Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State stays at No. 2 in Amway Coaches Poll, closes gap to LSU

The Ohio State Buckeyes stayed at No. 2 in the Amway Coaches Poll this week, but the gap to No. 1 LSU is shrinking.

The Ohio State Buckeyes stayed at No. 2 in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports after throttling Michigan this week, but the gap to No. 1 LSU is shrinking.

LSU, for its own part, easily blew out Texas A&M, but that wasn’t enough for some voters to keep the Tigers over the Buckeyes. Last week, Ohio State trailed LSU by 51 points and only received seven first-place votes. This week, the gap between the two teams shrunk to 29 points, and the Buckeyes received 17 first-place votes.

Clemson and Georgia remained at No. 3 and 4, respectively, while Utah joined the Top 5 for the first time since the final ranking of the 2008 season. (Utah did reach the Top 5 of the AP Poll for a short time in 2015, but never was that high in the Amway Coaches’ Poll.) Alabama, who held the No. 5 spot last week, fell to No. 9 after its loss to Auburn.

The Big Ten once again leads the poll with six ranked teams, while the SEC trails with five. The Pac 12 and AAC each have three teams ranked, while the Big 12, SEC, and Mountain West each have two. One Sun Belt team and independent Notre Dame are each ranked as well.

Michigan fell a surprising seven spots, from No. 11 to No. 18, after its loss to Ohio State. Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech fell out of the poll this week, while Virginia and Air Force moved in. By my unofficial count, this is the first time that two service academies have been ranked in a major poll since 1958.

The Wisconsin Badgers, Ohio State’s opponent in the Big Ten Championship Game, will enter the game ranked at No. 10.

Big Ten Football 2019 Bowl Projections, College Football Playoff picks after week 14

The regular season is over and Big Ten bowl and College Football Playoff matchups are as clear as ever. Here’s a projection post week 14.

The Big Ten has a rich, rich history in historical bowl games, and the expectations are set for that to continue in 2019. Here at Buckeyes Wire, we’re keeping with tradition and giving you a peek at where we think all the teams in the conference will end up when all the dust settles on the season.

We reassess after each week of games and project based on what we’ve seen. And now that the regular season is over, we have had some wholesale chances and have a better idea of where all the teams are going.

Keep in mind that the Big Ten is extremely heavy at the top and this all depends on where the College Football Playoff Rankings shake out. For instance, the Rose Bowl will likely take the next highest rated Big Ten team, but that’s not a given — it is not contractually bound to do so. With that in mind though, it’ll be tight between Wisconsin, Penn State and Minnesota in the final call.

This thing has changed throughout the course of the season, and it still can depending on any chaos that emerges in the conference championship games. So stay tuned.

Also, keep in mind that these scenarios are very complicated with projecting when there’s not enough teams from certain conferences with tie-ins, and the agreements with bowls to not repeat the same program over a certain time-frame if at all possible.

Here’s a look at the projections now after the finish of the regular season.

Quick Lane Bowl

Thursday, December 26
8:00 ET, ESPN
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
ACC vs. Big Ten

Projection: North Carolina vs. Michigan State

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Friday, December 27
3:20 ET, ESPN
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
ACC vs. Big Ten

Projection: Boston College vs. Illinois

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

Friday, December 27
8:00 ET, FS1
SDCCU Stadium, San Diego, CA
Big Ten vs. Pac-12

Projection: Michigan vs. USC

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Next … Continued

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Week 14 CFP Implications: Chalk or chaos?

With just one week remaining in the college football season, we can look at the likely Playoff participants based on the outcomes.

A wild college football weekend saw the second Iron Bowl win by Auburn in the last three years. This time, though, it means that we will have a College Football Playoff without Alabama for the first time ever. We also saw Ohio State once again blow out a Michigan team expected to be competitive.

So, where does this leave us in the College Football race? We have five potentially meaningful games next week, though depending on how the other games go, the ACC Championship Game might not mean much. Let’s break down the stakes in each of the conference championship games. But first, let’s talk about what makes life simple for the committee.

