August 13, 20204 yr pro leagues are one thing, its a business, but you do not "try it out" and experiment with college students. absolutely not. and that's why many colleges and public schools are starting in the fall with remote learning or some limited mix. that does not sound like all clear to play contact sports to me: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/07/28/as-covid-19-resurges-more-colleges-reverse-revise-and-replace-their-fall-plans/#480111201520 and as someone who has been living in lockdown months longer than than almost anyone in north america, let me tell you something brute, almost all people here in ny are wearing masks and it has worked like a charm to drop covid rates. no one is more sick and tired of the masks and the cleaning rigamarole of when you go outside and come back home and all that than ny'ers are, but we keep doing it along with the more gradual reopenings because it works.
August 13, 20204 yr On 8/11/2020 at 11:24 PM, Cleburger said: Early on staying home and wearing masks would have also been a great way to show our resolve. It would have been very controlled and safe. But alas....football is being shut down along with many other businesses. Epic failure of leadership by the anti-science party. By trying to act tough like football players, they killed football. The Gridirony is strong. To blame cancelling college football where the players essentially live and play in a controlled environment and you can enforce mask requirements on them and the staff much easier than the general public on the general populace's failure to wear masks in June is wrong. The ACC/SEC and Big 12 are going to play this year. It will kill OSU recruiting for years by doing this. The BIG will be seen as a lesser conference going forward and will have ceded leadership to the conferences that are playing. This was the way to kill the golden goose
August 13, 20204 yr 1 minute ago, Brutus_buckeye said: To blame cancelling college football where the players essentially live and play in a controlled environment and you can enforce mask requirements on them and the staff much easier than the general public on the general populace's failure to wear masks in June is wrong. The ACC/SEC and Big 12 are going to play this year. It will kill OSU recruiting for years by doing this. The BIG will be seen as a lesser conference going forward and will have ceded leadership to the conferences that are playing. This was the way to kill the golden goose The ACC SEC and BIG 12 say they are going to play this year. Lets wait and see what happens. A few outbreaks or a second wave and they will be done too OSU will be fine for years. It will be a one year blip. Top 5 coach and top 5 recrutiing classes for years to come. Sure there may be some transfers, but not really any will materially affect the team. The Big 10 is already seen as a lesser conference at times and Ohio State is far superior despite that. Also college is not a controlled environment. Sure you can enforce restrictions at times, but what about on the weekends or when they aren't with the team during the week. We already saw what happened with paid athletes for the MLB causing issues. I think the post was meaning if the country got their act together more timely and there more was progress being made on treatments and cases/death declining then college sports would be more open to playing as is in the fall.
August 13, 20204 yr 1 minute ago, WindyBuckeye said: The Big 10 is already seen as a lesser conference at times and Ohio State is far superior despite that. Also college is not a controlled environment. Sure you can enforce restrictions at times, but what about on the weekends or when they aren't with the team during the week. We already saw what happened with paid athletes for the MLB causing issues. I think the post was meaning if the country got their act together more timely and there more was progress being made on treatments and cases/death declining then college sports would be more open to playing as is in the fall. The BIG may be seen as a step below the SEC in football, but is better than ACC and BIg 12. Also, while college is not a controlled environment like the NBA bubble. It is pretty close, and can be made a little closer. 1) The players already spend the vast majoriyt of their time at the WHAC already. 2) They are taking all their classes online now anyway. 3) During the Fall, they will be at the WHAC 7 days a week and they eat their meals there. Yes, like MLB, they will have opportunities to leave the "bubble" but it can be minimized and discouraged. Social distancing does not necessarily need to mean no social contact.
August 13, 20204 yr NSFW 8 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said: To blame cancelling college football where the players essentially live and play in a controlled environment and you can enforce mask requirements on them and the staff much easier than the general public on the general populace's failure to wear masks in June is wrong. The ACC/SEC and Big 12 are going to play this year. It will kill OSU recruiting for years by doing this. The BIG will be seen as a lesser conference going forward and will have ceded leadership to the conferences that are playing. This was the way to kill the golden goose I think you (and a lot of people) are underestimating the future's ability to give a free pass to things that got shut down during this. Like with schools, as if college admissions people in 2030 are going to be like "No you can't come here, it says here that your school did online-only when you were in the 4th grade during the virus. We don't accept students like you."
