Tag: Buckeyes

Jim Tressel says Ohio State potential national title wouldn’t mean as much with loss to Michigan

Former head coach Jim Tressel said that Ohio State’s season, if they won the championship, wouldn’t mean as much if they lost to Michigan.

Former head coach Jim Tressel said that Ohio State’s 2019 season, if it goes on to win the national championship, wouldn’t mean as much if they lose to Michigan on Saturday.

This is quite the claim.

We all know The Game, which kicks off tomorrow at noon EST, is meaningful. Although technically it may not matter for Ohio State’s Playoff aspirations, it has all the importance in the world to the players and respective fanbases.

The third-most winning head coach in school history took that to the next level, saying Ohio State’s first championship season since 2014 wouldn’t quite be the same if it didn’t win Saturday.

Here’s exactly how the 2002 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year phrased his thoughts.

Tressel does have some room to talk here though. He was an impressive 9-1 in his time against Michigan so it’s difficult to say that he’s incorrect. It’s also difficult to say an entire season could be ruined by The Game. But, that’s what you live in with this rivalry and with being the head coach of Ohio State.

And … one could argue putting such an emphasis on this one contest has been why OSU has been so dominant over the last couple of decades.

The No. 1-ranked Buckeyes will line up as one of the only three Power 5 teams still undefeated at 11-0. The dominance that they’ve shown this season has made them a double-digit favorite, meaning Michigan, even at home, is a a significant underdog.

The Buckeyes should win, and if they don’t, it could be one of those rivalry-defining games in Ann Arbor.

This will be the Buckeyes last regular season game. They’ve already locked up the Big Ten East and will be playing in Indianapolis on December 7. But that doesn’t diminish The Game.

Badgers remain at No. 12 in latest CFP Rankings

The Wisconsin Badgers come in at No. 12 again, with a chance to rise after a potential win this week.

We are officially headed into Rivalry Week, or Week 14, of this college football season, and the Wisconsin Badgers remain at No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings…the biggest rankings of them all this time of year.

That should not come as much of a surprise, as the Badgers picked up a victory last week, but did not look very impressive at times against the visiting Boilermakers at Camp Randall.

In addition, they are the third-highest rated team with two losses, coming in just behind Florida and Penn State.

There were two pretty major moves featuring Big Ten Teams, though. The aforementioned Nittany Lions slid down two spots to No. 10, and the Minnesota Gophers took Penn State’s spot at No. 8.

Also, there is a new number one team this week, featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) as the top team, taking the previous place of LSU.

Finally, the Michigan Wolverines come in at No. 13 with a major test at home against the Buckeyes this week, and the Iowa Hawkeyes are No. 17 in the current rankings.

One could argue the Big Ten is the best football conference in the land this year, with six teams in the top 17 of the rankings alone.

Though the team most likely to represent the conference would be the Buckeyes, both the Badgers and Gophers each have an outside shot to make it, of course needing to win Paul Bunyan’s Axe first this week to give the winning team a shot to face the Buckeyes.

Michigan DE on Ohio State: “We don’t see them as unbeatable”

The Ohio State Buckeyes are a perfect 11-0, yet Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson doesn’t think this dominant team is unbeatable.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are a perfect 11-0, yet Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson doesn’t think this dominant team is unbeatable.

I guess he hasn’t watch Ohio State. While that’s in partial jest, the Buckeyes have looked virtually impossible to beat at times this season. They combine a rare mix of unstoppable offense and forceful defense.

Yet, at the end of the day, Ohio State is beatable. Every team IS beatable.

However, with three fumbles, two of which led to critical Penn State points this past Saturday, Ohio State also proved that even at their worst they’re still a formidable opponent, downing the No. 8 ranked Nittany Lions 28-17

That said, Hutchinson is right. It’s just highly unlikely his Wolverines down the undefeated Buckeyes. Here’s his full statement.

Michigan is hitting stride, defeating Indiana last week 39-14. They also have a quality and telling victory over Notre Dame, a game they won 45-14. Now sitting at No. 10, the Wolverines have a chance.

According to ESPN, Michigan has just a 26.1% chance to beat the Buckeyes. That said, I’d bank on another double-digit victory for the Buckeyes.

Chase Young sets Ohio State single-season sack record in first quarter

Chase Young has made his mark on Ohio State-Penn State early on, setting the university’s single-season sack record as well.

Chase Young has made his mark on Ohio State-Penn State early on, and it just so happened with his first sack of the game he set the university’s single-season sack record.

Young, with just under six minutes to go in the first quarter, got to Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. Just moments before commentators were warning of Young’s dominance.

With 14.5 sacks, Young has now passed Vernon Gholston who set the record in 2007 with 14.0. He’s been an absolute force, and it is key to also remember he was out the team’s previous two games.

