Category: Buckeyes Wire

Chase Young wins 2019 Ted Hendricks Award for best defensive end in college football

Chase Young has won another award. This time he has taken home the Tim Hendricks Award that goes to the nation’s best defensive end.

Chase Young has another award to put in his trophy case. It was announced today that the junior defensive end for Ohio State is the winner of the Ted Hendricks Award, handed out to college football’s best defensive end in the country.

Not only that, but it was a landslide. According to a press release from Ohio State, Young won the honor by the largest margin ever (over 90% of the votes) since the inception of the award in 2002. He beat out other finalists that include Utah’s Bradlee Anae, Yetur Gross-Matos of Penn State, James Lynch of Baylor, and Boise State’s Curtis Weaver.

Young is the first Ohio State player to win the award, and just the fourth from the Big Ten.

Youngs’ impressive accolades now include the First Team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman of the Year, the Chicago Tribunes’s Silver Football, the Bronko Nagurski Award, and now this. He is still a finalist for the Maxwell, Bednarik, and Heisman.

What a truly remarkable season. And it’s not over.

 

 

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day finalist for Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has been named a finalist for the 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year.

Ohio State has another award to track for its memorable 2019 college football season. Head coach Ryan Day has been named a finalist for the 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

Day joins Eliah Drinkwitz of Appalachian State, Sonny Dykes of SMU, P.J. Fleck of Minnesota, Bryan Harsin of Boise State, Mike Norvell of Memphis, Ed Orgeron of LSU, Matt Rhule of Baylor, and Dabo Swinney of Clemson.

I know what you were thinking — where is Jim Harbaugh? Sorry to disappoint.

It has been truly remarkable what Day has pulled off in his first year as head coach, and one in which he replaced a legend in Urban Meyer. In fact, there’s no way he could have done a better job. Ohio State is undefeated at 13-0 and has beaten every single team on the schedule by double digits this year.

The recognition keeps piling up for Ohio State players and coaches, but the ultimate prize they’re dying to take home is the national championship, so there’s still more work to do.

The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20, and will be presented on Jan. 11, 2020 during a reception hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

 

Ohio State Football makes history with first program with one offensive and one defensive Heisman finalist

It’s not that the Buckeyes just have two finalists, but that they’re the only team in NCAA history with one on both sides of the ball.

It’s not that the Ohio State Buckeyes just have two Heisman finalists, but that they’re the only team in NCAA history with one on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, it was Bronko Nagurski Award winner Chase Young as the nation’s best defender. He was also nominated as the only defensive Heisman finalist, and one of just a few in the history of the award.

Although missing regular-season games, both dominant wins for Ohio State, Young set the university’s single-season sack record. The 6-foot-5 defensive end has a nation-leading 16.5 sacks on the season. He totaled 21 tackles for loss this on the year.

On the other side of the ball, it was star sophomore Justin Fields. He also already has accolades to his name, being dubbed the Offensive Player of the Year for the Big Ten.

Fields, who transferred to Ohio State this season, totaled 40 touchdowns with just one interception. A 40:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is unheard of and one of many arguments on his Heisman resume.

Adding ten touchdowns and over 470 yards on the ground, Fields has led Ohio State as one of college football’s best dual-threat quarterbacks. But, his toughest matchups are still to come.

The duo has led Ohio State to a perfect 13-0 record, entering the College Football Playoffs as one of three undefeated teams remaining. The Buckeyes will be taking on Clemson in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl on December 28.

As for the Heisman Trophy, it will be awarded in New York City on Saturday, December 14, exactly two weeks before Ohio State’s semifinal game.

Ohio State No. 1 seed in latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology NCAA basketball projection

Ohio State has moved all the way up to the No. 1 seed line in the latest ESPN Joe Lunardi Bracektology NCAA projections.

The Ohio State basketball team has met every single challenge it has been presented with so far in 2019 — and do so in impressive fashion. It has eviscerated two top ten opponents, beat a defensive-minded Cincinnati squad, and just blew out a Penn State team that upset a top five Maryland squad Tuesday night.

And for all its spoils so far, the Buckeyes are not only climbing up the national polls, but have recently been projected as a No. 1 seed in the latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology projection.

As for where Lunardi has Ohio State, he has them in the Midwest region playing in Cleveland and playing the winner of one of the First Round play-in games.

Now, before we get too excited and make travel plans, I’ll state the obvious that the calendar only reflects that it’s mid-December and nowhere near March. But the fact that Ohio State was originally pegged as somewhere around a No. 5 seed when these things first came out is showing everyone that Ohio State is again exceeding expectations.

And with a deep roster that has experienced veterans to go along with a fantastic recruiting class that has brought in three talented freshman, this team is poised to perhaps do bit things in 2019-2020.

Ohio State is next in action against Minnesota Sunday.

Ohio State moves to No. 1 in CBSSports Men’s Basketball Rankings

According to Gary Parrish of CBSSports, Ohio State is now the No. 1 men’s basketball team in the country.

There are a lot of great college basketball writers out there. Everyone has their own brand, their own audience, and their own takes. Personally, I have always enjoyed the writings of Gary Parrish of CBSSports. Even if I didn’t, though, it would still be cool to point out that he is the only writer at a major outlet who releases a Top 25 ranking daily. It’s not a formula or a computer; Parrish loves the sport, watches the games, and releases a Top 25 (actually 26) ranking almost every single day. That’s a cool thing, it isn’t easy, and it’s fun for fans to read.