August 13, 20204 yr 1 minute ago, GCrites80s said: NSFW I think you (and a lot of people) are underestimating the future's ability to give a free pass to things that got shut down during this. Like with schools, as if college admissions people in 2030 are going to be like "No you can't come here, it says here that your school did online-only when you were in the 4th grade during the virus. We don't accept students like you." I think OSU will build back up as well as other BIG programs but it will take a few years to get things back. If you are a top level recruit having to make a decision in the coming year. You see Clemson and Bama and Florida playing it reasonates whereas Ohio State or Michigan are sitting at home. If your conference was quick to pull the plug, you have to believe coaches at ACC or SEC schools are going to use that to influence recruits (Why go to OSU when their conference may not let you play, why risk your NFL career by having to sit out a season and not get the exposure). This is a conversation that will be had. It puts the BIG schools at a competitive disadvantage.
August 13, 20204 yr 19 minutes ago, Brutus_buckeye said: I think OSU will build back up as well as other BIG programs but it will take a few years to get things back. If you are a top level recruit having to make a decision in the coming year. You see Clemson and Bama and Florida playing it reasonates whereas Ohio State or Michigan are sitting at home. If your conference was quick to pull the plug, you have to believe coaches at ACC or SEC schools are going to use that to influence recruits (Why go to OSU when their conference may not let you play, why risk your NFL career by having to sit out a season and not get the exposure). This is a conversation that will be had. It puts the BIG schools at a competitive disadvantage. So we will just have multiple pandemics coming up down the line causing this to be a constant issue? Or you think COVID will be a issue for years to come which then we are all screwed then. I don't see recruits deciding on schools due to this. Sure other coaches may try to influence recruits due to this, but there is enough sleezy ways coaches try to undercut programs already. If you are a 2021 or 2022 top prospect, OSU closing their 2020 season will not change you option due to Ohio States recent success, top notch facilities, Ryan Day, and constant NFL success. We will see if Ohio State loses recruits in their 2021 and 2022 top 3 classes but I don't think we will due to our amazing coaching staff. I'm curious to see what these young college athletes think if they do heavily restrict what they can do as bubble scenario in college. I would think any college student would absolutely hate that and try everything possible to get out and do something else besides being stuck in the WHAC or other facility 7 days a week. At the end of the day you can only control so much for non paid athletes.
August 13, 20204 yr ^Hey, if the local sports reporters can live at the WHAC 7 days a week the kids can too
August 13, 20204 yr 2 hours ago, mrnyc said: ^ who cares? its a pandemic. I mean, this brilliantly sums it up. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 3, 20204 yr Could the Buckeyes take the field by Thanksgiving? Here's what Big Ten officials are discussing Ohio State University's new president this week said she still believes fall football is possible. But what does that mean for a start date? In an interview with our news partners at NBC4, OSU President Kristina Johnson said she's "very hopeful that we’ll be playing football this fall.” “We want to make sure our athletes get a shot because they’ve worked really hard and they deserve a shot to play,” Johnson told reporters. She also told WOSU's Ann Fisher on Wednesday that she had "full faith and confidence that we’ve created a program that does keep our players safe and would allow the ability to compete." More below: https://www.bizjournals.com/cleveland/news/2020/09/02/when-could-college-football-restart.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
September 20, 20204 yr https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/09/116698/new-2020-football-schedule-begins-oct-24-against-nebraska Okay. So the Big Ten released another revised 2020 conference-only schedule for the Buckeyes - which would be, I think, 2020 schedule version #3 for Ohio State. Here it is: And for the full Big Ten conference grid and overall 2020 schedule dates:
October 22, 20204 yr First signs of life I've seen at The Shoe since last year. Game 1 at noon Saturday If you look closely, you can see the carboard cutouts of fans in A-Deck
October 24, 20204 yr ^ Couldn't tell for sure, but I'll bet those trailers in the parking lot were for FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff show and the broadcast of the game: https://thespun.com/big-ten/ohio-state-buckeyes/foxs-big-noon-kickoff-reveals-its-first-big-ten-destination
