Braxton and the Heisman

I was absolutely shocked when the Heisman trophy finalists were announced on Monday evening and Braxton Miller wasn’t amongst them. I realize he had “average” games against Wisconsin and Michigan to close the season, but his team did finish 12-0 and he put up some pretty gaudy numbers in leading them to that mark. I didn’t in any way expect him to … [Read More]

Buckeye 411

• Out In The Cold- Monday’s Heisman announcement that Braxton Miller would not be getting an invite to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York spurred a mixed bag of emotions for Ohio State fans. On the one hand, if it’s unlikely that he’ll be in the top three, it makes sense to not include him- Football is not about “participation” trophies. On the other hand, though, many Buckeyes saw this as another slight at the program and a way for “the media” to disregard the hard work that Miller and his teammates accomplished this season.

Most of the frustration was aimed at the inclusion of Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o, who we’ve argued here before is only a finalist due to his team’s success, solid … [Read More]

And now, we know the form of our destructor. Notre Dame has finished the season undefeated, and will play for the National Title, most likely against an SEC team of some semblance.  Who knew that the Holy See was so closely connected with Tikal? We said early on that it would be an amazing accomplishment for the Irish to finish the year undefeated- and yet, here we are. Granted, they faced a down Southern Cal, a “choke-prone” Oklahoma, and struggled against Purdue and Pitt, but they stand atop the polls as our nation’s finest team.  So, let the … [Read More]

Well, that happened.

While a lot of people were saying that Alabama was ripe for a loss against a Texas A&M team that’s been playing really well over the past few weeks, most of this felt like lip service. You know, the kind of things that ESPN makes one person say on the Gameday set in order to appear unbiased.

And then- “Johnny Football”.

There are a lot of reasons why Alabama lost- coming off of an emotional win on the road in Death Valley, LSU’s offense showed a lot of people the issues that the Tide have in their secondary, Saban’s fear of the high speed offense is based on his knowledge of his team’s weaknesses; but the fact of the matter is that the Aggies outplayed Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, in several key areas of the game.

The Crimson Tide defensive … [Read More]

Buckeye 411

•  Injury Update- Tuesday, Coach Meyer said that it was better than 50/50 for Etienne Sabino to return for the Wisconsin game, something that will add a much needed boost to the Ohio State linebacker corps. No other injury news was given, so it’s safe to assume that Reid Fragel and Orhian Johnson are both OK following their leaving the Illinois game.
• Freaking Flyer Miles- There’s no rest for the Buckeye coaching staff, who are traveling the nation reconnecting with current verbal commitments and starting to reach out to some new names.  Joe will have an update later this afternoon, but we do know that the coaches are hitting Ohio harder than the presidential candidates as well as canvassing Texas, the DC area, and renewing connections in the south
… [Read More]

Like the annual haircut (whether needed or not), a new “look” makes a world of difference, no? Since all of the cool kids were getting new school clothes, we thought in only appropriate to join in on the blog couture arms race.

Big thanks to Chad of Digital:Construct, an OSU alum who was great to work with (even upgraded the old Etch-a-Sketch) throughout the process.

Now, news and notes from the intertubes:

Buckeye 411

• Injury Report- As mentioned in the comments, CJ Barnett is out for the season after suffering a knee injury against the Hurricanes. While this leaves the Buckeyes a bit thin in the secondary, the good news is that Orhian Johnson is more than capable and was the anticipated starter until injuries impacted his fall practice. There is a possibility of a redshirt, but that’s a discussion from another day.
• Tress
… [Read More]

Troy Smith (2004-2006)

They could make a movie about Troy Smith’s journey at Ohio State. From an athlete who struggled to find a position on the team to a Heisman winning quarterback, the path Smith took was incredible, and there were many ups and downs along the way.

Troy’s transformation from an athlete into a quarterback was almost as drastic as his transformation from an immature college student into one of the best leaders to ever play at Ohio State.

Smith had a few run ins with trouble (including accepting illegal … [Read More]

Not only is he at the university where his dad works, playing on the field where his dad won two Heisman Trophies (only one with two- suck it, Tebow!), when he looks at his number he sees 4+5. Yeah, those are some pretty big cleats to fill.

Luckily, Adam Griffin is quite the student athlete on his own right. Our friends over at 11W “caught up” with him earlier in the year; I was impressed with this-

If you could tell Buckeye fans one thing about Adam Griffin, what would it be?
I would say that I have as big of a heart as anyone you will find out there. For what I lack in size, I make up for in heart and effort.

That’s all I needed … [Read More]