Goin’ Hunting With Silver Bullet Points

Pretty obvious inspirational quote for this week’s Wednesday update, don’t you think? If you’re really interested in what I’m listening to these days, here you go.

Buckeye 411

• Fun With Numbers- As a reminder, Coach Meyer is 14-1 lifetime after bye, and 32-2 with multiple weeks to prepare for a game.
• Injury Update- According to Monday’s press conference, Etienne Sabino is back and will be starting against Wisconsin this week.  Bri’onte Dunn has sprained his MCL and will miss this week, but won’t need surgery- he’s hopefully back for The Game. Armani Reeves is back from the IR, and Corey Linsley is a bit banged up, but will go on Saturday.
• Meyer’s Musings- In Tuesday’s B1G conference, Coach Meyer said that they haven’t really talked much about an AP championship with the team, choosing instead to try to “win as many games as we could for our seniors” He spoke about how the Wisconsin match up has become a great rivalry, particularly since they’re in the same division now.  Looking at the offense, he mentioned how well the team is working together, and that Carlos, Braxton, and the Offensive Line really feed off of each other.
  
• Watch These Guys- Both OSU’s Braxton Miller and Wisconsin’s Monte Ball have been named to the “Players To Watch” list for the Walter Camp Award.
  

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  Bert Blathers- Also in Tuesday’s B1G Conference Call, Coach Bielema talked about how impressed he is with Ohio State’s improvement as the season has progressed. He mentioned the offensive line in particular, and said that they are playing really well at this point in the year.  He also addressed speculation that his team would be satisfied after last week’s win, which put them into the Conference Championship Game for the second straight year; and said that his team would not see a let down against the Buckeyes, especially given last year’s game. Added to the fact that it’s “Senior Day”, and it’s sure to be a high intensity game.

• Simon Says- In reflecting on the game this weekend, senior captain John Simon commented, “The tougher team always wins this game”. Not sure what that says about the 2010 team, but it does bode well for this group heading off of the bye week.
• The Gentleman’s Response-  NSFW due to language, but… yeah.
• Hoops Note- Tournament travel for 2015 is going to be AWESOME! {Sees Ohio State Sent To Southwest Region}
  
• Ticket Masters- Camp Randall is a tough place to play, but insiders are telling us that Buckeye fans headed to the game should be able to get tickets pretty easily this time around. Part of it is the early struggles that the Badgers have had this year, but part of it is that the game is scheduled for one of the Wisconsin High Holy Days.
• Hoops Note, Part Two- Congratulations to the Albany Great Danes, Ohio State’s opening day victim, for knocking off the University of Washington on Tuesday night!

Uniform Updates

With all of the buzz this week about the “leaked” uniforms for the game, Buckeye fans started to get excited for another opportunity to support Oregon athletics buy gear that shows their team pride. We’ve seen glimpses of what the uniforms will look like, and have also gotten an idea about the new helmet design as well; but details are still a bit fuzzy as to when the new shirts and stuff will be available for purchase. If the leaks are accurate, they will be (in my opinion) the best of the “special” kits that we’ve seen, and something that I wouldn’t mind being a part of the “regular” look for Ohio State in the future.

In talking with some of our friends in the Ohio State retail business, here’s what I can figure out: The helmets have a “chrome” look to them, similar to what we’ve seen with other schools.  The t-shirts and such are in stores, but won’t be put out until they get the OK from the University/Nike.  There may (emphasis ‘may’) not be any of the replica/authentic jerseys available for purchase as there have been for past years- Nike is having some issues getting the goods out to a few of their suppliers (I’m guessing it’s due to the new Nike NFL contract).

That being said, we hope to have a couple of announcements here at tBBC in the next few days regarding what’s available, when it’s going to be in stock, and the best place to get them.  Stay Tuned!

Related- Stay tuned as well to the University’s decision to move to a single provider for licensed gear, and what that might mean for the Columbus area economy… All about the Benjamins.