October 24, 20204 yr Tomorrow's game will certainly be one of the most unusual played in the 98-year history of Ohio Stadium. As a result of Big Ten COVID attendance restrictions, Ohio Stadium – which typically hosts more than 100,000 fans – will be operating with a capacity of just 1,600 people, which includes everyone in the stadium. Ohio State players’ and coaches’ families will receive a total of 656 tickets, while the visiting team will receive up to 400 tickets for its guests. In addition to the teams themselves, the rest of the capacity will include stadium staff, public safety officials, TV network staff and 40 media members in the press box, down from 230 in a typical season. That total won’t include the OSU Band or Brutus Buckeye, as the Big Ten also decided as a conference that marching bands and cheerleading squads won’t be permitted at games due to the capacity restrictions. Whether those restrictions actually will be eased at some point between Saturday’s season opener and the Dec. 12 regular-season finale against Michigan is uncertain, but OSU AD Gene Smith said the conference will evaluate what’s happening in each Big Ten state on a weekly basis to discuss whether schools should be permitted to host fans at their home games. For now at least, Ohio Stadium will be limited to less than 2 percent of its normal capacity. There will be artificial crowd noise played at 70 decibels during the game, so the stadium won’t be quiet – but with a nearly empty stadium and no band, Saturday’s season opener will look and feel much different than usual. “It’s weird. I don’t know how else to explain it: It’s weird,” said Smith. The pregame will also be different for the team. Instead of spending the morning at the Blackwell Inn before busing over to St. John Arena for the Skull Session and then walking to Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes will go to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center after staying overnight in an off-campus hotel and then bus to the Shoe. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Below a little more from the 11 Warriors website about tomorrow's unusual game-time conditions: "As Ohio State planned this summer for the possibility of playing football games amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was hopeful that it would be able to host approximately 22,000 fans while adhering to physical distancing guidelines. Spacing out “pods” of tickets sold together would have limited Ohio Stadium to a small fraction of its normal capacity, but through his conversations with City of Columbus health commissioner Mysheika Roberts, athletic director Gene Smith was confident Ohio State would be able to garner approval for a plan that would enable a limited number of fans to attend games." "The Big Ten, however, ultimately made a collective decision that no tickets would be sold to the public for this season’s football games. Because some Big Ten states currently have stricter restrictions in place than others, it was decided that attendance at games should be limited only to guests of players and coaches and people who are at the stadium in a working capacity." MORE: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/10/117370/ohio-state-could-have-hosted-more-than-20000-fans-at-games-this-season-but-big-ten-wanted-consistency
October 24, 20204 yr 2020 GAME 1: OHIO STATE 52 - 17 NEBRASKA https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=401247293 https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/10/117475/ohio-state-pulls-away-from-nebraska-52-17-to-win-season-opener The Buckeyes won their season opener in this most unusual of seasons. OSU took some time to get rolling though. The Corn Huskers scored a quick TD on their first drive and the game was tied 14-14 midway in the second quarter. Then the Buckeyes opened up a 24-14 halftime lead and outscored Nebraska 28-3 in the second half en route to a 52-17 win. QB Justin Fields was as good as advertised with a passing game of 20-21 for 276 yds and 2TD's. Fields also led the rushing offense with 15 carries for 54 yds and 1 TD. Master Teague III (who suffered an achilles injury during spring practice) and Trey Sermon (who transferred from Oklahoma) split time in the backfield. The tandem took some time to get going - Teague had 12 carries for 41 yds and 2 TD's, while Sermon had 11 carries for 48 yds. Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave paced the receiver corps with 7 catches for 129 yds with 1 TD and 6 catches for 104 yds respectively. But it was Jaxon Smith-Njigba who produced the catch of the game with this acrobatic 5-yd TD early in the fourth quarter: It was good to see the defense put the clamps down in the second half and great to see how accurate Justin Fields threw in this game. But the rushing offense needs to rely more on the Teague/Sermon tandem instead allowing Fields to be the leading carrier to ward off another Fields injury like what happened last season. A good start to this unusual season. But the Buckeyes travel to Penn State for a Halloween night game next Saturday(!)
