Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State will only complete its 2019 Playoff journey with the success of J.K. Dobbins

Ohio State is hoping there’s a national championship at the end of the 2019 season, but it’ll all depend on the performance of J.K. Dobbins.

It is just twelve days and counting until Ohio State plays Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl. This game will be dissecting 1,000 different ways until December 28, but some deep dives into the game are more relevant, and more important than others.

I tend to think that J.K. Dobbins against the Tigers’ defense is one of the most important aspects of the prime-time affair in the desert. The NCAA stats tell a story of two exceptional defenses matching up, but it also builds a narrative of two very explosive offenses going toe-to-toe.

There’s a good chance we’ll see some points scored in this one. However, it’s most likely the two tailbacks starting in this one that might have the most impact on each respective team moving the ball. Will the Buckeyes’ J.K. Dobbins make more hay, or will Clemson’s Travis Etienne have more of an impact?

I feel that Dobbins has to have a big day for Ohio State to move on.

Dobbins has 1,829 yards rushing and is knocking on the door of the single-season record if the Buckeyes can get the job done and move on. As good as Justin Fields, Chris Olave, Chase Young and gang have been, it’s not a stretch to say that OSU’s starting tailback has been the MVP of this season.

The ability to run the ball looses up the secondary and wears down a defensive front. We’ve seen Ohio State stick with its running back in huge matchups against the likes of Wisconsin (twice), Michigan, and Penn State. Eventually, the dam broke in all cases, but you have to have a workhorse explosive and durable enough to keep chipping away.

Some teams have it, but it’s not the norm. And in the case of Dobbins, there’s only a handful of teams that have a weapon that compares to his abilities to hold up and be a game changer.

The numbers tell the story of just how important he is to the offense.

Ohio State is 18-0 when Dobbins runs for more than 100 yards in his career. However, in losses, it’s been a different tale. In the three years he’s played, the Buckeyes have lost only three total games. In all of those, he didn’t get to the century mark. Now granted, he was splitting time with Weber in previous years, but when he’s the man, he always got the carries.

To prove that point — in those three losses, Dobbins got just 14 total carries.

The key to winning is simple, feed Dobbins. And when it’s not working, feed Dobbins again until it does. Just ask Michigan. Or Penn State. Or Wisconsin — twice.

Don’t overreact to college basketball’s first NET rankings

The first NET rankings are out. As always, don’t overreact to them, because they’re meaningless this early.

Last year, the NCAA switches ranking systems it uses to help determine which teams make the college basketball tournament. The NCAA switched from the somewhat-flawed RPI to the still-somewhat-flawed NET. Supposedly, the switch to NET was to make things simpler (in terms of breakdowns of value of wins) and to fix some of the RPI’s flaws. Whether it actually does that (in my opinion, it doesn’t) is a post for another time.

Instead, I’m going to point out that the NCAA does itself a huge disservice by releasing the first rankings this early in the season. This is a computer formula and teams have only played about ten games, so things are incredibly volatile. A few wins or losses could move a team from Quadrant 1 to 4 or vice versa.

Now, Ohio State comes in at No. 1 in the initial rankings. Which is well-deserved, so far. But “so far” is only a tiny fraction of the season. That can change, rapidly. It won’t change if the Buckeyes continue to play well (the dud against Minnesota notwithstanding), but the difference between being No. 1 or No. 30 right now is still tiny.

I was going to say to ignore these rankings no matter where the Buckeyes came in. Had they been No. 30, the story would have been exactly the same. It’s fun that Ohio State is No. 1, but it’s still meaningless for now. When the rankings are less volatile in early February, that will be the time to take them seriously.

Ohio State reportedly targeting Kerry Coombs to replace Jeff Hafley

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is reportedly targeting former Ohio State assistant Kerry Coombs to replace Jeff Hafley.

Unless you’ve been away on a lunar mission, by now you know that Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is headed to Boston College to be its next head coach. It’s a big loss for sure. Hafley helped turn around an Ohio State defense in one short year, but with success comes opportunity.

It’s been a year of firsts for head coach Ryan Day, and now the next first will come in the way of searching for a replacement to one of the assistant coaches on his staff.

