So yesterday's thread escalated quickly. I mean, it got out of hand. I felt like killing two or three posters with a trident, but I would've had to find a safe board, lay low for awhile, maybe stay in my mom's basement until it all blew over.

But as a proud SB Nation blogger, I already live in my mom's basement, so that would've required me to go out and socialize with people. Fuck and that. So I issue this disclaimer before we continue:

I think this site is unique for a couple reasons--it's conference, not team specific, and it has a pretty large audience. Some team sites draw huge audiences, some conference sites talk about everyone, but we do both pretty well. So I'm going to ask, without calling out anyone by name, that everyone keep in mind a couple things before posting here:

1) This isn't your team's blog. Whatever your opinion is on your team and what they did or didn't do--on or off the field--expect a lot of differing views. If someone disagrees, that's cool, and should be expected. Don't get butthurt when your opinion isn't the majority one.

2) At some point, the differing views become like the abortion debate--you're not going to change their mind, they're not going to change yours. Let it go. It's okay. Debate is cool and encouraged here; hell with 12 teams it's expected, but at some point the horse is still dead. Lay the stick down, okay?

3) Most people are pretty good at this, so this is directed for the 'one in every crowd' guy/gal: there's no place for personal insults. Disagree with the opinion without being personally insulting.

I am glad that Tatgate over. I'm as sick of writing about it as you are reading about it.

HOWEVAH...

Now that this is finished, I want to take one last look at this, and see how this affects OSU and the B1G overall, because this will have long and short term implications for OSU and the conference at large.

And then I will speak of this no more. I agree it's time to move on, but I hope you don't feel I'm still killing the horse here.

Let's look at some things that come out of this, after the jump.

All things considered, I ain't even mad, bro

Continue reading this post »

Although the NCAA report on OSU isn't going to be officially released until 3 PM EST, the Columbus Dispatch is already running with a story about the NCAA sanctions on Ohio State, and they are as follows:

1) a 2012 bowl ban, which makes them ineligible for the B1G championship if they were to qualify for the game.

2) Strip an additional four scholarships over the next three years on top of the self-imposed five.

3) One additional year of probation over OSU's self-imposed two.

3) A show cause penalty for Jim Tressel. It was not reported how long that would be in place for.

EDIT: Tressel's show cause is 5 years. That means that anyone that any achool that wants to hire him has to show damn good cause as to why they should. He's effectively banned from being a D-1 coach for 5 years, and with his age (and this is just my speculation here) he's probably done as a college coach--Ted

I really wasn't expecting a bowl ban, and if Gene Smith could've avoided a 2012 ban by not going to a bowl this year, he should be fired or he should resign. Heck, he should've resigned months ago, but if this isn't the icing on the cake, I'm not sure what else would be.

Most OSU fans think the bowl ban is harsh, and I'm sure most every non-OSU fan thinks this is way too light.

We'll have more on this later, but for now...discuss.

The Dude Abides. Or, depending on your perspective, he's climbin' in yo windows, snatchin' yo kids.

Urban F. Meyer has hit the ground running in the Great Recruiting Wars of 2011, and he is changing the way recruiting will be done in the B1G. I'm not going to go all dramatic and add the word 'forever' to the end of that previous sentence, but what he has done in just a couple of weeks is almost unfair.

And the wailing and lamentations of the other schools is getting to the point of hysteria...or hysterical. There is a lot of bitching and moaning about Meyer poaching recruits this, and having two coaching staffs that, and it's even coming from the likes of Michigan AD Dave Brandon.

And he's the last guy I expected to hear it from. Brandon? Michigan?

I know he wasn't the AD when Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez, but Rodriguez did the exact same thing when they were transitioning to him from Lloyd. Illinois has applied for, and will likely receive, the same exception that OSU received. And UCLA got a waiver, too.

And I eagerly await Mr. Brandon's sternly worded email to the Associated Press screaming to the heavens about the unfair advantage Illinois and Tim Beckman will now have on Michigan.

Maybe it's me, but this really comes off as sour grapes with a whiff of...not fear, but angst, maybe?

Continue reading this post »

Now that it's officially official, we step back and try and take in what this means.  If you're Greg Doyel, you've practically gone into the bathroom and rubbed one out; if you're Florida fan, you're rummaging through the storage shed for a pitchfork and a torch.  And if you scour the Internet for all of about 11 seconds, you'll find opinions that run the gamut between the two.

While I am geeked at the thought of Urban Meyer stalking the sidelines in Scarlet and Gray, I'm not jumping into the Zealot Wing of the OSU pool and think that the next three BCS titles are OSU's by default.  Let me be clear about a few things:

1)  Urban Meyer is a great, great coach, and he automatically puts OSU back near the top, both in the conference and nationally.

