Willyville Guy

Looks like Fickell, Coombs, and Schiano are all interviewing for head coach or coordinator positions at other programs. I wish those guys nothing but the best, but it would be a shame if the Bucks experience at big setback at key coaching positions just as the kids come of age. And more immediately, I hope none of this distracts from Clemson.

F it I am with you. C'mon, Bills -- go win a football game!

I think I'm placing greater emphasis on the talent around them during the years in questions. Cutler should have done better in that offense, and instead he threw way too many picks... many at the worst possible time. I'm okay with agreeing to disagree about Brees versus Cutler.

Cutler threw a league-leading 18 picks that year with arguably the best group of receivers in the NFL and a perfectly serviceable line. He's no Drew Brees.

In 2014 he had Forte, Marshall, Jeffrey, and Martellus Bennett -- and his team went 5-11. Pass.

Embrace the chaos. There are 128 schools in the FBS, and jokes aside these kids are students. There is no practical way to truly settle it all on the field. The Pardon My Take podcast had a funny idea the other day about a one-weekend elimination tournament where you a run a bunch of teams through an overtime-style situation with each team getting the ball on the 30 and a chance to score. That would be pretty wild. Short of that, the coaches, media, and now this playoff committee, will continue to do what they have done for more than a century: look at the teams, look at the wins and losses, and try to figure out who's who in the zoo. It's subjective, political, and profoundly imperfect-- but all that B.S. is also part of the intrigue for fans. Expanding the playoff field to eight teams wouldn't fix anything; we'd still be arguing over who should be in and who should be out based on rankings made in a conference room.

Bob in Michigan - thanks. It really was a great game. The way things are going, we might see a rematch this year! I saw the linked video earlier today. I understand the instinct to complain about the refs. What I don't like about the video is that it singles out the individual refs and accuses them of purposefully manipulating the game because supposedly they are Buckeye fans. I think that's where this "controversy" crosses the line from ordinary grumbling to a loony-toons conspiracy theory. I'm not saying that's you--you've been nothing but civil--but it's an unfortunate message that I believe started with Harbaugh and has caught fire within the Michigan community. Ohio State outgained Michigan 235-61 after the Wolverines went up 17-7. That should bother Michigan fans far more than the refs' hometowns, in my opinion.

Just thrilled to see the Bucks win a great game against their biggest rival. It was a very emotional game with big ups and downs, and all of those kids just playing their hearts out for their teams. Hugely entertaining. Incredible way to end the season. I love college football for days like that. The rivalry is back to a boiling point. For Michigan, it sort of looked like the 2015 MSU game where they took a crushing loss but showed that they were ready to play a dominating rival evenly again. What a defensive effort for the Bucks on Saturday and all year long. Meyer tells them to "swing! swing! swing!" as hard as they can until the final whistle, and that is exactly what they did. The D willed the team to victory through turnovers, huge stops, and -- perhaps most importantly -- holding Michigan to five yards of offense in the fourth quarter while the visitors tried to hold the lead. As for the offense, ugh. The three-headed rushing monster of Barrett/Weber/Samuel again caused problems for a great defense. Each of them stepped up and made a play when needed to keep putting points on the board when everything was on the line. The passing, though, man -- it's completely off the rails. The guy with a broken collar bone outplayed our guy. I'm having a tough time imagining trophies and confetti without a competent passing game. We'll see if they get a chance to try to fix it this year. We'll also have to discuss Barrett, his regression, and next year at a later time in this thread. As for Harbaugh, I think it was a terrible look for him to spend an eight-minute press conference complaining about the refs. It was a great and physical game--the last rivalry game for his many seniors--and he chose not to even acknowledge any of that. The spot was a very close, very tough call. There is no good angle. You can say he looked short, and I can say it looked like forward progress carried the ball to the 15 yard line -- the truth is nobody knows. The ref called a tie in favor of the runner at home, which is perfectly normal. There was no evidence to overturn the spot. I don't understand the outrage as anything other than sour grapes. Maybe it's because I'm from Buffalo: I've seen a clear-as-day overhead photo of Brett Hull with his skate in the crease on the front page of the paper; I've seen the replay of Wycheck throwing that forward pass; I watched that puck go in through the side of the net against the Penguins; I've seen evidence of the refs deciding to "just give it to" the Patriots. I know what it's like to see my team get absolutely effed by the refs with evidence to prove it. The spot on fourth down is far more subjective and does not qualify. Michigan fans howling otherwise are just pouring out their salty tears for Buckeye fans to drink. I know there were other calls that could have been made or should not have been made, but that's pretty much every game. I note that there were no offensive holding calls against Michigan either, as they aggressively tried to protect their injured QB, and a Buckeye got a penalty for not having his friggin' mouth guard. Bottom line is that Michigan blew a lead and lost the game because of turnovers and a disappearing offense. It happens. As for the playoffs, I have a feeling the Bucks will get in, but there can’t be any realistic expectations with a QB who can’t throw a five-yard slant. The only thing we can hope for is that his intangibles will show up when needed again, which doesn’t seem sustainable. Just keep feeding Samuel, keep playing defense, and keep swinging swinging swinging. Go Bucks!