The chalk scenario

There is only one real case of chalk this upcoming week. That would be championship game wins by Ohio State, LSU, and Clemson. As long as that happens, three Playoff spots are locked up. If Oregon wins, then the Big 12 champion is the fourth team. If Utah beats Oregon (especially if it’s by a wide margin), then we’ll have a two-team bubble of Utah and the Big 12 champion. The second case might be a tough choice for the committee, but at least it’s simple, clear-cut, and involves picking only one out of two teams. Any other scenario, and the committee is stuck sifting out three or more teams for at least the final two spots. That could be messy in a lot of ways, though considering Ohio State and LSU as virtual locks might make things easier. We can’t say any of that for sure until we see the games, though.

Next… The five conference championship games

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Week 14 CFP Eliminator: Goodbye Bama

For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, the Alabama Crimson Tide have been eliminated from CFP contention.

Welcome back to the Eliminator. I explain the process behind eliminating teams in my Week 1 post. In short, I ask myself a simple question: “If this team wins out, will they have a chance at the Playoff?” I don’t assume that teams will lose–there’s no need to. The losses will come when they come; and when they do, I’ll eliminate those teams. Until then, they’re not eliminated. It’s that simple. I also track every eliminated team on this Twitter thread.

This week was a historic moment in College Football Playoff Eliminator history. I have been writing or tweeting an Eliminator since the CFP began in 2014, and I have never before been able to tweet that Alabama was eliminated. Well, that changed this week. With two losses and no good wins at all, Alabama is out.

Even though there is a chance at chaos and a weak bubble, Alabama’s resume is just too weak. I haven’t eliminated Oregon and Wisconsin yet, even though there’s no real path for those two. The question is what happens if Clemson loses to Virginia in the ACC Championship Game. Would the committee take an 11-2 Oregon team with a mediocre schedule and two ranked wins over a 12-1 Clemson team with no ranked wins? Almost certainly not. Would the committee take an 11-2 Wisconsin team with a strong schedule and three ranked wins (including one over Ohio State) over a 12-1 Clemson team? Probably not, but maybe.

What I know for sure, though, is that the committee would take a 12-1 Clemson team with no resume over an 11-2 Alabama team with no resume. Add to that that the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 champions are guaranteed to finish ahead of Alabama (as are Ohio State and LSU, even with losses this week), and Alabama is done. No path remains to the No. 4 slot. Thus, for the first time in College Football Playoff history, Alabama is eliminated.

Next … What teams are still alive?

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Watch: Jim Harbaugh take offense to comment about “gap” between Ohio State and Michigan

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh

I guess we’d be in a bad mood too if we were hired to restore the storied Michigan program back to glory and instead took it on the chin to arch-rival Ohio State five-straight years.

Optimism — like almost every year it seems — was running high in Ann Arbor that this would be the game in which the Wolverines finally got the Buckeye monkey off their back. After all, Michigan had found its offense and defense since the second half of the Penn State game. So, everyone in the media was all giddy about this being the year.

It. Was. Not.

Ohio State methodically and surgically manhandled Michigan once again. After the game, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh met with the media all for about six minutes, and took offense to one in particular question he received.

After an 0-5 start to his career against Ohio State, Harbaugh was asked bluntly what he felt the gap was between the Buckeyes.

“I mean I’ll answer your questions, not your insults,” replied Harbaugh. When pushed further, he simply stated, “They played really good, they played good … They played better today.”

Watch the exchange below thanks to the official Twitter feed of Sports Illustrated.

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It’s clear Harbaugh didn’t answer the question because he doesn’t really know how. He’s also not in the mood to take perceived criticism after getting his khaki pants blown off once again.

Ohio State prolongs Michigan’s misery with 8th straight win: 5 things we learned

Ohio State declawed its arch rival Michigan once again in a similar fashion as last year. Here’s five things we learned.

Michigan will have to wait yet another year to get a shot at Ohio State. The Buckeyes shook off a quick start from the Wolverines, got the big-play machine going and raced out to a big lead in Ann Arbor, then held on for their eighth-straight victory over Michigan 56-27.

The defense wasn’t it’s usual stout unit, but at the end of the day, you simply take the win in a rivalry game and move on. There were a lot of bizarre and unusual things that happened in this one, and plenty to take from what we saw.

As is customary, here’s five things we learned from yet another victory over That Team Up North.

