Well, we’ve finally made it to the end of the year! We’re almost to the bowls that people actually care about, but first we’ve got to wade through a couple days of games that all sound the same, featuring match-ups we wouldn’t watch if the end of the college football season weren’t so frighteningly imminent.

Monday
11:45a

Armed Forces Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Navy. The Armed Forces Bowl is different from the Military Bowl, I guess. I mean, it at least has an actual service academy playing in it, even though that’s not a requirement. I’m so confused. (ESPN)

3:15p

Music City Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi. Keep an eye on whoever takes home MVP honors in this game. They’ll most likely end up playing for a terrible NFL team, like former winners Jason Campbell, Zac Stacy, C.J. Spiller, and William Green. (ESPN)

6:45p

Alamo Bowl: Oregon vs. Texas. The first time these two played was early December, 1941. The Longhorns thrashed the Ducks 71-7. Texas kicked Oregon around a few more times in the mid-twentieth century, before dropping the 2000 Holiday Bowl to the boys from Eugene. Can the ducks keep their mediocre mid-tier magic alive this year? Obligatory Program Cover Art. (ESPN)

10:15p

Holiday Bowl: Arizona State vs. Texas Tech. Head coaches Todd Graham and Kliff Kingsbury have faced off before. As an offensive assistant at Houston, Kingsbury had a hand in the 70-30 beatdown of Graham’s 2008 Tulsa team. They split the next two meetings (both razor-close) before their coaching paths diverged. Tonight, they meet again. Will Graham finally avenge that humiliating defeat or will he be out-handsomed once more? (ESPN)

Tuesday
12:30p

Independence Bowl: Arizona vs. Boston College. When the Wildcats and Eagles face off, you know it’s Arizona and Boston College getting together. Or Kentucky and Eastern Michigan. Or Northwestern and Southern Mississippi. Or Kansas State and Eastern Washington. Or Bethune-Cookman and Georgia Southern. Or Villanova and Morehead State. (ESPN)

2:00p

Sun Bowl: UCLA vs. Virginia Tech. A Bruin is a bear. A Hokie is a made up word, but apparently they’ve decided it’s some kind of turkey. So here you go: Turkey Bear. (CBS)

4:00p

Liberty Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Rice. No, the Liberty Bowl is not the Independence Bowl. Nor is it the Freedom Bowl, which existed for a little while in the ’90s, before folding into the Holiday Bowl. Nor is it the Emancipation Bowl, the Autonomy Bowl or the Sovereignty Bowl. Seriously, how many bowls are there? (ESPN)

8:00p

Peach Bowl: Duke vs. Texas A&M. It’s the last hurrah for Johnny Football, who is probably going to put up about a zillion yards on the Blue Devils’ 71st-ranked pass defense in what is essentially his Pro Day. (ESPN)

Belated Merry Christmas wishes to any and all Ohio State fans who may be reading this post. Sincere hopes that all of you have the happiest of holiday seasons.

**

Turning my attention to Ohio State football, I am naturally anxious to see how Ohio State will do versus Clemson in The Orange Bowl on January 3rd, 2014. After losing to Michigan State in The B1G Championship Game, Ohio State fans will want to see if the Buckeyes will successfully rebound heading into the 2014 season.

The long view of the 2014 season, and the subsequent seasons after that, are of concern to me as an Ohio State fan. The 2014 season will be the first season of the four team college football playoff, and strength of schedule will be a key criteria. How will Ohio State fare under such scrutiny?

Ohio State fans heard all throughout the 2013 season how weak the Buckeyes’ opponents were ~ Buffalo. San Diego State. California. Florida A&M. Yes, I know that Buffalo and San Diego State were bowl teams; ironically, the teams played each other in The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Yes, Ohio State and the B1G members are moving to a nine game conference schedule in 2016. But look at Ohio State’s 2015 non-conference schedule opponents ~ at Virginia Tech, which is a solid opponent. Then home versus Hawaii, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan. Does that sound like an impressive slate of opponents that will impress the college football playoff committee?