2)  Meyer is a ridiculous recruiter, and will bring premier talent to the Buckeyes.

3)  Those two things don't necessarily mean he will immediately bring OSU a B1G title, much less a National Championship.

Over at The Daily Norseman, I do a piece where I include a music video that fits the mood.  In my two years of doing that over there, I've never had a more perfect video than I do for this situation and this story.

So, who says you can't go home?

With every step I take I know that I'm not alone
You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home
These are my streets, the only life I've ever known,
who says you can't go home

Let's do this, after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

(A musty office somewhere in Boston, February 2011)

(flipping through press clippings from 2010) That don't look good to me at all Urban.

The NCAA was a monster. Mean fuckin' drunk. Used to come over to Gainesville hammered, looking to death penalize someone. I had to use "more family time" as a PR shield so they wouldn't go after Tebow's eye stickers.

Used to put sanctions, loss of scholarships, or a faux early retirement on the kitchen table and say, choose.

Boy with the oversigning and all, I gotta go with loss of scholarships there.

Went with the early retirement.

Why?

'Cause fuck 'em, that's why.

Continue reading this post »

If reports from a guy as reliable as Scout.com's Bill Greene are to be believed (and subsequently confirmed by the plugged in blogger at the ever reliable OSU blog 11 Warriors), Urban Meyer will be announced as the next coach at Ohio State sometime next week.  If you don't want to believe non-traditional media, how about WKMG channel 6 TV in Orlando?

And it's already paying dividends, as 5 star defensive end Adolphus Washington verbally committed to the Buckeyes Tuesday afternoon.

BOOM, I think the kids are saying these days.

Yeah, things are looking up in Columbus. 

In one of the earlier stories I said something to the affect that Meyer would breathe life into a moribund program, and that was a bit hyperbolic (Me, full of hyperbole and bullshit, nahhh).  One year removed from a six game BCS streak and two straight BCS wins does not a moribund program make, but the fans were moribund.  We've been kicked in the teeth for a year, from Tatgate, to Tressel turning out to be just as flawed as the rest of us, to the gross buffoonery of Gene Smith and G. Gordon Gee, etc., etc.  And that's all before an underwhelming performance on the field, with one of the worst offensive performances in recent memory.

This is a shot in the arm we as fans were hoping for in terms of a big name hire, and he was the one guy we (and I know I don't speak for the entire OSU fanbase, just a good portion of us) felt would help get the fan base fired up while shoring up what is a good, but not great recruiting class.  And that's apparently already paying off with the signing of Washington, who said he 'hopes to play for Urban Meyer'.

So do we, kid.  So do we.

The one thing we didn't want was a protracted coaching search that went through the bowl season and in to February, watching an OSU Lear jet fly hither and yon, while three or four fairly high profile candidates would ultimately turn the job down. 

Ahem.

In all seriousness, Michigan fans, Brady Hoke might have been the fourth choice, depending on what you choose to believe, but he was the right one.  I don't mean for this to come off the wrong way, but between the two schools, Michigan could afford a protracted coaching search more than OSU could.

I'll tell you why, after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

 
First comes love, then comes?

Late last week, reports surfaced that Ohio State and Urban Meyer had "spoken" about a prospective job opening in Columbus.  In a scoop that may well redefine the pejorative "reports vs. reacts" meme that professional journalists use to set themselves apart from bloggers, Eleven Warriors -- far and away the best Buckeye community on the web -- first broke the story, and ESPN later confirmed that there was "strong" interest on both sides.

On Saturday, from his comfortable perch in the broadcasting booth at Michigan Stadium, Meyer was given an opportunity to douse the bonfire of speculation with cold water, by stating that: 1. He had not spoken to Ohio State, either directly or indirectly, 2. He was not interested in returning to coaching at Ohio State or anywhere else, and 3. If offered a job at Ohio State, he would decline. 

Meyer did nothing of the sorts, stating "I've not been offered any job, and I've certainly not accepted any job."

If this non-denial denial only added more fuel to the flames, this morning's interview with Pat Dooley at The Gainesville Sun, has created an inferno.

Sure, Urban said that he has not interviewed for the Ohio State job, but what does that really mean?  Is fielding a phone call from a head hunter hired by Gene Smith to guage the interest of prospective candidates "interviewing"?  Of course not.  Neither is stating one's interest, or discussing salary terms.  Short of putting on a suit, printing out a resume, sitting down at a table with the Ohio State brass, and answering questions about strengths and weaknesses, Meyer can say in good faith that he has not "interviewed" for the Ohio State job.  And let's face it, coaches like Meyer don't actually interview anyway.  Their record speaks for itself.

