Buckeye Blogger NetworkWhile the details are still coming out, I can’t stop thinking about how amazing the situation in Cleveland was yesterday. We need more folks like Charles Ramsey who would be willing to get involved when it’s easier to just mind their own business. Only one soundtrack possibility today, then.
Silver Dollar Pancakes- Exquisite!
Buckeye 411
Boyd Crowder musing about taking Standard Deduction or Itemizing
Welcome to the Ides of April episode, also known as ‘Tax Day’ Musings. If you’re reading this, you must have already filed your taxes. If you haven’t, you’d better get busy. Grab your coffee and either hit the calculator or let’s plunge forward.
Men’s Ice Hockey
Let’s get started with some really good news. On Friday, it was announced that goalie Brady Hjelle was named 1st Team All-American. In all, 25 players were named to the All-America squads as selected by members of the American Hockey Coaches association on Friday. Hjelle was named the first-team goalie on the west squad and was one of five CCHA players selected in the conference’s final season.
Hjelle, a native of International Falls, Minn., is the first Buckeye to earn a spot on the first team since 1998 and the third first-team selection in program history. His award marks the eighth time an Ohio State player has been named a first or second team All-American by the AHCA.
This is a pretty big deal. Obviously we want to recognize Ohio State All-Americans. But how about Brady’s performance this season? Just for perspective, his goals-against-average (GAA) of 2.00 would rank him 4th best goalie in the NHL. His save percentage of .935 would be 2nd best in the NHL in. By the way, the Sabres goalie has a GAA of 2.84, so Brady, give us a call. OK?
Ohio State Football
The 2013 Buckeyes had their Spring Game this past Saturday, and believe me, it was good to see (or listen to in my case) the game, even under scrimmage conditions.
It came down to some form of logic relationship: 1st O : 1stD : 2nd O : 2nd D; since the rosters were pretty much aligned Scarlet Offense and Gray Defense. As expected, if Urban Meyer was to be believed, the 1st half was Air Buckeye; both teams combined for 279 total yards, of which 259 were passing yards. The game ended with close to 440 yards combined passing for the teams.
All three QB’s got some significant reps, and actually didn’t look too bad.
Braxton’s offensive numbers were skewed a good bit by being “sacked” 9 times for a loss of39 yards. These were of the black-jersey variety, so take it with many grains. Smooth Kenny G did his this in a schizophrenic way, making plays running and passing for both squads. Good to have him on our team come September.
Cardale “”.. we ain’t come to play SCHOOL..” Jones got off to a rocky start in his 2nd half action (2 turnovers 3rd period, 3 for the game) but settled down a bit and seemed to get a much better handle on running the offense. Later today, we will talk more about the spring game with the ‘Birm on tBBC Radio Hour’.
There are two story lines to this match-up and it appears that we will see many bowl games between teams who have left a conference for another. The Cotton Bowl hit on a biggie here with the Aggies and Sooners. First, you have the first ever frosh to win the Heisman in Johnny Manziel trying to keep the streak alive of proving there’s no such thing as a Heisman curse. The winners are 4 and 6 in the last 10 games they played after receiving the award. After losing four straight, which included former Buckeye Troy Smith, they are on a three game winning streak. In 5 of the 7 games during the last two streaks were winners playing for a National Title, Mark Ingram and Cam Newton were the only two winners in those games.
10-2 Aggies take on 10-2 Sooners
Second, you have a game that everyone is calling a good rivalry out of what use to be an annual Big12 game. The Aggies and Sooners first played in 1903 which was hit or miss for several years and the Aggies won 3 of the first 4. They picked back up close to the end of WW2 and after the ’51 season went forty plus years before getting back on track in 1993. Since then, the Sooners have dominated the rivalry having won 12 of 18 and took over the series in the 2000′s winning every year save for 2002 and 2010. The Aggies moved to the SEC and have surprised everyone with the season they’ve had upsetting Alabama along the way, thus winning the Heisman for Johnny Football. Read More
In spite of the huge win in Happy Valley on Saturday, I’m feeling a bit of the blues are in order for this week’s recap. So, enjoy some Collins, Cray, and Copeland.
