The Buckeye Blog

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I would love to give you a recap of the Buckeyes opening round loss to Sienna. There’s plenty to talk about in a game lost in double overtime in the last seconds to a three point shot. Unfortunately, I can’t.

You see, I live in Maryland so for me, the Ohio State game was little more than a changing score at the top of the screen. Now don’t get me wrong, the first eight minutes or so looked good. From there on out, I got to see Cleveland State put a beating on Wake Forest. Not that I didn’t enjoy watching Wake go down to an Ohio team. Well, I enjoyed it until CBS finally switched back to the Ohio State game with three or so minutes left to go. Naturally, if I actually wanted to see the end of the Cleveland State game as it was a great upset, I wouldn’t have had the option because of course, they had switched back to the Ohio State game (thankfully).

But that is only the half of it. While I’ll always root for the Big Ten teams come March, Wisconsin, who was playing at the same time as the Buckeyes, decided that they would finally wake up and play a little basketball. Next thing I know, as the Buckeyes struggle with a school I honestly couldn’t find on a map, I’m watching the end of the Wisconsin game.

Wait, weren’t we wearing our white uniforms? Did they switch to scarlett after that last basket? What’s going on here?

And on it went - back and forth through two Ohio State overtimes and one Wisconsin overtime. It was as if my three year old had taken control of the remote and was having great fun watching daddy get more and more upset.

Maybe it’s the fault of CBS, maybe it’s the fault of my cable provider, Verizon Fios. Whatever the case, there is only one broadcast of the tourney and instead of experiencing the joy of madly banging on my remote in an attempt to watch the final moments of three games, I’m at the whim of some producer in a trailer in New York or something. For all I know, he could be a Michigan fan (gasp) and there’s not a thing I can do about it.

I’ve got 1500 channels. You would think CBS/Verizon/whoever could find a couple extra, just for one weekend, so I can root for whatever team I want?! I know for a fact that the “Kitten’s Playing With Yarn channel (channel 1232 - “All Kittens, All Cute”) had gone to infomercials somewhere around 8:30. You mean to tell me that CBS and the NCAA couldn’t outbid a 60 minute spot for the Catnip 3000 (I only bought two).

Sure, maybe I could have watched the game on some bootlegged stream out of Botswana or something. But face it, I didn’t buy my gazillion inch, mega-high def wide-screen t.v. with ultra-decibel surround so I could watch the game on a laptop.

So here’s the deal, I’m calling on all Ohio State, Siena, Wisconsin, Florida State, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Marquette and Utah fans (did I miss anyone) to let the NCAA know loud and clear that we’re angry and we’re not going to take it anymore. We’ve all been through it and we all have experienced the pain and frustration of a watching a tied game vanish with only 9 seconds to go — only to return to a commentator saying, “That was a shot for the history books!”

Insist that the NCAA require that the network broadcasting opening weekend of the tournament puts out at least three different broadcast available regardless of geographic location. Contact you’re provider and let them now that you’re angry. Heck, I’ll even let them stick to just one broadcast on basic cable if they want. But if you pay for anything more then a government issued digital converter then you are entitled to at least three feeds.

Don’t think it can be done. We’ve got the Big Ten Network in Maryland now (…Yes Mr. Lodico…we’ll take that into consideration…as I told you an hour ago, we are looking into it.). There’s power in numbers people. I’ve go my virtual pitchfork ready to go. Who’s with me.

As draft day approaches, James Laurinaitis’s father Joe Laurinaitis is keeping fans up to date with regular updates on combine. Laurinaitis’s dad covers everything from thoughts on Little Animal’s performance at combine to Laurinaitis as the “coaches dream. James Laurinaitis’s page complete with fatherly commentary can be seen at http://imatopprospect.ning.com/profile/JoeandJamesLaurinaitis

The updates are part of the bigger site, “I’m A Top Prospect.” which features six NFL propsects: Darrius Butler from U Conn, Brian Cushing from USC, Josh Freeman from K State, Darrius Heyward from Maryland and Aaron Maybin from Penn State.

