SB Nation - James Laurinaitis

Your 2009 defensive Bammy Award winner is...

Sam @ WWAHT — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:00:18 -0000

by Terry Gilliam - AP

3 months ago: Ohio State's Brian Rolle returns an interception during Navy's two-point conversion attempt during the fourth quarter of an NCAA football game Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

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Yesterday, I handled the offense.

Today promises to be much more difficult. Replacing James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman and Malcolm Jenkins was never going to be an easy task, but you know what? This defense ended up being even better than the last one headlined by those guys. There actually wasn't that much hype coming into the year about this defense, with question marks across the board and many uneasy about the turnover, especially considering many of the new faces would be operating behind what had been - up to that point - a lackluster front four.

So, it figures that the front four would end up being the story of the season. It isn't a stretch to say it's the best front four in the country, but unfortunately, I only had the foresight to nominate one member of it for the 2009 Bammy. Let's start with the criteria again. The winner has to:

- be heavily hyped in the preseason

- actually deliver upon that hype, unlike Bam himself

With that done, here is the brief list of nominees, along with what I had to say about them in the preseason:

Brian Rolle

Two years ago, an opposing kick returner was flattened by an undersized freshman linebacker whose arms looked larger than his torso from a distance. Unfortunately, that hit technically never happened; there was a penalty on the play, and Ohio State had to re-kick. On the re-kick, that same freshman darted back downfield and again planted the returner, getting a big cheer from the Buckeye crowd. That freshman's name was Brian Rolle. When Tyler Moeller was crossed off this season's depth chart, all were disappointed but most knew that it was time for the Buckeyes to showcase their depth at linebacker. The first name on everyone's mind was that one guy who flattens people for a living. I was a little surprised that Rolle didn't win the spot this spring, but clearly, Moeller brings a bit of a different game to the table as a converted safety than Rolle. In fall camp, Rolle moved inside and Spitler moved outside. Now, the little guy - he's 5'11" on a good day - is going to get his chance to shine. He has said he doesn't want to be average, and this is his last and best chance to prove he's not. No one of this defense has developed a reputation as a hitter outside of Rolle, and I'm expecting him to bring a level of physicality to the linebacker position not seen here since AJ Hawk. Dude's also got an excellent dentist.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 9 Bam Childresses out of 10

Doug Worthington

This one is a bit debatable - Worthington has been seeing significant time at various positions (mostly DT) for two years straight, and he has been... solid. Nothing spectacular, which is what most were expecting when he came to OSU as a five-star recruit. I've said in the past that he's playing out of position, but as DT, he does provide the occasional adequate pass rush. This year, he has to step it up in the wake of Nader Abdallah's graduation. While he'll never be the run stuffer Ohio State sorely needs, he can be an okay space-eater against the average teams on Ohio State's schedule. This year, he needs to come up big against either one of USC or Penn State. If he can be the feared guy on the Ohio State defensive interior in his last year, his career will be a rip-roaring success in my book.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 7 Bam Childresses out of 10

Jermale Hines

This year, I was expecting more of the same from Jermale Hines at the nickleback position. That is, until recently. Word out of practice is that Hines is legitimately pushing three-and-a-half year starter Anderson Russell for playing time. Hines excels where Russell frequently doesn't - in coverage against spread teams - but Russell is without a doubt the more consistent performer up to this point. Hines is known for his bone-jarring hits than his coverage ability, but that's last year. This year, he's lining up at deep safety, rotating with Russell, which tells me the coaching staff is confident enough in his development as a coverage guy to make him the last line of defense against long bombs.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 7 Bam Childresses out of 10

and honorable mentions Austin Spitler

The guy's had it rough. He spent three years (four if you count the redshirt season) toiling away behind James Laurinaitis, and in his senior year, he's going to have to transition to the outside to make up for the absence of Tyler Moeller. Add onto that the fact that up until now, his legacy is this:

If you don't remember this, you had turned off your TV at this point. That's Spitler giving LSU a new set of downs.

and you can see why the pressure is on Spitler. Fortunately, Spits doesn't have to worry as much as others about preseason hype, mostly because he has already contributed quality time spelling Laurinaitis and guiding the defense in mop-up duty. Expectations are sorta "meh" for him; for whatever reason, no one really expects him to dominate. I wrote in the Buckeye Battle Cry that this season will make or break his career, but the preseason hype about him simply isn't in the stratosphere like it is for the other guys; as a result, he just garners an honorable mention.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 3 Bam Childresses out of 10

and Nathan Williams:

Williams came on late in the '08 season as a true freshman pass-rushing extraordinaire, notching two sacks against Northwestern and generally raising hell when he finally got the chance to hit the field. A December shoplifting arrest (which is why I call him Nathan "But A G Thang" Williams) failed to slow his progress, and good things have been emanating from both spring and fall camp. Williams steps into a loaded situation at defensive end - Gibson, Wilson, Heyward and Worthington all have legitimate shots at more playing time than the sophomore - and that's why I've relegated him to honorable mention status. If the situation at DE wasn't so crowded, I'd be a bit higher on Williams' chances of being the breakout player this fall. As I said Wednesday, however, I do think we'll see Nathan Williams in on 3rd-and-long, perhaps as part of a line that consists of him, Cameron Heyward, Lawrence Wilson, and Thaddeus Gibson; the four best pass rushers on the team. While that may only be a figment of my dreams, I think there's a better-than-average chance of it becoming reality.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 4 Bam Childresses out of 10

And the winner is...

First off, I'd like to note that this was a far harder decision to make than the offensive Bammy. So many players stepped up this year to turn this from another good Buckeye defense into one of the true greats; a team which held Michigan, Penn State, Iowa and Southern Cal to an average of fewer than 15 points. There were players that I hadn't even nominated - Dex Larimore comes to mind, as well as Ross Homan, to a lesser extent - who weren't really considered because they didn't have all that much hype in tow, or at least as much as the aforementioned dudes. This was a tough, tough decision to make.

So why did the losers lose?

First up, Hines. Hines was a good player, and did an excellent job at filling the hole left by the clearly-confused Anderson Russell after the Navy game. Ohio State didn't give up many long passes this year after that - as per usual - and Hines was a big reason why. He had another contribution that I liked as well: when Michigan tried to utilize the rolling pocket Purdue killed the Buckeyes with, Hines was frequently sent on a blitz - right into the pocket - that disrupted Forcier's rhythm and forced at least one pick. He was solid in rush defense, but only intercepted two balls (one returned for a touchdown, however), but really wasn't quite the ballhawk - or the big hitter that I expected. He was undoubtedly a solid player, but I'm not sure if he lived up to the "next Ed Reed" hype he was getting among some circles in Buckeye nation in the preseason.
Williams was good in limited time, notching 3.5 sacks on the season, but never broke into the starting lineup. When you're backing up Cameron Heyward and Thaddeus Gibson, that's completely understandable. Still, his resume - even in limited time - is not the greatest for this particular award.
Spitler was actually better than I expected him to be, especially after a subpar debut against Navy; after that, he looked quick, decisive, and smart. Everything a 5th-year linebacker should be. But he too was never really a superstar - although, to be fair, he wasn't really hyped up to be one in the first place, and I find myself asking my August self "Why, why did you include him on this list?" He has yet to return my calls.
Here's the hard part. Doug Worthington had the best year of his career, notching two sacks, 4 TFLs, and 40 tackles; impressive numbers for a defensive tackle in a defensive end's body. He had the game-clinching sack against Iowa in OT to bolster a resume that's already as solid as almost every other nominee. As much I love D-Worth and what he has done for this defense, I gotta give the Bammy to...

