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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Kez

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

The Four in:

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

Possible Dark Horses:

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

Predictions:

Semifinals

Ohio State 34, LSU 24

TCU 31, USC 28

Championship Game-

Ohio State 31, TCU 24

Champion- The Ohio State University

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was over when:

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

Player(s) of the game:

Gareon Conley, Joshua Perry, Curtis Samuel, Ezekiel Elliot

Next Game:

Northern Illinois at Ohio State – 3:30 PM

Kyle Snyder capped an amazing year for a nineteen year old redshirting sophomore from Ohio State. On September 11 he became the youngest American to win World Wrestling Gold at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Snyder came into the World Championships ranked fifteenth in the world after his shocking victories over fellow American and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, Jake Varner. He beat returning bronze medalist and sixth ranked Javier Cortina in New York’s “Beat the Streets” Times Square wrestling festival and then went on to win a PanAm gold.

The blind draw of the World Championships came up favorably for Snyder. His path to the finals projected to present major hurdles with Cortina and eighth ranked Radoslaw Baran of Poland, but he would avoid the horror of the top bracket which contained the first through fourth ranked wrestlers including defending champ, Russian Abdusalam Gadisov, a wrestler Kyle has followed since before Kyle became a teenager.

It could have gone worse—his first match in the blind draw put him up against a Ukranian, but not the fifth ranked Valeri Andriitsev, an Olympic silver medalist from Ukraine who did not compete at 97 kg. Snyder struggled, eking out a narrow win to advance against a game Ukrainian alternate (who, by the way, was no less than Pavlo Oliynyk, 2013 World bronze medalist–as well as in 2015).

It was the Baran match that signaled this was going to be a memorable tournament for Kyle. Seemingly rattled from the start, the Pole walked onto the wrong mat to begin the competition. Aside from an incomprehensible passivity warning issued to Snyder, Kyle went on to totally dominate the world’s number 8. The Pole clearly had no confidence in his ability to attack Snyder and continually showed a either a disorientation or a need to slow down the match to catch his breath.

When the Pole escaped the mat after an 8-0 pounding it was apparent the kid from Maryland via Ohio State was not in the least intimidated by the toughest of grown men from the toughest of places.

Next up for Snyder was Diaz Robertt of Venezuela, a man Kyle had torched 10-0 at the PanAms. Friday would be no different as Snyder pounded out an 11-1 quarterfinal win. Amazingly, this teenager had now earned the right to wrestle for medal on wrestling’s biggest non-Olympic stage: a loss in the semi’s would send him to the bronze match, a win would see him wrestling for gold.

His semi opponent would be thirteenth ranked Abbas Tahan of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Before the crowd could sit down from an introductory ovation, Snyder had scored two lightning takedowns. Tahan would cut the deficit to 4-3 but the young motor of Snyder wore out the Iranian. As Tahan registered complaints to the official from the sideline—in a thinly veiled grab for a little rest time—Snyder repeatedly motioned directly at Tahan to quit whining and return to the mat for his punishment.

“I said O-H!” Kyle Snyder demands that his Iranian opponent return to the mat in their World Semi-Final

The roar of the crowd announced the historical achievement: Snyder had just become the youngest American to wrestle for World Gold.

It was also time to face the music from the loaded top bracket, from which Russian Gadisov had emerged.

Snyder pumped up the crowd as he emerged for the finals in front of a near capacity arena; if nerves were to be a problem they were not apparent before the whistle. One could excuse Kyle for a tentative start. And while the start was indeed tentative (and led to being put on the “shot clock) more likely it was Kyle’s way to both measure and tire his more experienced opponent. A step out earned by Snyder after a driving ankle attempt sent both men to their corners tied at one at the break.

First Snyder, then Gadisov, they came back to exchange takedowns. Acknowledging he knew he had been wearing down Gadisov, Snyder hit a second takedown to go up two. A couple step out points tied it at 5. Snyder’s corner contemplated challenging the last call. Though the video suggested Snyder’s foot had not entirely gone out—justifying the challenge—Snyder overruled his elders.

Owning the tiebreak with 15 seconds to go, Snyder was not about to just hand a free rest period to Gadisov. As the Russian backed the Buckeye up, the final seconds ticked off and the crowd erupted. Seconds later Snyder collapsed enshrouded in the American flag as the magnitude of the moment overtook him.

Joy and grace were in high evidence later in the interview room. The respect for his sport and humility for his achievement were apparent. But so was a confidence in where his hard work and sacrifice had taken him.

Asked how he had achieved history, his answer was simply, “my parents.” Asked if his career trajectory would make it hard for him to return to Ohio State after the Olympic Games in 2016, he said “that’s what I intend to do. If I can wrestle against the best men in the world, I think I can go to class a few days a week.” Asked what Coach Rosselli said during the championship match break, he said “it is hard for me to remember. Lou says a million things so quickly—keep doing what you’re doing, you’re wearing him out. Keep it up. But mostly I was just thinking about what I had to do.”

Four months ago Kyle returned to his high school to attend a prom. Today he is a World Champion in the world’s oldest and toughest sport.

The greatness of sport often has to be separated from the person at the center. All too often, the wisdom, humility and character of the person does not quite rise to the magnitude of the achievement. In young Kyle Snyder nothing could be further from the truth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sometimes the answers are really just more questions.