While I haven’t gone through all of the players yet, it is interesting to note that Laurinaitis is the only one who’s father is playing an active role. Makes sense as I’m sure James is focuesed on the job at hand. No time for playing on the computer - he’s a Buckeye after all.

Here’s the Animal’s latest notes:

Find more videos like this on I’m a Top Prospect

For the record, I tried to establish the nickname “Little Road Warrior” (or something like that) after Laurinaitis’s performance in Texas a few years back but it didn’t stick.

While Ohio State missed out on the country’s top two quarterbacks, the 2009 recruiting class is looking pretty good. With only a couple of spots left to fill, Scout.com ranks the Buckeye class as top in the nation by nearly 800 points. The Columbus Dispatch is reporting this morning that offensive lineman Marcus Hall out of Cleveland Glendale says Ohio State is his number one pick and that he will make an ann0uncement Monday. The Dispatch added however, that Hall is heading to Knoxville today and that he tends to favor the last school visited.

The Dispatch is also reporting that wide receiver Marlon Brown out of Harding Academy in Memphis, Tenn., one of the top five pics in the nation, is also considering Ohio State along with  a handful of SEC schools.

The Buckeyes lost out earlier in the week to two top ranked quarterbacks (Tajh Boyd, Hampton, VA and Austin Bouchur of Kettering, OH). While it would be good to have yet another top ranked quarterback waiting in the wings, who can blame them. Barring an injury to Pryor, they won’t see the playing field for at least two years. You have to think that playing time played a factor in at least Boucher’s decision to go to Miami University. I wouldn’t give up on Boucher yet though. If he were to transfer later, he won’t be the first to start their college football career at Miami U. Then again, there’s a former Miami U grad playing in the NFL’s big show this weekend.

Next year should be yet another strong season for the Buckeyes. I like Boom Herron’s speed, add a couple more pounds and he should replace Wells without difficulty. The offensive line was more than a little concerning last year but hopefully a more experienced line combined with three strong recruits should bring them into shape. The Buckeyes also landed some strong recievers to bring down Pryors developing arm.

So here we go again. There is almost no question the Buckeyes will be in the hunt for the national title once again this year. Yes, we will hear the cries that they don’t belong after losing to Texas but face it, if a ref had called a certain fourth-down call differently, there wouldn’t have been enough evidence to overturn it and Colt McCoy would have been singing a different song (as opposed to the there’s not a team that can beat us garbage).

You can see the complete class of 2009 to date here (Dispatch) or on Scout.com with rankings.

St. John’s Also Scheduled for Demolition?

Rumors are flying throughout Buckeye Nation today that the Holiday Inn on Lane Ave. has been sold to Ohio State real estate affiliate Campus Partners and will be used as student housing. Columbus Business First reported in December that the owners of Holiday Inn on the Lane had signed a letter of intent to sell the property to Campus Partners.

While there is no word on the future of the Ohio State game-day tradition known as Hineygate, It is hard to believe that the party would continue in its traditional form in the parking lot of a university supported student housing facility.

There is also talk that the university is planning on tearing down the historic St. John’s Field House and ice rink to make way for an undergraduate student area. While again, I have no confirmation of this, according to the Business First article referenced above, Ohio State is planning a renovation of five campus dorms which will begin in 2011.

For those of us who have been away from Ohio State for a while, this comes as yet another drastic change to our beloved campus. And yes, while the old South High Street was long overdue for some urban renewal, those of us who came of age in Mean Mr. Mustards and Papa Joes (or the Oar House, or the Southberg, or the Mine Shaft, or the Travel Agency, or Spring Break, or…I could go on and on like this…) Ohio State is becoming a campus which fewer and fewer of us recognize.

While the new development looks very nice and yes, it was needed, it also looks very generic. South Campus now looks little different than any of a number of shopping districts filled with chain restaurants which can be found on college campuses throughout the country. At least the Stube lives on (please tell me the Stube live’s on!).

St. Johns however, is nothing short of hallowed ground. The halls of St. Johns echo with history and although the commercially named Schotenstein center, with it’s corporate licensed seats and luxury boxes, has rendered this classic arena somewhat obsolete.

