Tag: Ohio State Buckeyes

Chase Young suspension officially two games – back for Penn State

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young will sit a total of two games, will be back for Penn State per a release from the University.

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Great news, Buckeye fans, Chase Young has been freed! We now know that his suspension for borrowing money from a family friend to fly his girlfriend to the Rose Bowl will be two games.

It was confirmed that Young did pay the entire loan back and that he was cooperative with the NCAA investigation, but rules are rules and so a two game suspension seems fair as the current set of rules are written.

With the NCAA looking to allow student athletes to be paid for their name and likeness, this may not be an issue in the future, but for now we can live with the best defensive player in the country missing Maryland and Rutgers. A rested Young will look to reign fire on Penn State and Michigan.

Of course, not everyone is happy about Chase Young only getting a two game suspension. Former Wolverine, Desmond Howard weighed in on the situation and lets just say, he’s not all that happy.

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Regardless of how you feel, Chase Young will be back for Penn State and beyond as the Buckeyes look to capture a Big Ten and National Championship.

Here is the statement and release from Ohio State.

The NCAA has concluded its review of The Ohio State University Department of Athletics’ reinstatement request for student-athlete Chase Young, and it has determined that Young should be withheld from playing in one additional game before being eligible to resume competition. Young was withheld from Ohio State’s Nov. 9 game against Maryland while the department looked into and reported a possible NCAA issue from 2018. Young will also miss Ohio State’s Nov. 16 game against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

“I want to thank and express my sincere gratitude to university staff members who worked so diligently and expertly to learn and understand the facts, and then to report these facts to the NCAA as part of our request to have Chase reinstated,” Gene Smith, Ohio State Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director, said. “This is the example of the culture of compliance we have at Ohio State.

“I also want to commend Chase Young and let him know how proud we are of him. He took responsibility for his actions, cooperated throughout the process and understood and accepted that there would be consequences. He’s a team captain and a leader and most importantly, a Buckeye. He wanted nothing more than an opportunity to play again and we’re pleased that he’ll get that chance.”

Ohio State had requested immediate reinstatement on behalf of Young in its formal report to the NCAA.

 “I appreciate the expediency to which the NCAA reviewed and responded to our request for reinstatement,” Smith said. “We felt that based on the circumstances, the NCAA would use its leadership capacity to take an understanding approach on behalf of all student-athletes who find themselves in a similar position, and it certainly did just that.”

 

 

 

Ohio State’s Chase Young only to miss one more game

Michigan fans that hoped that the Wolverines wouldn’t see star Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young – possibly the best player in college football – after what looked like an indefinite suspension, well, that dream is dead. In a statement released by …

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Michigan fans that hoped that the Wolverines wouldn’t see star Buckeyes defensive end Chase Young — possibly the best player in college football — after what looked like an indefinite suspension, well, that dream is dead.

In a statement released by Ohio State, after accepting and paying back a loan, determined to be against NCAA rules, Young will only miss one more game, making his suspension just two games.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The NCAA has concluded its review of The Ohio State University Department of Athletics’ reinstatement request for student-athlete Chase Young, and it has determined that Young should be withheld from playing in one additional game before being eligible to resume competition. Young was withheld from Ohio State’s Nov. 9 game against Maryland while the department looked into and reported a possible NCAA issue from 2018. Young will also miss Ohio State’s Nov. 16 game against Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

“I want to thank and express my sincere gratitude to university staff members who worked so diligently and expertly to learn and understand the facts, and then to report these facts to the NCAA as part of our request to have Chase reinstated,” Gene Smith, Ohio State Senior Vice President and Wolfe Foundation Endowed Athletics Director, said. “This is the example of the culture of compliance we have at Ohio State.

“I also want to commend Chase Young and let him know how proud we are of him. He took responsibility for his actions, cooperated throughout the process and understood and accepted that there would be consequences. He’s a team captain and a leader and most importantly, a Buckeye. He wanted nothing more than an opportunity to play again and we’re pleased that he’ll get that chance.”

Ohio State had requested immediate reinstatement on behalf of Young in its formal report to the NCAA.

“I appreciate the expediency to which the NCAA reviewed and responded to our request for reinstatement,” Smith said. “We felt that based on the circumstances, the NCAA would use its leadership capacity to take an understanding approach on behalf of all student-athletes who find themselves in a similar position, and it certainly did just that.”

Ohio State plays on Rutgers at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at SHI Stadium.

That means Ohio State will have him for both the home Penn State game and then again for the Michigan game in Ann Arbor.

The Game will take place Nov. 30 at The Big House at noon EST.