It’d be easy to say that this week was “spook-tacular”, and “scary” for a lot of top teams, but that would be way to easy. So, let’s just admit that Saturday once again proved that we’re fans of the greatest sport in the world; because anything can happen once the ball is kicked.
Whoops
As a promise to a “friend” that’s a Notre Dame fan who I’ve been justifiably ripping for the last ten years, we’re leading off this week with the Irish’s huge win in Norman over the Sooners. Like most of America who pays attention to the sport, I imagined that Oklahoma would stomp a mud hole into Brian Kelley’s team- Stoop’s defense, high powered offense… not exactly playing Air Force here. So, because the Irish emerged victorious, undefeated, and “relevant” enough to bump up to the third ranking spot in the BCS, I tip my journalistic cap to them- particularly their defense, which is playing lights out this season. Although they gave up their first* (non-official assisted) rushing touchdown to Oklahoma, they were able to keep Sooner QB Landry Jones guessing all night long. That’s not to say that we’re not without some controversy, as the “luck of the Irish” continued when Heisman Candidate Manti Te’o intercepted the Sooners late in the game to seal away the victory. Your perspective of the play will depend on your hopes prior to the game- Irish fans were elated, others thought that the initial play was a case of pass interference resulting in a ball that clearly touched the ground. At any rate, complaining about the officiating is better left to other fan bases; the Irish are undefeated, and have overcome all but one of the games that had people pointing to theirs as the toughest schedule in college football. Congrats indeed.
Although… How much of this gets pinned on Bob Stoops? “Big Game Bob”, as we’ve discussed before, has built a reputation on an early BCS championship and his ability to beat his rival. However, given the state of his rival over the past few years, is it really fair to continue to give him a pass for his team’s coming up short in these types of games? The loss to Notre Dame is the second at home this year… although, to be fair, both teams are undefeated currently. So, Sooner fans- enjoy that BCS win over Connecticut a few years back, and hope that things can get turned around in the B12 for your squadron in the near future.
Since we alluded to them, let’s talk Texas, shall we? It took some late game heroics by a McCoy (no, not that one) to keep from being beaten by Kansas. You read that correctly… the Jayhawks and their “Coach by weight” strategy were within seconds of beating the Longhorns and turning the heat even higher up on coach Mack Brown. I’m not one to jump on a dead bandwagon- check out the great “post a picture of our defense” thread on Shaggy Bevo- but I still can’t figure out how the flagship school in one of the most talent rich states in the nation continues to struggle on the field. Granted, it may be the competition in the conference and adjacent conferences, but you’ve got to think they’d be able to be successful whether or not there’s a prodigy at quarterback.
Also in the B12, Kansas State, the new #3 in the BCS continues to roll, playing even with Texas Tech for a half and then making the adjustment necessary to blow out the Raiders in Lubbock. Read More
And now, it gets real. Conference season. No more cupcakes… although, that hasn’t worked out all that well for a lot of teams. Today’s soundtrack is from this week’s release, and was chosen just to make our friend Bacon happy.
Quack
Let’s start out west this week, which gives me a chance to do two of my favorite things in the world. The first is to enjoy this moment: Oh, Rich Rod face, how I’ve missed your sublime poignancy. The second is to post a great FanShot, sent to us from pretty choice seats in Eugene… lots of people making their “O” face in that game, for sure. As a reminder, if you go to a game this year, send us a photo and we’ll run it on Monday mornings.
So, let’s talk about the Ducks. The wife and I watched the game… at least until Arizona threw a 4th and goal interception in the third quarter. After that, the fate of the Wildcats was sealed and we headed onto other things (Food Network, Ahoy!). ‘Cause here’s the fact- Oregon may take some time to warm up, but once they find weakness they will attack and attack and attack… and the next thing you know, you lose 49-0. Well, until they play a team with a defensive front, that is.