There was something special though about walking through the corridors of St. Johns and looking at all the old team pictures and Heisman Trophies. My wife’s grandfather loved to take us to basketball games and no game was complete without a trip to see photos of old family members who once played in that legendary arena.

There is no question the halls of St. Johns echo with the ghost of glories long forgotten to time.

Finally, at least some traditions live on…The Columbus Dispatch has a story today about The Varsity Club celebrating it’s 50th anniversary.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting this afternoon that it’s official. Ohio State running back Beanie Wells is making himself eligible for the NFL draft. Apparently, a potential $10 million signing bonus is just too much to pass up.

And who can blame him. Coach Tressel seemed to think he was going before Wells seemed to know it himself. He’s also had a serious issue with injuries missing three games this year and most of the second half of the Fiesta Bowl. Remember how badly we wanted Keith Byers to come back for just one more year? Another year in college ball could bring an injury that could keep him out of the pros for good.

Yeah, a Sophomore Pryor lined up next to a healthy Wells would bring a running game to the Buckeyes that would be almost unstoppable. Wells seemed to do a pretty good job at running right over the Texas safeties. Just think what the Buckeye offense would look like with a solid Pryor passing game to boot.

Regardless, it would border on irresponsible to turn down that kind of money. A career ending injury in the NFL leaves wells and his family financially set for life. A career ending injury at Ohio State and, well, there’s always the record books.

So, a note to Boom Herron - bulk up in the off season buddy. You’ve got the speed. If you can put Wells size to go with it, the Buckeye running game shouldn’t bat an eye.

(A Video from the beginning of the season but it still works)

Things have been relatively quiet here at The Buckeye Blog lately and to be honest, I’m not so sure I missed much. Here we are though, five days after what should be the end of bowl season, getting ready for the Buckeye’s biggest game of the season…on a Monday night.

All that aside, we’ve got a game tonight and nothing short of national redemption is at hand.

This game will come down to two things.

2) Beanie Wells

Let’s start with the D

I think the Ohio State secondary has the ability to keep up with the Long Horn/Big 12 passing attack. If the Buckeyes can pressure McCoy, keep him off balance and pressure him some more, then we’ve got a good shot at this game. Face it, they don’t play defense in the Big 12. When your football scores are higher than your basketball scores, yeah, there’s an issue at defense.

However, the Bucks have traditionally struggled against the spread offense. They held a high scoring Penn State in check (but so did USC) and stopped the MSU running attack but that doesn’t say much about a spread defense.

Practicing against a quarterback like Pryor has to help though.

The Buckeyes need to keep the Long Horn offense off the field. Don’t give them the chance to get the momentum going. Once they do, they will be very difficult to stop.

2) Beanie, Beanie, Beanie

In order to keep the Texas offense off the field, the Buckeye offense needs to perfect the long slow drive. Texas will be ready for the Wells running attack. The question is, can they stop it. Texas hasn’t met a back with the physical presence of Wells and even if they are prepared, he may be able to stiff arm his way to first down after first down.

Just before the holiday’s the big talk was of putting both Pryor and Wells in the backfield with Beockman taking the snap. While that may be interesting and might have caught Texas off guard, at least for a moment, it isn’t much different than what we have with Pryor at QB. It fits the long slow drive theory and I do like the idea of a powerful run coming from either side of the ball.

The Buckeyes need three yard, cloud of dust stuff punctuated with an occasional big pass to keep Texas off balance. Not to state the obvious but Texas can’t win if the offense isn’t on the field to score points.

Key to the game

Keep the score low. If this turns into a shooting match, the Buckeyes won’t be able to keep up. If Texas pushes their score into the 30 pt range (and up), we’re in serious trouble. If the Bucs can hold them, then we’ve got a game on our hands.

The Buckeyes have a powerful class of seniors playing in their last game tonight. The one thing these guys are missing is the big win in the big venue (Michigan 06 aside). Unfortunately, they’ve faced the difficult defeats.

Tonight is their chance for redemption.