Linebacker Brian Rolle. No big surprise here. After saving the day against Navy, Rolle went on the warpath, racking up 91 tackles, 7 for loss, a key pick against Illinois, a half-sack, and quickly became one of the vocal leaders of this defense. In the preseason, he was one of the most hyped players (with hype that had been building for years, no less) on the team and he still may have ended up sitting on the bench behind Tyler Moeller. In Moeller's absence, he picked up the slack and made us wonder where Moeller will fit in on next year's offense (answer: opposite Homan, more than likely, which might give Ohio State one of the best linebacking corps in the country yet again).

In the end, we all got BrianRolle'd, (HT: 11W) and we enjoyed it. It was very hard to whittle it down to one guy, but no one else delivered quite so well upon high expectations. Congrats, B-Rolle, and may your lack of ideal height prevent you from declaring early.

Ndamukong Suh A Finalist For the Lott Trophy

Jon Johnston — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:27:49 -0000

More photos » by Dave Weaver - AP

Ndamukong Suh has terrorized offensive players all season. He's a finalist for the Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy, Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award.

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A day behind on this but Ndamukong Suh is a finalist for yet another award as finalists for the Lott Trophy were named yesterday. Suh also is a finalist for the Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy, Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award. He's also among 15 players on the "players to watch list" for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

Finalists for the Lott Trophy are Safety Eric Berry of Tennessee, Defensive End Jerry Hughes of TCU, Linebacker Rolando McClain of Alabama and Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska.

Berry is a junior from Fairburn, Georgia who was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore and is widely considered the best defensive back in the country. He was twice selected the Lott Player of the Week this season.

Hughes is a senior from Sugar Land, Texas who was converted from a high school running back to defense as a freshman. Hughes was the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season when he led the country in sacks with 15. This year, in addition to his continued stellar play on the field, he has been honored as a local hero for his community involvement in the Fort Worth area.

McClain is a junior from Decatur, Georgia who is the driving force on an Alabama defense that has been superb in leading the Crimson Tide to an undefeated (12-0) season.

Suh is a 300-pound senior from Portland, Oregon who has been the dominant defensive player in the country, credited with 22 quarterback hurries and 16 tackles for losses. He's been named a Lott Player of the Week a record three times this season.

The Lott Trophy is awarded annually to the nation's best defensive player. It is the first time Tennessee, TCU and Nebraska have had a finalist for the Lott Trophy.

        Past winners of The Lott Trophy:

        2004 - David Pollack, Georgia

        2005 - DeMeco Ryans, Alabama

        2006 - Dante Hughes, California

        2007 - Glenn Dorsey, LSU

        2008 - James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

The Big Ten at the Midpoint (Part 1 of 3)

Bama Hawkeye — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:45:50 -0000

We've made it through six weeks of the college football season. For everyone but Illinois (who moved a non-conference game to the end of their schedule), we're halfway home. Here at The Rivalry, Esq., it's a perfect time to step back and assess what we have seen so far. So, in 11 questions, let's analyze what we know about the Big Ten.

The Rivalry, Esq. asks:

What one Big Ten player would you import onto the Michigan Wolverines' roster to give them the best chance of winning the Big Ten next year?

Graham Filler Answers:

A decent safety would instantly change the complexion of the Wolverine defense. Michigan's secondary is injured, inexperienced, and just lost Boubacar Cissoko to suspention. His backup, JT Floyd, was ineffective, forcing Greg Robinson to move safety Troy Woolfolk to cornerback. The Wolverines are giving up the third most passing yards in the Big Ten, having been torched by Jimmy Clausen, Ben Chappell, and most recently Ricky Stanzi. I would remedy this situation by leaving Woolfolk and Donovan Warren at the corners and importing Kurt Coleman from OSU onto the Michigan team. Coleman is a ballhawking, hard hitting strong safety who would give Michigan a veteran presence in the middle of their secondary and stop the big plays that killed them against Iowa.

Here's Part II and Part III of the midpoint assessment.

The Rivalry, Esq. asks:

What team has been the biggest disappointment this season?

Jerdogg1 Answers:

Without question it has to be Illinois. In fact, anybody who would answer this question differently probably deserves a quick kick to the seeds. This very blog predicted that the Illini would be an 8 or 9 win team, and go to play Georgia in the Outback bowl. The fact is this team is not good. The early line is that they are favored over the Hoosiers this weekend by a couple of points, and I would have to question why? The Illini SHOULD have more talent than the Hoosiers, but Indiana has played better than Illinois this season. Ron Zook is a good recruiter, but that might be where his talent stops.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

What team has been the most pleasant surprise this season?

HMLee Answers:

I may get some flak for writing this, since I am the quasi-Wisconsin writer around these parts, but I have to go with the Badgers. Sure, arguments can be made for Iowa and Michigan. But, let's be honest here, while we may not have expected (save for perhaps Bama Hawkeye) Iowa to be 6-0 right now, we all knew they'd be good this year. Michigan, of course, came out of nowhere when most of us expected them to be enjoying the Rotel at the bottom of the conference. Yet, lately it seems as though Forcier has turned back into a freshman pumpkin, and it looks like they'll realistically be a 7-5 team going into bowl season. Wisconsin, on the other hand, realistically could be 10-2, or 11-1 with a well placed upset going into the bowls.

This, to me, qualifies as the most pleasant surprise given the surrounding circumstances. Many a Wisconsin fan had been at least considering calling for Bielema's head after last year, especially if we had another abysmal season. Many of us were questioning the selection of him as successor to Alvarez and wondering if he could win games when relying on his own recruits instead of those he inherited with his head coaching title. Beyond the coaching, there were questions a plenty about a QB who seemed like a career backup and a defense that was comprised largely of freshman and sophomores. Wisconsin is of course a few stupid mistakes away from being that 7-5 team again, but as we are only talking about the first half here, they are my most pleasant surprise of this season.

The Rivalry, Esq. asks:

How does Ohio State's defense, with all those new faces, stack up with some of the wrecking crews that the Buckeyes have had this decade?

Law Buckeye Answers:

While every Ohio State defense since the holy grail unit of 2002 has played smart, and fundamentally solid football under the "bend but not break" banner, not all have possessed the core grit, and swarming intensity of this year's squad. Let's start by considering how the other defenses this decade stack up:

9. 2000

8. 2004

7. 2001

6. 2008

5. 2007

4. 2005

3. 2003

2. 2006

1. 2002

My gut feeling is that there's been two high points this decade (2002-2003 and 2005-2006) with relative re-loading periods in between. I think we're on the cusp of another summit in 2009 and 2010.

