Moves Will Be Made in the Polls This Week

The Buckeyes were off this week, but that doesn't mean they won't be moving in the polls after the #5 Stanford Cardinal beat the #3 Oregon Ducks on Thursday night.

So the question is, where do the Buckeyes go?

Before this week of college football, it looked like this:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Florida State Seminoles
3. Oregon Ducks
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Stanford Cardinal

Now you would think that with the Ducks losing, the Buckeyes would move up to #3. However, Florida State recently jumped the Buckeyes to get into the Top Three, leaving the Buckeyes at #4.

Stanford is 8-1 while the Buckeyes are 9-0. Stanford lost to a 4-5 Utah Utes team, the Buckeyes have lost to nobody since they lost to Florida in the 2012 Gator Bowl.

However, the Buckeyes started at #2 this season, hasn't lost a game, and has slipped to #4 in the rankings. So I wouldn't he shocked if Stanford were to move ahead of the Buckeyes, leaving them at #4 and a one-loss team moves ahead of them, because that's the team that beat the Ducks.

Should the Buckeyes move up to #3? That depends on who you ask. Personally, I think they should have never been removed from the #2 spot without a loss. But a lot of people look at Ohio State's schedule and well, they laugh.

However, the Buckeyes did have an SEC foe on the schedule originally, they had the Vanderbilt Commodores scheduled. Yes, they aren't Alabama or LSU, but those teams aren't big on leaving the SEC footprint for Out-of-Conference games. Vandy is 5-4 with wins over Georgia and Florida in the SEC. They are probably a second tier SEC team.

But they cancelled at the last possible minute, and the Buckeyes had to scramble to find a team to replace them. By this time, you can't get a big time school. Most teams have their schedules set. So the Buckeyes ended up playing Florida A&M, a team that they ended up beating by a score of 76-0. And people blame Ohio State for scheduling such a weak school. Did the Buckeyes want to schedule such a weak opponent? I doubt it. But they had to fill the void in the schedule, and this was the school that would agree to come to Columbus. The Buckeyes were painted into a corner on this one, and the scheduled who was available.

The Buckeyes also cannot help their conference schedule. They don't choose who or where they play these teams. Everyone says every single one of the Buckeyes "hard games" are home games this year. However, the Buckeyes played Cal in California last year, the Golden Bears were playing their road game in the home-and-home agreement. Last year, the Buckeyes played Wisconsin in Madison, per B1G scheduling, the Badgers played in Columbus this year. And Northwestern, probably the most difficult game for them so for, was played on the road.

Ohio State still plays Michigan on the road, and even though That Team Up North isn't as good as people expected this year, you throw the records out when these two teams meet. There is a true dislike there, and these teams live to beat each other. With Michigan looking at a second tier bowl game this year, they'd love nothing more than to end the Buckeyes undefeated streak, especially with the game being in Ann Arbor.

And then you have the B1G Championship Game, held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Buckeyes will likely be facing Michigan State, who will be in their second B1G Championship Game in three years. They have one of the best defenses in college football, and they have an offense that is tough and focused on controlling the clock. And their quarterback, he seems to make big plays when they are needed. This will be the toughest game Ohio State plays before their bowl.

However in the end, they'll likely be on the outside looking in at the National Championship as long as Alabama and Florida State don't lose a game. But the Buckeyes have the longest win streak in the nation. They'll likely go two straight seasons without a loss. The Buckeyes would have likely been playing Notre Dame for the National Championship last season if not for a bowl ban handed down by the NCAA.

So it's looking like the Rose Bowl for the Buckeyes. Where they will end this season without a loss. In the last year of the BCS, will the AP once again split the National Championship and give theirs to Ohio State? Looks like we will have to wait to find out.

How long will Tom Herman stay at Ohio State?

I woke up this morning to a link to an Eleven Warriors article, The Rise of Tom Herman, from the TeamMash email list.