What’s even more fun for Ohio State fans is that he currently has the Buckeyes as the No. 1 team in the country. Obviously, Ohio State moved up because Louisville lost to Texas Tech yesterday. But Parrish was pointing out Ohio State’s superlatives before Louisville lost.

On Sunday, Parrish wrote that he could move the Buckeyes up to No. 1 then. He just didn’t see any reason that Louisville should drop. Then, on Monday–while critiquing an AP voter who still had Ohio State at No. 9–he pointed out that Buckeyes are No. 1 in KenPom, KPI, Torvick, and just behind Duke for No. 2 in Sagarin.

Parrish has clearly appreciated Ohio State’s impressive start to the season, writing on the Buckeyes three times in the last four days. Now, with Louisville falling to Texas Tech, he finally has the Buckeyes where they belong–right at the top.

Clemson favored by -2 over Ohio State per BetMGM

In the early odds put out by BetMGM, Clemson is favored by -2 over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

The titanic matchup is set. Ohio State, the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff is set to face off with No. 3 Clemson out in a place familiar to Buckeye fans, the Fiesta Bowl.

The Tigers are the defending national champions and will no doubt present the biggest challenge to date for a Buckeye team that has won every single game by double digits. It should be a whale of a game, and anyone’s to win really. 

In fact, according to the early line by BetMGM, Clemson is actually favored by -2 points over Ohio State, the first time the Buckeyes will be an underdog if the line holds all the way until kickoff December 28.

*Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET. 

What do you think, can Ohio State take down Clemson?

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Fiesta Bowl tickets for Ohio State vs Clemson are officially sold out

The Fiesta Bowl, one of two College Football Semifinals, will showcase Ohio State vs. Clemson. The matchup is officially sold out..

The Fiesta Bowl, one of two College Football Semifinals, will showcase Ohio State vs. Clemson. And now, the matchup is officially sold out, the Bowl’s Twitter account noted.

The game will be played on December 28, 2019, and kickoff is set for 8 pm EST. The 2 pm tweet came just a few days following the announcement of the matchup.

Two of the three remaining undefeated programs, this will certainly be the more notable of the two semifinal games.

For Ohio State, it’s about re-writing history. The last time these two teams met, Clemson destroyed Ohio State, beating the Buckeyes 31-0. The Buckeyes also lost to the Tigers in the 2014 Orange Bowl 40-35.

A 31-point beatdown is certainly still felt, and a senior like KJ Hill should have a little extra motivation heading into the late-December matchup.

Ohio State, one of the nation’s most prestigious football programs, has created a fanbase that travels well. That said, expect the game, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, to have a good amount of Ohio State and Clemson fans in attendance.

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young wins 2019 Bronko Nagurski Award

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is taking home the 2019 Bronko Nagurski Award that goes to college football’s best defender annually.

For the second time since in the award’s history, an Ohio State player has won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy given out to the nation’s best defender in college football annually. That’s right, defensive end Chase Young was recognized by the Football Writers Association of America in Charlotte Monday night.

Linebacker James Laurinaitis was the other Buckeye to take home the honor in 2006, which has been handed out since 1993. Young beat out Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, Georgia safety J.R. Reed, Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons and Minnesota defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. who were also finalists.

“It’s such an honor to come in here and see all of the great players that have won this award, and have a chance to put my name in that category with some of the all-time great college football players,” Young said. “It’s definitely amazing.”

Young was expected to do big things this year, but perhaps nobody could have predicted how dominant he was coming off the edge. He led the country in sacks and set the single-season record at Ohio State with 16.5. More than that though, he was more disruptive than any defensive player we’ve seen in a long, long time.

It got to the point where teams like Michigan and Wisconsin began double and triple teaming him on almost every play just to neutralize the impact he had in games.

Congrats to one of the all-time great defensive lineman in Ohio State history on such a momentous award.

 

Big Ten Football 2019 Bowl lineup, College Football Playoff games

All the conjecture and guessing is all over. We now know all the Big Ten football bowl matchups and college football playoff pairings.

The Big Ten has a rich, rich history in historical bowl games, and the expectations are set for that to continue in 2019. We gave you projections through the entire season on where we believe all the Big Ten teams would go. To say that it varied and changed from time-to-time would be an understatement.

Now that all the conference championship games are complete and all the bowl games announced, we no longer have to predict or guess — we now know where everything stands.

So, if you’re looking for where and when all the Big Ten teams will play, we’ve got it for you, including the two semi-final College Football Playoff semifinal matchups.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

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

Matchup: Wake Forest vs. Michigan State

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl

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

Matchup: Iowa vs. USC

Next … Continued

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Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Chase Young named Heisman finalists

Justin Fields and Chase Young have been named Heisman finalists and will represent Ohio State in New York.

For the first time in its illustrious history, Ohio State will have two players going to New York as Heisman finalists. Both quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young were announced as two of four finalists Monday. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts will be joining them.

Fields has far exceeded expectations as a undergraduate transfer from Georgia. He has accounted for 50 total touchdowns this year — 40 through air, and ten on the ground — to be the first ever in the Big Ten to accomplish that feat.

Young’s Heisman campaign started to gain some serious steam when he had a game for the ages against Wisconsin in late October. Despite sitting out two games after that, he still led the nation in sacks and was a disruptive force for an Ohio State defense that is one of the best in the country.

The inclusion of the two Buckeye players is the first time two teammates from the same team have been invited to the ceremony as finalists since Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart both went in 2005.

The Heisman will be handed out December 14th at 8PM on ESPN. It’s assumed that Joe Burrow will run away with the award, but it’s still more significant notoriety for an Ohio State program that has had a truly outstanding season.