Some readers might be surprised that I put the 2007 and 2008 classes as low as I do considering they were populated by household names like James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and Malcolm Jenkins. While those units had textbook form, I've always felt they lacked the earnestness and aggressiveness of the 2005 Bobby Carpenter/A.J. Hawk squad. For the last two seasons, our defense has played to not get beat, rather than to smother, intimidate, and wreck. This is one of the reasons I think they struggled against spread offenses.

This year feels like a return to 2005. Preseason no-names like Brian Rolle and Adam Spitler are flying all over the field, popping pads, and jumping routes. Arguably the deepest defensive line of the decade is mangling blockers at the line of scrimmage, twisting, contorting, and having its way with centers, guards, and tackles. (If you need any proof of this go back and look at what they did to USC, the "best" offensive line in the country). Unlike the 2007/2008 classes, this year's troops are regularly getting pressure without having to blitz, and are forcing turnovers in key game situations (think early in the Illinois game, and all day against Wisconsin).

This defense just might be the meanest and fastest of the decade, but to compete with the star spangled units of 2006, and 2002 it needs an offense that's proficient enough to keep it off the field, and keep its legs fresh for late game stands.

If that offense materializes by 2010, the unit is primed to end the decade on a high note.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

What was the defining moment of the first half of the 2009 season?

Bama Hawkeye Answers:

With a 10-5 lead over Iowa in the 4th Quarter, Penn State lined up to punt on a 4th and 3 from near midfield. Iowa played it cautious and had a "Punt Safe" coverage in place. There was one player assigned to catch the punt, nine players assigned to play defense against a possible fake, and one player assigned to rush the punter. Luckily for Iowa, Adrian Clayborn was the player assigned to rush. He made an inside move on blocker Nick Sukay, extended his giant, bear-like paws and swatted the punt of Jeremy Boone. Blessed with a perfect carom, Clayborn scooped up the punt and strode 53 yards into the endzone. 11-10 Iowa. Penn State would not lead again.

That play did more than just win the game for the Hawkeyes. It shattered the preconceived notion that the entire Big Ten season could be boiled down to the date in November when Ohio State traveled to Happy Valley to face the Nittany Lions. Suddenly, the league race looked a whole lot more open. This wasn't going to be the two team race that we had las year.

Now, Iowa could lose their next two games and make their Penn State victory moot. But today, at the halfway point, no moment looms larger than the instant in which Adrian Clayborn decided that Iowa would contend for the Big Ten title too.

"That puke, inside of a pumpkin orange"

Sam @ WWAHT — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:00:25 -0000

They low down, they dirty, they some snitches...*

I guess technically it's hate week. Illinois is, after all, one of our two main rivals (sorry Penn State) and we even have a dorky trophy to commemorate this "rivalry", in which Ohio State's all time record stands at 61-30-3, and in which the Buckeyes actually have more losses in the Shoe (18) than they do in Champaign (12). Yeah, it's a weird rivalry, characterized lately by weird games. Last year, Illinois outgained Ohio State by over 100 yards and still lost by ten. Ohio State won the game with just 49 yards through the air, 36 of which came on just three of OSU's ten attempted passes. The year before, Illinois capitalized on a blown fumble call, three picks from the previously unblemished Todd Boeckman and an agonizing final drive that took 8 minutes off the game clock and roughly ten years off my life.

Even in 2006, when Ohio State was rolling anyone and everyone in its path, the Fighting Illini sacked Troy Smith 3 times, held him without a passing touchdown for the first time all year, and forced him to throw just his third pick of the season in an uneven effort from the Buckeye squad, which ended up winning only 17-10. It was the closest anyone outside of Michigan would play them throughout the entire regular season.

2005 was largely unremarkable, save the final score: 40-2, the only Illini points coming off a blocked XP that was returned for a safety. So we know these games have a definite recent trend of overall weirdness, and many of them would serve as good fodder for Dr. Saturday's intriguing Life on the Margins series. Will this weekend be any different?

*(full disclosure: I don't hate Illinois. I don't think I could be more indifferent to a team. Ron Zook provides me with lulz when they're bad, and Juice Williams puts on a show when they're good. I almost like them.)

Well, there's no real reason to think so. As ridiculous as the Ohio State defense might be, this might be the best offense - when healthy and feeling like it - that it will play all year. The problem is, of course, that the Illini have yet to actually look like it

Date	Opponent	Surface	Result	Rush Yards	Pass Yards	Plays	Total Yards	Yards/Play
09/05/09	+ Missouri	Turf	L 9-37	110	215	72	325	4.5
09/12/09	Illinois St.	Turf	W 45-17	384	164	63	548	8.7
	Totals			494	379	135	873	6.5

And after putting up such relatively lackluster stats against a) a rebuilding outfit and b) an FCS school, there isn't really cause to believe the Illini are going to explode against an Ohio State defense that is giving up an average of 15 ppg. But in this series, it's difficult to rule much of anything out. In 2007, Juice Williams was coming off three straight games in which he had thrown at least one pick. He responded with four touchdowns and zero interceptions against a dumbfounded Ohio State secondary that would finish first in the nation in yards allowed. If there's one Buckeye defense that should have stopped the Illini, it was that one, and it just couldn't.

As much success as Williams has had against Ohio State, the Illini running game has done its part, totaling 474 yards in the last two games combined. It could be said that Illinois runs the one offense that Jim Heacock just can't figure out. Ohio State was fortunate enough to intercept Williams at a key point in the 2008 game, and with the running game exploding for 305 yards, the Buckeyes never felt threatened in the second half. This is the one thing that worries me about tomorrow's game; if Juice finally gets it going, like he always seems to against the Buckeyes, does Ohio State have a running attack that can slow the game's pace down a crawl?

Illinois runs the type of offense Jim Tressel just absolutely has to hate, because it's not a ball-control affair, and like Florida and LSU, can put points up in bunches against almost any defense that doesn't adjust immediately. It's Toledo with talent and speed, and a quarterback who can run against teams not named Colorado. I'd hate playing against it too.

So why, if the 2007 and 2008 units couldn't stop Illinois, should this one in 2009 be any different? Simple answer: speed. This might not be a particularly popular opinion, but I'm willing to place good money on Ross Homan, Brian Rolle and Austin Spitler being faster as a unit than James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman and Larry Grant. Brian Rolle especially is a speed demon who should have no serious problems tracking down Williams and the Illini running backs in the open field. Just watching the game against Toledo; it was rare that guys weren't at least in place to make the needed tackle, which is huge against teams that run this offense. A defensive clinic of similar proficiency will result in the Illini netting 14 points at the most.

Offensively, this game will be a good way to gauge Terrelle Pryor's progress purely as a passer. Illinois has one of the softest secondaries one could hope for in the early part of the season, and the fact that both of the Illini's interceptions have come against Illinois State makes me giddy. An arm punt here or there will be picked, sure, but I think Pryor will get a bit more leeway with his throws against the Illini than against other Big Ten secondaries, which will give the coaching staff a bit better of an idea of what he needs to work on.