November 1, 20204 yr 2020 GAME 2: OHIO STATE 38 - 25 PENN STATE https://www.espn.com/college-football/playbyplay?gameId=401247306 https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/10/117745/ohio-state-controls-game-at-penn-state-38-25-for-fourth-straight-win-over-nittany-lions The final score had the Buckeyes covering the spread and winning by 13 - but the game never even felt that close. On the game's first play, OSU ran a WR handoff sweep to Garret Wilson that went for 62 yards - then they scored on the third play of that drive to take the lead. Then OSU built up a 21-3 going into halftime. Or, at least, they, and everyone else, thought they did. With only 2 seconds left and the Buckeyes on fourth down, OSU let the 2 seconds expire and took a knee at their own 33 and both teams left for their locker rooms. While OSU HC Ryan Day was doing his halftime interview, he noticed that 1 second was put back on the clock. It isn't caught on the below twitter video but at ESPN's video page - https://www.espn.com/college-football/video?gameId=401247306 - Coach Day says "1 second? There's no way that play took 1 second. What are they talking about?" And he was right. The clock didn't start on the snap and left 1 second on the clock when Fields downs the ball. So the officials call both teams back onto the field and Penn State gets to attempt a 50-yd FG - which they converted to make the game 21-6 at halftime(!) Fortunately, the clock error didn't determine the game. The Buckeyes built a 31-13 lead going into the fourth quarter before the defense kind of let down in the final quarter, giving up two TD drives to make the final score closer. Solid, dominant game against a quality opponent. OSU outgained PSU 526 to 325. Fields was nearly flawless again, going 28-34 for 318 yds and 4 TD's passing. Olave caught 7 passes for 120 and 2 TD's; Wilson caught 11 for 111 (plus that 62-yd run). And Fields didn't need to grind it out on the ground this game, Master Teague led the ground attack with 23 carries for 110 yds and a TD. About the only negatives from last night's game was some offensive inefficiencies in the red zone and a defensive let down in the fourth quarter. Maybe to be expected since this was only their second game - despite the date on the calendar - of this weird season.
November 2, 20204 yr ^Not a single soul on that Penn State sideline was arguing for the clock to be reset to 0:01 because they all know how to count to 2. My only thought was if the 0:02 was actually 2.9 seconds, and Fields went down in 2.8 seconds, thereby not quite getting to zero. The defense is not championship caliber, yet. I'm tired of the Borland/Werner LB combo (they've been playing forever, it seems). The secondary is all new and Wade got exposed a bit. It's also weird not having a Bosa or Chase Young on the D Line to disrupt things 1 on 1 (or 1 on 2/3). So the defense is lacking, imo, but they've got several weeks here coming up to shore things up. It's also a bit weird on offense not having a dominant #1 RB, like a Dobbins (or even Mike Weber) or Elliott or Hyde. Teague doesn't change direction well at all, but he can pound it a bit. Would like to see more of Sermon, but they seem content to have a little bit of lightning and thunder roles, which is fine. There's also very little WR depth right now. It's basically Olave and Wilson on the field every play, and they're just sprinkling in some young guys on the 3-4 WR sets. But I do like the two TE looks - those are some big guys creating mismatches on LBs. Weird that the offense is mostly a 2 WR, 2 TE set at its core for the moment. Anyway, the only thing stopping this team is covid. The rest of the conference is just really bad. Very Stable Genius
