Buckeye Blogger NetworkAh, fall… the wind turns brisk and in Los Angeles the birds turn colors and fall from the trees (ht: David Letterman). We talked last week about “pumpkinitis” that’s sweeping the country… some people are taking it seriously. Instead of subjecting yourself to such a task, take time to kick back with some new tunes and enjoy a great weekend in college sports.
In case you haven’t noticed (and if you haven’t, please PLEASE let me know how you’re managing to pull that off), it’s election season. And you thought the BCS was complicated and overwrought… three more weeks, people. You can do it.
“But Mali- there’s never been politics on tBBC… what gives?”
Theological Disagreement
That’s a fine point, but it’s the only way I could think of to lead into this week’s “marquee” matchup. Given how much they like football, I’m sure that there was some tension on the Romney/Ryan campaign bus when Notre Dame and BYU squared off in South Bend. (See, ’cause one candidate is a Mormon and the other is a Catholic… oh, nevermind.) Yup, The Golden Domers met the People of the Golden Plates, with the former looking to continue their undefeated season. The Cougars managed to do something that was pretty rare this season, and scored an offensive touchdown against a resurgent Irish defense, led by Heisman (?) candidate linebacker Manti Te’o. It wasn’t enough, though, as they fell to .500 in a 17-14 loss to Brian Kelly’s team, who was led by backup quarterback Tommy Rees’ and his one completed pass after halftime. So, yeah- that Notre Dame fan in your office has yet another week to be a bit boisterous regarding his fifth ranked favorite squadron.
In order to make sure I cover both sides of the 2012 election, here. Ok, I’m done talking religion and politics… you can come back now.
On the topic of mistakes that I’ve made recently, I’m more than willing to acknowledge that my purchasing the hype regarding West Virginia was misguided. They still seem to be a Big lEast team of sorts, where defense is even more optional than it has been in the B12 lately. This isn’t to take anything away from the October Heisman frontrunner; Colin Klein has rightfully taken the crown from Mr. September, particularly in their “head to head” contest on Saturday. The Wildcats now sit at 7-0 , and even managed to jump Oregon in the BCS rankings this week, all the way up to #3. While I won’t argue with the BCS… At least Oregon beat a team this week that had a defensive pulse. We’ve not seen that from West Virginia, so it’s hard to assess Kansas State’s victory fully. Hooray subjectivity!
Ah, Eugene...
Although this is traditionally a “Saturday” wrap up, the truth of the matter is that Thursday’s game between the Ducks and Arizona State was pretty freaking impressive. After an initial ASU score, Oregon cranked up it’s offensive game and scored 43 points before there was even ten minutes left in the second quarter. Mercifully, they pulled back the horses at that point- although, they certainly could have kept rolling if they chose to… when a team scores on a two point conversion this easily, you’ve got to know that they are only stopping themselves for the rest of the game. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that Chip Kelly was pissed that his team was only ranked third in last week’s BCS- since they actually fell one slot this week, I’m afraid to see what happens to this week’s victim opponent. Read More
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.
Highest Caliber
First glance at NLOID; both in Columbus and elsewheres.
Buckeye 411
I got four good guys with me helping me stay warm. Wait. Not like that…
Elsewheres Read More
Kirk James "Captain Kirk" Ferentz
Among current Big Ten coaches, Iowa head man Kirk Ferentz is a familiar face. Only Joe Paterno of Penn State has a longer tenure at his current school than Ferentz, but it’s hard to get a true sense of long-standingness with an outlier like Paterno in the mix. Perhaps a larger sample size is appropriate, and indeed, when compared to the coaches of all NCAA programs, Ferentz still stands out as having a lot of time in at his school. Among D-I college football coaches, Ferentz is one of only eight that have been at their current program since before 2000.
Part of the reason why Ferentz has become a fixture at Iowa is likely due to the fact that he’s seen as being an Iowa guy through-and-through. The school obviously likes having him, but so do the Iowa fans, and so does the rest of the state for that matter. In Iowa, Hawkeye football is #1 with no challengers, so Ferentz is a very notable figure. His respectability, coupled with the success he has brought to the program, has firmly established him in a position of great influence, and to Ferentz’s credit he has wielded that influence in an admirable way, including deploying his team to assist others in need. You could say that Jim Tressel is seen in a similar light in Columbus, but Columbus is a large city, we have the Blue Jackets and The Crew to draw interest away from football to some extent, and I would be remiss if I didn’t note that Thad Matta has endeared himself to fans far more than Steve Alford ever did.
Happy Halloween! As tempting as it is for me to throw a little Western History at you with today’s musical accompaniment, let’s go with something a little more Disney:
Following up on our Protestant Reformation reference, let’s jump in with the goings on over at Ntre Ame. Remember when beating Notre Dame was a significant accomplishment? Seems like it’s what all the cool kids are doing these days, if you count the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa as one of the cool kids. By the way, it’s still not a good idea to Urban Dictionary “Golden Hurricane” FWIW.
The Irish lost their QB, Crist, for the season… if only his name had another letter, he’d be back in a couple of days. The game ended on an interception in the endzone from a Hurricane named Flanders… surprising given his relationship with the faith. From what I’ve read online the play by play commentator for NBC said “and that’s the final nail in the coffin…” Probably not the wisest choice of words, given the circumstances.
One thing that concerned me about the horrible tragedy that happened with the video guy is the way that everyone was using it as a storyline. Let me get this straight- the tragedy was a rallying point of inspiration for the Irish, until they lost. Then, they couldn’t have won because of their heavy hearts. I understand the need to make meaning of these types of situations, but it just seems incredibly disrespectful to trivialize this for interest stories or university PR. Again, just my $.02.
Jim Tressel and company does not need me to tell them what Iowa’s weaknesses are. They already know. But since I did the research, I’d better spread the knowledge, because who knows….maybe one of my readers has no idea what that weakness might be.
It’s their run defense. Iowa is not capable of slowing down a running game, and Ohio State will exploit that weakness ALL day. So expect to see a LOT of Antonio Pittman. We will be using the run to set up the pass on Saturday night. As soon as Iowa starts to panic and draw their defense in to stop Pittman, Smith will go over their heads. Count on it.
Now, that’s the type of prognostication that you can read on any troll-filled message board, which NEVER supplies any type of proof. It’s just written as fact, and no background on WHY it’s true is ever needed.
Not in MY House, Buckeye fans……here’s how I know that Iowa’s run defense is their biggest weakness.
Last week, Illinois rushed for 121 yards against Iowa. Prior to that, the Illini rushed for only 97 yards against lowly Syracuse and a mere 66 yards against up-and-coming Rutgers.
The week before that, Iowa State pounded out 171 yards on the ground against the Hawkeyes. That was the Cyclones’ best rushing game of the season, after compiling 137 yards against UNLV, but only managing 21 yards on the ground against Texas.
I wouldn’t dare say that Iowa State or Illinois have anything NEAR a decent rushing attack….and they both had better games on the ground against Iowa than they did against teams like UNLV, Syracuse and Rutgers. ISU showed that when they face a good defense, they can’t run (21 yards against Texas???), but ran like wildfire all over the Hawkeyes.
There it is….that’s your key. They have a young, small defensive line. Pound on it early and often. Wear them down as HARD as you can. Force Ferentz to bring 8 men into the box to stop Pittman and the Wells’ boys. Then let GinnZoBiskie go to town.
By the way, I just put a copyright on the term “GinnZoBiskie”. Any descriptions or accounts without the expressed written consent on the BBC is strictly prohibited.