For those of you who don't know, Tom Herman is entering his second year as Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was a Wide Receivers Coach at Texas Lutheran), graduate assistant at Texas (1999-2000), Wide Receiver Coach at Sam Houston State (2001-2004), Offensive Coordinator at Texas State (2005-2006), Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach at Rice (2007-2008), and Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach at Iowa State (2009-2011) before being offered and accepting the same position at The Ohio State University.

Urban Meyer wanting to bring him to Ohio State because his football philosophies are very similar to his own and because he is an excellent recruiter with strong roots in Texas, a very fertile recruiting ground. His offenses are fast paced, which Urban Meyer likes. While at Iowa State, he was the QB Coach for one of the  best quarterbacks in school history.

The article brought up the question, how long will Tom Herman remain the OC for the Buckeyes. Because successful programs, especially ones with highly successful offenses, often lose assistant coaches at quite a high rate. And at the top of the list of coaches that could be poached from Ohio State, I would put Tom Herman. He's young, only 38 years old. He's got one of the best young minds in college football according to Urban Meyer. Another year of success, especially a National Championship, would bring other programs who have fired their head coaches to at least want to interview Herman.

In the Eleven Warriors article, the very first comment was this:

"Herman hopefully can be coaxed into staying a long time with well timed, large raises along the way. He is the type of coach who can take a large load off Urban's plate and extend Meyer's career for extra years. Lets keep Herman happy."

While money is very, very nice, nobody gets into coaching with dreams of simply being an offensive coordinator as the highest level the achieve. Every single graduate assistant wants to one day be a head coach. Herman has climbed the ladder from grad assistant to offensive coordinator, the final rung he must climb is taking over a program himself as the Head Coach.

I don't see this happening at Ohio State, simply because I think Urban Meyer is hear for the long haul, he won't be leaving after the 2013 season. Matter-of-fact, he won't be leaving anytime soon, so there won't be an opening in Columbus, OH in the near future if I am right.

Now, I don't think that Tom Herman would jump onto any offer of a HC job. I don't think he'd take over a program that hasn't been good in decades, if ever, just to be a head coach. I think he would wait for what he would feel is the right opportunity. One that he feels he could come in, and wouldn't be gone in three years if it's a rebuilding project for the next coach to reap the rewards of all his hard work.

That chance might not come after the 2013 season. But don't be surprised to see him interviewing for jobs, to at least prepare himself for the next offseason. I really feel that's when he will leave for a head coaching job in one of the big time conferences. I just hope it's not a Big Ten school, I wouldn't want to have to face one of his teams on even an almost-every-year basis.

Buckeye Nation, be ready. This coaching staff could change dramatically over the next few seasons as position coaches leave for coordinator positions and coordinators get head coaching gigs. But I trust Urban Meyer to bring in coaches just as good to replace those who leave.

And remember, if coaches are constantly being interviewed and offered promotions at other schools, that's a good thing. It means we are winning a lot of games, Big Ten titles, and hopefully Nation Championships.

O-H! I-O!

2013 Defensive Playmakers

Last season, there were times where many of us wondered what was going on with the defense. They let Purdue and Indiana score basically at will. Couldn't stop a pebble from rolling down a driveway at the beginning of last season. And then, all of a sudden, the defense started to play very well. They finally played to the level most of us felt they were capable of.

After the season, the Buckeyes lost the following players on defense:

John Simon, DE
Jonathon Hankins, DT
Zach Boren, LB
Travis Howard, CB
Orhian Johnson, S
Etienne Sabino, LB
Nate Williams, DB

There are some very talented players on that list that are going to have to be replaced. Simon was a beast; Hankins could stuff the run and put pressure on the QB; Boren was a surprise at LB and played very well, making one of the most memorable plays of the season against TSUN last season.

So who's going to step up this season and help take the Silver Bullets to the next level, to a championship caliber defense?