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WATCH: Ohio State head coach Ryan Day press conference previewing Rutgers

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day met with the media Tuesday to preview Rutgers in his weekly press conference. Catch it all here.

After making quick and light work of Maryland last week. Actually, after taking care of business in every single game this year by a wide margin, Ohio State now travels to Piscataway to take on a rather unassuming Rutgers team that has yet to notch a Big Ten victory in 2019.

The game isn’t expected to be much of a contest, but don’t tell that to Buckeye head coach Ryan Day. He’s trying to keep his team motivated and focused for road game.

Day met with the media as he always does for his weekly press conference, this time to preview Maryland. And as we do every week, we archive it for you so you can catch up.

Simply click on the below video Tweet courtesy of official Twitter feed of the Ohio State Buckeyes and listen to the entire press conference. Day touched on Rutgers, answered questions about Chase Young, discussed Joe Burrow, and more.

In case you’d rather read the transcript of the presser instead of watch the video, it is included as well on the next page.

Next … Full Ryan Day Transcript of presser for Rutgers

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Ohio State gets leapfrogged by LSU in latest CFP Rankings, but is that the right call?

The CFP Committee is supposed to rank the best teams, not the teams with the best resumes. Ohio State drops to No. 2 and it’s not right.

We all saw it coming from a mile away. By way of its win on the road against Alabama, the LSU Tigers have moved ahead of Ohio State and grabbed the No. 1 spot in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings. The Buckeyes checked in at No. 2.

So much for looking at things objectively and railing against the national narrative. It’s one thing for it to happen with the narrow-minded AP and Amway Coaches Polls, but it’s another for the so-called smartest minds in football to do it with an unbiased eye.

I agree that there’s something to be said about the resume the Tigers have put together with four Top 25 wins and all, but at some point it seems like a bit of a cop out. Do you reward the most deserving team, or the better team? Ohio State has been more dominant than any other team out there, yet it drops to LSU because of the Alabama and SEC curve yet again.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Teams that play well against Alabama are given preferential treatment time and time again. A two-loss Georgia team appeared ahead of a one-loss Big Ten Champion Ohio State in the last set of CFP Rankings last year. And now, simply for beating the Tide, LSU gets the benefit of the doubt and leaps over the Buckeyes for the No. 1 spot.

The advanced metrics for Ohio State have been setting records.You couple that with the Buckeyes’ total domination on the field, and it feels like the CFP fell in line with popular opinion because LSU being better than Alabama means it’s better than anyone else.

Hogwash.

It’s time to ask the question of whether this Ohio State team, if having an SEC logo on the front of its jersey, would have dropped. If Alabama would have been this dominant in recent years, I’d bet the farm that there’s no way, no how, it would drop from the No. 1 slot unless it lost. I mean, Ohio State put up 73 freakin’ points against Maryland, hasn’t played a game close yet, has the nation’s best defense, and a top five offense.

Better yet, Ohio State leads the country in yards allowed per game, points per game given up, points scored per game on offense, and yet it still gets leapfrogged because a team from the SEC beat Alabama. OSU looked utterly dominant against a Power Five opponent last game despite missing its best player.

There’s not one thing Ohio State could have done better than what it has to date to be the No. 1 team in the country other than by drinking sweet tea and having grits and bologna sandwiches for breakfast.

It’s a good thing we have four teams that make this playoff because it’ll take a little of the SEC bias out of the equation. Or so we hope.

You have to do better College Football Playoff Committee and quit drinking the SEC Kool-Aid. Just you wait though until the SEC gets two teams in all the fun yet again.

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What the CFP Selection Committee Taught Us: Blow teams out

What did we learn from the CFP selection committee’s second rankings? Let’s break down what it all means.

In what is a bit of a first from the CFP selection committee, it actually has a very predictable consistent methodology so far this year. However, it’s not a good methodology, and it’s a trend that’s not a good one. The committee isn’t particularly looking at resumes or strength of schedules. It’s not talking about quality wins or schedule strength. No, this year, the committee only seems to care about how much a team wins by.

Maybe this is a bit of an overreaction based on a small sample size. After all, it’s only the second ranking, and there are potentially somewhat reasonable explanations for all of the rankings. (Well, assuming that “Alabama always gets benefit of the doubt” constitutes a somewhat reasonable explanation.)

Let’s look at it, from bottom to top. SMU–the only team to win but drop out of the rankings–very clearly fell out due to a close win over a bad team. The Mustangs still have a considerably stronger schedule and resume than Appalachian State does. That didn’t seem to matter.

