Odds & Ends - Two Months Till Football

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It is once again that enviable time of waiting and contemplating the upcoming college and pro football seasons now only two months away.  With that in mind, time to weigh-in on what looks promising, what is sure to disappoint and what never changes.  The big news this week is the agreement on a college football playoff.  Long overdue and without a doubt disappointing in that it does not go far enough or start soon enough.  However, it is coming and college football fans for the most part have to be salivating at the prospect of a playoff to determine our national champion.

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Thankfully, the NFL has a labor deal and we need not worry about all that nonsense for a number of years.  One does have to wonder what the New Orleans Saints are thinking about taking so long to sign Drew Brees.  If you are like me, you must be hoping that a deal will soon be struck with the officials.  Replacement officials just don't work and open the league to all types of problems. 

Wimbledon is now in full progress but I'm not sure anyone really cares.  I did catch a women's match over lunch today and it was enjoyable but not so much that I will carve time out of my day to watch more.  The British Open starts soon and should be a good event this year with Tiger looming.  Of course, we are now only weeks away from the beginning of the London Olympics. 

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This year's Olympics will give us some great competition and will be a nice lead-in to the college and NFL seasons.  I will be looking at purchasing my Olympic viewing ticket to watch everything and anything online.  I loved that about March Madness and the Olympics has a similar appeal to me.  The competition in swimming among the Americans will be something special.  I am also looking forward to the Track and Field events and Basketball.  Look for LeBron to bring home a gold. 

Although I will write more on this as the season approaches, my pre-season pick is Denver to win the AFC Championship.  I believe Peyton Manning and his teammates will hang on in a tightly fought AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals.  The Bengals draft coupled with Andy Dalton and A.J. Green make the Bengals a definite favorite. 

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I received great news from my friends Dan and Pam in Ohio who finally have the opportunity to buy season tickets for the Buckeyes.  What a great year to start seeing the Buckeyes every Saturday at home with our new coach, Urban Meyer.  The Buckeyes will be incredibly competitive this year and certainly fun to watch.  I keep reviewing their schedule trying to find a game they could lose.  There are several of course but I maintain that the Buckeyes with their new high-powered offense could very easily run the table. 

The Game is in the Horseshoe in 2012 and Meyer's first go-round with the team up north.  No Big Ten Championship, no BCS game or bowl game in mind, look for the Buckeyes to make the Michigan game a season-maker or breaker in 2012.  Meyer will want to get this series off on the right foot with a big win. 

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The NCAA did come down as expected on UConn's basketball team with a post-season ban for their poor performance in the classroom.  No surprise there.  What did surprise me was to learn the Ohio State Football team ranked in the top five of all universities scoring a 998 out of 1 1000 in the Academic Performance Report.  Urban will have to go some to top that figure. 

Even though I have long boycotted Major League Baseball, I must say that I am delighted to learn that my Reds are clinging to their first-place lead.  It seems difficult to imagine their lead will hold up all season but more power to them.  Finally, the NBA draft comes our way with a very strong underclassmen group.  Those first choices will spell the difference for some very good teams making next year's season much  more interesting. 

Most see this period of time as a hiatus for sports.  I don't think so.  Just a good time to reflect, prepare and dream of the football season to come.      

Urban Meyer Now At The Hallowed Shoe

Love them or hate them, Urban Meyer has joined an elite group of men who have coached The Ohio State Buckeyes.  The group is illustrious and well-known in football circles.  Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Jim Tressel and now Urban Meyer.  Just ask John Cooper who has one of the best winning percentages of all time in college football.  Coop could not beat Michigan; was fired for not being able to win "The Game".  Earle Bruce, Hall of Fame Coach, was fired by the university.  Bruce had a good record against Michigan. 

Jim Tressel, the best of the best records against Michigan, was forced out because of NCAA violations which Meyer will now inherit.  Then, there's the legend of Woody Hayes.  Woody built the fierce rivalry with the team "up north" with his colleague and friend, Bo Schembechler.  Two national championships at Florida and great performances at both Bowling Green and Utah will not account for much if he can't match-up to the likes of Hayes, Brown, Bruce and Tressel.   

