As you know, I like to predict things–often with little to no substantiation. I get away with this baseless speculation because I do it for free. If I were some professional working for, say, ESPN, I would be held accountable for my prog–what? No one holds them to any sort of standard either? Huh.

But I’m not one to sweep my failures under the rug, so let’s take a look at some things I predicted this year, and how they turned out (so far):

B1G Newbies:

Back in February, I took a shot at guessing how the two new conference head coaches would fare in their opening season. I thought Wisconsin would take a small step back under Gary Andersen and go 6-6. Instead, they went 9-3 and one of those was the Arizona State loss where what should have been a last-second Badger field goal attempt disintegrated into mass confusion thanks to probably the worst performance by officials ever. That was one of the losses I picked, though, so there’s that. I also correctly picked the Ohio State and Penn State losses.

On the other side of that coin is Purdue’s Darrell Hazell, who I thought would go 4-8. Instead, the Boilermakers won a single game, against Indiana State. Obviously, I had them winning that game too, but also thought they’d handle Northern Illinois, Regular Illinois and Indiana–games they lost by a combined 55 points.

Fraud Teams:

Faring much better was my annual Fraud list of teams that were undefeated after five weeks only to lose at least five games the rest of the season. Missouri and Houston managed to get themselves off the list by the Week 11 update, and of the six remaining teams, four have already lost their fifth game and Washington needs to beat BYU next Friday to avoid going full Fraud this year. The only team that won’t hit five losses is UCLA, who was almost left off the update. All in all, a pretty successful year for the Fraud List.

It’s that time again, the time when you guys (and yes, we know we have women readers, but they’d never get this far without taking care of their shopping) need some help with your holiday shopping. Let us be your personal shopping concierges and point you in some great Ohio State gift ideas.

We did this last year and had a lot of fun with it, so we’re back for another year. We won’t repeat many ideas from last year, you can read it here.

Surveying the landscape of Buckeye-themed products at Amazon.com once again proves that there is some pretty weird stuff out there. Seems like just about anyone will slap a Block O on something and sucker someone into buying it. Things run the gamut from this odd Marilyn Monroe in an “Ohio State Buckeyes Jersey” iPhone case to this even odder Joker Samsung Galaxy S3 case. Is that even legal to mix to trademarked properties like that? It doesn’t seem like it. Of course there are more practical (but still a little outlandish) gifts you can find like this Eight piece Ohio State Buckeyes Comforter Set for the ultimate Buckeye bedroom, but it just feels strange.

So this year I went with a couple themes that could be useful as you try to figure out how to get something for that special Buckeye in your life. The first theme is for the Office Jockey who wants to show off his Buckeye love in every aspect of his cubicle life. Everyone needs a beverage to sip as they slave of spreadsheets, so why not get this black stainless steel tumbler for their hot beverages? And if coffee isn’t their thing, there’s a similar tumbler with a straw for icing down that Diet Coke.

For the drive in to work, a Buckeye steering wheel cover (pictured at the left) will make driving whatever car you drive feel like a BMW. (If you already drive a BMW, it will be like a BMW-squared). Getting to work is one thing, but you also need something to keep all that important work you do safe, and you could do worse than going with one of these leather attache case or leather legal briefcase. Then, arriving at your desk, what better place to sit than your General Manager Task Chair as you consider your vast empire. You have it so good you’ve got this High Brillance Diamond Cut Crystal Paperweight with a Buckeye logo and think does it get any better than this? You Ohio State Wood Business Cardholder says no. No it does not get any better than being a Buckeye fan.

For the person on your list who loves to read and has a Kindle, load that puppy up with some new books. There’s the Dispatch’s Bill Rabinowitz’s Buckeye Rebirth: Urban Meyer, an Inspired Team, and a New Era at Ohio State (because who doesn’t love to read about undefeated seasons? If you want to watch that glorious season, there’s Ohio State Game Time 2012 Season in Review [with Urban Meyer] as well)). There’s also Maurice Clarett (whom I just decided will no longer be referred to as He Who Shall Not Be Named) and his book Maurice Clarett, Redemption, a collection of thoughts to a journey of redemption. And finally, why not send a little coin to our fellow blog brethren at 11W by grabbing the Kindle subscription of their site, Eleven Warriors.

For the snazzy dresser on your list, these cufflinks are amazing. And a tie bar really pulls the whole thing together.