Bradley Roby, CB - He was the best defensive back on the team last season, and he's back and should be even better this season. Expect him to be playing at a near-shutdown level.

Armani Reeves, CB - Reeves has a lot of hype behind him, and I think he's going to win the starting CB spot across from Roby. If he does, I think it's going to give is a very good tandem at corner. Reeves, I believe, could end up being one of the best corners in Ohio State history when his college career is over.

Noah Spence, DE - He's listed as just DL on the roster, but he should be playing end exclusively. He's got a great speed rush, and after a year and a summer in the weight room, he should have added some more strength. I expect him to lead the team in sacks, and likely the B1G.

Adolphus Washington, DE - Also listed as a DL, I expect him to play mostly DE and maybe DT in the nickel. He's bigger than Spence, and should be very strong against the run. I also expect his sack numbers to be surprising because I think QB's will be running away from Spence and right into his arms.

Tommy Schutt, DT - He's also listed as a DL, he'll be lining up at tackle for the most part. At 6-2 and 303, he should be a run stuffer. I don't think you'll be able to run up the middle on the Buckeyes.

Ryan Shazier, LB - I am expecting Shazier to be an absolute beast this season and not only lead the team in tackles, but also be towards the top of the nation in tackle numbers.

C.J. Barnett, SS - I think this is the season Barnett really shows that he has the talent to be a top back-end defender in college football, too bad it's his senior and likely final season.

I truly feel that this group of players is what's going to make Ohio State's defense one of the top in the nation, a championship caliber defense. They will need to play that way to become National Champions.

2013 Offensive Playmakers

The offense is the focus of today's Urban Warfare blog. Specifically the guys who are going to be making all the big plays.

The offense last year was heavy on the run. Braxton Miller ran 227 times for 1271 yards and 13 touchdowns. Carlos Hyde ran it 185 times for 970 yards and 16 touchdowns. That's 2241 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground.

Passing the ball, Ohio State was ranked 110th in the nation. That's 110 out of 124 total schools in NCAA Division I FBS football. This is where I expect things to change in 2013. Yes, Hyde is going to get the ball in his hands and will likely have a 1000 yard season. Braxton is going to still have some electrifying runs, however I expect him to have fewer designed runs.

Here are Miller's passing stats from the 2012 season:

148 Completions/254 Attempts
58.3%
2039 Yards
15 TD
6 INT
140.5 Rating

I expect the completions to go up, along with attempts. I expect over 60% completions. Around 3000 yards, and over 20 touchdown passes. If Ohio State is going to win a National Championship in the 2013-14 season, Braxton needs to make those improvements.

And there are players in the offensive arsenal to make this happen.

One thing we might see is Kenny Guiton, the backup quarterback, on the field with Braxton. This would be difficult to defend because both can pass, and both can run. You could hand off to either...one can run out into the flat to catch a pass, or throw to a RB or WR/TE.

At running back there are more options than just the powerful Carlos Hyde. You have Rod Smith, Bri'onte Dunn, and Warren Ball. Added to those three names are Ezekiel Elliott, and Dontre Wilson from the 2013 draft class. I see fresh legs all year at RB as long as guys don't put the ball on the turf and do what's asked of them. Dunn and Ball were both big names in the 2012 class and should both contribute more in their sophomore seasons. Wilson, from the 2013 class, is very intriguing because he's a very good receiver out of the backfield and can also line up in the slot...think Percy Harvin when he played at Florida.

At wide receiver you have Corey Brown and Devin Smith, both played a lot last season. Both are playmakers on the outside. Both are guys who will get a lot of looks when Ohio State is throwing the ball. In the 2013 class we get Jalin Marshall, Corey Smith,  and James Clark. All three can see significant playing time, especially in multiple receiver sets.

Urban Meyer doesn't want guys who want to redshirt. Will some guys get a redshirt? I am sure there will be a few, guys who need a year of seasoning or guys that get hurt. But Ohio State will put the best players on the field regardless of class or experience. If you've earned playing time, you'll get it.