What I am proposing, in light of a nine-game conference schedule, is the following:

–Target an in-state MAC opponent for the season opener: Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami University, Ohio University, and Toledo would be ideal openers on a rotating basis. Every team would benefit greatly from the financial boost of having Ohio State contribute to their respective athletic departments. For Ohio State, this would also allow the Buckeyes to work on their opening game challenges against somewhat decent opponents, yet not ruin their national championship hopes right out of the gate…hopefully. For creativity, these teams could even be the “home” team by hosting Ohio State at stadiums like Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, or FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

–Target close geographic teams in other top conferences: Teams such as Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Marshall, and Iowa State should be on Gene Smith’s speed dial. Again, several of these teams are on Ohio State’s upcoming schedules, but locking them in can only help with that perceived strength of schedule component. (Yes, I know Notre Dame is close geographically, but with Notre Dame’s new ACC schedule, good luck getting them on the schedule. Plus, why help them, when they repeatedly turned down The B1G’s multiple membership invitations?)

–Get some SEC opponents on the schedule: Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Missouri are all close geographically and would only help to boost the rivalry between The B1G and SEC.

Close your eyes, and think of a schedule that reads like this…“Ohio State opens up on the road in Paul Brown Stadium, kicking off the XXXX season as the guest of the Miami University RedskinsHawks. Ohio State returns home to face ACC member Pittsburgh, then finishes up their non-conference slate against Tennessee, before B1G competition begins the following week…”

Think that wouldn’t be impressive to members of the college football playoff committee, when evaluating Ohio State versus other teams’ records for possible playoff inclusion?

Like many Ohio State fans this holiday season, I have much to be thankful for, heading into 2014. If Santa wants to bring me some more presents, tougher non-conference opponents for the Buckeyes would not be a bad way to start off future college football seasons.

You might notice a common thread in our second batch of post-season offerings: they’re all on ESPN. In fact, all but 2 of the 36 total bowl games are on an ABC/ESPN network and the Worldwide Leader in Conflicts of Interest owns eight bowls outright, with another two on the way next year. It means whatever you think you means.

Thursday
6:00p

Little Caesars Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh notched a pair of wins over the Falcons in 1999/2000, while Bowling Green won the most recent matchup in 2008. Obligatory Program Cover Art. (ESPN)

9:30p

Poinsettia Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Utah State. These two teams played in 1995, with Utah State winning 42-7. Ingesting a poinsettia could cause vomiting and diarr–oh wait, I think this part was for the Little Caesars Bowl. (ESPN)

Friday
2:30

Military Bowl: Marshall vs. Maryland. MARSHALL! MARYLAND! MILITARY! That’s my pitch for the ad campaign for this game, starring Terry Crews as a turtle and Zach Galifianakis as the buffalo or whatever it’s a herd of that’s thundering. They would both be dressed in fatigues. Give me money. (ESPN)

6:00p

Texas Bowl: Minnesota vs. Syracuse. Nothing says “Texas” like Minnesota and Syracuse. The Gophers hold the 3-1 all-time edge over the Orange, and this is an orange tie with gophers on it. (ESPN)

9:30p

Fight Hunger Bowl: BYU vs. Washington. Washington is 65-34 all-time vs. teams named “Cougars,” while BYU is 4-4 against teams named “Huskies,” all eight of those games being against Washington. What does it all mean? NO MORE HUNGER! (ESPN)

Saturday
Noon

Pinstripe Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Rutgers. These two teams have played four times, and Rutgers only scored in one of those games. When I searched for “Irish Knight,” I got this. Someone get Nolan on the phone! (ESPN)

3:20p

Belk Bowl: Cincinnati vs. North Carolina. The Bearcats haven’t had much luck against the Tarheels, losing by 21 and 35 in their previous two meetings (1979 & 1991). There are no Belk stores in Ohio, but if you like unnecessary z’s, you can buy a pair of these online. They were literally the only product that came up when I searched for “Ohio.” (ESPN)

6:45p

Russell Athletic Bowl: Louisville vs. Miami. Back in mid-October, you could have made an argument for these two teams to play for the national title. Oh well, lots of teams don’t get to play for the title. Enjoy your lousy bowl, jerks. (ESPN)

