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

Tags: 'Da U, Arizona, Arkansas, Bands, Bob Stoops, Denard Robinson, FSU, Illinois, Iowa, Lane Kiffin, LSU, MAC, Michigan, Michigan State, Mike Stoops, Notre Dame, Ohio University, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Rich Rodriguez, SEC, Troy Smith, TWTW, Uniforms, West Virginia
Categories: College Football, Humor

SBP gets the ol’ bumperino this week to accommodate life. It happens, right?

Ooooh! Shiny!

Buckeye 411

• Well, Frick- The Lantern tonight released a story regarding 11-12 pending violations being processed by the NCAA. After the “46 violations and various raffle rigging” story from last week, you’ve got to think that the folks in Columbus are just about tired of this type of coverage… I know that Buckeye Nation certainly is. The story doesn’t clarify which sports might be impacted or what the specifics of the situations are, so it could be that the NCAA decides that these are not “violations” after all, or we could find out that we’ve got a bunch of scofflaws on the OSU fencing team. Either way, we’ll find out as soon as it hits the front page of ESPN.
• This Week In Comedy- In the article linked above, we’re reminded of the following regarding current AD Gene Smith:

Smith said multiple offenses by individual teams is a concern of his, especially if the violations committed are in relation to recruiting.

Smith was cited for breaking NCAA recruiting policy despite his distaste for recruiting infractions in particular.

• Speaking Of Gene- Earlier Wednesday, the Lantern also had another interview with the current AD, where he referred to Ohio State as being in the midst of the “Glory Years”.  Not sure whether or not that “l” was a typo, though. The article concludes with this quote-

“I intend to retire here as a Buckeye. You can never say never that you won’t do something else, but as far as athletic director or athletic administration, this is my last stop.”

I’m sure there are alumni and fans who have an opinion regarding that timeline.

• That’s A Steele- Phil Steel’s Preseason All-B1G was released today. Some things made sense (Hankes, Simon on the first team), while others were just mind boggling. Braxton behind Captain Jump-ball? Roby on the 4th team? Just wow.
  
• On The Road Again- The B1G released the conference schedules for 2015-16 on Tuesday, and UnScripted Ohio hosted a really good round table with BBN folks to get their take.  My initial thought- No Nebraska on the schedule outside of the CCG? My marriage thanks the scheduling gods…
• Scoring in Bunches- Shout out to the Baseball Bucks, who continued along in B1G play by scoring 11 runs in the 8th and 9th innings on their way to a 12- 5 come from behind victory over #3 seed Penn State.  Next up? Purdue.
• Yes, I Love Technology- Pretty cool news today regarding Ohio State’s partnering with University Digital First to provide student athletes with iPads for scheduling, coursework (avoiding potentially embarrasing situations and saving trees!), and playbooks.  Several schools in the conference have also done this, including That School Up North (didn’t know that iPads had modem adapters) and Wisconsin, which even has them in team colors.
• Shooty Hoops For Money- In the NBA playoffs, you’ve got to enjoy watching Evan Turner’s consistency and rebounding against the Celtics, and give kudos to Daequan Cook still alive with OKC in the Western Conference Finals. Oh, that’s right- Ohio State is a football school… silly me. Read More

Tags: Academics, Baseball, Clemson, Daequan Cook, Evan Turner, Football Schedules, FSU, Gene Smith, George Dorhmann, Georgia Tech, Joe Paterno, Longsnapper love, Notre Dame, Olympics, Penn State, Phil Steele, Playoffs, Purdue, SPB, Uniforms, West Virginia
Categories: College Football, Conference Expansion, Humor, Michigan Football, NCAA Investigations, Ohio State Baseball, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football