Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links is Men of the Scarlet and Gray’s newly renamed, semi-regular curated look at items that would interest the casual and hard-core Ohio State fan. These include news items, interesting blog posts and the occasional meme you’ve probably already seen. It’s all here and it’s all for you. Have a tip that should be included in the next TYAACOL? Drop us a line at motsag@gmail.com or through our Contact Page.

PROFESSOR TRESSEL: Martin Rickman of SI’s Campus Union attended Jim Tressel’s class “Principles of Coaching” at the University of Akron. There’s a lot here, so make sure you read it all.

A few choice quotes:

[Read more…]

San Diego State: By The Numbers

As always, presented without comment.

Statistically Speaking
Ohio State
Value (Rank)
Value (Rank)
San Diego State
Advantage
Rushing Offense (ypg) 261.0 (26) 172.0 (68) Rushing Defense (ypg) Ohio State
Passing Offense (ypg) 199.0 (75) 361 (107) Passing Defense (ypg) Ohio State
Pass Efficiency 176.6 (22) 154.8 (86) Pass Efficiency Defense Ohio State+
Total Offense (ypg) 460.0 (48) 533.0 (102) Total Defense (ypg) Ohio State+
Scoring Offense (ppg) 40.0 (31) 40.0 (98) Scoring Defense (ppg) Ohio State+
Rushing Defense (ypg) 73.0 (15) 122.0 (80) Rushing Offense (ypg) Ohio State+
Passing Defense (ypg) 185.0 (45) 318.0 (29) Passing Offense (ypg) Push
Pass Efficiency Defense 122.3 (63) 71.4 (115) Pass Efficiency Offense Ohio State+
Total Defense (ypg) 258.0 (23) 440.0 (54) Total Offense (ypg) Ohio State
Scoring Defense (ppg) 20.0 (46) 19.0 (89) Scoring Offense (ppg) Ohio State
Turnover margin -1.00 (79) -3.00 (116) Turnover margin Ohio State
Penalty Yards/game 94.0 (113) 65.0 (83) Penalty Yards/game San Diego State
Sacks (/game) 1.00 (61) 4.00 (101) Sacks Allowed (/game) Ohio State
Sacks Allowed (/game) 4.00 (101) 0.00 (N/A) Sacks (/game) Push
3rd Down Conv. (%) 58.6 (20) 35.3 (53) 3rd Down Conv. Def (%) Ohio State
3rd Down Conv. Def (%) 21.4 (20) 30.4 (83) 3rd Down Conv. (%) Ohio State+
Redzone Offense (%) 100.0 (1) 100.0 (51) Redzone Defense (%) Ohio State+
Redzone Defense (%) 66.7 (26) 75.0 (83) Redzone Offense (%) Ohio State+
 Legend
  Difference <25 in National Rank = Push
  Difference >25 in National Rank = Ohio State
  Difference >50 in National Rank = Ohio State+
  Difference >75 in National Rank = Ohio State++
  Differences >100 in National Rank = Ohio State+++

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com.

Players to Watch: San Diego State Week 2

San Diego State

Colin Lockett #24:  Despite San Diego State’s embarrassing loss, to FCS side Eatern Illinois, Lockett’s performance was one of the bright spots of the day, for the Aztecs.  Lockett registered 8 catches, for 98 yards, and also had one rushing attempt, for 48 yards, that went for a touchdown.  Lockett is a wide receiver that stands 5-11, 180 pounds, and is a speedster.  The Buckeyes will need to keep Lockett in front of them, and wrap him up whenever they get the opportunity, due to his ability to blow the top off a defense, with one touch of the ball.  Lockett will most likely be matched up against Bradley Roby, so I would expect Lockett to have a pretty quiet afternoon.

[Read more…]

Former Buckeye Jared Sullinger reportedly arrested *UPDATED*

According to reports out of Boston Jared Sullinger was arrested and charged this morning with assault and battery, malicious destruction of property and witness intimidation.

Nikoletta Banushi of Fox 25 in Boston had this to say…

BTQHCdmIUAAhHTM

Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe with a H/T to @CJason112.

Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger was arrested following a domestic situation over the weekend with his girlfriend.

Police said Sullinger arrived at the police station 6 a.m. Tuesday to turn himself in.

Sullinger is charged with assault and battery, malicious destruction of property and witness intimidation.

According to police, the incident happened early Saturday evening.

Sullinger, who averaged 6 points and almost 6 rebounds per game in 45 games as a rookie last season, is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Waltham District Court.

This is not the kind of thing you ever want to hear about. It is also not something anyone would ever expect from Sully. The hope is that it is not true and that everyone is safe. Troubling charges to say the least.

[Read more…]

Urban Meyer Presser *Video*

Here is the video of Coach Meyer and Coach Drayton at yesterdays press conference. Thanks to our friends @BuckeyeTV.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Links

Good morning Buckeye Nation.

Running Buckeyes: Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams took first place this weekend at the Dayton Flyer 5k.

The men’s cross country team finished with 30 points beating second place IUPUI by 12 points. The Buckeyes placed 4 runners in the Top 10 with sophomore Jordan Redd crossing the finish line first overall. Redshirt sophomores Brian and Jeff Hannaford along with sophomore Nick Pupino helped the Buckeyes earn the win with their Top 10 performances.

The women’s cross country team also finished first by beating IUPUI by 29 points. The Buckeyes had 5 runners in the Top 10. Lead by freshman Jill Kanney who finished second in her first collegiate race sophomores Lexi Aughenbaugh, Minori Minagawa, and Helen Willman along with junior Katie Borches all combined to take home the top spot.