10:15p

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Kansas State vs. Michigan. While it’s unclear whether or not Brady Hoke realizes that his team has not been invited to play in an enormous bowl of actual buffalo wings, we do know that he has expertly executed his five-year plan so far by landing the Wolverines in three consecutive food-related bowls. (ESPN)

Ohio State will be taking on the Fighting Irish in the annual Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden. The game till tip off at 7:30 PM and will be televised. The Buckeyes are coming into the game ranked 3rd in country with a record of 11-0. This is one of their final non conference games and there are many things Buckeye fans are questioning about the team. Our last away game was at a not so great Marquette team. This is only the second time the Buckeyes take the road for a game. But, this is a neutral site which will most likely be filled with Ohio State fans. Notre Dame is coming into this game 8-3. I believe this will not be an easy win for the Buckeyes. Last year Temple had an upset over Syracuse in the premiere game of the Gotham Classic.

Notre Dame is lead by senior guard Jerian Grant averaging a little over 19 points per game. They are also lead by senior center Garrick Sherman who averages a little over 14 points a game and a little over 7 rebounds a game. This will not be a breeze for Amir and Trey. Notre Dame has three loses. Two loses to teams that don’t have a high prestige. Their other lose comes from a ranked Iowa. I think this is one of the Buckeye’s hardest games played so far in the season.

Ohio State is looking to fix out the little flaws before heading into conference play. They came out very slow against Delaware. I think Ohio State will come out firing with the excitement of playing on the big stage at MSG. Ohio State fans a looking for a little more offense out of Laquinton Ross. He is the guy that can put up big numbers for OSU. Craft and Scott should be able to shutdown the back court for ND. If Amir and Trey hold up in the paint it will all work out for Ohio State.

The Garden hold a lot of history in sports. I am sure both teams will be coming out playing at full force. This will be a interesting game to watch. I will be at the game and am hoping to see a lot of Buckeye fans!

In a new report out from the guys at FootballScoop.Com it appears that Everett Withers will be named the next Head Coach of the James Madison Football team…

Here are the details from their report…

James Madison: Sources tell us that Everett Withers will be the next head coach at James Madison. Withers has spent the past two years at Ohio State as the assistant head coach / co-defensive coordinator, and prior to that was the defensive coordinator at North Carolina for four seasons. Withers served as the interim head coach at UNC during the 2011 season (going 7-5) after Butch Davis was let go.

Coach Withers has been with the team since Urban Meyer took over as head coach. He has been an Asst Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator/ Safeties coach his entire 2 years at OSU. He is a ver good recruiter handling the North Carolina/Maryland/Virginia areas for OSU. We should know very soon if this report is accurate but they have a great track record of getting things correct.

Bowl Season starts this Saturday, and I know you’re all psyched to pretend you might watch Louisiana-Lafayette play Tulane. But be honest, if I told you they’ve played twice already this year, you wouldn’t know for sure if that’s true or not.

Saturday
2:00p

New Mexico Bowl: Colorado State vs. Washington State. The Rams take on the Cougars for the first time ever. I don’t know if this is the cover of the game program, but it should be. Combined, these two teams give up nearly 900 yards per game. Bowls! (ESPN)

3:30p

Las Vegas Bowl: Fresno State vs. USC. Believe it or not, this game will serve as the rubber match for a series that includes a 1992 Bulldog win in the Freedom Bowl and a 2005 Trojan win. Here is a picture of a Trojan Bulldog (or, if the file name is to be believed, a Spartan Bulldog). Why? (ABC)

5:30p

Idaho Potato Bowl: Buffalo vs. San Diego State. The Bulls and the Aztecs have never played each other, but they did both play Ohio State this year. Watch our first two opponents battle it out for a trophy that I hope is shaped like this. Yum! (ESPN)

9:00p

New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Tulane. At least the Ragin’ Cajuns and Green Wave know how to come up with original team names. No tigers or wildcats here. But that also means no weird mashup pic from Google Image Search. I did, however, find that Cajun Wave is a defunct barbecue restaurant in Stowell, Texas, just down the street from Winnie Church of Christ, which probably doesn’t have anything to do with these folks, but I’m pretending it does. (ESPN)