"Nooge" left Ohio State as one of the more popular Buckeyes I can remember. Kid was automatic. Really surprised by the way his pro career has played out.

Herbstriet called Penn St's turnaround "the story of the year in college football." Congrats on a remarkable season. Now please lose!

Huge win in a miserable environment. People will criticize OSU for squeaking out a win against an unranked team, but when was the last time any team scored style points on the road in a snow storm? Plus, it was a rivalry game. Before today, I hadn't truly considered the Spartans a rival because they are not a traditional powerhouse and I have longstanding respect and admiration for Coach D. But I ran out of love for Dantonio today while watching him empty his bag of tricks on the Bucks. F that guy and his program. Also, if I never see LJ Scott again it will be too soon - the guy absolutely gutted the Bucks D two years in a row. Another ugly day for JT - the passing is not getting better (is Noah Brown still on the team?). The Oline has been a problem in every tough game so far this year - that's not changing either. I'm just glad that Urban put the game in the defense's hands at the very end. Best decision he made all day. I'm thrilled to get out of there with a W. *ichigan Week!!!

Yeah, I'm nervous too. This year has reminded us that highly ranked teams are not immune from traditional stumbling blocks (Happy Valley White Outs for the Bucks; Kinnick Stadium for UM) against unranked opponents. One silver lining for the Bucks is that none of the huge Sparty losses in recent memory (1998, 2013, 2015) happened at MSU. They were at the Shoe (ugh) or Indy. OSU has won many tough games at MSU -- hopefully they will get another one Saturday afternoon. There will be wind and rain, of course.

Cbus is great. Between the downtown/arena district area, the German Village, Short North artsy area, and of course campus, there are lots of different ways and places to enjoy the city. Big contrast to schools in communities that revolve entirely around the campus. It's still a relatively young hockey town, and CBJ games are fun, but I agree the reception has underperformed expectations.

Apparently EZE's teams are a combined 85-9 going back to his sophomore year of high school. Kid goes hard. I don't think it's only about the Oline in Dallas.

Another week, another 62-3 blowout. Hopefully they can keep it rolling. For the second year in a row the Bucks will end the regular season with the upcoming Sparty/TSUN gauntlet, but this year -- thanks to TSUN losing at Iowa last night -- there is some doubt around whether they would go to the playoff even if they win out. A lot can be said about the various potential scenarios that could unfold, but for now it should suffice to say that the only thing we know is that we don't know what will happen or what the playoff committee might decide. More importantly, there are absolutely huge games yet to be played. MSU looked lost earlier this season but they appear to be refocused just in time for the Bucks (ugh). I expect Dantonio will have his team ready to play for pride and try to salvage part of their season. Meyer's team will unquestionably be focused on getting revenge for last year. I hope a video of Sparty's kicker running around the field at OSU last year doing the guitar windmill celebration (?) is playing on a constant loop at the Woody all week.