I'm still waiting for Daniel Herron or Brandon Saine to have a breakout game. Really, if neither can get it together at this point, I can't help but conclude that they won't under these circumstances , and that the staff seriously needs to re-evaluate some schemes or get Jordan Hall some more reps. Illinois' rush defense has been decent, holding Mizzou and State to 2.8 yards a carry on the ground, but Mizzou is Mizzou and Illinois State is coached by Brock Spack, who brought basketball-on-grass to the quite little burg of Normal, Illinois. Neither will ever place the emphasis Ohio State does on pounding the rock, so the Buckeyes need to get something going early and often.

Five predictions that will make me look foolish come Monday :

- Juice throws at least one pick, and is held under 50 yards rushing

- Ohio State actively exploits the hole left by Martez Wilson's departure

- The running game continues to struggle, but Pryor's improvisational skills make it look a bit more respectable.

- Pryor throws at least one arm punt pick, to go with 3 or more touchdowns

- Final score: Ohio State 31, Illinois 13

A Brief Look at the Trojan Offense

Sam @ WWAHT — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:00:30 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Chex better check himself before he wrecks himself against Damian Williams this time around.

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Breathe a sigh of relief, Buckeye fans: Matt Barkley is still the quarterback of the USC Trojans. If there is anything we're all hanging our collective hat on heading into this game, it's that USC's signal caller is a true freshman making his first road start in one of the 5-most hostile environments in college football. If Ohio State hangs tough with the Trojans for a quarter or two, the 'Shoe is going to rock for the whole game. Barkley comes into the game as one of the most polished freshman passers we've seen in the last five years, but he goes up against one of the top-3 pass rushes he'll play in the regular season. USC will probably be able to get its running game going, but it'll have to move the ball through the air consistently if it wants to beat Ohio State. Can they do it?

How they might beat us

USC's offense is an admirable one. It doesn't have a whole lot of bells and whistles, as they say, and it excels primarily based on exceptional amounts of talent. Similar "West Coast" offenses have failed to take flight at other schools recently - Nebraska and Miami immediately come to mind - but at USC, it's literally just about plugging in the right QB and watching him work wonders. Usually, a solid running back needs to be found, but at SC, it's tougher to find a bad running back than a good one. As you have undoubtedly heard, the Trojans run five-deep at running back - Stafon Johnson, CJ Gable, Joe McKnight, Marc Tyler, and Allen Bradford each. I had this to say about two of the Trojan tailbacks in my previous USC Early Look:

Well, if you watched last year's game and didn't immediately drown your sorrows afterward, you probably remember a darting, shifty little bastard by the name of Joe McKnight. McKnight carried the ball 12 times for 105 yards against Ohio State last year, but ended the year with just 89 carries for 659 yards. Stafon Johnson actually ended up being the Trojans' leading rusher last year in their surprisingly-effective committee approach to the ground game.

The Trojans will be relying even more on this committee approach as they attempt to shepherd along a true freshman in a rowdy environment. Expect Marc Tyler and Allen Bradford both to see a carry or two as USC tries to feel out the Ohio State front seven, seeing what works and what doesn't.

USC might have four first-round draft picks on its offensive line. You know they're going to run the ball between the twenties. Last year, the Trojans could not close the deal in the red zone on the ground, so they went to the air. That's where Barkley comes in, and here's how the Trojans might get Ohio State: play-action. This is where those of you who watched Anderson Russell struggle so mightily against play-action in Ohio State's last two games might start getting antsy. USC runs the play-action like no one else in college football. What they really, really do well: the play-action boot.

I personally expect to see this play on at least three separate occasions come this Saturday, and it scares the bejesus out of me. Kurt Coleman will probably be able to come up and make that tackle if it goes right, but can you say with any confidence that Austin Spitler - last seen getting burned by the Navy FB - can cover Blake Ayles or Anthony McCoy? Chris Brown from Smart Football chimes in on this play, and others, over on Dr. Saturday:

The other trends in the offense, evident under Chow but omnipresent once he left, were the rise of misdirection passes -- i.e. bootlegs, half-rollouts, and the like -- and an increased use of vertical pass patterns. Now, some of this was to take advantage of the fact that USC had suddenly become a talent juggernaut: Why not get vertical when all your receivers, running backs, linemen and quarterbacks are headed to the NFL? But this still was a change from Norm Chow's more measured, methodical style of playcalling. The best way to observe this is to simply watch USC play and get a feel for it.

Play-action with the talent USC has at RB can be particularly brutal, especially with Ohio State's inexperienced RBs.

How we might beat them

Most would expect the clear-cut answer to be "with the pass rush" here, but with USC's talented OTs, I'm not sure how easily Ohio State will be able to bring pressure with four. Obviously, blitzing is going to play a major factor, but last year, Ohio State was blitzing aplenty and the blitzing guys were simply getting blocked. There are two reasons for this:

1) Mark Sanchez proved to be excellent at diagnosing blitzes, manipulating the pocket and throwing to his checkdowns. Whether Barkley is uncannily good at this too remains to be seen.

2) USC is a well-oiled machine when it comes to using its tight ends in RBs in blitz protection

This year, Barkley has such an excellent line that pressure with four won't be a concern. However, when Ohio State brings the pressure - and its strategy against redshirt freshman Colt McCoy leads me to believe it will - Barkley is going to have to do all the things Sanchez did as a junior to avoid taking the sack. Thaddeus Gibson is improved. Brian Rolle is faster that James Laurinaitis. This is Ohio State's one great hope to stop the USC aerial assault, because honestly, I don't have much faith in the secondary to contain someone like Damian Williams. But duh, of course Ohio State has to blitz if it wants to win. You knew hat.

The real way Ohio State might throttle the Trojan offense is simply by occupying its guards. If USC's guards can't get to the second level with any consistency, even Joe McKnight will have trouble moving the ball. Personally, I'm hoping Cameron Heyward sees a lot more time on the inside this weekend, because it's clearly his best position and he's a rock against the run in ways that Doug Worthington and Dexter Larimore are not. On USC's first few offensive possessions, watch this battle closely. If Ohio State is consistently getting a push on the interior of the USC offensive line, it should be able to keep the score manageable, which means the offense may only have to put up three or four touchdowns at the most to win.

Speaking of the Ohio State offense and, by association, the USC defense, I'll be going over that tomorrow.

The 2009 Bam Childress Award: The Nominees - Defense

Sam @ WWAHT — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:00:12 -0000

As a matter of clarification, yes, there will be a separate award handed out to an offensive and defensive player each. I enter the 2009 season with less trepidation about the state of the defense than I do the offense, as I'm sure is the case with most of you. All of the anticipated breakout players of 2009 seem to have a greater shot at breaking out because they play for a unit that is consistently tops in the nation in multiple categories. At Ohio State, defensive playmakers just develop quicker and with greater frequency than offensive players. For all the hate you may direct at Bollman for the lack of development along the offensive line, you should direct a relatively equal amount of praise at Jim Heacock, who, national title debacles aside, tends to get the most out of his best athletes before they dart for the NFL. It may seem as though expectations are not particularly high for this defense, but that's only because the bar has been set so high; anything less than continued statistical dominance will be seen as a massive disappointment. It's not entirely fair, but Heacock knows the standard he has set and would probably be the first to tell you when that standard is not being met.