Last year we featured the Block O branding iron to sear Block O in your steak. This year we’re going a little easy on the classy with the hot dog brander. Take your pick and brand your dog “BUCKEYES” or “OHIO STATE” you can’t go wrong either way. When the grilling is done, cover up that precious shrine to the char Gods with an OSU grill cover

Finally, a couple memorabilia items for their Buckeye Man Cave: Eddie George Autographed Red Ohio State Jersey or Archie Griffin Autographed White Ohio State Jersey HT 74/75 PSA/DNA You can go wrong either way. Oh, and if Willis McGahee is on your Christmas list, I’m sure he’ll totally appreciate under this his Christmas tree.

Finally, if you were thinking of picking up something for one of your favorite blogger, I bet he’d love one of these. (Just saying)

(Note: All these Amazon.com links have our affiliate code embedded in them. If you purchase something through our link, we get a little commission and you support our site with no extra cost to you. It’s greatly appreciated.)

Before I get too far into the primary theme of this post, congratulations to Florida State, Auburn, Michigan State, Stanford, Baylor, Rice, UCF, Fresno State, and Bowling Green on winning their respective conference championship games. Congratulations to each of these teams for achieving conference champion status.

**
Anyone who knows or is familiar with my passion for college football is also accustomed to my passionate belief that college football needs a playoff system. Yes, I know – a four team playoff is starting for the 2014 season. Yes, I believe it will be an improvement over the present BCS system.

I refer to this time of year as my “Airing Of Grievances”, as my all-time favorite Seinfeld episode is “The Strike”, which features the themes of Festivus. Among the concepts of Festivus are The Airing Of Grievances, as well as The Feats Of Strength.

Yes, college football will have a four team playoff, and I will concede it will be an improvement. But…college football needs, and deserves, more.

A 16 team playoff is the answer. Why 16 teams, you ask?

Every conference champion (see up above) should be represented. From the mighty SEC champion, to the lowly Sun Belt champion (congratulations to Louisiana-Lafayette, by the way; Louisiana-Lafayette did not win the Sun Belt via a conference championship game, which is why I did not list them up above.).

College football fans are told repeatedly how every game matters, yet a four team playoff will exclude teams that are not considered “power conferences”. Why not give a MAC champion or Conference USA champion a shot at the title?

And how would I get to sixteen teams, when there are only ten conferences? Six at-large berths, based upon computer rankings. Below, all rankings based upon computer rankings from ESPN and Jeff Sagarin.

Here is how this could work ~

· American Athletic Conference (UCF) Seeded 12th

· Atlantic Coast Conference (Florida State) Seeded 1st

· Big 12 (Baylor) Seeded 9th

· B1G (Michigan State) Seeded 5th

· Conference USA (Rice) Seeded 15th

· MAC (Bowling Green) Seeded 14th

· Mountain West (Fresno State) Seeded 13th

· Pac 12 (Stanford) Seeded 4th

· SEC (Auburn) Seeded 2nd

· Sun Belt (Louisiana-Lafayette) Seeded 16th

· At-Large # 1 (Alabama) Seeded 3rd

· At-Large # 2 (Ohio State) Seeded 6th

· At-Large # 3 (Missouri) Seeded 7th

· At-Large # 4 (South Carolina) Seeded 8th

· At-Large # 5 (Oregon) Seeded 10th

· At-Large # 6 (Oklahoma) Seeded 12th

All games played at home team stadiums, with the higher seeded team being the host. (For those of you wondering why I would rank Alabama over Stanford, it is due to Alabama having only lost one game, while Stanford lost two.)

Can you imagine how insane your December weekends would be if there truly was a playoff system like below? Every conference champion gets a shot at the title. And every deserving at-large team is rewarded for playing well throughout the season too.