But, never fear Buckeye fans, because there’s a name from the past that has surfaced that everyone should get excited about. Former defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs appears to be the main target to fill the hole Hafley’s departure leaves, at least according to sources that have spoken to Lettermen Row.

As a reminder, Coombs is a long-time, well-respected Cincinnati area high school coach that was lured to Columbus to work under Urban Meyer at Ohio State. His secondaries included the likes of Marshon Lattimore and Denzel Ward. He was on staff in Columbus from 2012-2017 and has a hands on coaching style with a ton of energy.

And I do mean a ton. His guys often fed off what he brought in practice and on game days. It would definitely be a hire that would not only get the OSU fans excited, but a quality one to replace a quality departure.

The only question is if Coombs would want to come back to the college game after leaving OSU in the first place to be an assistant coach on Mike Vrabel’s staff with the Houston Texans.

We’ll have more on this as the story develops.

Ohio State basketball loses to Minnesota: 3 Things we learned

Ohio State came back down to earth tonight after getting run off the court to Minnesota in Minneapolis. Here’s three things we learned.

It was bound to happen at some point. An Ohio State team that had looked nearly unbeatable through the first nine games of the season laid an absolute egg tonight. The defense wasn’t its normal stingy self, it was a bad shooting night, and warts of the past showed up for the first time in 2019.

At the end of the day, there’s not much to take from this one other than a helping of humble pie after a 84-71 loss to the Golden Gophers. The Buckeyes now fall to 9-1 and 1-1 in the Big Ten in an extremely shocking dud of a performance in “The Barn.”

Here’s three things we learned.

Next … Kaleb Wesson of the past

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Watch: Dwayne Haskins to Terry McLaurin for 75-yard touchdown

Former Buckeyes Dwayne Haskins and Terry McLaurin hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown int he first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles.

This season has not gone well for the Washington Redskins, to say the least. In a time when the Capitals and Nationals have recently won championship trophies, there are few bright spots for Washington football fans.

The one real positive for the franchise has been the development of Terry McLaurin this year. The Ohio State product was always talented, but no one expected him to be an instant star. Well, he has been showing that that’s exactly what he is all season, starting with catching a huge touchdown bomb in Week 1.

McLaurin has been doing things for the Redskins all season, and now–thanks to injuries and poor play by Washington’s other starters–he has former Ohio State teammate Dwayne Haskins Jr. throwing the ball to him. Haskins didn’t get off to a great start in his first few NFL appearances, but he seems to be adjusting to the game and the speed well.

In the first quarter of their game against division rival Philadelphia, Haskins found McLaurin over the middle. “Scary Terry” made one quick move, got free, and motored his way 75 yards to the end zone.

Watch:

Justin Fields VERY early Heisman favorite for 2020

According to the online betting website SportsLine ,Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is the early favorite to win the 2020 Heisman.

Not that these things always pan out (Trevor Lawrence anyone), but we’ve got the very, very early odds on the favorites for the Heisman Trophy in 2020. Of course it didn’t take long. These online betting sites like to roll thes things out there as soon as they can to get the buzz going.

But hey, Buckeye fans will love who’s on top.

According to SportsLine, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at this time next year. Behind him is Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, and Auburn quarterback Bo Nix.

If your interested beyond that, below includes the top nine according to the online betting site.

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Justin Fields as the favorite definitely makes sense. He’ll have had another year of seasoning in an offensive system tailored to his skill-set, and with key departures, the coaching staff might need to rely on him a bit more with both his arm and running ability.

We’ll check in on these odds routinely, but for now, it’s all just fun to talk about. I mean, who had Joe Burrow winning the thing at the beginning of this year?

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Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields releases video congratulating Joe Burrow on winning Heisman

Former Ohio State quarterback Joe Burrow has won the Heisman. Current OSU quarterback Justin Fields took time to publicly congratulate him.

It only took a Big Ten player transferring to an SEC school, and an SEC player transferring to a Big Ten school to bring the North and South together again. Well, maybe just the SEC and Big Ten, but you catch my drift.