November 8, 20204 yr 2020 GAME 3: OHIO STATE 49 - 27 RUTGERS https://www.espn.com/college-football/playbyplay?gameId=401247310 https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/11/117963/ohio-state-dominates-first-half-coasts-to-49-27-win-over-rutgers The Buckeyes roll over the Scarlet Knights for three fourths of tonight's game. Up 35-3 at halftime and 42-9 at the end of the 3rd quarter before they let Rutgers make the final score look more respectable in the fourth. And Justin Fields is now the leading Heisman candidate - 5 TD passes and 1 rushing TD:
November 11, 20204 yr The Buckeyes game at Maryland, which was scheduled to be played Saturday, has been canceled and will not be rescheduled due to an “elevated number of COVID-19 cases” within Maryland's football program: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/11/118104/ohio-states-game-against-maryland-canceled-due-to-elevated-number-of-covid-19-cases-at-maryland
November 12, 20204 yr Still don't understand why the Big Ten didn't start up a week or two earlier to have a bye week for these occasions. A nightmare scenario is playing out - if the Buckeyes can't play Indiana the following week (covid shutdown) and both teams win out...Indiana will have won the Big Ten East Division by virtue of having won more games. Very Stable Genius
November 20, 20204 yr Some big recruiting news dropped last night for the Buckeyes: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football-recruiting/2020/10/117599/five-star-quarterback-quinn-ewers-commits-to-ohio-state Five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers, the No. 2 overall player and No. 1 QB in the 2022 class, has committed to Ohio State shortly after his decommitment from Texas. The Buckeyes have always had decent-to-excellent QB play. But lately, they've taken it to an elite level. In the pre-transfer environment they stockpiled Braxton, Barrett and Jones on the same roster. In the post-transfer environment, they lost Burrow (who won the Heisman and was a #1-overall NFL pick) to one-year wonder Dwayne Haskins - who became a 1st-round pick - and Justin Fields who transferred from Georgia and looks to be a Top-5 NFL pick. With the addition of five-star QB Quinn Ewers, it looks like another QB talent logjam is coming. Kyle McCord is a five-star QB in the 2021 class. And borderline five-star C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller, who would have been a borderline five-star if not for multiple injuries, are currently backing up Fields on the 2020 roster.
November 20, 20204 yr Ohio State's big game against #9 Indiana will still be played in Ohio Stadium tomorrow at Noon. But it will be played without any fans in attendance: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/11/118277/family-members-of-ohio-state-players-coaches-will-no-longer-be-able-to-attend-games Due to a stay-at-home advisory that was issued by the Columbus Department of Health on Wednesday, Ohio State has determined that family members of players and coaches will no longer be permitted to attend games, the university announced in a news release on Wednesday. As a result of the advisory, which starts at 6 p.m. Friday and will remain in effect for the next 28 days, family members will also not be allowed to attend any of Ohio State's football, basketball or hockey home games for the remainder of 2020. However, the decision to not allow family members at football games will be reevaluated prior to the final home game against Michigan on Dec. 12.
