Not gonna lie… got a pretty mellow vibe for this week’s updates.
Buckeye 411
- Time For Trophies- Now that the season is over, it’s time to start handing out gold stars and stickers for the best of the best, and Monday/Tuesday were B1G All Conference Awards, or as we like to call them- the “Ohio State was expected to be great, so here’s something for everyone else”. As you may have read across the interwebs, the best team in the conference only had three players on the first team, while Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State had five each. Most egregious was Ryan Shazier- the conference’s best linebacker, in terms of statistics, being bumped to the second team and overlooked for B1G Linebacker of the Year.
- Along Those Lines- Also “outstanding”? No Ohio State offensive linemen on the first or second teams, in spite of leading the conference in rushing yardage. I guess they don’t hold nearly enough to call attention to themselves… It’s my understanding that Reid Fragel’s name wasn’t even on the ballot. Michigan’s Tyler Lewan was named “All Conference”, which is interesting given my memories of him being overwhelmed by freshmen Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington all day on Saturday. Also- An Iowa DB (and Ohio native) was named Defensive Back of the Year… making several people ask the question “Iowa had a secondary?”.
- Snubbed- The OZone’s Gerd and 97.1’s Lori Schmidt both have great takes at the totality of Ohio State’s representation on the conference award lists. Yeah, it’s ridiculous.
- Injury Update- On Tuesday, Zach Boren and Jake Stoneburner both had minor surgery for issues lingering from the season’s battles, and both are recovering well. Doug Lesmerisis had the best explanation for Boren’s wounds that we’d read all day:
- Don’t Hate The Player- Braxton Miller was awarded the B1G Offensive Player of the Year award on Tuesday, while John Simon was given the conference’s Defensive PotY for 2012. I hear everyone talk about how down the B1G was this season, but to have the Offensive Player of the Year go to the Coaches’ selection for Second Team All ConferenceQB, I’m guessing that the conference was stacked with players! Woot!
- Continuing The Legacy- Coach Meyer was passed up for the B1G Coach of the Year award on Tuesday, which was given to Bill O’Brien for the work he’s done at Penn State. I can’t be upset at this decision, given the way that the Lions rallied for their coach under extreme circumstances. That being said, though- it’s been 33 years and three undefeated seasons since an Ohio State coach has won the CotY award; can we just start calling it the “Most Inspirational Coach” award, since they’re obviously not basing it crazy things like on field records or conference/national titles.
This Is Greatness- We’ve been fans of Every Day Should Be Saturday since well before they (puts on hipster glasses, grows beard) sold out and joined the SBN family, and Monday’s article recounting Spencer Hall’s trip to The Game highlights why you should be reading their stuff every day as well-
This looked (similar) to Jim Tressel’s best teams. Instead of forcing the issue–faking a field goal, trying an onside, or simply heaving the ball downfield hoping something might break the stasis–Meyer’s 2012 team did what a Jim Tressel team would have in punting, taking field goals where it could get it, and then daring Michigan to do something with the ball. That something was the same rollout pattern Michigan had tried all game long, and that something ended up being the game-clinching Interception.
This was all far more entertaining than it sounds. You could hear Gardner getting hit up in the second deck where we were. If you have opiates, please bring them to the Michigan football offices. They are in need of them.
- Kids These Days- Who can understand them? Certainly not the folks at Auburn or Ann Arbor, who both saw top rated recruits step away from their commitments on Tuesday. First, Trey Johnson told the Tigers that he was no longer interested in being a part of their 2013 class, then Massilon’s Gareon Conley informed the Wolverines of the same information. Common bond? Both were in Columbus on Saturday, and both have “in-home” visits with Ohio State staff this weekend. Warm up the celebratory bananas, folks.
- Kyle Kalis was right: He promised that there would be blood for The Game this year, and there was- the Ohio State students “won” the annual Blood Drive Battle with TTUN for the first time in years. Hopefully it wasn’t too thinned out via tailgating beverage choices.
- Banded Together- One of the cool things about being at The Game and Skull Session on Saturday was seeing the first African American female dot the eye in Script Ohio; I’ll admit that St. John’s was a bit dustier than usual for yours truly. Also part of the fun- Kris Tikson’s performance as the oldest member of TBDBITL at 51. /realizes that he has 8 years to learn an instrument /reaches instead for remote control
- Earned- They don’t call it “The Best Damn Band In The Land” for nothing; again, from Spencer Hall:
Ohio State’s band SLAUGHTERED Michigan’s band. If this were a football game, it would have been Florida State/Savannah State. I remember the Ohio State band nailing a straight line across eight yards of formation, and the Michigan band doing a half-assed boogaloo before farting away quietly for the remainder of their show. The Best Damn Band in the land is an affront to college marching bands in the sense that they appear to work hard, have discipline, and wear clean uniforms while playing a mean version of Stravinsky’s Firebird.
That is a compliment, because all of those things are usually good, and it makes other college marching bands look bad in comparison when you’re all good at things. Well-done.