Perhaps no conferences like to fight for football supremacy more than the Big Ten and SEC. There are barbs in the media, stereotypes that have gone wild, and my SEC dad can beat up your Big Ten dad type of hot takes almost yearly that are a little over the top. Some might even say uneducated and a bit ridiculous.

But don’t tell that to Joe Burrow and Justin Fields. Both have been very gracious to each other through this whole Heisman parade, and just last night, after Burrow won the Heisman as expected, Fields took the time to congratulate him publicly.

You can watch the below shared to the official Twitter feed of Ohio State Football.

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Maybe there’s hope for the country yet. Maybe these two can now work on the Democrats and Republicans. Now go win that Heisman in 2020.

Ohio State ends up with three of the top six in Heisman voting

When all the votes were tallied, Ohio State football had three of the top six players in the official Heisman voting.

By now you know that Joe Burrow won the 2019 Heisman Trophy in a landslide. You also know that Justin Fields and Chase Young were also somewhere in the top four because they were a part of the four invited to New York for the ceremony as finalists.

What we didn’t know is how close the votes were, and just where running back J.K. Dobbins landed in all the brouhaha across the country when the votes were tabulated.

Until now.

Many have shared the vote tallys and we can now see that the Buckeyes had three of the top six vote getters when it came to the official Heisman ballot counting for 2019. Thanks to Austin Ward of Lettermen Row for sharing the official results below.

Burrow won easily, and clustered together fairly closely were Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma in 2nd place, Justin Fields in 3rd place, then Chase Young in 4th overall. But scroll down two more and you see Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor, followed by Dobbins in 6th place.

That makes three of the top six in Heisman voting when all is said and done that are Ohio State players. And yeah, if you want to add in Joe Burrow who got his baseline development from Ryan Day at OSU and is technically a gradate of The Ohio State University, that’s not a bad day at all for the program.

Now, let’s focus on this whole College Playoff thing shall we?

Ranking all 39 2019-2020 college football bowl games

There are 39 FBS bowl games this year. Which ones should Ohio State fans be the most interested in?

Bowl season comes at you fast–it starts in less than a week. There are 39 FBS bowl games this year. My advice, always, is to watch every single one of them. The more college football, the better, and I always really enjoy learning about the cool stories that some of these smaller programs have. Whether it’s a first bowl appearance in decades (or ever), a coaching turnaround, a crazy walk-on story, or something else, even the smallest of bowls always have compelling backstories.

I get it, though. Time is precious. Sometimes we can’t watch all the college football that we want. So I’m going to rank all 39 bowls games, from the “will be fun to watch” to the “can’t-miss.” And, of course, since this is a Buckeyes site, extra priority will be given to games that matter more to Ohio State. There’s no particular science to these rankings. Sometimes a game’s backstory will matter more; other times I’ll focus more on how competitive or high-quality the game is likely to be.

39. FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl: Liberty vs Georgia Southern

Saturday, December 21st, 2:30 PM

We get a first-time bowl team, as the Liberty Flames began their football program very recently. And the entire purpose of this bowl is to raise money to cure cancer, so that’s pretty cool too. Once we get to the game, though, Georgia Southern is pretty clearly the better team. The Eagles beat Appalachian State this year, and Liberty lost to Rutgers. It’s college football and anything can happen, but if you have to miss a bowl game, it should probably be this one. (Especially considering the fact that the Cure Bowl is on at the same time as two much better bowl games.)

38. Quick Lane Bowl: Pittsburgh vs Eastern Michigan

Thursday, December 26th, 8:00 PM

This is, by far, the least-compelling bowl game involving a Power 5 team. Pitt has talent and played Penn State close, but it’s never really a fun team to watch. Chris Creighton has done an insanely good job getting Eastern Michigan to a bowl game in three out of four years now, and it’s honestly shocking that a bigger school looking to rebuild hasn’t snatched him up yet. Still, there is a talent disparity, and neither team is that compelling to watch. If Pitt is flat once again, especially on offense, we could get a close game. If that doesn’t happen, though, there’s no real reason to stay on this game.

37. Camellia Bowl: FIU vs Arkansas State

Saturday, December 21st, 5:30 PM

There is nothing too compelling about this bowl game. The teams are probably evenly-matched, and FIU did pull off an incredible upset of the Miami Hurricanes a few weeks ago. Other than that, though, I’m not sure what about this game inspires fans to tune in.

36. Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl: Buffalo vs Charlotte

Friday, December 20th, 2:00 PM

Aside from having a hilarious backstory for its sponsor and being the opening game of bowl season this year, it’s a little hard to be too excited about the Bahamas Bowl. The location is awesome for the students and a ton of fun, but the matchup leaves much to be desired. This is also Charlotte’s first-ever bowl game (the program only began in 2013), which is always cool to see, but Buffalo is much more talented. Make sure not to miss Buffalo’s defensive lineman LeDarius Mack (yes, Khalil Mack’s brother). And maybe we get a good game if Charlotte is inspired by its first bowl appearance and plays perfect football.

35. Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl: Utah State vs Kent State

Friday, December 20th, 7:30 PM

First of all, extra points to this game for having a hilarious sponsor. (Yes, that absolutely matters in bowl rankings. If you’re watching a game that’s not so compelling, it’s much more fun if you get to laugh every time ESPN’s commentators say the sponsor’s name.) Also, extra points for having an Ohio team. After that, though, it’s tough to look forward to this game. Utah State’s Jordan Love is going to want to end his college career on a high note, and the Aggies are a much better team than the Golden Flashes. Kent State is looking for its first-ever bowl win, which is always cool to see. Hopefully it gets it, but I wouldn’t hold out hope on it being a great game.

34. Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl: Georgia State vs Wyoming

Tuesday, December 31st, 4:30 PM

Fun fact: both of these teams beat SEC teams this year. Georgia State took down Tennessee and Wyoming beat Missouri back in Week 1. Other than that, though, there’s not much compelling about this game. Wyoming is the better team, and the Cowboys have the defense to stifle Georgia State and make this game near-unwatchable. Watch the Liberty Bowl on New Years’ Eve, and maybe check in on the end of this one if it’s close.

33. Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Tulane vs Southern Miss

Firday, January 4th, 3:00 PM

Not enough people have watched Tulane this season, which is a shame. The Green Wave are a good team and the program is heading in the right direction. Southern Miss, though, is limping into a bowl on a two-game losing streak, and it wasn’t very competitive in either game. Let’s hope it doesn’t make it three in a row.

32. Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs Nevada

Friday, January 3rd, 3:30 PM

I’m a huge fan of Frank Solich. He always has a competitive MAC team and often finds some really good players. It’s very unfortunate that not enough of the country pays more attention to the Bobcats. But, other than this game being played on the blue turf (and often in snow), there’s not too much else to look forward to in this one.

31. New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Michigan State vs Wake Forest

Friday, December 27th, 3:20 PM

If you had the misfortune of watching Michigan State’s bowl game last year, you might be wondering why this game is ranked so high. Well, Michigan State is in the Big Ten, and the Pinstripe Bowl always had the added element of being played in an outdoor stadium in New York City in the winter. Combine that with Michigan State’s great defense and dysfunctional offense, and who knows what can happen.

Next… 30-21

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Ohio State assistant Jeff Hafley confirmed as next head coach at Boston College

Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has been officially announced as the next head coach at Boston College.

Up until now, it was pure speculation and sourced rumor, but we now have confirmation from Boston College itself. Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley will be the next head coach at Boston College.

Pretty credible sources began to come forward earlier this week that a deal was in the works and that things were a mere formality, but nothing concrete had been released. Then yesterday, we got even more credible reports that a deal was done, but we didn’t hear officially from Ohio State or Boston College.

Until today when Boston College announced the hiring of Hafley on its official Twitter account.

Hafley came to Ohio State when Ryan Day lured him from the San Francisco 49ers. He was brought in to help improve an Ohio State defense and secondary that struggled giving up the big play in 2019.

It has been a resounding success.

Ohio State is 2nd in the country in passing yards allowed, 8th in rushing defense, 3rd in scoring defense, and 2nd in scoring defense heading into the College Football Playoff.

Now, it appears Hafley will be moving on to Boston College after just one very successful season in Columbus. He’ll finish out the year and be along for whatever ride Ohio State goes on in the postseason.