November 21, 20204 yr 2020 GAME 4: OHIO STATE 42 - 35 INDIANA https://www.espn.com/college-football/playbyplay?gameId=401247326#gamepackage-scoring-wrap https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/11/118370/ohio-state-holds-off-indiana-42-35-to-take-outright-lead-in-big-ten-east The Buckeyes survived the Top-10 matchup with Indiana under the gray Central Ohio sky. They started with a 2-play opening TD drive and entered halftime up 21. After getting the opening kickoff for the second half, the Buckeyes were up 35-7 early in the 3rd quarter. But the Hoosiers didn't go away. Indiana got two quick TD drives later in the third to narrow the lead 35-21. Then cornerback Shaun Wade grabbed a Pick-Six to put the Buckeye up 42-21 going into the fourth quarter and it looked like we might have an easy victory. But the Hoosiers didn't go away. Indiana got two more TD drives in the fourth quarter to narrow the lead 42-35. The Buckeyes nearly clinched it when they opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 from Indiana’s 7-yard line - but Fields scrambling and under pressure missed an open receiver for a sure TD. But the Buckeyes defense did just enough to stymie any further Indiana comeback and hold that 42-35 lead for the win. It was not a game to remember for Fields. He threw 3 INT's and made some bad decisions under pressure from Indiana. Particularly on his last INT in the third quarter when he was wrapped up and wildly overthrew it downfield. But he was baled out on that INT when the Indiana payer fumbled on the return to give possession back to OSU. Ohio State did outgain Indiana 607 to 490 - with OSU getting 300 yards passing and 307 yards rushing. Master Teague led the OSU ground game with 26 carries for 169 yards and 2 TD's. Indiana QB Michael Penix Jr. had a career game with 27-51 for 491 yards and 5 TD's. Although his 1 INT late in the third quarter did end up being the game-winning score for the Buckeyes. And in a game with nearly 1100 yards of total offense, it was quite the irony that this ended up being the game-winner(!)
November 27, 20204 yr Covid is striking the Buckeye football team: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/11/118577/ohio-state-head-coach-ryan-day-tests-positive-for-covid-19-larry-johnson-will-fill-in-as-head-coach -- Head Coach tested positive for covid and won't travel with the team to Illinois. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson will serve as interim head coach. https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/11/118570/ohio-state-will-not-release-status-report-until-two-hours-before-kickoff-on-saturday-morning -- The football team typically releases a status report of who will and will not play in the weekend's game at 10 a.m. Fridays. But amid reports of positive covid tests on the team, Ohio State is keeping the health of its players close to the vest and won't release this week's status report until two hours before the Noon kickoff against Illinois.
November 28, 20204 yr OHIO STATE'S GAME AGAINST ILLINOIS CANCELED, TEAM ACTIVITIES PAUSED DUE TO POSITIVE COVID-19 TESTS AT OHIO STATE It's the second time in three weeks that Ohio State has had a game canceled due to COVID-19, as the Buckeyes' game at Maryland that was scheduled to be played on Nov. 14 was canceled due to positive tests within Maryland's football program. Ohio State is now down to just six games on its regular season schedule, which means the Buckeyes would be ineligible for the Big Ten Championship Game if they are unable to play next weekend at Michigan State or their Dec. 12 rivalry game against Michigan.
December 3, 20204 yr OHIO STATE RETURNS TO PRACTICE AHEAD OF SCHEDULED TRIP TO MICHIGAN STATE Ohio State resumed organized team activities on Tuesday afternoon in preparation to play Michigan State this weekend. The return to practice ended a four-day pause on team activities that went into effect last Friday due to an increase in COVID-19 cases within the program. Ohio State typically begins its practice week on Tuesday, so as long as the Buckeyes can continue to avoid positive tests this week, they're on track to have a full week of preparation and make the trip to East Lansing to play the Spartans on Saturday at noon. Assuming the Buckeyes are able to play on Saturday, they will be without head coach Ryan Day – who has to remain in isolation until Monday after testing positive for COVID-19 last Friday – and an unspecified number of players who won't be allowed to play for 21 days, per Big Ten policy, after testing positive last week. Defensive line coach and associate head coach Larry Johnson is set to serve as Ohio State's head coach for Saturday's game. MORE: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/118721/ohio-state-returns-to-practice-ahead-of-scheduled-trip-to-michigan-state
December 5, 20204 yr Coach Day says the Buckeyes might be "a little shorthanded" for tomorrow's game at Michigan State. How shorthanded and who shorthanded won't be known until two hours before the Noon kickoff on Saturday, when the team will release its gameday roster: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30444448/ryan-day-says-ohio-state-buckeyes-short-handed-vs-michigan-state-spartans
December 5, 20204 yr https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/118788/ohio-state-to-debut-all-white-sub-zero-uniforms-against-michigan-state These new all-white uniforms were set to be unveiled at Illinois last Saturday. But the cancellation pushed the debut to this Saturday's game at Michigan State instead.