Somewhat surprisingly to me, Dan Wetzel, author of “Death To The BCS”, has switched from his previous position of including all conference champions, whittling down to an eight team playoff proposal. Below is a brief Twitter exchange on the ideas of an eight or sixteen playoff system…

https://twitter.com/DanWetzel/status/410865955506360320
https://twitter.com/DanWetzel/status/410870984137138177

Until the day arrives where every conference champion is given a chance to win the national championship, I will be skeptical of any college football playoff system, with this serving as my Airing Of Grievances. And until we have a system like mine, you can count on me to be ready for The Feats Of Strength…

On December 14, 2013, after the Heisman Trophy presentation, ESPN will televise its “30 For 30” series, focusing upon the story of former Ohio State stalwarts Maurice Clarett and Jim Tressel, in “Youngstown Boys”. Linked is a trailer previewing the episode…

On December 9, 2013, a buddy of mine named Jay Kimball, an Ohio State alum living in New Jersey, had the opportunity to meet Maurice Clarett at an advanced screening of the program. Jay e-mailed me during the day, asking me if I had one question for Maurice Clarett, and I had a very obvious, but important question ~

What Is Your Biggest Regret?

Below are Jay’s comments from an e-mail reply he sent to me. I hope you enjoy Jay’s comments, and I am looking forward to watching “Youngstown Boys” at 9pm EST on ESPN on December 14th. Go Bucks!

“This was a screening of the ESPN 30 for 30 called “Youngstown Boys” which premieres on Saturday night after the Heisman show. It was at my high school Paramus Catholic just for the kids. I got a call this afternoon to stop by. He did a Q&A after. His answers were not scripted and seemed honest. I think he has great potential as a public speaker but he needs a little work on his delivery. I asked him about his greatest regret. I prefaced it by stating that he was Mr. Football in Ohio 2001, Big Ten Freshman of the Year 2002 and National Champion 2002. I graduated in ’89 and but for my Freshman year we were in the woods until Tressel came in, then Clarett, etc. So he was a great source of pride and then to hear about a robbery occurring in an alley right behind the bars on High Street and then prison was a great source of shame. He had the opportunity to set himself and his entire family for life with an NFL contract. What is your biggest regret?

His answer was something to the effect that he didn’t have any regrets. That when he was involved in drugs and robbery he thought he was doing what he should be doing. Was he in the right frame of mind, absolutely not. I thought that response was a little off but he went on to talk more about how he came around in prison and what he was doing with his life now. So it wasn’t a bad response but I think he needs to work on it. Again, I thought he was being honest and the obvious message of trying to get kids to avoid people places and things that will get you in trouble resonates and he speaks from experience. “

The Spartans and Buckeyes put on a great show for us on Saturday night. The Spartans jumped out to a 17-0 lead that left the Buckeyes shell shocked, but the Buckeyes had a trump card for their slow start which was Braxton Miller. Miller, accompanied with Hyde and Philly Brown, helped to chip away at the lead and got the Buckeyes within seven by half.

The Buckeyes then came out in the second half guns a blazing, scoring two touchdowns and playing dominantly on defense. The game looked to be over and the Buckeyes, with one more score, looked bound for Pasadena. However, the grit and never quit in the Spartans helped them to dominate Ohio State in the 4th quarter when it mattered. Their early jump, and late dominance helped earn the Spartans their first Big Ten conference title in 25 years, and also a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes 24 game win streak was snapped, but more importantly their national title dreams were shattered.

While that may be a pretty good summary of what happened Saturday night, we all know there were a lot more factors that went in to what transpired on the field.

Too Much Lightning

Saturday night was just the second time all season that Braxton Miller led the team in rushing attempts with 22. According to offensive coordinator Tom Herman, the Buckeye coaching staff struggled to find formations for Hyde to successfully run. Therefore, the Buckeye run game stuck with Miller, which was part of the offensive downfall. The Buckeye run game became very predictable, for example, when Miller was left alone in the backfield it felt like everyone in Lucas Oil knew Miller was running a quarterback draw. Not only was the run game predictable, but the majority of Miller’s success did not even come on designed runs, it was when Miller escaped the pocket and created something out of nothing.

While Miller was successful scrambling, it was a cover up for the Buckeyes more troubling issue. The Buckeye wide receivers could not get separation from the Spartan corners. When they did get a chance to make a play, the receivers did not help Miller out by dropping the ball. Miller threw the ball fairly well. He hung up a couple of deep balls, but they were still catchable balls and plays Brown, Smith, and Spencer should have made.

With the passing game not working, Miller and the play calling became extremely inefficient. Herman and Meyer decided the offenses best bet was to keep it on the ground with Miller. That decision led to defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi dialing up his exotic blitzes, and successfully slowing down the Buckeye high octane offense.