Ohio State won the battle up front

Michigan’s defense has looked fantastic through the last few games. But … it had yet to meet an offensive line like Ohio State’s. This Buckeye O-line is big, strong, and athletic and were able to lean on the Wolverine front all game long.

The team that wins the rushing battle in this one wins almost every contest without fail, and you could see the control Ohio State and J.K. Dobbins had in making holes and pushing the point of attack. Sure, there were some big plays through the air, but the ground and pound was the difference in this one.

Next … soft in the passing game

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WATCH: Ohio State RB JK Dobbins fumbles right to himself in stride for big gain

Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins had a big gainer after he amazingly fumbled the ball right back to himself against Michigan.

Maybe Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins should pick up the phone and give Buckeye basketball head coach Chris Holtmann a jingle. After all, he’s clearly got this dribbling thing figured out.

Dobbins is having himself a day, but it all got started on a pretty unusual play after Michigan went down the field and scored to go up 7-0. He got free into the second level of the Michigan defense, but a hand flashed and knocked the ball loose.

Luckily though for the OSU running back, the ball bounced right back up to him in stride and he kept right on running, breaking off an explosive 34-yard run. It was one of the biggest plays on an important quick answer for the Buckeyes.

Click on the below and watch thanks to the Twitter feed of FOX College Football.

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WATCH: Michigan flagged for unsportsmanlike penalty for removing JK Dobbins shoe after tackle

Apparently all is fair in rivalry games. Watch as Michigan defenders untie and remove Ohio State RB JK Dobbins shoe after a tackle.

It seems like we see the weird and bizarre sometimes during rivalry games, and we’ve got one for you that happened in the first half of The Game between Ohio State and Michigan.

Buckeye running back J.K. Dobbins is having himself a game, and apparently the Michigan defenders are willing to do about anything to slow him down. Yes, even untie and take his shoe off. The act actually resulted in a 15-yard penalty as the referee was right on top of the play when it happened.

Watch the below captured by Kevin McGuire. Not really sure what to say about this, but chalk it up to something we’ve never seen before in the annual grudge match between Ohio State and Michigan.

Former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor in critical condition after being stabbed overnight

Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was stabbed overnight at an apartment complex in Pittsburgh and remains in critical condition.

Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was attacked and stabbed in an apartment complex in Pittsburgh overnight according to WTAE. Multiple sources confirmed the event that happened at Heinz Lofts apartments.

The same sources confirm to WTAE Action News that a woman is in custody at Pittsburgh police headquarters in connection with the stabbing. There is yet no information on what actions or motives were in play, or the identity of the woman.

Pryor played quarterback for Ohio State from 2008-2010 before being selected by the Oakland Raiders in the supplemental 2011 NFL Draft. He never really found a home at the quarterback position and switched to wide-receiver where he broke out in 2016 with the Cleveland Browns.

He played for the Raiders, Browns, Redskins, Bills, and Jets. He was most recently released by the Jacksonville Jaguars after struggling with injury and is currently a free agent.

There is a bit of good news. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a source  confirmed successful surgery this morning.

And, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, a close family friend informed him that the family does expect Pryor to survive and that his progress is being monitored.

We’ll continue to monitor this situation as news becomes available.

Ohio State vs. Michigan: 3 reasons the Wolverines could give the Buckeyes problems

Ohio State has looked fantastic so far, but it’s headed into a tough setting Saturday. Here’s three reasons Michigan could pose an issue.

Okay. The Game is here.

There’s been tons of buildup, tons of talking, and now it’s time to have both teams settle it on one of the best college football feasts you’ll ever see. There’s usually some gray skies involved, mixed in with a little scarlet, gray, maize, and blue. There’s a side of blood, sweat, and tears, with historic implications at stake.

Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are looking to finally get the Ohio State monkey off their back, while Ryan Day and the Buckeyes would like to claim dominance on the rivalry once again.

But here’s the problem: Michigan looks like an improved football team with quiet confidence and an appetite for finally breaking through. Ohio State has been the better team all season, but this rivalry was built on the hungrier and more opportunistic team delivering the knockout punch.

It won’t be easy, and here’s three reasons the Michigan Wolverines could provide some issues for the Buckeyes on Saturday.

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Next … Revenge is a dish best served …

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