December 5, 20204 yr 2020 GAME 5: OHIO STATE 52 - 12 MICHIGAN STATE https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=401247340 https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/118875/ohio-state-dominates-michigan-state-52-12-despite-absences-of-ryan-day-several-key-players https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/118850/three-starting-offensive-linemen-tuf-borland-among-unavailable-players-for-ohio-states-game-against-michigan-state Coach Day wasn't kidding when he said the Buckeyes would be "a little shorthanded" at Michigan State. A total of 23 players were listed as unavailable to play. Fortunately, only 4 were starters. Starting middle linebacker Tuf Borland was the one loss on defense. Unfortunately, the three other starters missing were on the offensive line. The starting LT, C and RT (plus one backup tackle) were out for this game. The biggest loss appeared to be the absence of the starting center. In the first drive, long-snapping to Fields was a problem. But Fields handled the errant snaps and led the Buckeyes to an opening drive TD. Then he led the Buckeyes to a 28-0 halftime lead and opened up a 35-0 lead before MSU scored. Just a dominant bounce-back performance for Fields - who threw 17-24 for 199 yds and 2 TD's plus ran 13 carries for 104 yds and 2 TD's. Sermon led the rushers with 10 carries for 112 yds and 1 TD. Olave led the receivers with 10 catches for 139 yds and 1 TD. The defense had a nice bounce-back game too - holding MSU to 261 yards and forcing 2 INT's (which included this big man deflect-and-pick-6 in the MSU end-zone!)
December 8, 20204 yr "The Game" is looking more likely to be played this Saturday. Or at least Michigan is holding limited practice today and then we'll see how it goes: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/118969/michigan-preparing-to-practice-growing-optimism-regarding-status-of-ohio-state-game https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30470832/michigan-wolverines-set-practice-ohio-state-buckeyes-game-looming https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30470692/ryan-day-returning-ohio-state-buckeyes-practice
December 8, 20204 yr On 11/2/2020 at 10:59 AM, DarkandStormy said: Anyway, the only thing stopping this team is covid. The rest of the conference is just really bad. Ohio State vs. Michigan is cancelled. Buckeyes now do not have the requisite number of games played to play in the Conference Championship Game (for now - a lot of speculation the Big Ten may change that rule). Very Stable Genius
December 8, 20204 yr 43 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said: Ohio State vs. Michigan is cancelled. Buckeyes now do not have the requisite number of games played to play in the Conference Championship Game (for now - a lot of speculation the Big Ten may change that rule). I think they have to change the rule. Especially given Ohio State beat IU head to head, and had control most of the game until late when they let IU mount a comeback. Given they didnt play their best game, it was apparent who the better team was
December 8, 20204 yr 47 minutes ago, DarkandStormy said: Ohio State vs. Michigan is cancelled. WOW, if this tweet is accurate, I can see why:
December 9, 20204 yr The Big Ten is expected to change its policy that teams must play six games to be eligible for the conference championship game, paving the way for undefeated #4 Ohio State to face Northwestern on Dec. 19: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30483665/sources-big-ten-expected-change-6-game-rule
December 9, 20204 yr It's official: -- The Buckeyes will not play a replacement game this weekend: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/119097/ohio-state-will-not-play-a-replacement-game-this-weekend-after-michigan-cancellation -- And will play #14 Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game next weekend: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/119070/ohio-state-will-play-in-big-ten-championship-game-berth-as-big-ten-eliminates-six-game-requirement
December 11, 20204 yr silly: https://www.nydailynews.com/national-sports/ct-big-ten-ohio-state-northwestern-20201210-2m4ptdfn7bhsjmf52n44ku4b7e-story.html