If the seniors are up for this game and play to the talent they’ve got, the Buckeyes will end the season with a much needed win.

Prediction:
OSU 21
Texas 17

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has been selected as one of eight finalists for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. As of 12-22, Nick Sabin of Alabama was leading the way with Coach Paterno in second.

According to the coach of the year website, one of the criteria for selection is commitment over contract. If anybody in the list of 10 finalists demonstrates commitment to their team, it is by far Coach Paterno of Penn State. Face it, if that were the only critera, you really couldn’t give it to anybody but Paterno.

Paterno, who celebrated his 82 birthday yesterday,  has now coached at Penn State for more than 40 years and word round the campfire is that he plans to stick around at least another three.

Like many in college football, I’ve been saying that Ol Joe should have hung up the coaching shoes long ago. Penn State struggled the past few seasons and it just seemed as though the Lions were ready for a drastic change. And then all of sudden, Penn State gets it together and actually tied Ohio State for the Big Ten Title.

Maybe Paterno found a spark of inspiration. Maybe coaching from the skybox did the team good. Whatever it was, Penn State has found themselves in the Rose Bowl. I guess if I can pull something like that off when I’m in my 80s, I’ll be a happy man.

It is important to realize however that just because I’ve spent most of this post talking about JoPa means I think you should vote for him. When it comes to commitment to the team, Coach Tressel pretty much fits the bill. Sure, he’s got one of the biggest contracts in college football but he’s also a Buckeye through and through.

You may remember a few years back the rumours that Tressel was leaving to go coach the Browns or some other NFL team. It was around that time that an essay by Tressel made the rounds.

Face it, Tress is in it for the long haul. And while he may not make it 40+ years for JoPa, there is no question he’s a Buckeye through and through.

Be sure to stop by the http://www.coachoftheyear.com/ and cast your vote. I believe the voting ends this week.

You will notice that things have been painfully quiet around here lately. Unfortunately, life outside of Buckeye Nation (is there such a thing) has kept me from the numero uno priority, THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES.

And while I’m sure the bowl season will bring back the college football The Buckeye Blog just deserves more.

So, dear reader, for the next week (or so), I’m turning the blog over to you. This is your chance to test your hand at blogging.Here’s your opportunity for your 15 min. fame. Here’s your opportunity to win a pair of Ohio State Crocs.

Here’s how it works.

Write a post about anything Ohio State. If you can provide something about Basketball, all the better. It doesn’t need to be long. Shorter posts are usually better. You can vent your frustrations, make predictions, inform Buckeye Nation about the next up and coming star, discuss the finer points of the men’s basketball offensive attack, talk about what will happen in Fiesta bowl. The opportunity is wide open.

The only restrictions I have:

Please keep in mind that my Mom reads this site. Mom’s pretty easy going but still…

Also, try to keep the name calling to a minimum. If you’re going to take a shot at something or someone, back it up. Controversy is acceptable but it has to be an intelligent or at least humorous argument.

Most important: All material must be original. If you are relying on outside sources, include a link.

I will post all acceptable entries one day at a time. The top two entries will receive a pair of Ohio State Crocs as pictured above.

The Buckeye Blog retains complete editorial control (this means I can edit for length, language, etc.)

Send you entries to annapolisbuckeye@ thebuckeyeforum.com (remove the space before emailing).

How will I decide the top two posts? (This is the fun part)

The winning posts will be determined by how much traffic they receive. You can do about anything in your power to drive traffic to the post. If you’re a social bookmarking wizard or a topp Digg user, all the better. If you’ve got four gazillion MySpace friends and can send them all to read your post, so be it.

The two most active posts will receive the Crocs.

So with that, blog away Ohio State fans. Do it soon and you may have some new rides to wear in Pheonix.

Even though the regular season is over, it’s been quite a week for the Buckeyes. Let’s start with the good news.

Malcom Jenkins won the Jim Thorp award last night which goes to the nations leading defensive back. Jenkins has been an exciting part of the Ohio State defense and it’s good to see him getting the recognition he deserves. This season, Jenkins had 54 tackles and three interceptions leading one of the countries best pass defense.