There are fewer Bammie candidates on the defensive side of the ball only because the defense is looking at just five new starters, as opposed to the offense's seven. Add on to the comparatively-minor turnover the fact that almost everyone who'll be making a significant contribution this year has already seen the field as part of a rotation, and some of the faces don't seem as worrisomely fresh as they may have been otherwise.

Brian Rolle

Two years ago, an opposing kick returner was flattened by an undersized freshman linebacker whose arms looked larger than his torso from a distance. Unfortunately, that hit technically never happened; there was a penalty on the play, and Ohio State had to re-kick. On the re-kick, that same freshman darted back downfield and again planted the returner, getting a big cheer from the Buckeye crowd. That freshman's name was Brian Rolle. When Tyler Moeller was crossed off this season's depth chart, all were disappointed but most knew that it was time for the Buckeyes to showcase their depth at linebacker. The first name on everyone's mind was that one guy who flattens people for a living. I was a little surprised that Rolle didn't win the spot this spring, but clearly, Moeller brings a bit of a different game to the table as a converted safety than Rolle. In fall camp, Rolle moved inside and Spitler moved outside. Now, the little guy - he's 5'11" on a good day - is going to get his chance to shine. He has said he doesn't want to be average, and this is his last and best chance to prove he's not. No one of this defense has developed a reputation as a hitter outside of Rolle, and I'm expecting him to bring a level of physicality to the linebacker position not seen here since AJ Hawk. Dude's also got an excellent dentist.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 9 Bam Childresses out of 10

Doug Worthington

This one is a bit debatable - Worthington has been seeing significant time at various positions (mostly DT) for two years straight, and he has been... solid. Nothing spectacular, which is what most were expecting when he came to OSU as a five-star recruit. I've said in the past that he's playing out of position, but as DT, he does provide the occasional adequate pass rush. This year, he has to step it up in the wake of Nader Abdallah's graduation. While he'll never be the run stuffer Ohio State sorely needs, he can be an okay space-eater against the average teams on Ohio State's schedule. This year, he needs to come up big against either one of USC or Penn State. If he can be the feared guy on the Ohio State defensive interior in his last year, his career will be a rip-roaring success in my book.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 7 Bam Childresses out of 10

Jermale Hines

This year, I was expecting more of the same from Jermale Hines at the nickleback position. That is, until recently. Word out of practice is that Hines is legitimately pushing three-and-a-half year starter Anderson Russell for playing time. Hines excels where Russell frequently doesn't - in coverage against spread teams - but Russell is without a doubt the more consistent performer up to this point. Hines is known for his bone-jarring hits than his coverage ability, but that's last year. This year, he's lining up at deep safety, rotating with Russell, which tells me the coaching staff is confident enough in his development as a coverage guy to make him the last line of defense against long bombs.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 7 Bam Childresses out of 10

Honorable Mentions

Austin Spitler - The guy's had it rough. He spent three years (four if you count the redshirt season) toiling away behind James Laurinaitis, and in his senior year, he's going to have to transition to the outside to make up for the absence of Tyler Moeller. Add onto that the fact that up until now, his legacy is this:

If you don't remember this, you had turned off your TV at this point. That's Spitler giving LSU a new set of downs.

and you can see why the pressure is on Spitler. Fortunately, Spits doesn't have to worry as much as others about preseason hype, mostly because he has already contributed quality time spelling Laurinaitis and guiding the defense in mop-up duty. Expectations are sorta "meh" for him; for whatever reason, no one really expects him to dominate. I wrote in the Buckeye Battle Cry that this season will make or break his career, but the preseason hype about him simply isn't in the stratosphere like it is for the other guys; as a result, he just garners an honorable mention.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 3 Bam Childresses out of 10

Nathan Williams - Williams came on late in the '08 season as a true freshman pass-rushing extraordinaire, notching two sacks against Northwestern and generally raising hell when he finally got the chance to hit the field. A December shoplifting arrest (which is why I call him Nathan "But A G Thang" Williams) failed to slow his progress, and good things have been emanating from both spring and fall camp. Williams steps into a loaded situation at defensive end - Gibson, Wilson, Heyward and Worthington all have legitimate shots at more playing time than the sophomore - and that's why I've relegated him to honorable mention status. If the situation at DE wasn't so crowded, I'd be a bit higher on Williams' chances of being the breakout player this fall. As I said Wednesday, however, I do think we'll see Nathan Williams in on 3rd-and-long, perhaps as part of a line that consists of him, Cameron Heyward, Lawrence Wilson, and Thaddeus Gibson; the four best pass rushers on the team. While that may only be a figment of my dreams, I think there's a better-than-average chance of it becoming reality.

Official WWAHT Breakout Year Hype-O-Meter: 4 Bam Childresses out of 10

As before, I'm willing to accept other write-in candidates and critiques of the current ones.

A Way Too Early Look At The 2009 Schedule - Week 8 - Ohio State

GopherNation — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:45:49 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

Probably more fans here for the spring game than will bother to show up for the Gopher game!

Browse more photos »

Let me start this schedule preview with a bit of final Jeopardy, I'll give you the answer followed by the question...

The Answer: USC, Texas and Minnesota

The Question: Who are the only three teams to score 21 points on the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes?

Now on to the preview...

The Gophers have the incredible misfortune of getting to play Ohio State in Columbus in back to back seasons. This wouldn't have been the worst year to play the Buckeyes at home considering they lose about half of their starting lineup and we are a fairly experienced and a relatively talented team. Clearly this is a conspiracy by Jim Delaney and the Big Ten bigwigs to keep the Gophers down and make sure Ohio State gets itself back to the BCS for yet another chance to redeem itself. Honestly though, I'm not trying to say that on paper these teams are relatively equal and a home game gives us a great shot at winning. Regardless of the venue we are likely to lose to OSU the majority of the time. I'm just saying a home game moves our chances of winning from 8% to maybe 18%. We'll get to the outcome later, lets take a look at the Buckeye's.

Once again I took the easy route and had a local blogger answer a few questions for me regarding his favorite team. This time I went to Sam at We Will Always Have Tempe to help me out.

TDG - The Buckeye's are replacing 10 starters plus their K and P. We all know that Ohio State reloads, but that is a lot of quality and quantity to replace. What, in your opinion are realistic expectations for the 2009 Buckeyes?

WWAHT - Well, Ohio State has just finished racking up two excellent recruiting classes, so the talent level is actually roughly the same; that being said, the overall level of experience has taken a bit of a hit. That being said, with this schedule and in this Big Ten, anything less than 9-3 would be a disappointment..

I'm assuming 9-3 would mean a losses to USC, @ Penn State and...Minnesota (?). Sorry, with fall camp starting this week I am a little drunk on the kool-aid. Crazier things have happened and that is a lot of experienced snaps to replace but I'm not that delusional. Ohio State is replacing a number of very big names on both sides of the ball. Offensively they basically bring back their QB and most of their OL. In my book those are the key positions in college football so if you are only going to bring back 5 starters on offense those would be the ones I want to bring back. Defensively they lose some big names at all position groups. As Sam points about above they do have some very talented kids stepping in to fill the shoes of Chris Wells, Malcolm Jenkins, James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, etc. But one has to expect that regardless of how talented these guys are there will be an adjustment period and likely a small step back.