Empty Chamber

The Silver Bullets of the Buckeye defense flashed at times on Saturday night, but came up shooting blanks frequently. The young Buckeye defensive line played extremely fast and powerful throughout the majority of the game. Freshman standout Joey Bosa played like a man on fire, constantly harassing Connor Cook in the backfield and providing the Buckeyes with big tackles for loss. His effort alone held Sparty at bay on some drives. It was late in the game where the Buckeyes young line began to get gashed by the Spartan run game.

Since the Buckeye offense could not sustain drives, and the Buckeye back seven had to lay off the line of scrimmage, the Buckeye defensive line was left alone to stop the run late in the game. Credit to Michigan State for sticking with their run game even if it was unsuccessful, because it constantly deceived Buckeye linebackers and defensive backs throughout the game.

The undisciplined nature of this Buckeye secondary reared its ugly head again on Saturday. Senior safety Corey Brown attempted to intercept a pass that was clearly thrown over him, which led to a 72 yard touchdown pass. That was followed by fellow senior safety C.J. Barnett getting burned on a double move for another long touchdown pass. Barnett got burned again on the Spartans third touchdown pass, as he lost is man in man coverage, on a throw back to the tight end in the corner of the endzone. The same issues that plagued the Buckeyes against Michigan, that Coach Meyer said would be fixed, were exposed again on Saturday.

Room for Improvement
The Spartan no fly zone exposed a big problem this Buckeye program has, that they will only face when they play quality secondaries, but needs to be addressed none the less. The Buckeyes do not have a receiving force outside. Devin Smith is the only receiver who is built to play on the outside, but his route running is not very crisp, which makes him what Dontre Wilson was early in the season, a novelty. Philly Brown and Evan Spencer are slot receivers. Brown has the hands and speed to play on the outside, but not the size or ability to win a jump ball. Spencer is physical, but his hands are inconsistent, his speed is average, and is not great in jump ball situations.

To beat corners like the Spartans, Seminoles, and Crimson Tide all possess, the Buckeyes will need receivers who can create separation with their speed, physicality, and route running. They will also need a guy who the QB can trust in jump ball situations. Right now, I see Buckeye receivers who constantly catch balls with their bodies not their hands, tip off their routes, and lack the overall ability to beat good college corners. Michael Thomas will help to provide future Buckeye quarterbacks with a big time target on the outside. However, you can tell that Coach Meyer is searching for big targets on the outside with the recruitment of Noah Brown, as well as the several other receivers he has brought in since taking over the program.

The second part of this issue for the Buckeyes is solving the safety issue. Joshua Perry is pretty competent in coverage, which makes me more comfortable about the linebackers. I expect him to continue to improve in that are of his game with more game experience. Safety is the huge issue for the defense. Without Bryant, C.J. Barnett’s weaknesses in coverage continue to be magnified. Barnett and Brown are both nice safeties, but they do not excel in any area really well. Barnett is good in run support, but even Brown struggles there.

In my opinion, Vonn Bell is desperately needed at free safety. His instincts would be welcomed in the secondary, as well as his athleticism. The only game these safeties have gone out and played ball instead of constantly pressing, forcing, and thinking about everything was against Penn State. Barnett has the ability to play at a high level, but needs a competent counterpart in order to allow him to play at his full potential. I believe Bell provides him with that confidence better than Brown would.

These changes will not likely come by the bowl game. I would expect some improvement against Clemson, but Clemson’s quarterback Tajh Boyd as well as the best receiver in the nation, Sammy Watkins, are both licking their lips. The Buckeyes have a lot to get done in the next few weeks of practice.

Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” ranks as one of my all-time favorite holiday traditions. Not only was I partial to reading the book as a boy, but I have grown to enjoy watching the various versions of the story with my wife and children. We enjoy all of the versions, from the cartoon of Mister Magoo, to the serious and somber George C. Scott version (that was my Dad’s favorite). Probably our favorite is the Albert Finney musical version, titled “Scrooge”.

Central to the Dickens story are the three ghosts who visit miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge – the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future visiting Scrooge, to get Scrooge to change his ways and embrace the true meaning of Christmas. Scrooge is transformed upon the conclusion of the story after the visits. (I truly hope I did not commit a literary spoiler there for anyone who may not be familiar with the story, in all sincerity.)

As I viewed the B1G conference championship game last evening, I felt somewhat like Ebeneezer Scrooge in the sense that I was visited by a ghost from the past. This ghost was the Spartan Ghost Of 1998.