While the Ducks are still doing what they do, I’ve got to tip my hat a bit to Arizona- it was fun to watch the Rodriguez offense again and only have a little bit of hatred for the passes to the slot receivers and so forth. He’ll do well in Tuscon, particularly given that the transition won’t be as drastic as it was heading from Morgantown to Ann Arbor… and he probably doesn’t have alumni and former coaches trying to sabotage him as well.
In fact, I’d love to see RRod’s former team play the one he just faced- What WVa is doing offensively is probably the only thing that can match with the speed and scoring ability that we’re seeing in Eugene. Granted, they only managed 31 against a pretty bad Maryland team, but the potential is there. A bowl game between Chip Kelly and Dana Holgorsen would certainly surpass the UW/Baylor game from last year, and would feature some of the most unique costumes uniforms in college sports.
I don’t know which is worse- that the play was allowed to continue, or that the official seems to be enjoying the spectacle. A little help here: Was the player that removed the helmet ejected, as per the rules? Read More
After yesterday’s slate of games, the soundtrack for this episode should be pretty obvious. Onward!
Ain’t chaos beautiful? While the end result may be less than desirable, you’ve got to be amazed at the ways that each week is different, each week has the possibility for the unexpected and amazing. And this week was proof positive that the football gods have both a sense of humor AND a mischievous side.
Wait... what?
We start on Friday, with a shout out and hat tip to our BFF’s from Ames who saw their mighty Cyclones upset the #2 ranked Cowboys of T. Boone Pickens U. It was a perfect “storm” of sorts- ISU’s freshman quarterback played the game of his life, while Gundy’s squad seemed incapable of being able to hang onto the ball and put points on the board. Somehow, a team that managed to shut out Texas Tech at home couldn’t cover a basic wheel route; a Cyclone TD and a senior citizen moment from Weeden ended any hopes that Oklahoma State had at playing for the national championship… at least, so it would seem (more later).
Congrats to Coach Paul Rhodes and his staff for getting his team prepared to square off against the ‘Pokes, and for having Iowa State bowl eligible once again.
So- we had early warnings that something was astir in this week’s slate of games, but “The Oracle” was able to solidify our beliefs that it was going to be an unforgettable experience. I’ll just link to Lee Corso’s commentary, since it’s not all that family friendly; let’s remember a) he had a stroke a while back and b) he spoke the truest college preview that’s ever been spoken. Read More
Notes from the Fickell presser, and other happenings around the world of college football, including updated NCAA investigation information (it’s not just us) and the latest on conference expansion.
Straight Shootin'
Buckeye 411
I know Joe hurts every bit as bad as I do. Just like me up here, I smile and I show that I’m happy and everything’s going great when my stomach down inside is sometimes in a knot.
No, that’s not something you want to see. Whether he was disguising or masking how his gut felt, I have confidence that Joe hurts every bit as much as I hurt. We try and tell those guys, nothing goes unnoticed whether it’s on the sidelines of a game, whether it’s in a classroom, wherever you are having something to eat. Just make sure you understand that.
But I haven’t noticed anything that would tell me that Joe isn’t 100% with us
Part two from Ty Kelly’s manifesto after winning our bowl competition; for background, allow him to reintroduce himself.
Time to spin the wheel?
Now, let’s talk about the future of the head football coaching position at The Ohio State University. Clearly, we have to look at it from the administration and the athletic director’s viewpoint – whoever that may be in seven months, (because an argument can be made that A.D. Gene Smith, and Pres. E. Gordon Gee may not last another three months at Ohio State).
Regardless, the 2012 A.D. and OSU brass will likely be looking for three main criteria-
So…who fit this description ? Bo Pelini? … Probably. Jon Gruden? … Maybe. Gary Patterson? Urban Meyer? Each candidate has their pros and cons. I will go in to full detail for the top tier candidates as to why or why not they may be the head coach at OSU in 2012, and I will briefly go over the rest of the candidates who could be considered viable in the position.