This is the only explanation for both Baylor and Oklahoma being so low. Baylor is one of five undefeated Power 5 teams, and is ranked all the way down at No. 13. Not only is Baylor ranked behind one-loss teams, it’s ranked behind two-loss teams. And, contrary to claims of Baylor having a bad resume (and I’m perfectly fine with the committee punishing Baylor for an atrocious nonconference schedule), the Bears have two ranked wins–more than some of the teams in front of them. Oklahoma also has two ranked wins (and a loss to a ranked team), yet is ranked behind both Utah and Oregon–who combine for zero ranked wins. Rob Mullens did again hint that Baylor was punished for its nonconference schedule, but this message appears clearer.

The committee doesn’t tell us much often. But, for now, at least, the committee seems to have determined that the eye test is king.

Making sense of Alabama, Minnesota, and Penn State

Last week, the committee somewhat contradicted itself with how it ranked Alabama, Penn State, and Clemson. Penn State’s “superior resume” supposedly put the Nittany Lions in front of Clemson, though now it seems far more likely that Clemson was just being punished for a close win over North Carolina. Penn State also has several close wins, but those were all against teams worse than North Carolina.

Alabama, meanwhile, seems to be skating through on the fact that it has blown everyone out. Of course, none of the teams Alabama blew out were particularly good. Alabama has no ranked wins–in fact, this is the first time that a one-loss team has been ranked as high as No. 5 this early in the season without a win over a committee-ranked team.

Minnesota is down at No. 8. The Golden Gophers have–other than LSU’s win over Alabama–the best win of any ranked team. The Golden Gophers are also undefeated, and yet behind four teams with a loss. I honestly have no idea how to explain the fact that Minnesota is behind Utah. Maybe this is just a bit of an oversight by the committee?

Other notes

I said yesterday to keep an eye on if the committee shifts things around, or if teams stay static from week to week. That will tell us if the voters are really re-evaluating from scratch each week, or just moving teams up or down based on who loses.

Well, this week, not a single team is in the same position it was in last week. You would think that’s an indicator that the committee is re-evaluating. Unfortunately, it’s not. 14 of the 25 teams that moved moved only one spot, and all of that was due to teams around them jumping or falling. Minnesota jumped eight spots for beating Penn State, so everyone above Minnesota fell a spot. Penn State dropped, so everyone behind Penn State rose. Wake Forest and Kansas State dropped with losses, so the teams behind them moved up.

No one stayed in the same place, but every team that didn’t lose or pick up a major win stayed in the same relative position. The committee didn’t do any re-evaluating this week. It just took what it had last week, other than teams that deserved major shifts.

Lastly, I should note that the committee is continuing a trend it has shown consistently since 2014. A team doesn’t drop for a close loss to a better team. The example this week is Iowa, which only slid three spots for its very close loss against Wisconsin. One of those spots was Texas, which jumped all the way into the rankings at No. 19 for its upset of Kansas State.

Maybe next week the committee will do more re-evaluating from scratch, and it’s really only the top four that matter anyway. Still, the little we have seen and heard from the selection committee so far this season is not encouraging, to say the least.

Chase Young’s Heisman chances plummet with suspension looming

Just two weeks ago Chase Young was a top-two candidate for the Heisman trophy. Now, after sitting one game, he’s barely in the top five.

Just two weeks ago Chase Young was a top-three candidate for the Heisman trophy. He was looking to join the top-tier candidates, Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, with an easy outing against Maryland.

Now, after sitting one game, he’s barely in the top five, and it seems that LSU quarterback Joe Burrow is pulling away from the pack.

Young was held out of the team’s 69-point victory over Maryland. His status for what should be another massive Buckeyes victory against Rutgers this Saturday is unknown.

While the official penalty for accepting a small loan from a family friend which was repaid is still in the air, if he continues to miss games, he can kiss any shot at the Heisman trophy goodbye.

A four-sack performance against Wisconsin in another dominant effort from the Buckeyes just over two weeks ago bounced the projected top-five pick over the likes of Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields.

However, according to ESPN’s Heisman Watch, Young has slid under fellow teammate Justin Fields. Young sits at No. 5 and received just 12 votes with zero first-place votes. He had 24 votes in the week following the Wisconsin game.

Young has 13.5 sacks on the season and could’ve easily set the single-season Ohio State record this past weekend. The record is currently 14.0 which was set by Vernon Gholston in 2007.

The Ohio State defensive didn’t skip a beat without Young on the line. They gave up just two touchdowns all game and none in the first a half, a 30-minute period where they totaled 42 points.

As for Young, it’s likely he’s out again Saturday, but there seems to be hope that he’ll take on Penn State and Michigan to finish the regular season. That said, if he does miss these two games which could’ve easily solidified his claim as a competitor for the Heisman, his chances are virtually over.