The two-game absence may have taken him out of the running for the Heisman Trophy, but he’s still in the record books and can still take this team to some pretty special things in 2019.

Just think of what Young could’ve had as Ohio State won the past two games 129-35. That said, expect Young to have a huge impact on the rest of the game.

Young combined for 14 sacks his first two seasons, playing in 22 games. He is an expected top-five pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Ohio State drains Mirror Lake ahead of Michigan matchup to deter dangerous tradition

Ohio State has drained Mirror Lake in an attempt to protect its student body of a dangerous tradition prior to their matchup with Michigan.

Ohio State has drained Mirror Lake in an attempt to protect its student body of a dangerous tradition prior to their matchup with Michigan.

It’s been a tradition over the last few years to jump into Mirror Lake prior to the team’s annual matchup with the University of Michigan. However, the late-season matchup and tradition has spelled trouble for students in the past.

After all, this upcoming week the temperatures will likely be in the 40s. Jumping into a lake at that temp is just asking for chaos, and Ohio State understands that.

In 2015, a student, participating in the tradition, was killed. This has made Ohio State use an “abundance of caution” as their matchup with Michigan nears.

Here’s the release directly from Ohio State Police on why they made the decision.

The statement, as seen above, notes that the lake will be refilled at a later date. That said, Ohio State clearly wants to promote tradition but not in a way that’s dangerous to their student body.

However, students likely won’t care too much when the Buckeyes march up to Ann Arbor and absolutely demolish their northern rivals.

WATCH: All 41 touchdowns from superstar Ohio State QB Justin Fields

The Ohio State football team has raced out to a dominant 10-0 start behind the excellence play of Justin Fields. Watch all his TDs here.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been nothing short of impressive this season. They’re the No. 2 ranked team in the nation and are in a perfect position to win out.

They’ve been absolutely dominant against every opponent because of their disruptive defense and potent offense. That offense has been led by quarterback Justin Fields, who transferred to Ohio State after a season in Georgia.

A Heisman candidate, Fields, through his first ten games for Ohio State, has 41 touchdowns — 10 on the ground and 31 through the air.

With over 2,100 yards passing and another 370-plus on the ground, Fields could go down as the Buckeyes best dual-threat quarterback in the program’s illustrious history.

With that in mind ahead of the Penn State game, we’re feeling a little sentimental. In case you missed any of those scores, or just want to re-live them all, let’s take a look at all 41 touchdowns by Fields courtesy of a video shared on Twitter by The Buckeye Nut.

The Buckeyes need Fields to continue this type of dominance as their next three outings may be the team’s most challenging yet. They’ll be taking on Penn State, Michigan and then either a likely Wisconsin or Minnesota in the B1G Ten Championship Game.

From what we’ve seen of Fields, don’t expect him to slow down against a tough defense. After all, he did put three touchdowns on Wisconsin who had the best defense in the nation at the time.

Watch: Vonn Bell sends the Saints into halftime with his first career interception

New Orleans Saints safety Vonn Bell sent his team into halftime with his first career interception, snagging a deflected Jameis Winston pass

It’s taken some time, but after 61 games in the NFL, New Orleans Saints safety Vonn Bell can say he’s earned his first interception. Bell was able to send his team into halftime with a turnover, having been in the right spot to recover a ball tipped into the air by Saints linebacker Kiko Alonso. It was the second interception of the day credited against Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who had another pass (which was also deflected) picked off by Demario Davis earlier in the game.

This was obviously a huge moment for Bell, who entered the NFL with a reputation as a ball hawk for the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Saints obviously valued his abilities and proved that by trading up in the 2016 NFL Draft to pick him, even if it’s taken some time for his ball skills to manifest in the NFL. Bell is having his best season as a pro with this interception, two forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries in his first ten games. Check out the highlight reel-worthy play for yourself:

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Ohio State is a 50.5-point favorite on the road against Rutgers

Those betting for Ohio State to beat the spread have been sitting pretty, but will they continue to trust when they’re 50.5-point favorites?

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Those betting for Ohio State to beat the spread have been sitting pretty, but will they continue to trust when they’re 50.5-point favorites?

It’s difficult to go against them again as they just trampled Maryland by 59 points. However, Maryland beat Rutgers 48-7. This seems like another safe bet.

We should also note that Ryan Day isn’t just looking to win these games. Yes, that’s the bare acceptable minimum against any non-ranked team, but the fact of the matter is that he wants the CFP to understand Ohio State’s dominance.

They’re feeling the pain now, and Rutgers may be feeling it come Saturday. That said, the 50.5-point line was first released by Circa Sports.

The Buckeyes are 8-1 against the spread this season so it seems like a safe bet to continue putting money on. Even without Chase Young, this team is just all-out dominant.

Scoring 73 points against Maryland, the Buckeyes are bound to put up another near-100 score on Saturday.