memphis @ #11 UCLA – Pick: UCLA
Air Force @ Wyoming – Pick: Air Force
Colorado State @ Boise State – Pick: Colorado State
Oregon State @ Hawaii – Pick: Oregon State
Texas Tech @ UTEP – Pick: Texas Tech

That’s all the games for week two. I’ll let you know how I did with my predictions on next week’s post. Let me know in the comments what you think of my picks and feel free to ask me why I picked the way I did.

Filed Under: College Football

MotSaG Live Episode #3 – Ohio State vs Virginia Tech

September 2, 2014 by 1 Comment

Click here to listen or right click to download

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Filed Under: College Football, Podcast Tagged With:

MotSaG Live Podcast #3: Win Over Navy, Looking at the Big Ten & Previewing the Ohio State-Virginia Tech Game

September 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Time for episode #3! 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 the third show, the following MotSaGers will join me: Jeremiah, Shannon, Andrew and Chip. On this show we will talk about the Buckeyes victory over Navy in the opening week, how the Big Ten performed in week one, some of the big national games this week and all of the Big Ten games too. And of course we’ll be previewing Ohio State’s primetime game with the Virginia Tech Hokies, giving our thoughts and predictions for that game also. For this portion of the show we’ll be joined by special guest Jacob Emert, a Virginia Tech beat writer for TechSideline.com.

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, as announced on the show last week. 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 a fun and informative show as always. Don’t miss it!

To view it on YouTube, click here.

To view the Google+ event page, click here.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football

Complaints and Issues: Navy Week

September 2, 2014 by 3 Comments

It’s finally here! The days are getting shorter, the kids are back in school and Columbus Ohio will turn into an absolute loony bin for four months. The first week just finished and the Ohio State Buckeyes doubled up the Navy Boatmen 34-17.

The game has been digested and every Buckeye fan is now turning their eyes to Virginia Tech in week two, except for me. I need to get some things off my chest about the game, so I decided to showcase my favorite skill-complaining.

larry_david

Being a miserable turd, I am always looking for some company. I gave myself a notepad, a Mickey Mouse pen and a variety 12 pack of fall beers to help me write down every pessimistic thought and issue that I yelled at the t.v. on Saturday. Why? Because it’s more fun to be angry. So please embark on this wonderfully negative journey with me.

Don’t get me wrong, I do get very excited when things go my teams’ way, but those thoughts are more “F word yea” and “suck my you-know-what” fragments. I’ve decided to edit those out for obvious reasons.

It was a two t.v. setup, and the Michigan “we only win in September” Wolverines vs the App. State Mountaineers were on the second screen. I despise watching that school up north but I figured it would get my hate juices amped up even more.

Warning: If you enjoy being happy and don’t like to let the little things get you down then stop reading now. Here is every negative thought from my messed up mind on Saturday from 12:00PM to 3:30PM.

12:00PM to 1:00PM-Total beers so far- 3 (I know, I start early, I’m a lush on Saturdays):

1. Verne looks terrible.

2. Devin Gardner is still wearing number 98? He’s that guy who wears a goofy wig to a party once, gets a lot of laughs, and is still wearing it 7 months later. Give it up man.

3. Jabrill Peppers is wearing at least ten sweatbands on the parts of his skin we can see. I bet he’s got half a hundy on his whole body.

4. I thought our kicker was fat, what happened to his gut? This pisses me off, I really wanted a fat kicker and we had one in spring. Damn you Mickey Marriotti.

5. Wait a minute, our strength coach’s name is Mickey? Why have I never let that sink in? That’s bizarre.

6. Is there anything worse than the last drink of a wheat beer? It’s warm, smells like butt cheeks and has the taste of orange juice left in a men’s restroom overnight.

7. That mofo did not catch that! Review that garbage!

8. Ok, he caught it, but he’s still lucky. Frig off Danielson, your voice makes me want to kick my dog.

9. That in no way should be a touchdown but Navy used their knowledge of the sea winds to blow that pylon over. Sickening.

10. God I hate playing Navy, I hope Urban wet willies Gene Smith.

11. Turn that Michigan game the hell off.

1:00PM to 2:00PM- Total beers so far- 4.5:

1. To the ref who overturned that forward pass fumble: You’re not wrong, you’re just an ***hole

2. (Had to remove fourteen heinous words from this note) what the….

3. I am going to go into the garage, turn my engine on, crawl into the trunk and get ready for my eternal sleep.

4. Just throw me in the trash, I don’t want a funeral.

2:00PM to 3:00PM- Total beers so far- 11.  Total Liquor drinks so far-1:

1. Let’s go! I knew you would make a mistake you freaking punks. We’re on land, you guys don’t belong here! Have fun waking up at 6AM for drill on Monday you little pieces of trash.

2. I should see a psychiatrist.

3. That damn Fickell. He is the cause of all my problems. He is the reason my wife is in the kitchen crying after my latest outburst, not me. He did this to us.

4. I feel like Iowa has lost to Northern Iowa to start every season for the last ten years.

5. Devin Smith will be the player affected by Braxton the most. He’s only a deep threat and J.T. Barrett doesn’t have the arm to throw downfield.

6. Well I am an idiot. Why did I just say that last thought in front of 10 people only to get stiff armed by the football gods right back into my place?

7. Gary Danielson is a traitor.

8. I am so freaking jealous of Joey Bosa’s girlfriend. I will never be with the one I truly love.

9. Man I respect Navy, can’t believe I called them pieces of trash, I blame Fickell again.

3:00PM to 3:30PM- Total beers so far-12. Total liquor drinks so far-2:

1.Great win but  I think I may have an alcohol problem.

Well there it is, for those dumb enough to actually read this, I hope I have killed your mood. Deep down I am very pleased with this team and their crazy talented youth, but isn’t it a lot more fun to let some anger out once a week? I felt like a real manly man sleeping on the couch that night.

I’ll see you next week, it’s a night game so expect the rage and grammatical errors to increase tenfold.

Bonus:

Fitting song for the game: The Fear by Ben Howard.

Lyric dissection: “I’ve been worrying” about this game since it was scheduled and “we lost the one we hold dear (Braxton.) “I will become what I deserve”… a passed out drunk who embarrassed himself yet again on a college football Saturday.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, Ohio State Football
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