Young would’ve been just the second defender to have won the award and the first since Charles Woodson did it in 1997. For now, that’s looking extremely unlikely, although we haven’t seen a collegiate defender as dominant as Young in decades.

Ohio State football sets new all-time high in ESPN FPI metric

Ohio State has been dominant in 2019, and one metric used to track such things by the ESPN FPI has been broken by the Buckeyes.

Ohio State continues to dominate in 2019. Not one single team has been able to provide anything resembling a challenge against the Buckeyes. So far, the season’s opponents have been like a wet paper towel against a freight train.

Now, if we rewind all the way back to the beginning of the year before all the games began, the ESPN Football Power Index had little faith in Ohio State being this dominant. In fact, it was on the fringe of not even appearing on any of the graphics projecting the top teams for the season.

My how things have now changed. Not only has Ohio State been the No. 1 team for a few weeks now in the FPI ratings, just this past week it shattered the all-time high measurement in the points above average rating per Brad Edwards of ESPN.

The Buckeyes points above average in layman terms means that Ohio State is 34.7 points better than your average college football team.  Lookout well-below average Rutgers, you have been put on notice.

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Now, ESPN only began collecting these data sets in 2004, but that’s better than 2005 Texas (national champs), 2005 USC (Pete Carroll dynasty), and 2013 Florida State (Jameis Winston national champs).

That’s quite the achievement, especially since it is only November and there’s still plenty of time to improve the rating. If we are then to forecast where this team will land, well — if history is any indication — it should be in the College Football Playoff and have a great chance of winning the whole ball of wax.

Now, the games have to be played, but this is as telling of a stat when it comes to domination as one can get. If, that is, you put much stock in ESPN’s FPI.

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Dwayne Haskins named Redskins’ starter for remainder of season

Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins has officially been named the Washington Redskins starter for the remainder fo the season.

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Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins is getting the shot he’s been dreaming of. That’s because he was named the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins for the remainder of the season Monday by interim head coach Bill Calahan.

Haskins had already been given the starting nod when Case Keenum went into concussion protocol, but it was thought to be a cup of coffee until he was back and fully healthy. However, the firing of head coach Jay Gruden may have thrown a bit of a wrench into things and precipitated the desire to get the rookie quarterback the experience needed to evaluate and move his development forward.

So, after starting two-straight weeks, Haskins is now the guy through the rest of the season.

The Dwyane Haskins era in Washington has officially started. Let’s see how this kid slings it around the last seven games of the year. The Redskins face the New York Jets Sunday.

Should Ohio State still be ranked at the top of the CFP Rankings this week?

Both Ohio State and LSU will have a case to make when it comes to being ranked No. 1 in the next College Football Playoff Rankings.

After totally dismantling Maryland this past week in a 73-14 win, does it still warrant Ohio State being ranked No. 1 this week in the College Football Playoff rankings? On Saturday Ohio State put up the most points against any Big Ten team since 1950. That — in itself — is quite impressive.

But the Buckeyes weren’t the only team that put on an impressive showing.

With the huge win against Alabama and four top 25 wins, LSU has a good argument to be number one when the rankings come out Tuesday night. The Tigers’ resume that includes high caliber wins  is tough to argue, but it poses the question of what the committee values the most? Pure dominance or wins against ranked opponents? In other words, is it best resume, or most dominant and impressive team via the eye test and metrics?

We digress and discuss …

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Next … LSU’s case

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Ohio State vs. Rutgers 2019 football Preview And Prediction

Ohio State hits the road to take on a Rutgers team that isn’t good at football. Here’s a preview and prediction. It’s gonna be ugly.

Records

Ohio State (9-0), Rutgers (2-7)

Broadcast, TV, Game Time

Date: Saturday, November 16
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Network: Big Ten Network
Venue: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ – Capacity: 52,454
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 5-0
Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Rutgers 52-3 in 2018

No Chase Young? No problem. Well, at least not against Maryland.

Rutgers won’t pose much more of a problem than a small speed bump on the way to a final stretch of games that will determine the Buckeye’s CFP fate. Coaches can tell you not to look ahead and to take each opponent seriously, but if Rutgers were to find someway to be competitive, let alone beat Ohio State, it would certainly go down as one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

Seriously. There’s simply no way this thing is close. But … there’s still a game to play and an all-expenses trip to take to the garden state, so off we go on this journey.

Win and you’re in… it’s that simple. Before we start looking ahead to the big ones, the Bucks need to take care of business in Piscataway.

Next … The game plan

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