If you weren’t in Columbus on Saturday and missed the performance, here you go:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1lRn7fu0cE]
Commentary– Coaching Searches
Sunday was the end of the road for a number of coaches’ current tenures, with Colorado/NC State/Auburn/Boston College joining Kentucky/Tennessee/Arkansas in looking for new head coaches in the coming months. On Tuesday, Southern Miss was added to their list, after coach Ellis was canned following one season where he went 0-12. We’re starting to hear the wheels turning on the next phases of the great shuffle- Sonny Dykes interviewing at NC State? Purdue interested in Coach Warinner? Arkansas throwing a truckload of money at Les Miles? And now we know that Mark Stoops has officially left FSU for Kentucky– a job that many people thought was a “dead end”, given the conference competition, the institutional focus on basketball, and the regional dominance by Ohio State and Tennessee.
Also on Tuesday, though, there were a couple of folks who made some observations about the process and wondered if there might be something deeper involved as well. First, Seth Wickersham referred to a Sports Illustrated report that said that many minority coaches don’t get second chances once fired; he refers to Tyrone Willingham, although Rich Rodriguez also comes to mind. Later, former Colorado coach Bill McCartney wonders if the transition in Boulder might also have racial factors at play–
I believe black men have less opportunity, shorter time if you will. It’s just like, Dan Hawkins got five full years. Why not give Jon Embree five years? You signed him to a five-year contract. Men of color have a more difficult road to tread. It didn’t happen to me. Why should it happen to a black man?
It’s an interesting question that was raised by many during the Charlie Weis tenure in South Bend- He was given a contract extension and lots of grace after similar or worse on field results than his African American predecessor (the aforementioned Willingham). The fact that Weis only had success with Willingham’s athletes added to the confusion and concern that perhaps the coaches’ race and backgrounds might also be at play.
This is a difficult, and sensitive topic, and one that we’ve talked about a little in previous discussions. Given the large amount of student athletes who are minorities, does it make sense that so few Division 1 coaches are as well? Just looking at the major conferences, the numbers are pretty interesting:
- B1G- 11 coaches, 0 non-Caucasians (0%)
- PAC- 11 coaches, 2 non-Caucasians {Stanford, Arizona} (18%)
- B12- 10 coaches, 0 non-Caucasians (0%)
- SEC- 9 coaches, 2 non-Caucasians {TAMU, Vandy} (22%)
- ACC- 10 coaches, 1 non-Caucasian {Virginia} (10%)
- Big East- 15 coaches, 3 non-Caucasians {Louisville, Navy, Memphis} (20%)
So, the questions- Should it matter? The NFL has adopted the “Rooney Rule” to ensure access and opportunity for candidates who might otherwise not get considered given the traditional process that only saw the usual suspects get looks- recognizable names with “experience”, people who had “connections” and “relationships” with the folks who are making decisions. In other words, more of the same. The results have been solid- the Bears/Colts Super Bowl was the first to have two African American head coaches on opposite sidelines; the Steelers have also won a title with a young coach who might not have been given an interview without the rule.
As we hear the names of the same people as currently have or had coaching gigs rotate across the rumor mill for openings at the Division 1 level, it does make me wonder if at some point the NCAA (or its member institutions) might create a similar set of guidelines. At this point, only Louisville’s Charlie Strong is tied to any of these opportunities; although that shifts him from one major conference to another. Given that many universities have policies and practices to ensure equal opportunities for candidates, it seems possible that this might also apply to the people who might lead the teams that are often the public faces of the institutions.
I’d love to hear other perspectives- Should the ethnicity of a coach matter, given the makeup of a program and its participants? If so, how should this be addressed? Again, a controversial and complicated topic, but one that might be interesting to be mindful of as the names swirl and the faces change programs.
Across The NCAA
- I’m Sure It’s Glandular- Bert Bielema offers a scholarship immediately following viewing of this highlight:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHIBvEEU8HI]
- Hey, Denard! Nice watch, man.
- Expanding like my waistline at Thanksgiving- The latest news… Tulane/East Carolina to the Big lEast (Conference USA)? We may know on Wednesday if Louisville will be in the ACC, or if Navy/Cincinnati might follow. Most interesting update from Tuesday was Grand Canyon aligning itself with the WAC; it would be the first “for profit” school in a Division 1 conference, albeit one with a 38% graduation rate for all of it’s students.
- Oh, NOW things are getting ligitious: Maryland is being sued by the ACC to ensure that they pay their exit fee as they head over to the B1G.
- Follow The Money-The BTN is affiliated with Fox Sports, who also partner with the YES network. Fox is also working on an ESPN counterpart- here’s an interesting overview of their plans to this point.
- This Week In Confirmation Bias- Your “understanding the SEC” flow chart:
- Fight On: Former USC coach Todd McNair has a great opportunity to strike a blow against the NCAA’s arbitrary process for investigations and infractions
- Lose To Win? Did UCLA throw Saturday’s game to prevent their having to play Oregon this week?
- Like I Was Sayin’- If it’s OK for students to major in Vocal Performance, it should be OK for students to major in Athletics.
- As Always, It’s Miami’s Fault- Georgia Tech may make a bowl game, in spite of a crappy record, due to the Hurricanes’ decision to dodge the NCAA by taking another year of post-season ban.
- I Wouldn’t Bet On That- Particularly not at Tulsa, where the Athletic Director with a gambling problem has been removed from his position.
And Finally
I hate shopping, particularly with tons of people… but this is something I could get behind:
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