But that's small potatoes compared to what Meyer went on to say. 

Continue reading this post »

As my wife will tell you, I'm a glass half full kind of guy.  I also subscribe to the belief that experienced, well-trained individuals in executive level positions are generally better at their jobs than the emotional, irrational, lay-critics that second guess them.  In other words, it takes a lot before I'm ready to call for anyone's head.

Having said that, there's a time and a place for everything, and the best way to minimize the short and long term effects of the 2010-2011 scandal at Ohio State is to make a clear break with the past.

Here is how to fix Ohio State football in five easy steps:

STEP 1: Fire Offensive Coordinator Jim Bollman

When: Now

Why: Jim Bollman needs to go sooner rather than later.  He isn't developing athletes and his playcalling is prehistoric.  Ohio State currently ranks 108th nationally in total offense.  The Buckeyes were 13 seconds away from being shut out at home on Saturday for the first time in almost 30 years.  Of all the bottom barrel offenses, Bollman's is the only one loaded with elite talent.  An offensive line stocked with 5-star recruits and one of the best centers in the country in Michael Brewster is pillow soft.  Meanwhile, as Along the Olentangy notes, Bollman "has forced Miller into a pro-style offense, bludgeoning his athleticism and inexperience into a natural, experienced passer's hole. The routes being run-- square-ins, deep posts, fades-- are vestiges of Ohio State's 2010 playbook, and they reveal an offensive staff unable to adjust. TerrellePryor, now an Oakland Raider, rarely threw these routes his first two seasons, yet the Buckeye coaches somehow deem Miller capable."  (emphasis added.)

Just as importantly, Bollman's departure will help quell staff and player tensions.  It's no secret that the offense and defensive coaches don't get along.  The internet was swirling this morning with rumors of a September confrontation between Linebackers Coach Mike Vrabel and Bollman.  At a press conference after Saturday's game, running back Carlos Hyde openly criticised the offensive game plan, and at least one defensive starter dissed the offense.  Luke Fickell is one locker room argument away from losing control of his team, and the risk of mutiny increases each week that the feuding coaching staff is kept together.

So bite the bullet.  Fire Jim Bollman today, and give someone (anyone) else on the offensive staff a shot at calling plays.

The Possible Downside: None.  I really mean it.  We're already ranked in the bottom 20 nationally in offense, and Bollman refuses to change his ways.  There's really nowhere to go but up.

STEP 2. Fire Head Coach Luke Fickell

When: If Ohio State fails to make a bowl game or is ineligible... Monday, November 28th, after the conclusion of the regular season.  If Ohio State makes a bowl game... Announce on November 28th that Fickell isn't coming back to give the Athletic Department an entire month to conduct a coaching search.  (In other words, don't follow the Michigan model.)  Allow Fickell to coach his team in the bowl, while the new coach gladhands on the sidelines.

Why: You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Columbus that doesn't respect Fickell's attitude, committment, or work ethic.  And everyone knows he's been put between a rock and a hard place.  But let's face it, coaching FBS football -- like any one of a number of specialized professions -- is experience dependent.  Just as a junior litigator (like myself) can't first chair a big trial right out of law school, a first time head coach lacks the experience to make important decisions on the fly.  Of course, promising coordinators take head coaching jobs every year, but they don't go to powerhouse programs where public scrutiny is unavoidable -- they set up shop in sleepy college towns like Bowling Green and Muncie, establish a system through trial and error, and develop chemistry with their staff before they take the plunge. 

Want proof that Fickell is no exception?  Look at his clock management in the final minute of the first half against Michigan State.  Down 7-0, with 39 seconds on the clock, Carlos Hyde rushed for 13 yards for a first down at the MSU 49-yard line.  Although Fickell had two timeouts, he let five seconds run off the clock before he called one of them.  Two plays later, on 2nd and 6 Braxton Miller was sacked for a loss of eight yards to the Ohio State 47.  There were still 13 seconds on the clock.  (There should have been 18.)  Rather than use his last time out to stop the clock to set up a quick pass, spike, and field goal attempt, or jump ball in the endzone, Fickell conceded the half.  The Buckeyes went on to lose to the Spartans by 3 points.

A big time coach cannot afford to make that kind of mistake.  It's the kind of thing other coaches use against you in recruiting -- where we're already getting killed because of Fickell's lack of proven ability.

The Possible Downside: Again, this is really a no brainer.  Other than alienating a talented alumni who could blossom into a elite coach five to ten years down the road, there really is no reason not to replace Fickell at the end of the season.

Continue reading this post »