Rumors, Mongered For Your Enjoyment– From things we read with an enormous grain of salt on college football message boards:

• Hurt Spoonin’ Arm- Denard Robinson may be done at QB for TTUN, as his nerve damage situation continues to heal slowly. Get well, kid… seriously, “hurt” is one thing, “injured” is another.
• Bo…Pig… Sooie? Whispers that Bo Pelini might be high on Arkansas’ list for their soon to be open position; Mike Gundy is linked to a number of SEC opportunities as well. Cutcliff to Kentucky?
• Expanding Like My Waistline At Thanksgiving- Maryland to the B1G?
• Slap Happy- Will the slap we showed you on Monday end of costing Tommy Tuberville his job? Whispers that he’s started to wear out his welcome in Lubbock… although, this is the school that hired Coach Knight after he left Indiana. Perhaps they knew, as all West Texans should, the real motive/rationale for that altercation:

Around The NCAA

• Speaking Of Expansion- The Big WEast announced their divisional breakdowns for next season today, and they seem pretty reasonable to a guy stuck with “Leaders” and “Legends”, and who grew up with the Reds and Braves in the NL West. What’s really interesting is the possibility of each team playing all of the others, with only one “non-conference” date. Guess they don’t need that big “cannon-fodder” money anymore.
• Pay Your Fees, Get Your Eligibilities- Great expose in the Chronicle for Higher Education on the sham that is the “summer coursework” phenomenon (or, as we call it around here, “the Carolina/Katzenmoyer plan”). Maybe Cardale was just being honest… and there yet another chunk out of the “student athlete” ideal.
• As If That Weren’t Enough- Recent developments in the Ed O’Bannon case regarding the usage of “amateur” athlete likenesses in video games seem to take even more of a hit at the “student athlete” myth, as emails indicate that the NCAA was aware that one of their partners, in this case EA Sports, was using athlete likenesses in their video game series. So, everyone but Braxton gets to make money off of his “Braxton-ness”. Gotcha.
• And This Is Better How? The news that the BCS is giving way to a playoff was welcomed by many college football fans. What might not be as popular, though, is the truth that the number of bowls involved and the selection process for the games are still as convoluted as they ever were, and are about maintaining the current system more than they are about “crowning a champion”. While a lot of conferences lose their “automatic qualifier” status (looking your way, Big East), what’s most interesting is that BYU, as an independent, will fall to the next tier of selection after the BE/SunBelt/CUSA, etc.  This wouldn’t have happened under a Romney administration, I’m telling you. (see… ’cause he’s a Mormon… ah, nevermind).
• Losing Innocence- Duke beat Kentucky on Tuesday Night, but got taken to task pretty solidly on Tuesday morning by a contributor to Slate, who opines that Coach K (as with many men on the sidelines) is not a paragon of the virtuous “right way” to do college athletics, but instead is but another facet of the greater “game” being played on college campuses.
• Fan? Fan!  Check out this story of the greatest fan experience of a lifetime– a guy who manages to find himself on the Alabama sideline for last week’s game… as a supporter of Texas A&M.
• Something We’ve Adopted- You may remember that Florida defensive lineman Sharif Floyd was forced to miss a few games this year due to some irregularities in his recruiting, and concerns that he’d taken illegal benefits from a charity organization. This week it was announced that the person who had provided those benefits had legally adopted Floyd, similar to what happened in the famous story/film “The Blind Side”. As an adoption advocate, I want to believe in the goodness of people’s hearts.  As someone who covers college sports, though, I can’t help but see these types of situations as potential “loopholes” for a booster system that is already problematic.  Perhaps if Bobby DiGeronimo had adopted Terrelle Pryor, we would be talking about bowl possibilities today… but we also may not have Urban Meyer.  Tradeoffs, right?
• Tweet Much? Don’t try to do it at Washington games.  Oh, and be sure to give us a “follow”– we’re trying to get 2002 followers before The Game next weekend.

And Finally

From Deadspin yesterday- In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, one football team that qualified for the state playoffs had their lives turned upside down: facilities ruined, equipment lost, team members homeless and scattered across the area to live with other families and friends. While they didn’t win their game, the pep talk their coach gave them made things a little dusty… at least in my office (note- language warning):

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