If the world was perfect, we’d be getting ready to watch eight conference championship games and few other games that would have a direct impact on which teams made it to the sixteen-team College Football Playoff. We’d calmly watch Sunday’s Selection Special to see where the teams will be seeded, and which non-champions get at-large nods. Maybe some of those choices would bug us a little, but we would also know that each and every team had the ability to control their own destiny.

Instead, we’re getting the same thing we’ve been getting forever: controversy. TCU is ranked 3 spots ahead of a team that beat them, despite identical records, similar schedules and not really that much difference in terms of on-field performance. Sure, I get it, Baylor hasn’t played Kansas State yet. But if the Bears win big on Saturday, is the committee really going to knock TCU out of the #3 slot? Maybe they will, but it seems hard to believe, considering the Frogs are also in front of undefeated Florida State.

And Seminoles fans should be pretty worried about that too. I see no reason to believe that this committee won’t leave an unbeaten team out of the playoff if they think four other teams are better. If Florida State stumbles around for three quarters before barely beating Georgia Tech (a script the Noles know quite well this year) and Baylor blows Kansas State’s doors off, what’s keeping the committee from putting the Bears in? Some “statement” about non-conference scheduling?

Well, maybe. That would explain why Baylor is so far behind TCU, despite the teams’ similarities and the head-to-head win. And while I agree that a team shouldn’t be rewarded for weak scheduling, and that a 3-point win doesn’t necessarily mean one team is “better” than the other, it is sort of frustrating that a playoff system whose very purpose is to settle things on the field would completely ignore the on-field result of a game between two top teams.

But what’s most frustrating is that these arguments have to happen at all. We can stage a sixteen-team playoff beginning the week after the conference championship games, take a week off for whatever snow-holiday you celebrate, then play the final four and championship games at the exact same time we will anyway. Did some teams “have to” play a couple extra football games? Yeah. Do you really think any of the kids on those teams are going to complain about that?

Every team could enter the season knowing exactly what they need to do to make it to the playoff instead of trying to guess what a roomful of spectators is going to value. Tons of games every single weekend would matter. Nearly a dozen games this weekend would be vital. And then it would all get settled on the field.

At the end of it all, a single champion would remain. Would they be the “best” team according to the “eye test” or some binder full of charts?

Who would even care?

As always, presented without comment.

Stats are grabbed from cfbstats.com

JT Barrett also won “Hardest Working Player of the Year” award.

Offense All B1G

Pat Elfien was named 1st team all B1G by Coaches named 2nd team by Media.

Jeff Heuerman and Taylor Decker named 2nd team All B1G by both media and coaches.

Defense All B1G

Joey Bosa was named 1st team All-B1G by both the media and coaches.

Doran Grant was named 1st team by Coaches 2nd team by Media.

Media 2nd team All B1G- Michael Bennett, Joshua Perry, and Doran Grant.

Coaches 2nd team- Micahel Bennett.

Local kid makes hometown proud and becomes a Buckeye. I could come up with days upon days of titles for this post. What I cant do is offer a lot of info about this young man. He is a Freshman at Upper Arlington in the class of 2018. He is 6’4″ and 170 pounds but that is sure to change by 2018 right?

Here is Dane Goodwin in his own words….

Hopefully we will have more on Dane soon…

Last week Walk-On Kosta Karageorge went missing after calling his mother in the middle of the night with cryptic messages about his concussions. It was what he said and how he said it that sent a Mother and family into panic mode. They tried to contact Kosta with no luck and called Columbus Police to report him missing.

Instantly news spread and efforts were made to find him. Hundreds of volunteers put up posters and even former Buckeye alumni raised money for a reward to help find Kosta.

Today a body was found near his apartment just off campus and Columbus Police just confirmed it sadly is the body of Kosta Karageorge.

It is with a very sad heart that this has become the worst case scenario. Sports aside this is a young man who suffered and was struggling. This is devastating news to the family and his team and all of Buckeye Nation.

Suicide is never the answer if you or anyone you know needs help please seek it.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Three feet of water, thirty degrees, a few thousand of your closest friends. That’s basically Mirror Lake in a nutshell. Tuesday, I took part in my last jump of my college career. Starting in the 1990s at the end of a simple rally march for The Game, the Mirror Lake Jump has become something of legend in college traditions. Here’s how it happens, through the eyes of a student.

Tuesday, November 25th. 5:00 PM

On my way to my last class of the week in Haggerty Hall, I stopped at the Ohio Union to pick up my “required” wristband for the jump. As last year, I waited until the last day to get my wristband because I live life on the edge. Standing between me and a plunge into the freezing water was an 80 minute German class. Once class ended, I hurried home to pack my backpack for the evening: a bathing suit, my Crocs, a towel, a change of clothes, and some adult beverages.

Tuesday, November 25th. 8:30 PM

After packing for my trip home over break, and watching some CBJ hockey, it was time to go to the pre-jump party. I threw on my sweatpants and an appropriate for the occasion Ohio State jacket and headed to my friend’s apartment. Over the next three hours, I met some people who, by the end of the night, would feel like I had known them my entire life. That’s what the jump does. It brings together people who would otherwise never meet or hang out and turns them into the closest of friends. There was a handful of party games, one person who we lost at 9:30 to the comfort of the floor, and plenty of overplayed pop-country songs. Prior to finally heading out, we wrapped up our hype-up with Seven Nation Army (sorry, people who are tired of that), We Don’t Give a Damn, and of course, Carmen Ohio.

Tuesday, November 25th. 11:30 PM

It was cold, but I didn’t care. There were 10 of us or so, with 3-4 “designated dry people”, or people who aren’t jumping and will be taking pictures/holding stuff. After getting some pictures taken and stripping off my coat, we charged into the masses. Calling the wristband check at all strict would be offensive to the word strict. By this time, the ground around Mirror Lake was already smashed into a muddy pulp, and if you stood still for too long, you would start to sink into the ground. We made our way to the edge of the water and wasted zero time in jumping in. If you think about it, you’ll hesitate, and start to realize how cold you are, and how cold the water is. As soon as my legs hit the water, I realized that I hate being in a freezing cold body of water. That didn’t stop me from splashing the people around me, screaming things that I probably can’t print, and plenty of O-Hs. We climbed out of the water, made our video debuts (that’s me in the gray “Beat Michigan” shirt at about 28 seconds in). There was a second jump, just for a picture. We then made our way back to the apartment. Freezing, dripping wet, dirty, but totally pumped.

Wednesday, November 26th. 12:15 AM

We all made it back to the apartment safely, and took shifts taking a hot shower in our bathing suits to warm up and try and clean off. After drying off and changing into clean clothes, we walked back to our respective apartments. I took a real shower because if you don’t shower after the jump you’ll probably end up with diseases that you can’t pronounce. Never has a bed felt more warm and comfortable than after the Mirror Lake Jump.

It’s impossible to capture how hectic this event is in text. Even a video doesn’t do it justice. It really is organized chaos. If you’re a student, I encourage you to go to the jump at least to watch, at some point in your college career. It’s an experience unlike any other. If you’re jumping, just be prepared with warm clothes, a towel, and a “safe house” to go back to after the jump, and you’ll be fine. As a friend’s dad used to say, “Be safe. Have fun.”

And remember. Go Buckeyes.