It’s the Buckeye pass defense that is going to be key in the Ohio State/Texas Fiesta Bowl. You don’t score 50+ points without some serious passing and Texas hasn’t met a secondary like Ohio State. It would be great to see Jenkins and crew step up and silence the Colt McCoy passing game.

James Laurinaitis was also in Orlando as a finalist for the Bednarik Award which goes to the nations top defensive player. He lost out to Rey Maualuga of USC.

Laurinaitis and Maualuga make for an interesting comparison in style. It also says something about the coaching of both Ohio State and USC. Laurinaitis is a position player. He knows how to read the field and puts himself where he needs to be to make the play.

Maualuga is just the opposite. He has amazing speed and although he often finds himself way out of position, he makes up for it in speed and aggressivness. Come draft time, these two will be suited to very differing defensive styles.

Laurinaitis also lost out on the Lambardi Trophy and the Butkis award earlier this week. What is most interesting is that he lost the Lambardi to Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo. I have to be honest here. I know almost nothing about Orakpo. I’m just surprised to hear they play defense in the Big 12 these days.

It will be interesting to see these two line up against each other in Jan.

And then there’s this:

Ohio State freshman defense end Nathan Williams was arrested Wednesday for shoplifting. According to the Columbus Dispatch though, there is nothing to worry about. Williams said that he was just covering for a friend who had a prior criminal record and would get in serious trouble if arrested.

“I took his back,” Williams was qouted in the Dispatch.

And why shouldn’t he, what with it being the holiday season and all.

(Post game Texas, 2006)

Face it. Texas got screwed. There is something seriously wrong when the team you beat gets to push you aside and play for a title game.

But what’s bad for Texas (and Boise) is good for Ohio State. At this point, the Buckeyes don’t have much more to lose in the way of Bowl reputation. However, a solid game against the team that should be playing in the national championship game would go a long way toward putting some of that bad bowl mojo behind us.

I also like that fact that Texas is one of the few schools with a football program that rivals Ohio State in just sheer…how do you describe it…footballness. Texas and Ohio State are two of the largest schools with two of the largest fan bases in the country. When these two teams descend on Phoenix come Jan…let’s just say you better book your room tonight.

We all know of the Buckeyes struggles the past two years with big games. However, drop back only two seasons and suddenly, you’ve got a different story. In Dec. of 2006, we were 4-0 in the BCS including big wins over #2 ranked Texas and #2 ranked Michigan. The Buckeyes faced three #2 ranked teams that year. That was only two years ago folks. Yet all the media can seem to remember of that season was the loss to Florida.

There’s no question the long break doesn’t help anything but down in there somewhere, Tressel knows how to prepare his teams to win big games.

The Buckeyes need to do two things to beat Texas:

1. The defense needs to step up and play to their abilities. The Buckeyes have a ton of talent on defense but too often, they hold back. They need to come out looking for blood on the first play. Texas hasn’t faced a defense like Ohio State yet this year. The Buckeyes have a great secondary, probably better than anything the Long Horns have seen in a while. Combine it with serious pressure on Colt McCoy and the Bucks could throw a wrench in the Long Horns’ high scoring program.

The Buckeyes will need to hit McCoy and hit him hard on the first possession. Put the fear in his eyes and let the secondary pick up the turnovers.

2. The offensive line needs to step up and play.. When they are on, they are good. When they are off…let’s just say it’s really bad. Texas brings a powerful rush defense which means Pryor is going to need to throw the ball. No question his passing game looked much better toward the end of the season.

Pryor showed great improvement coming off the bye week. Let’s hope he can continue to grow like that during the mini off season ahead.

Of the possible BCS games, I think I like this one best. Sure, an ACC bowl slumpbust might have been fun but honestly, what would have gained from that. The Rose Bowl would have been nice but nobody wanted to see a USC rematch this year. We play them next year in the Shoe. We’ll get our chance then.

However, a win over Texas at the Fiesta and a win over USC next fall and suddenly, reputation won’t be much of a problem for the Buckeyes. Both games will be high stake affairs and I say bring it on.