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Buckeye 411

• Captain, My Ca… Ah, Screw It- At this point, no captains have been named for this week’s matchup with TTUN.  I’m sure it’s Brewster, Simon, and some other folks.
• Injury Report- Sweat is a “doctor’s decision”, due to it being a head injury.  Philly Brown is going to be OK, but safety Christian Bryant is “questionable” for the game. No additional information on Bryant, but he’s currently listed as the starter on this week’s depth chart.
• Fickell Speaks- On “The Game”;

It’s still the Ohio State/M*chigan game, still the greatest rivalry in all sports. We wouldn’t attack it any other way. That’s what is remembered. We understand that. We know that. Our guys have understood that regardless of what the situation has been in the last 10 years that I’ve been here or even the five years I was here as a player.

When you come here, you know what it’s about. That’s why I’d say 70 percent of our guys are from that 250 mile radius, been grown up, born into it, and know more about what this rivalry is all about than most.

• More From Fickell- This exchange was a great one between Coach Fickell and a member of the press,

Your Michigan counterpart refers to your employer just as “Ohio.” Have you noticed that, first of all?

…Coach Bruce or Coach Hayes used to not refer to the team up north or whatever that is, hopefully that it’s no disrespect to Ohio University, they are Ohio, but it is what it is.

We might refer to M*chigan in different ways, too.

• “Shazier”. Rhymes with “Fear”- Linebacker Ryan Shazier was named the B1G conference’s freshman defensive player of the week after a fifteen tackle performance against Penn State.  Sure am glad we waited until the end of the season to play him, huh?
• Coach Speak- Following the give and take with Coach Fickell, defensive coordinator Jim Heacock and offensive super genius Jim Bollman addressed the media. Heacock spoke about the consistency problem on the defense- that they’ll go from being phenomenal to missing easy tackles and key assignments.  He said that John Simon is the hardest working athlete he’d ever been able to work with, and that he believes that Nathan Williams plans on returning for an additional season next year.  Heacock also mentioned that the plan was for Ryan Shazier to get playing time earlier in the season, but that it didn’t work out as they had wanted due to match up issues. None of the coaches had explanations for the slow starts this season, but Heacock was able to say that it seems as if the Wolverines are using some of the same offensive schemes that they did at the end of last season.
• And Then- Bollman talked about how it was great to have Philly and DeVier both back in the lineup, and that the impact on the student athletes regarding all of the outside issues is really hard to discern. He believes that the offense is “improving”, but that consistency is still necessary. TTUN’s team is playing aggressively, particularly on the perimeter. They’re looking for ways to get Stoneburner more involved, but at this point haven’t had everything firing on all cylinders.

Fickell Funnies- I’m not sure if it’s due to it being his last regular season game or if he’s just more comfortable now that he (presumably) knows what’s up with the coaching search, but Coach Fickell had a couple of “good ones” this week.

• Are The Buckeyes Ready? “You can talk about it until you’re blue in the face…”
• Any Special Plays For This Week? “We’re going to continue to attack it that way and play with confidence and not think we’ve got to do something hokey or crazy to win this football game. No pun intended.”
• How Do You Keep From Getting Caught Up In The Coaching Chatter? “I don’t turn the TV on. If it is, it’s probably “Animal Planet” or something that the kids are watching and just try to get yourself away for a few minutes.”

This week in Urban:

• It’s Not You, It’s Me- In an interview with Florida paper, Urban says that he hasn’t been interviewed or offered a job in Columbus, but goes on to say that he’s healthy and misses football, and that if OSU were to offer he’d have a decision to make. Many see this as a “Please don’t hate me because I’m leaving you…” missive to Gator fans.
• Although… He’s not doing the Ohio State/Mich1gAAn game with his usual broadcasting crew (will be in studio instead); there’s always the possibility that there’s something else involved, though.
• And-  Reports are that he met with President Gee last week.
• In Case You Missed It: Grant from TBHC coordinated a little “Coaching Wish List” with JoeD, 11W’s Birm, and yours truly.  Here’s the top two- Dungy and Meyer

Elsewheres:

• Defense Optional: News that Rich Rodriguez will be hired by Arizona in the coming day or so was greeted with glee by PAC-12 defensive coordinators.  Ah, RRod… everyone’s “Plan B”. His first game will be against the Toledo Rockets- ‘cause that’s going to work out well for everyone.
• Speaking Of Moves: Saban to Texas? Probably not…
• It’s Not Rivalry Week In Texas until Thujone weighs in with an MSPaint Masterpiece.
• Getting Paid: For all the complaints about Ohio State’s commercialization of the game day experience as the expense of tradition, we can be thankful that no one would ever think to try something as stupid as this. (crosses fingers)
• Bucket List: Robby D weighs in on the significance of this week’s matchup involving a Bucket.  No, it’s not the KFC one that Charlie Weis has, or Jim Bollman’s… just read it, OK?
• This Week In The Freek: We work our fingers to the bone to encapsulate the weekend in college sports, but then a true maestro does work in just a few computer strokes, and all we can say is “Wow”.

Family Business

Tags: Andrew Sweat, Brady Hoke, Christian Bryant, Jim Bollman, Jim Heacock, LSUFreek, Luke Fickell, Mich1gAAn, Purdue, Rich Rodriguez, SBP, The Game, ThuJone, Urban Meyer
Categories: College Football, Humor, Michigan Football, Ohio State Football