Congratulations to Michigan State for winning the B1G in deserving fashion last evening. Below is a tweet I sent out, primarily directed to my co-worker friend Eric, who is a Michigan State fan ~

Ohio State’s secondary was the victim early, contributing painful penalties at the onset (what were you thinking, Doran Grant and Ryan Shazier, on that opening Spartan drive?). Ohio State fell behind 17-0 early, and it seemed like it was going to be a blowout.

Ohio State rallied in the second half, scoring twenty-four points to take the lead. No matter, as The Ghost Of Spartan Present was aided by curious Buckeye offensive play-calling, as well as a return by the Buckeyes to lackluster defensive play, and The Ghost Of Spartan Present won the game, 34-24.

And yet…I feel this loss to Michigan State is not as deep, or painful, as the 1998 loss.

Am I disappointed that Ohio State did not win? Absolutely. Would I have liked to have seen Ohio State contend for The BCS National Championship? Without a doubt. (More than likely, Ohio State seems headed for The Orange Bowl, versus Clemson, on January 3rd, 2014, from projections I have read.)

Yet 1998, The Ghost Of Spartan Past, haunts me more in comparison. Maybe it was because Ohio State lost at home, in the friendly confines of Ohio Stadium, versus Lucas Oil Stadium. (Yes, I will concede most of those fans in Lucas Oil Stadium were Ohio State fans.)

Maybe it was because The Ghost Of Spartan Past was an unranked Michigan State team, while The Ghost Of Spartan Present is ranked #10 in the country. Probably by the time you read this, the ranking of Michigan State will be higher, and deservedly so, after last evening’s results are analyzed by the voters.

I believe this is the reason, and this is painful to admit ~ the 1998 Ohio State team should have won the national championship that season. Ohio State fans know it, and so do other true college football fans who remember that season, and that Buckeye team.

And while this year’s team is good, and worthy of a quality bowl game, do you truly believe in your heart of hearts that Ohio State was capable of winning the national championship?

Because deep down, and maybe it is just me, I do not. And I have not throughout the season. And I also believe others feel the same way…

The Ghosts Of Spartan Past And Present, haunting Ohio State fans yet again. What about The Ghost Of Spartan Future, you ask? Ohio State’s next visit is scheduled for November 8, 2014, at East Lansing. The last time Ohio State visited, it was the Buckeyes’ turn to haunt the Spartans. Ohio State fans can only hope it will be like that 2012 visit, and unlike the unwanted visits of The Ghosts Of Spartan Past and Present.

That wasn’t fun.

The first quarter was mostly dominated by Michigan State’s plodding offense and some real bad Ohio State brain farts. Ohio State kept Michigan State’s first drive alive with two boneheaded pass interference calls (Shazier’s penalty was a real head scratcher).

Along with the bad plays, things were definitely getting chippy.

A touchdown pass to Lippet after a long TD pass to Mumphrey put the Spartans up big, 17-0 and Ohio State looked totally out of synch and completely lost.

Buckeyes finally got on track scoring 10 unanswered points to end the first half and scored on their first possession in the second half. Braxton Miller looked much more comfortable in the 2nd quarter and Carlos Hyde was still unstoppable.

After tying the score at 17 a piece, Michigan State looked to be on a decent drive when CJ Barnett stepped in front of a Connor Cook pass and intercepted.

After a stalled drive, Ohio State pinned Michigan State inside their 5, and forced a 3 and out. Buckeyes then marched down the field, almost strictly running the ball. It was pure MANBALL and there was nothing Michigan State could do. Ohio State too the lead 24-17 after scoring 24 unanswered points.

Michigan started their next drive with a big run by Langford. After going for it on 4th and 2, Sparty had to settle for a 44 yard field goal, 24-20 Ohio State.

After a little back and forth, Connor Cook drove Michigan State and capped off a 90 yard drive with a throw across the field to a wide open tight end to take the lead, 27-24.

A punt block by Shazier with a little less than eight minutes left gave OSU the ball on MSU’s 48 yard line. Ohio State had to go for it on 4th down and failed to convert, giving the ball back to MSU with 5 minutes left.

Michigan State would drive for a gutbusting touchdown to take the lead 34-24.

After Braxton’s 4th and 10 pass fell short, Michigan State took over on downs.

I hate sports. Good night.