Congratulations Buckeyes on opening the season with a great performance. The Running Buckeyes will be back in action in two weeks in the B1G Preview in Lafayette, Ind.

Tournament Champions: The woman’s volleyball team finished the NIU Invitational this weekend with the championship.

The Buckeyes defeated Green Bay Saturday 3-2. Senior Kaitlyn Leary had a career best 22 kils and career high 9 digs, freshman Taylor Sanbothe had 15 kills and 5 aces, sophomore Andrea Kacsits had 13 kills, junior Erin Sekinger tied career high 15 kills and Taylor Sherwin came up with 68 assists.

Ohio State also defeated Northern Illinois Saturday 3-2 to earn the tournament victory. Kaitlyn Leary picked up her frst career double-double with 26 kills and 22 digs, freshman Kylie Randall made her first collegiate apperance with 18 kills and Taylor Sherwin had 50 assissts. Junior setter Taylor Sherwin was tournament MVP while senior teamates Kaitlyn Leary and Davionna DiSalvatore made All-Tournament Team.

[Read more…]

MotSaG Chat with LaCario Davison

3star_recruit_iconLaCario Davison is a Saftey/ATH out of the 2015 class. He is from Galion, Ohio. He is 6’2 and weighs 191. LaCario is a very good athlete and can play both offense and defense. He has no offers but right now, but only being in the 2015 class I believe he will pickup a couple of offers during and after his season. LaCario also visited OSU on saturday for the game against Buffalo. He is a great kid and I enjoyed interviewing him.

859745

Andrew: What has the recruiting process brought to you?

[Read more…]

The final word on the Buffalo game

So by now I am sure all of you know Ohio State beat Buffalo 40-20. Some of you are probably very happy with how the game went. Some of you are probably pretty upset by how the game went. Some of you are just content with how it went. So goes every sports game ever played and ever fan base ever.

That being said lets take a look at how the game went based on facts and not knee-jerk reactions. Ohio State came into the game with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Early on they showed flashes of what we all had envisioned this team to be over the long off-season.

Offense

OSU showed great speed and power in the run game. The Offensive line was blowing people off the line and opening gaping holes for Jordan Hall to have 2 long Touchdown runs of 49 and 37 yards. He finished the game with an impressive 21 carries for 159 yards and those 2 TDs.

The big question for the passing game was would Braxton Miller show improvement and would the WRs become playmakers. Braxton completed his first 7 passes and had a great early start throwing 2 TD passes in the 1st qtr. He had one really bad pass that ended up being a pick 6 by freak athlete Khalil Mack. Once the team got up big they went away from the passing game only throwing 5 total passes in the 2nd half. Braxton also suffered a lot with cramping like nearly everyone out there.

Kenny Guiton came in to spell Braxton when he had the cramping issues and led the team down the field and threw a TD pass on his first drive. Needless to say he is the best back-up in CFB IMO.

Dontre Wilson showed signs of being a star running the ball well and had a 51 yard KO return. He also had a bad fumble which isn’t surprising for a True Freshman.

Clearly the team was impressive going up big early and decided to not show their entire playbook early in the year and went vanilla for most of the game frustrating fans and media members alike.

[Read more…]

No Bull – Lots Of Work For Buckeyes After Opener

Yes, I understand Ohio State won 40-20 over Buffalo. Yes, I prefer a victory over a defeat, even if this was a victory marred by several issues, which I will address momentarily.

Ohio State cruised out to a 23-0 first quarter lead over visiting Buffalo, but seemed to lose focus over the remainder of the game. Below are some areas that I am believing need to be addressed for Ohio State to maintain its national championship goal for the 2013 season.

  • Poor tackling, especially by members of the secondary. Tackling high meant not only broken tackles, but missed tackles in several instances.
  • Muffed and juggled punts. Corey “Philly” Brown needs to fix that to avoid any turnovers.
  • Lack of defensive pressure. Noah Spence had a sack that was nullified due to the penalty on Curtis Grant. Pressure was better later in the game, but it seemed to be lacking at the onset.
  • Both Taylor Decker and Jack Mewhort struggled with pass protection. Yes, Khalil Mack is a tremendous player, but they seemed to struggle against other members of Buffalo’s defense.
  • Why weren’t Warren Ball and Ezekiel Elliott used more? Where was Bri’onte Dunn? Ohio State sure could have used a strong physical running attack later in the game to control the clock.
  • Why was Braxton Miller in the game at the end of the game? If anything, with Miller’s cramping issues, it would have made sense to give Kenny Guiton even more playing time.
  • Why were Ohio State’s players cramping, while Buffalo had no cramping issues? That was very puzzling to watch. Yes, I know how hot and muggy it was – it was hot and muggy for both teams, not just one.
  • Lastly, and maybe this is just my pet peeve…enough with the whole “scarlet and gray section” concept. Ohio State has tried to get fans to do this for the last two years, to no success. People are going to wear their scarlet shirts or jerseys, no matter which section they are assigned.

Big props to Jordan Hall for his outstanding performance as the starting tailback. Of the freshmen, I was most impressed with Joey Bosa along the defensive line.

Yes, victory always tastes better than defeat. It is also possible for Ohio State to learn and grow from a victory.

There is an old coaching adage that a team improves the most from its first game to its second game. With a likely poll drop, due to the somewhat lackluster performance, and with San Diego State coming to town, improvement in the second game will certainly be needed as the season progresses.

Urban Meyer Post Game Presser *Video*