It will also be interesting to see how things go on special teams for the Buckeyes as they are replacing their P and their K. That is often overlooked but should also contribute to OSU coming back to the entire Big Ten pack in 2009.

The Buckeyes on Offense

TDG - Offensively every skill position player is being replaced, with the exception of Pryor. Is this going to hamper his growth, or at least his numbers, as he moves into his sophomore season as the most experienced skill position player in the backfield? Also talk about Dan Herron and what you expect out of him.

WWAHT - I don't think it will hamper his growth one bit; in fact, I expect his numbers to improve as the offense improves. Pryor has far more chemistry with the younger skill position players on the team, and I think the offense will jell much more easily as a result. Dan Herron will be the focus of the running game, and I expect him to put up monster numbers; think of him as Antonio Pittman with a nasty streak.

I think I worded the question wrong. I wasn't implying anything would prevent Pryor from improving, but not having other known commodities (mainly Wells) around him means defenses will be keying on him more than they did last year. So maybe he still improves but I'm wondering if his numbers will improve significantly.

I also really do not want to forget about Dan Herron here, he does concern me. I seem to remember when Wells was on the sideline, Herron didn't exactly offer a reprieve for the Gopher defense.

Overall, would any of you be surprised to know that the Buckeye offense actually finished 9th in the Big Ten in overall yards gained? They were the antithesis of the Gopher offense. OSU finished 3rd in rushing offense and a dismal 10th in yards gained through the air. The Gophers were the worst rushing team in the conference and finished 4th in passing. One would expect that Pryor will be better equipped to throw the ball in the Big Ten, but once again the OSU ground game should be the heart and soul of their offense. Fortunately I feel as though stopping the run will be a strength of the Gopher defense so maybe (just maybe) we can slow down their rushing attack this time around and force them to throw it.

Catching the ball will be a handful of names less familiar than Robiskies and Hartlines we often heard last season. The spring depth chart has sophomore DeVier Posey (former 5-star recruit) and junior Dane Sanzenbacher listed as the top two receivers. Senior Ray Small is also a returning contributor who had 18 catches last year but is a no show for fall camp due to academic issues. Of course some younger guys will likely be a factor this season (Taurian Washington, Lamaar Thomas and true freshman Duran Carter).

Those receivers could be very talented but if you are going to stop the Buckeye offense, you better start with the ground game. Herron is likely going to step into the starting role and will be a top 5 Big Ten back, plus you have the always dangerous Pryor. Basically I would expect the Buckeyes will move the ball about approximately the same clip as they did a year ago. Where they may struggle is putting points on the board with so many new skill position players. In 2008 the OSU offense was 9th in total offense but managed to finish 4th in points scored. I'm going to make an assumption that this was largely due to the experience of the offense and the very good defense putting the offense in great position to score without having to consume more field then they had to.

The Buckeyes on Defense

Speaking of that defense, what is this unit going to look like with three All-Big Ten players, including the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, gone? Sam gives us a position group breakdown...

TDG - Defensively, can you give me a small paragraph on each position group (DL, LB, DB)?

WWAHT - If the defensive line can find some modicum of consistency on the interior, it'll be one of the best units in the Big Ten. Thaddeus Gibson will be one of the more feared pass-rushers in the country, but he needs help. Look for Dex Larimore to develop into a very good run-stuffer.

The linebacking corps may be 2/3rds new, but Austin Spitler has seen so much time backing up James Laurinaitis it's like breaking in a second-year starter. He isn't very fast, but he hits hard and excels at play recognition. Tyler Moeller is the other new face here (ed note: Moeller was recently injured and is likely out for 2009), a converted safety who many remember for chasing Pryor down in the open field during the spring game. He's a little small for a Big Ten linebacker, but he'll terrorize offensive tackles with his quickness on the blitz. Lastly, Ross Homan is a true junior and possibly the second-best defensive player on the team.

The secondary is breaking in a new starter - Andre Amos - but overall, looks to be a solid unit. The two safeties have around four-and-a-half combined years (that "half" being Russell's solid redshirt freshman debut that ended in an injury at Iowa in late September of '06) of experience under their belt and could end up being one of the better tandems in the country. Opposing quarterbacks should avoid Chimdi Chekwa - or as I call him, "Chex"- at all costs.

So the secondary should be really good, while the D-line and linebackers break in some newcomers. Iowa and Ohio State are the only two teams who gave up fewer than 300 yards per game and less than two TDs per game in 2008. As mentioned Ohio State does lose a few key members of that imposing defense so I think it is save to assume they won't be quite as dominant this time around. What does that mean though? It means Ohio State may not be brilliant defensively, just very good. This side of the ball has ranked in the top 15 nationally five of the last six seasons, so one has to expect this unit will be very good once again.

What to Expect

TDG - Clearly Ohio State will be favored and favored heavily to win. If these teams played all 12 games in Columbus the Gophers would maybe win 1 out of 12 times. Paint me a scenario that could potentially play itself out where the Gophers go into Columbus and come out with that one win.

WWAHT - I think the key to the Gopher's chances will be Simoni Lawrence. He's your leading returning sacker and was also 2nd in TFL in 2008. If he can provide adequate pressure on Terrelle Pryor, the Ohio State offense will be at least partially stymied. Offensively, Minnesota has to consistently get 4-5 yards on the ground on first and second down. It absolutely has to find a way to do this, because if it gets into the 3rd and long situations, Thad Gibson will have his way with the Minnesota offensive line.

Lastly, Adam Weber can't turn the ball over. At all. The Minnesota passing attack may have go into the box; whenever Weber doesn't see an open man on his first few reads, he needs to tuck the ball in and scramble for whatever yardage is available. If these three factors converge on that fateful day, Minnesota will probably find itself victorious. And you will find me hanging from the rafters.

So you are saying there's a chance. Sam seems like he might take a Gopher win kind of hard, not to worry though, it's not like the blogging world would miss one of 328 Ohio State blogs (just kidding, I'd miss my SBN brother).

I think that Sam is dead-on (pun intended) when he says Simoni is a key, probably more so in this game than any other. He has to be able to contain Pryor or we will see the Buckeyes run up and down the field at will (again). The rest is pretty obvious. Run the ball well on the road and don't give the opponent any turnovers.

I'm not going to convince you that we are going to win this game. While I feel our chances are better this year than they have been in the last few years, chances are still pretty slim. We have an experienced offense with at least a couple serious weapons. We also have an experienced defense that should be pretty good against the run (at least inside the box) and pretty good against the pass. But Ohio State is Ohio State and we are playing at Ohio State.

Unfortunately this is a game where if we can be competitive most of us will be relatively pleased. I know that comment leaves me open to criticism that how can we ever expect to be great if we accept moral victories. And while I agree with that, I open myself up to further criticism if I say we are going to win this game. Because while we want to be competitive with the Ohio State's of the world, right now it is nothing but hope that should tell you otherwise. At some point I want this game to be viewed with the Gopher's chances being at least 35-40% on a regular basis. We aren't there yet, this team could surprise and this could end up being a game we look forward to, at this point I'm expecting a loss and hoping for the best.