The Armstrong situation was traumatic. Seeing his father out there holding his hand was absolutely heartbreaking, and later seeing him run out and actively engage with his team on the sideline was a huge relief. Have you seen any updates today? I had assumed he was okay based on how he looked when he came back, but you never know with head injuries. Nebraska was great about getting updates out last night, and it would be good to see at least one follow up. Couldn't agree more about the TEs, and it's about time. Been waiting for a TE to really become part of the offense ever since Rickey Dudley left!

After a challenging month of October for the young Bucks, a primetime night game at home was just what they needed to get back on track. Holy beatdown -- 62-3! Love it. As Hubbard said of his team's mindset after the game, "let's rideee." They wanted to get Samuel the ball more, and they did in a big way. So much so that I was wondering if it was too much Samuel (is there such a thing?)! Barrett's passing still seems off. He throws as hard as he can no matter how far the pass - no touch. My hands were hurting just watching some of those 5 yard passes. He missed Campbell and Weber on wide open TD plays. You can tell he's working on it; there were many plays last night where JT could have taken off and run for a big gain, but he seemed committed to staying in the pocket, working through his progressions, and trying to get sharper back there. And really, how can you criticize the guy responsible for 4TDs last night and more than anyone else in the history of Ohio State football? I love the kid and think he can get back to running this offense the way we know he can. One of the best parts about a big point differential is the chance to see the even younger Bucks get PT. Victor finally got in there and almost pulled in a TD -- I hope we see more of him because a 6'4'' target can only help JT. KJ Hill looked good out there too. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching Burrow and McCall in the backfield. We said earlier in the season that McCall looks like a special talent, and they already burned his redshirt, so I hope to see him on the field more -- at least against Maryland and MSU. Apparently Urban said that McCall may get some time at PR instead of Dontre Wilson (who fumbled another punt last night), so it looks like this is in the works. Feeling good after a much needed big and emphatic win. Go Bucks!

Another week of the same issues we've been seeing for a month now. My view is that this week against Nebraska will tell us whether the Bucks can right the ship and make a run at this thing. It's a night game at home, and I like their chances.

Painful loss in Happy Valley, but sometimes teams need to lose in order to come together. The Buckeye press is saying that the team can still go to the playoff if it wins out, and that's probably true given the strength of the B1G this year, but I'm sitting here wondering what is the gameplan for Northwestern next week. The offense is painfully predictable, and the coaches are inexplicably not getting ball to Samuel enough even though it has been weeks since Urban said that would change. I'd like to think it's an easy fix: just feed #4. But now the OL and ST are struggling badly so I'm not sure where all this talk of winning out is coming from. Tough games ahead for this team. Can't wait to see how the young Bucks respond. Those friggin' whiteouts, man.

I friggin' hate the Dolphins.

"Just two good teams swinging as hard as they possibly can." - UFM We didn't know if the team would be good, but we knew it would be fun to watch. Bring on State Penn!

This year's road schedule is unusually brutal, and the home schedule is unusually weak for the fans at the Shoe -- although Nebraska on Nov. 5 is shaping up to be a beauty. We've seen some pretty soft schedules over the years though, so I guess we were due. I still choose to be mad at Gene Smith. As for PSU, I'm also sort of concerned that the run defense -- in combination with Barkey and the environment -- could cause this to be another nail biter in Happy Valley.

That was insane. Hugely entertaining. Barrett. I don't know what to say. The passing game was completely off the rails. He looked liked a RB playing QB. He wasn't throwing with any confidence, and he didn't look like he was having any fun. I was wondering if it was even fixable. But he made a few clutch throws down the stretch, and he helped the team pull out a win... again. Walk-off sack in OT!

Zing! Incredible that some people think the Badgers threw that game on purpose for the good of the league.

This is not helping my nerves: 19 of 22 Badgers starters played in the 2014 Big Ten Title Game. Most Buckeye starters were still in high school.