Here is what I expect the starting line up to look like at the skill positions when we take the field for our home opener:

QB - Braxton Miller
RB - Carlos Hyde
WR - Corey Brown
WR- Devin Smith
WR/RB - Dontre Wilson

I think that right there is going to be very dynamic. So much can be done with that talent. Miller can pass to any of them. A read-option with Hyde, even with Wilson. Reverses with all of those players.

Throw in guys like Ball and Dunn to keep fresh legs in at RB and this offense could do great things.

I can't wait to start the season, because I think it's going to be even more exciting than 2012 was.

O-H! I-O!

Buckeyes Get A Haul

Today is National Signing Day...the first day that a high school senior can sign his National Letter of Intent (LOI) to play football for an NCAA program. Most players sign on this day, but some don't sign until after for various reasons.

Ohio State had one hell of a day!

The rankings per different sites:

Scout - #1
Rivals - #2
ESPN - #3

All three have us as the #1 class in the Big Ten.

So no matter where you look, we pulled in a top three class. We got a "surprise" LOI from safety Von Bell of Georgia, a player many felt was going to Tennessee. Ezekiel Elliott was a player some thought was going to Missouri, he stayed with his verbal commitment to the Buckeyes!

Here is a list of the players that signed Letters of Intent with the Ohio State Buckeyes today:

Mike Mitchell, RB 5*
Von Bell, S 5*
Joey Bosa, DE 5*
Jalin Marshall, WR 5*
 Marcus Baugh, TE 4*
Evan Lisle, OT 4*
Ezekiel Elliot, RB 4*
Dontre Wilson, RB 4*
Eli Apple, CB 4*
Cameron Burrows, CB 4*
J. T. Barrett, QB 4*
Gareon Conley, CB 4*
Michael Hill, DE 4*
Trey Johnson, OLB 4*
Jayme Thompson, S 4*
Billy Price, DT 4*
Donavon Munger, DT 4*
Tyquan Lewis, DE 4*
Darron Lee, S 4*
James Clark, WR 4*
Corey Smith, WR 4*
Tim Gardner, OG 3*
Tracy Sprinkle, DE 3*
Christopher Worley, OLB 3*

That is a crazy class!

It is also heavy on defense, and heavy on playmaker positions on offense.

Last year, even though the Buckeyes went undefeated, you could say their Achilles heel was the defense...especially at the beginning of the season. This class being brought in, on top of last year's amazing class on the defensive line, is going to bring depth on defense and keep guys fresh so nobody is out there sucking wind. The linebacking corps got a huge upgrade, seeing how that was our thinnest and weakest spot on the team last year. I am also absolutely LOVING the fact that Von Bell is going to be in the scarlet and gray....I have a feeling that this kid is going to be an absolute monster in the defensive backfield.

On offense, we've got speed. Lots of speed. Guys that can (and will) break games wide open for the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes are going to have quite a stable of running backs. Carlos Hyde is the unquestioned starter. We also have Rod Smith, Jordan Hall, Bri'onte Dunn, and Warren Ball. Add to that the guys that came into the fold today, and it's going to be interesting how the depth chart at running back shakes out. Will a few guys get red shirts? Will some other guys transfer if they feel they won't get playing time? When Urban Meyer came to Ohio State, he said that he wouldn't abandon the run game. I think this year's class helps back that statement up.

The running back I am really most intrigued by out of this class is Dontre Wilson. I think he's going to play a very exciting roll in the offense his freshman year. Think our version of what Percy Harvin did at Florida. He can lineup in the backfield, as the slot receiver, or out wide. He can take the hand off to the edge, catch the ball out of the backfield, catch it out of the slot, catch it out wide on a streak pattern down the sideline, take a reverse all the way, take a pitch in the option....it's really limitless to how he can be used.