Minnesota - 24
Ohio State - 31

what say you?...

Poll

How will the Gophers fare in Columbus (AGAIN, thanks a lot Mr. Delany)?

Ohio State dominates

73 votes

Ohio State gets caught looking ahead (to New Mexico St) but eeks out the W

28 votes

Minnesota wins a close one and riots ensue in Dinkytown

26 votes

Minnesota dominates in a perfect day of football

1 votes

128 votes | Poll has closed

The pads... they are a poppin'

Sam @ WWAHT — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:00:12 -0000

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am"

Today heralds the coming of the real most wonderful time of the year: fall practice is in session, starting spots are up for grabs, and football season is mind-bogglingly close, like a hobo waiting to shank you in the night. Only, an awesome hobo whose shank brings countless hours of watchable sports television. I wouldn't watch an hour of a Cleveland Indians baseball game if you put a gun to my head, but San Jose State-Fresno State at two in the morning? SIGN ME UP, HOSS. Bid adieu to your significant others for about four months or so, ladies and gents: football is officially here.

At Ohio State, it's a season of renewal. Camp should be an interesting one; Ohio State replaces all of its skill position starters, breaks in two new linebackers, as well as at least one corner, and will be looking to find a DT that can approximate the consistency of Nader Abadallah. The legends - James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, and Marcus Freeman, are gone - and they will be missed. But the Terrelle Pryor era is just getting started, and competition in camp is pretty damn fierce with so many spots up for grabs. Let's briefly review some of the key position battles heading into fall camp.

Left tackle - This one is coming down to Mike Adams and Andy Miller. Miller has got seniority on Adams as a redshirt-junior, and as a converted tight end, he's probably the more athletic of the two. However, Adams is the one who came in with the all-world recruiting hype, and an inability to secure a starting spot over a former TE is a bit worrisome, to say the least, for a kid who was considered the next Orlando Pace coming out of high school. Both are expected to bring a bit more of a "finesse" approach in pass pro, as opposed to Alex Boone, who blocked with all the finesse of elephant sex.

Right guard - While left tackle is probably the most important battle on the line, right guard might be the most interesting. It's possible that the most experienced player on the line - Jim Cordle - may get crowded out. I don't think that's likely, however, as his main competition is none other than Bryant "El Matador" Browning. Browning has been mercifully moved over from tackle to a position he's probably better suited for with his size and speed (or lack thereof on the latter). That this is even a competition, however, shows that Browning may have made some offseason strides. Ohio State does have the luxury of some veteran Plan B's here; both Connor Smith and Evan Blankenship could provide some quality depth at all three interior positions.

Right Tackle - In the spring, Cordle moved over to right tackle, but apparently, JB Shugarts is now the frontrunner to start. The other star tackle prospect in the '08 class, Shugarts may be the most athletic lineman Ohio State has, and he apparently plays with a bit of an edge - something this line needs. Shugarts' backup just might be Jim Cordle, who'll probably rotate over in the event of an injury.

Wide Receiver - After DeVier Posey, things get eeenteresting. I'm going to assume, for simplicity purposes, that if Ray Small remains on the team, he'll find a starting spot in the slot. But he sounds like he's in pretty deep this time. My guy, Dane Sanzenbacher, is probably the frontrunner at split end. If Ray Small is truly done, then Taurian Washington will battle with the younger guys: James Jackson, Duron Carter and Lamaar Thomas, all of whom could be dangerous weapons at that particular position.

Left cornerback - Most have Andre Amos penciled in as the starter, but apparently Devon Torrence is making the senior corner's life interesting. Amos has overcome constant bouts with injury to get where he's at, but Torrence is a converted wide receiver and two-sport athlete with very soft hands who showed more flashes in the spring than what's expected of a back-up. This isn't quite the fiercest of battles, but Torrence is definitely someone to keep an eye on throughout camp.

Defensive tackle - The main competition here is to see who's going to complement Doug Worthington. Worthington has his spot locked up as a big, quick, and most importantly experienced interior guy, but Todd Denlinger and Dexter Larimore are in a fight to the death. Or, at least to the Navy game. I personally think Larimore has the upper hand, as he was pretty solid backing up Nader in the latter stages of 2008.

There are other minor positions up for grabs - nickelback against non-spread teams (Hines has it locked down against the Penn States and Illinoises of the world, but against Wisconsin et al., they might be looking for someone else), and punter has a bit of a battle between John Thoma and Ben Buchanan, but that's really it as far as the most important positions go. Personally, I'd expect at least two of these rotations - corner and defensive tackle - to end in some form of rotation.

Bucknotes rips stuff up, bro

Sam @ WWAHT — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:11 -0000

Could Jamie Foxx come to a University of Michigan football game? It's not impossible after Monday - AnnArbor.com
While you've probably already seen EDSBS's hilarious interpretation of RR hobnobbing with Jamie Foxx, it turns out Zoltan Mesko is really rather conceivable when it comes to movie stars:

"It was the fourth quarter of the Notre Dame game and we were winning 35-0, I think," Mesko said. "He's walking the sideline and usually I'm pretty focused but Russell Crowe, there's like four minutes to go in the game and I'm like 'Ahh, I'm probably not going to punt again.' I go up to him and thinking 'Russell, Russell' and Kurt Russell pops into my mind. "So I go 'What's up, Kurt?' So I called him Kurt. He's like 'What did you say?' I was like 'Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' I ended up chatting with him for a couple minutes. It was one of my more embarrassing moments."

Confusing the guy that was in Gladiator with the guy that was in Soldier puts you on my list, Mesko.

Penn St. takes top party school title in survey - Yahoo! News
But color university spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz unimpressed:

"It's a badge of honor at this point. Nationwide, kids want to pump their schools in these surveys," Mountz said. "It's not connected to reality."

What? This doesn't look like a party to you?!

Andrew WK just creamed his jorts, brah.

Buckeyes know their roles in repairing Big Ten
Players are apparently embracing the albatross/standard bearer of the conference label:

"We have a great deal on our shoulders," Buckeyes tight end Jake Ballard said. "You look at Ohio State and Penn State, two of the top teams the last couple of years, we've been falling short in bowl games. Us, personally, we've lost the last three, and there's not one day we don't think about that. "It has to start with us."

Again, allow me to rant: No, it doesn't start with us. I hate hate HATE this mentality. I could care less about the conference's perception if we're winning the games we schedule.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: NFL/Football
JL gettin' paid; 4-year contract with no financial details announced.

Scout.com: Ware Talks LSU Commitment
Cincinnati product chooses LSU over the Buckeyes. Not a particularly big surprise here, and I doubt the Rod Smith commitment helped matters. Ohio State still has offers out to Storm Johnson - another LSU lean - and Corey Brown.

Summer's heated workouts a good sign, says Buckeyes' Coleman: Ohio State Insider - cleveland.com
Get on the Sanzo bandwagon now?