Soon, the other shoe will drop on Ohio State Football when the NCAA announces either acceptance of the self-imposed penalties for violations committed at Ohio State or adds to them.  Most believe there will at least be some additional  sanctions placed on the Buckeyes, perhaps losing additional scholarships and even a bowl game for the 2012 season.  It is believed that the announcement will come as early as December. 

In some ways this might be a break for Meyer.  Expectations will not be as high immediately given the sanctions.  He still will have to beat Michigan and beat them right away.  Losing the game this year was not only expected but not nearly the disappointment given all the talk of Meyer taking the Ohio State job.  Now that he has taken the job, beating Michigan will be an immediate expectation.  He will be given a year, perhaps two, before the expectation is winning the Big Ten Championship and the National Championship.  No matter what, beating Michigan outweights everything else he might want to accomplish. 

Fortunately for Meyer, the cupboard is not bare.  He has a quarterback that he can live with in Braxton Miller.  In fact, most Buckeyes are excited about Miller's future with Meyer in place.  Running a spread offense will fit nicely with Miller's skills and there is no question that Meyer will recruit the right quarterback coach to develop Miller's passing ability.  Recruiting will be priority one for Urban Meyer as he will do his best to erect a fence around the State of Ohio keeping every top prospect in state and in Scarlet and Gray. 

Most Buckeye faithful are hopeful too that his recruiting reach from his days as Coach of the Florida Gators will influence many of Florida's top prospects to brave the colder temperatures and choose Ohio State over Florida, Florida State and many of the other top-notch southern schools.  Meyer clearly understands what it means to be the Head Coach at The Ohio State University.  On paper, it's the perfect fit.  According to Meyer, it's his dream job.  Most Buckeye fans suffered all season with a bad case of indigestion thanks to the loss of Jim Tressel.  Those same fans feel today that Urban Meyer is just what the doctor ordered.

The Big Game - A Dog For A Change

This Saturday in November has always filled my being with anxiety, joy, turmoil and absolute delight.  All year long I patiently wait for the arrival of this fourth Saturday in November when my Ohio State Buckeyes meet the Wolverines of Michigan for the "The Game".   Like many Buckeye fans, the evening before is a sleepless night as so much always rests on "The Game".  For seven consecutive years now, the Ohio State Buckeyes have had the upper hand.  We have won this game 9 out of last 10 times it has been played.  Today, the game is at "The Big House" in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  It is really tough to win at The Big House.

One walks through the tradition and storied past of this incredible rivalry and they will find some of the greatest college football games ever played.  They would see upset again and again where the rival Wolverines took away the Buckeyes national championship dreams.  Same goes for Michigan with Ohio State ruining more than just a few seasons for the vaulted Wolverines.  Today's game has the Wolverines significantly favored to win for the first time in years.  Ohio State has only had troubles this past year and Michigan has rebounded from three years of awful.  At the same time, the season goes out the window, favorites are cast aside, this is the "Big Game" and none of those things mean anything on this Saturday. 

Today's game is everything for these two programs.  No matter what the record, beating Michigan if you are Ohio State is the season.  It wasn't all that many years ago when Ohio State fired their head coach, John Cooper, for not being able to beat Michigan.  Cooper was able to beat everybody else and is still one of the most successful coaches in all of college football.   Wasn't good enough at Ohio State.  Rich Rodriguez was Michigan's coach for the last three years and he could not beat Ohio State even once.  He received his walking papers too.  It's just the way this game is.  You must win it and you must win it at least half of the time if not more to be considered among the greats. 

This has always been a tough day for me filling the clock until kick-off.  This year I have managed better than most as I have had other issues to contend with.  However, with only thirty minutes to kick-off, the butterflies are in full force as I prepare to take my seat and root on my Buckeyes.   It actually feels good today to be the underdog.  Maybe we will surprise everyone once again with a mighty upset and improve our recent record one more time.  If not, looks like we will have a new coach next week and I have a sneaky feeling that we won't be losing many more games to the Wolverines for years to come. 

Just received another text message from a fellow Buckeye.  He just said the same thing.  Urban Meyer is on his way to Buckeye Nation.  We just hope Luke Fickel's last game as the Ohio State Football coach is a great one.  Good Luck Luke. 