Urban Meyer is bringing not just talent to the Buckeyes...but SEC type talent. He's remaking this team into an SEC team, purely dominating. And that's how you beat the SEC, match their talent.

Lots of coffee must have been served in Columbus today, because COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS! Ohio State closed today, and the talent brought in could bring amazing success to the Buckeyes. In Urban Meyer we trust!!!

Looking at Ohio State's 2013 Recruiting Class

National Signing Day for college football is just a few days away as coaches try to sway the last of the uncommitted recruits, and to keep the ones that other schools are going after. Last year, there was a big deal made when Urban Meyer came in after the worst football season in over a century for the Buckeyes and started calling recruits that changed their commitments after Jim Tressel resigned and the losing season that followed. Many Big Ten coaches were upset over what they felt was a "gentlemen's agreement" that was supposedly in force under Jim Tressel that you wouldn't go after another school's committed recruit.

Most notably, Urban Meyer convinced four star offensive tackle Kyle Dodson to recommit to Ohio State after he had chosen to switch his commitment to Wisconsin after the fallout from the Tatgate fiasco. This really irked former Badgers head coach Brett Beliema who accused Meyer of using "illegal recruiting tactics" during an interview with the media. Meyer also got five star defensive end Noah Spence in this time, when many people felt he was going to attend Penn State.

Ohio State's 2013 recruiting class is currently ranked #4 overall on Scout.com and ESPN. Scout.com has Michigan ranked #1, while ESPN has them currently ranked #5 as I type this blog post. Ohio State currently has 22 commitments in this class.

The class currently has three 5 star recruits, fourteen 4 star recruits, and five 3 star recruits (ranking provided by Scout.com). Also on Scout's website, only two Big Ten schools are ranked in the top 25 (Ohio State and Michigan). ESPN has three Big Ten schools in their top 25 (Penn State #25, Michigan #5, Ohio State #4).

There are only two soft verbals in the class. Trey Johnson, a 4 star OLB from Georgia; and Ezekiel Elliot, a 4 star RB from Missouri. These are the two that I am most worried about come National Signing Day because they are the most likely to be swayed to another school, and both are being rumored to possibly sign elsewhere on February 6th. And that's the thing about National Signing Day, nothing is official until they sign on that dotted line, tying themselves to Ohio State.

This will be the second consecutive Top 5 class for Urban Meyer at Ohio State as he brings in big talent to the Buckeyes. He plans to make this team in the image of an SEC team. Big and fast. This is the only way they will be able to defeat whichever SEC team they would face of they make the BCS National Championship Game. Meyer cut his teeth at Bowling Green and Utah, two schools that aren't exactly recruiting hotbeds. At Utah, he churned out a first overall draft pick in quarterback Alex Smith.

When he went to Florida from Utah, he had multiple top ten and top five recruiting classes. In this time he won two National Championships, two SEC titles (coinciding with the National Championships, three SEC West titles, and a Sugar Bowl. He produced many first round picks on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Tim Tebow.

Now there's no way to predict how this class will pan out in the end. But it's looking like it'll be damn good, making Ohio State a force to be reckoned with for years to come not only in the Big Ten but in the National Championship picture. O-H! I-O!

Can the Buckeyes raise the crystal football next year?

This college football season ended in an all to familiar way...with an SEC team, Alabama for a third time under Nick Saban, winning the BCS National Championship Game. This one was in blowout fashion, which has often been a case...twice Ohio State has been on the receiving end if these beat downs, against Florida and LSU.

This year the team to get beat was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, to a score of 42-14. They couldn't stop Alabama. They got rolled by the Crimson Tide. This game gave a new meaning to "Roll Tide."

 There was only one team to end the football season without a single blemish on their record, the Ohio State Buckeyes. They finished third in the final AP Poll. This positions them well to potentially play for that crystal football next year, as long as they stay unbeaten.

I expect them to start the season in the top five, most likely the top three. The only two teams I can see starting the season in front of them would be Alabama and Notre Dame.