Monday
2:00p

St. Petersburg Bowl: East Carolina vs. Ohio. The Pirates already have two victories over the Bobcats from the late ’90s when the school was transitioning from independence to Conference USA. If you’re going to the game, print out this handy map of Metro routes and don’t get Volkovskaya confused with Moskovskaya. (ESPN)

Tuesday
8:00p

Hawaii Bowl: Boise State vs. Oregon State. The Broncos lead this series 3-2, but all of those games happened in September in that weird northwestern part of the United States. This is in Hawaii, in what would be December if they had that in Hawaii. (ESPN)

Recruiting is big business there is no doubt about that. There are four major recruiting services out there right now. Some are really good (247sports) and some really awful (ESPN). The middle 2 services Rivals and Scout are basically the same sometimes good and sometimes bad. We here at MotSaG try to stay neutral in which site we use but I will admit I favor towards 247sports big time because they had the mindset early on to take all 4 sites rankings and avg. them out to give us a industry wide ranking system known as the composite rankings. Today I wanted to take a look at the newest rankings release this one by Scout.com. They have released their newest Top 300 players in the country and it is littered with Ohio State commits. So lets look at where each future Buckeye has been placed in the list and those on the outside looking in then we will discuss the ranking list to point out some things that stood out to me.

SCOUT 300

#33 Sam Hubbard- 5 star OLB

#39 Damon Webb- 4 star CB

#53 Raekwon McMillan- 4 star MLB

#61 Jamarco Jones- 4 star OT

#68 Kyle Berger- 4 star OLB

#76 Curtis Samuels- 4 star WR

#81 Dante Booker- 4 star OLB

#82 Parris Campbell Jr- 4 star RB

#109 Jalyn Holmes- 4 star DE

#113 Demetrius Knox- 4 star OG

#125 Noah Brown- 4 star WR

#151 Johnnie Dixon- 4 star WR

#240 Terry Mclaurin- 4 star WR

#254 Malik Hooker- 4 star WR

#281 Kyle Trout- 4 star OT

Non-Ranked commits

Dylan Thompson- 3 star DE

Marcelys Jones- 3 star OG

Sean Nuernberger- 3 star K

Stephen Collier- 3 star QB

Uncommitted OSU targets

#21 Solomon Thomas- 5 star DE

#43 Malik McDowell- 4 star DE

#45 Marshon Lattimore- 4 star CB

#67 Erick Smith- 4 star S

#83 Derek Nnadi- 4 star DT

– Of the 19 commits in the 2014 class 15 of them are ranked in the new Scout 300.

– Sam Hubbard is the only 5 star of the 19 members. This is his highest ranking of any of the 4 services by far. I am surprised they have him this high. Not that he isnt good enough just surprised he is the highest ranked OSU commit on the list.

– Based on this rankings the Linebacker, Wide Receiver, and Offensive Lineman classes are stacked for this year. Filling major needs for Coach Meyer and his team.

– The four unranked commits I still think are undervalued. Stephen Collier is a 4 star all day everyday in my opinion. Dylan Thompson and Marcelys Jones both should be 4 stars as well IMO. Not going to lie about the kicker yes he is good but he is just a kicker lol.

– There are somewhere between 4-6 spots left available in this class depending how things shake out with the NFL and transfers. The 6 guys I listed under uncommitted targets will fill most of those spots improving this class even more.

– Also should be noted that TTUN has only 8 members of their class in the Scout 300. OSU has nearly doubel that amount at 15. The 15 total Future Buckeyes on the Scout 300 nearly matches the entire class for TTUN who has 16 members of their class.

– This is of course just one of the four recruiting services opinions but it is very telling just how good this 2014 OSU class really is. Coach Meyer and his staff is putting together another stellar class and is building depth at positions where we are lacking it right now. This class has the potential to be one of the best ever in OSU history and we will look back on it in 5 years to see how they panned out.