BEAT MICHIGAN-GREAT WIN; LOSE-WIN URBAN MEYER

"The Big Game", as it is known to everyone in Michigan and Ohio, pits the improving and favored Wolverines against the sanctioned and struggling Buckeyes this Saturday. The Buckeyes visit the Big House with seven straight wins and nine out of last ten. For the Buckeyes, beating Michigan is like a season unto itself. This Saturday's game unlike most "Big Games" does not feature either program as the prominent football team vying for a Rosel Bowl berth or one of the other BCS games. This year's game may come down to Ohio State wanting to hire a new football coach.

It's a foregone conclusion that Urban Meyer is going to be the next Ohio State football coach. The question is, when will they ink the deal? If Ohio State loses to Michigan, all bets are on a deal being signed by Sunday with an announcement as early as Monday. However, if Ohio State defeats Michigan, they most certainly will accept a bowl invitation and play on into December. If that happens, this will push back Urban Meyer's hiring.

So the real question becomes, beat Michigan this Saturday and end up in a lesser bowl game or lose Saturday and hire Urban Meyer on Sunday. The advantage of hiring Meyer so quickly is all about recruiting and not missing out on even one prospect. Arguably, the 2012 season will be all about installing his own system and 2013 will be his run for the national championship.

So there it is Buckeye nation, take the win over Michigan on Saturday and a lesser known bowl game in December or lose to Michigan, hire Meyer on Sunday and play for a national championship in 2013. Although no Buckeye fan would ever admit to wanting to lose a game to Michigan, I suspect there are many who are thinking that way. Give up a loss to Michigan in order to play for a national championship in 2013. An option worth consideration.

Rumors Have It

The Ohio State Buckeyes once again lost a close one at home to the Penn State Nittany Lions today.  It was a good game to watch as both teams actually had some offense to go with their stubborn defenses.  However, the talk in Buckeye nation is not so much about this year's team as it is about Urban Meyer becomming the next Ohio State football coach.  Rumors starting flying earlier in the week when word leaked out that there had been some discussions. 

Both Meyer and Gene Smith, Athletic Director of Ohio State, deny that there have been any talks or job offered.  On both counts, both Meyer and Smith did not emphatically deny anything.  Generally, when you hear this type of narrative between two parties, expecially coaches and universities, experience tells us that a deal is coming.  There is still one more game to play on this year's schedule plus the potential for a lesser bowl for the Buckeyes.  Of course that game is "The Game" next Saturday against the Wolverines of Michigan. 

Everyone in Columbus knew the opportunity was there for Meyer to take the Buckeye job when he relocated to the greater Columbus area over a year ago.  Although an Ohio native, by all accounts, it seems strange that he move would into an area of Ohio without potential interest in taking the job. 

Some Buckeye fans may be relunctant to see Meyer hired for the prestigious position as he was the Florida coach who defeated the Troy Smith-led Buckeyes in their second championship game in the early 2000's.  Others are chomping at the bit thinking that an Urban Meyer-led Buckeye team would light it up for a change with a whole brand new way of playing football in Columbus. 

Urban Meyer would make them forget about Woody Hayes and his three yards and a cloud of dust.  Urban Meyer would make them forget about Jim Tressel and his defensive, field position style of play.   Meyer would actually have the team go offensive in a big way which most Buckeye fans would love to see. 

The timing is right.  Only a week left and "The Game".  They could have him signed, sealed and delivered in plenty of time to be able to hit the ground running with recruitment.  Eager Ohio State fans can only think of what he might be able to land out of the State of Florida where speed is king. 

Others are concerned that Urban Meyer will refuse the position because the Buckeyes are going to be sanctioned in some fashion or another by the NCAA for the infractions of this year.  The self-imposed penalties may be added to including non-appearance in a bowl game for 2012.  That actually might work to Meyer's advantage being able to build, shape and mold a team in his own fashion not having to worry about being competitive right away for a national title shot. 

My guess is that Ohio State will bid farewell to Luke Fickel and welcome in Urban Meyer as early as a week from Sunday, the day after the Buckeyes beat Michigan.  It's a shame for Fickel as he has done a credible job in a very difficult situation.  However, the Buckeyes expect to win the Big Ten every year; compete for the national title every year.  They know with Urban Meyer, they have a far better shot at doing both.