December 17, 20204 yr Yesterday was the early signing day for 2021 recruiting class. Ohio State had the second-ranked overall class, with Alabama ranked #1. Below are the Top 10 rankings from the Composite Team Rankings at 247sports: Full rankings at https://247sports.com/Season/2021-Football/CompositeTeamRankings/ Below are two articles with full listings of the 21 new recruits in Ohio State's 2021 class: https://www.thisweeknews.com/story/football/2020/12/16/ohio-state-football-recruiting-live-updates-early-signing-day/3913548001/ https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/national-signing-day-2020/2020/12/119359/signing-day-was-free-of-drama-and-thats-just-how-the-buckeyes-want-it
December 19, 20204 yr B1G CHAMPIONSHIP GAME OHIO STATE 22 - 10 NORTHWESTERN https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/119463/ohio-state-grinds-out-22-10-victory-over-northwestern-for-fourth-straight-big-ten-championship https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30555692/trey-sermon-rushes-ohio-state-record-331-yards-buckeyes-win-big-ten-title The Buckeyes ground down a tough Northwestern team to win their fourth straight Big Ten title. QB Justin Fields was 12 of 27 for 114 yards with 0 TD's and 2 INT's. Fields told Fox Sports after the game that he may have sprained the thumb on his throwing hand. But RB Trey Sermon had a game for the record books. Sermon ran for a school-record 331 yards on 29 carries with 2 TD's - topping Eddie George's 314-yard mark set in 1995. The team lost some more players to covid protocols - #1 WR Olave, starting LB Browning, plus two defensive linemen and the punter. Starting safety Hooker was also out with an undisclosed injury. However, the three starting offensive linemen out with covid from the MSU game all returned to the lineup. So now it's a wait until Sunday at Noon when the Playoff Selection Committee announces the final playoff rankings.
December 20, 20204 yr The Buckeyes are in the playoff semi-finals: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30564125/alabama-crimson-tide-clemson-tigers-ohio-state-buckeyes-notre-dame-fighting-irish-play-cfp-semifinals
December 21, 20204 yr I love the stat that Justin Fields will have played Clemson more times than Michigan during his career at Ohio State. What a strange time to be alive.
December 31, 20204 yr Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott will miss the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, coach Dabo Swinney told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi on Wednesday. Elliott, the Tigers' offensive playcaller for the past six seasons, did not travel to New Orleans with the team for the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Swinney said Elliott, 41, did not have any symptoms and that he would be in communication via Zoom up until gametime. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30625226/clemson-tigers-offensive-coordinator-tony-elliott-miss-college-football-playoff-semifinal-game https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2020/12/119840/clemson-offensive-coordinator-tony-elliott-will-miss-sugar-bowl-vs-ohio-state-due-to-covid-19-protocols
December 31, 20204 yr Clemson game poster with close-up detail from 11W: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/football-game-posters/2020/12/119819/hot-off-the-press-cfp-clemson-game-poster
January 1, 20214 yr Tonight's the night(!) 🌰 🏈 🐅 Kickoff is 8:20 p.m. ET on ESPN (with all those extra channels for alternate feeds). Also of note - the officials for the game are from the Big 12 Conference (not the SEC refs we got last year).
January 1, 20214 yr Some good news and bad news regarding player availability for tonight's playoff game: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2021/01/119912/zach-harrison-master-teauge-tyler-friday-harry-miller-among-buckeyes-unavailable-for-sugar-bowl-versus-clemson#comments Wide receiver Chris Olave, linebacker Baron Browning, safety Marcus Hooker, punter Drue Chrisman, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste are all expected to be available after sitting out the Big Ten title game. But other starters, sophomore defensive end Zach Harrison, redshirt sophomore running back Master Teague, junior defensive end Tyler Friday and sophomore left guard Harry Miller, have all been designated as unavailable.
January 2, 20214 yr Carnage. No, the game isn't even halfway through, I'm not talking about the scoreboard. Just way too many players lying on the ground after plays, on both sides. Enjoying currently being up 28-14 but we were up last year, too, and Fields is now hurt in the ribs (potentially seriously, not even sure yet), and this really hasn't been as fun to watch as a 28-14 lead over Clemson close to halftime should feel. Just ... rough.
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