The whole Ohio State finishing undefeated part shouldn't be all that hard. Here is what our schedule looks like next season:

08/31 vs. Buffalo Bulls
09/07 vs. San Diego State Aztecs 
09/14 @ Cal Golden Bears
09/21 vs. Florida A&M Rattlers
09/28 vs. Wisconsin Badgers
10/05 @ Northwestern Wildcats
10/19 vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
10/26 vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
11/02 @ Purdue Boilermakers
11/16 @ Illinois Fighting Illini
11/23 vs. Indiana Hoosiers
11/30 @ TSUN Wolverines

That's not a very daunting schedule. Hopefully we won't have the hiccups we had this past season because we should be stomping teams like Purdue and Indiana. The two teams on the schedule that I think have a real chance of beating the Buckeyes are Northwestern and TSUN.

The big issue is, with this schedule lacking a team that's going to be in the top ten of the AP Poll going into, and likely throughout the season, will the Buckeyes be able to make it over a one-loss SEC team.

Now in the history of the BCS, a one-loss team from an automatic qualifying conference (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Pac 12, Big East) has never been awarded a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. However there was talk that if Ohio State had been bowl eligible this past season, they would have been jumped by a one-loss Alabama team because of the better strength of schedule. However we will never know, because Ohio State was not eligible for the BCS Poll due to their postseason ban last season.

If Ohio State runs the table and ends the season as the only undefeated team, I think they will play for the National Championship. You have to play the schedule in front of you. They can't help the fact that the Big Ten isn't as good as it was a few years ago. They can't do anything about the fact that Cal hasn't been all that great since Aaron Rodgers....and that's when Ohio State scheduled this home-and-home series, back when Cal looked like they'd be competing for Pac 10 titles. They can't help that the SEC is the darling conference of college football at the moment and their mid-tier teams get top-15 votes when they deserve to be in the 16-25 range.

Now if they go undefeated, and so do Notre Dame and an SEC team....then there's going to be a big controversy. I have no doubt that the SEC team will get into the game in that scenario.

The issue would be Ohio State and Notre Dame. The Irish schedule for the most part isn't all that daunting. They play TSUN, so do we. They play Michigan State and we don't, but I don't expect Sparty to be a factor in the Big Ten, and if they are we might play them in the Big Ten Championship Game. Notre Dame plays USC, but nobody knows how good they're going to be...they went from #1 to unranked this past season. However the two teams they play that could give them the edge over us would be the Oklahoma Sooners anf Stanford Cardinal. Those two teams are better than any team on the Ohio State schedule this season. That could give Notre Dame the edge.

I hope that scenario doesn't come to light. If it does, we'd be in the Rose Bowl. That's great...a BCS Bowl...the "Grandaddy of em All." Before the BCS, that's where any team from the Big Ten wanted to go, the premiere bowl game for the conference. Back then, if Ohio State was undefeated and won the Rose Bowl, they'd be claiming a National Championship. The BCS put a stop the that, there's only been one split National Championship since the BCS system came into place. Would a split National Championship be a possibility? Yeah, but also unlikely.

So who would I want in the BCS National Championship Game which takes place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California? I want an SEC team. If I had to pick one, I'd want Florida.

Why Florida? This SEC dominance started when Ohio State lost to Florida 41-14 in the 2006 BCS National Championship Game (decided the champion of the 2005 season). Since then the SEC has had a team win the BCS National Championship every year since then, once having both the participants being from the conference. Florida won twice (including the game against Ohio State), Alabama three times, LSU once, and Auburn once.

Nothing would be sweeter way to end the BCS era of college football by not only defeating an SEC team, but beating the team that started their run....with the head coach who started that run being the Buckeyes head coach. It would bring a sweet closure to the BCS era, giving the Buckeyes their second title in the era and a 2-2 record in the big game.

When will Ohio State lose again? Hopefully we won't be finding out the answer to this anytime soon.