While big things are expected from sophomore receiver DeVier Posey, Coleman insisted no one forget about junior Dane Sanzenbacher, the leading receiver back from last season. "Dane is the guy, any way he has to, he's going to get it done, he's going to get the first down," Coleman said.

But he's so damn small! That our best wide receiver will be hitting the field at 175 pounds is a bit worrisome, don't you think?

Atlantic's James Louis now headed to Ohio State, not Florida
Apparently Louis wanted to be a Gator, and Florida basically said "nothx" despite having the offer out. Urban Meyer is an asshole who happens to win championships, and don't you forget it.

BuckeyeXtra - OSU men will play three exhibition games in Canada
Thad Matta and the boys will play some exhibition games in Windsor in August. They play something called the "University of Windsor" twice, and Western Ontario University two days later.

BuckeyeXtra - New era, fresh air for OSU
Alright, I get that we need to put the championship losses and the USC game behind us. I get that the overall attitude of those teams is something we want to put behind this. And I understand the optimism for all the young talent at Ohio State, as we ride the wave of two-straight top-5 recruiting classes. I get all that. What I don't get is why James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, et al. are going to have their legacies cast this way. I'd rather think of the good times - Iowa '06, Texas '06, Michigan '06 Michigan '07, Wisconsin '07, Penn State '07 Wisconsin '08, and, of course, Michigan '08, then the few-and-far-between losses that that set of seniors brought us. I don't care how ugly they were; this group left tied for the most wins by a senior class in the history of the school for a reason: they were damn good, and some of them were legends.

Big Ten position rankings: Defensive line - Big Ten - ESPN
Rittenberg ranks Ohio State's line ahead of Penn State's. While I like the praise, I'm not sure I agree with it all. Still have to find a consistent replacement for Nader Abdallah.

Know thy Opponent takeover: We Will Always Have Tempe

BoilerTMill — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:38:30 -0000

Whenever I work on something related to Ohio State I could have a virtual roundtable of bloggers. Eleven Warriors, Buckeye Battlecry, and the Men of the Scarlet and Gray have all made appearances here in the past. This time I went with SBNation's new Ohio State blog, We Will Always Have Tempe for some questions about this year's Buckeye team. It is hard to beleive, but the four-time defending Big Ten champs are a little afraid of us this year. He also thinks the SEC needs to sack up and come play outside of the south. Here is what Sam had to say about the Buckeyes:

Don't talk to Mrs. T-Mill about Tempe. Trust me on this...

Hammer & Rails: Purdue finished 9th in the conference last year, won only four games, and lost almost all of its offense. Ohio State has won at least a share of the Big Ten each of the last four years and has played in a BCS bowl in all but one year since the 2002 season. Is there really anything you have to fear from this game?

We Will Always HAve Tempe: Definitely. For two straight seasons, Purdue has held Ohio State to it's third lowest point total of the season, allowing 23 points in '07 and just 16 in '08. Lambast Joe Tiller's defenses all you want; his guys knew how to defend Ohio State. Jim Tressel's relatively conservative mentality creates a razor-thin margin of error; all Purdue really has to do to win - provided it again holds Ohio State's offense to its third lowest point output of the season, or something similar - is force turnovers.

H&R: Despite everything mentioned in question 1, the Purdue-Ohio State series has been very competitive since 2000. What do you see as the biggest reason for this?

WWAHT: For some reason, I think Ohio State overlooks Purdue. They aren't a big rival, and, for this decade at least, they haven't competed for Big Ten titles consistently. Another factor many may not realize: the decline of the Ohio State offensive line from "very good" to "game-changingly inconsistent" has kept games close, especially given Purdue's history of producing talented pass rushers like Anthony Spencer and Ryan Kerrigan.

H&R: How much do you expect Terrelle Pryor to open things up offensively despite losing Beanie Wells?

WWAHT: Honestly, until his passing improves - and it looks like it has, merely going from the spring game - nothing much will change. Even that is contingent upon improvement in the play of the offensive line. Basically, expect more read option, bubble screens, and misdirection. The pony package should begin to take greater shape this season as well. It won't quite be 2006, but it won't be the three-downs-and-a-cloud-of-sack that 2008 was.

H&R: Ohio State consistently just reloads on defense. who are your next big stars on that side of the ball?

WWAHT: Tyler Moeller. Remember this name. The guy's a mighty mite safety/linebacker hybrid with the quicks to chase down Terrelle Pryor in the open field and the strength to take down the Big Ten's best power backs. Another name: Jermale Hines. He started making a name for himself last year, but in 2010, he's going to be a full-time starter in place of the departed Kurt Coleman. Jim Tressel knows this, and he's going to groom him for the spot by sticking him in in nickel packages. He's sorta big for a safety, but he's got the requisite speed and hits like a ton of bricks.

H&R: What is like to have a season that ends in a BCS bowl be a disappointment? We don't know what that is like at Purdue.

WWAHT: Well, when it's 2008, and you're picked in the top 3 in most pre-season polls, it's hard to be completely satisfied when you lose at home to an above average Penn State squad and you get dumptrucked by a USC team that was supposed to be rebuilding on offense. It just isn't easy to see legends like Beanie Wells, James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, and Marcus Freeman go out like that. I know 110 other teams would trade spots with us at any moment, but you just have to wonder when Tressel is going to put it all together again. Personally, I think he will sometime in the next three years. The Texas game showed he still has a bit of ingenuity left. But the two years before that? When you're so close to a title, and you fall so far short, it's just tough.

Let me try to put it into perspective. You're dominating your conference. You're pumping athletes into the NFL left and right. But because of two blowouts at the end of the season to very good, championship-caliber teams, all your accompishments are for nothing; you play in a bad conference, your players are "overrated", and you don't belong within 50 miles of a BCS bowl forever and ever amen. Losing to those teams isn't a disappointment; the reaction from the college football world at large is. Add onto that the fact that the only way to shut them up is to beat an SEC team, and that SEC teams rarely schedule home-and-homes outside of their region, and it only gets more frustrating.

BONUS QUESTION: I ask this of every Ohio State blog since my wife is a Miami Hurricane, and it is especially true given your name. Was the call on Glenn Sharpe in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl really pass interference? And be honest! I only ask because I was the unfortunate one that had to stop her from celebrating and tell her there was a flag. She nearly broke my TV.

WWAHT: Okay, removing the Scarlet-tinted glasses.... yes. It was the right call. I'm not the only one who thinks so. This site: http://buckeyefansonly.com/notcalled.html, as jankity and low-brow as it is, is accurate. I wouldn't show it to your wife though, unless you want a new computer.

H&R: Thanks for stopping by, Sam. That was some excellent analysis, especially of that infamous Fiesta Bowl. I am convinced, though my wife keeps saying Miami has six national championships instead of five.

On a final note today, I wanted to draw attention to something I recently received in my e-mail. If you are familiar with the concept of couch surfing there is a new service out there called Gameday Housing for people that love to follow their teams on the road. Property owners list their homes and interested parties can rent them out for a gameday weekend close to their game of choice. It is still in it infancy, but it is worth a look if you're going on the road anywhere this year. I'm not getting paid a dime to promote this. I just thought it was interesting.