I’ve been hearing Ohio State coaches and players reference that nobody believes in them. Well, that’s what happens when you fold when the chips fall down in the biggest game of the year, for the second year in a row! It’s not like the doubt against these guys is coming out of left field.
Sadly, I would have no doubt the team was relishing the underdog role under Urban Meyer. Say what you want about that old pervert, and Lord knows I said a lot, the Dublin Dad was “bet the rent” good in the underdog role.
As much faith as I had in Meyer, that’s as much faith as I don’t have in Day. I guess it’s a good thing the Buckeyes aren’t 6.5-point favorites entering the Peach Bowl. We know how Day’s teams tend to perform in that role.
But that’s all I ask. If it’s Ohio vs. the World, then play like it. Be merciless if Georgia sleep walks through the start of the game.
The Buckeyes don’t have to win for Day to maintain his honor. Georgia is a helluva team when they’re operating at their best. General William Tecumseh Sherman has been dead for 131 years—at least he wouldn’t have lived long enough to see his boys finally lose in Atlanta.
Today’s Breakfast Kegger is free for the masses. I’d love if you’d consider a subscription to Meet at Midfield.
We are currently running a 50% off sale, which means it’s like a $7 ticket to hang in the militia forums during the game. It’s going to be mayhem either way, right? It’s not like you’re going to spend your New Year’s Eve like a well-adjusted adult anyway. Come bark with the freaks.
- GET A LOAD OF THIS LOADED SCOUT
The only people more sheisty than NFL owners are anonymous scouts. The way these guys talk in the media, you would assume they’re all divorced and subsisting on microwaved dinners while working 70 hours a week for the prestige of working in “sports.”
I mean, get a load of this dickhead that cannot actually believe what the ostensible reporter reprinted for our luxury.
From Pete Thamel of espn.com:
Being a middling prospect, however, doesn’t mean someone can’t be a great college player. Another veteran scout said that in this game, he’d take Bennett over Ohio State’s Stroud, who is a projected first-round pick of the upcoming NFL draft. Bennett’s worst games have come against lesser competition like Missouri and Kentucky, and he’s thrived in UGA’s only three games against ranked teams this year — LSU, Tennessee and Oregon.
“I’d take Georgia’s quarterback in a one-game playoff,” the scout said. “He handles pressure better and can make more plays with his feet. He’s obviously not as skilled or big, but with the game on the line, I’d take that guy any day over Stroud to win a game.”
In retrospect, yeah, maybe he does believe that. There are plenty of dumb decisions that get made in this sport every day by people that should know better.
I’m no fanboy of our gothic quarterback, either. But c’mon now. That’s not to say Stetson Bennett won’t come out and drop a line like 17 completes on 22 completions for 258 yards and two touchdowns in a semifinal win that covers the spread.
But with one game to play with their family’s lives on the line, nobody would actually take Bennett over Stroud. Unless they hated their family.
But hey, Thamel reprinted that article knowing guys like me would have the exact reaction I’m having. Oh well. It’s still a dumb ass take.
- VEGAN GRANDPA WILL BLITZ THE QB OR DIE TRYIN’
Jim Knowles got an introduction into how quick your Q Score can tank if you act goofy against Michigan.
Knowles’ otherwise sterling debut season in Columbus got turned on its head almost as fast as the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes. But getting burned against Michigan won’t change his philosophy.
From Big Dick Bill Rabinowitz of dispatch.com:
“When you have those kinds of plays happen to you, you definitely go back to the call and every part of what you do,” Knowles said Wednesday. “There’s some dark times. You’ve got to take responsibility for that, and you want to fix it. What was it about that particular call? Could I have done something different?”
He said he might, with hindsight, have changed a couple of his calls. But Knowles doesn’t believe the breakdowns against Michigan are evidence of a schematic flaw.
He doesn’t regret, for example, his decision to blitz on a third-and-9 in the second quarter that turned into a game-tying 69-yard touchdown after a missed tackle.
But Knowles takes responsibility for not teaching his players well enough to prevent those blown plays, and he has dissected them with his players.
I like the confidence… unless it doesn’t work! In which case, I hate it.
But this is the price we pay for an aggressive defense. And it’s not like anybody watched last year’s defense and thought, “We should pump these guys full of even more sedatitives.”
The Vegan Grandpa brought the attitude change, and some of his soldiers failed him against Michigan. Hopefully the layoff has given them enough time to ensure that never happens again. They give away a touchdown to Georgia, let alone multiple like they did against Michigan, and they can go ahead and leave Grandpa in Atlanta as far as I’m concerned.
- LET’S GET A LIVE LOOK AT THE DAWGS
Given how you read this report, Georgia is either treating Ohio State as just another game or they’re laser focused handling their business in the same way regardless of foe, which spells doom for the local team.
From Evan Crowell of dawgsdaily.com:
Head coach Kirby Smart commanded the entire field, quickly getting players from drill to drill. There wasn’t any wasted movement; everyone knew exactly where to go and when to get there.
Additionally, everything was business. No one was posing for photos or laughing to the side. Each respective player focused on execution and getting to the next rep, creating a competitive environment.
The culture that Smart has cultivated is quite obvious when standing in. A game of this magnitude can cause jitters and nervous excitement, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell they are playing for their season on Saturday.
Well, good to know that Smart can run an efficient practice given the salary Georgia is paying him. It’s also impressive the writer got through three paragraphs with a throbbing erection describing what he saw.
- TODD MONKEN KEEPS IT REAL IF NOTHING ELSE
If Ohio State beats Georgia, it’s going to be in part because the Silver Bullets got the better of Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
In an ideal world, Bulldogs fans would be staking “FOR SALE” signs into his lawn sometime around midnight on New Year’s Eve. Say this much for the man, he can give a good interview.
From Anthony Dasher of UGAsports.com [brackets mine]:
Wednesday, Monken was asked about those other opportunities and whether he’d one day consider taking on another new and different challenge.
“Well, first off, no one wants my old ass, so that’s usually why that’s the case,” Monken said. “I’m joking, in general. First of all, I have a great job. I’ve said that many times.”
[…]
“Let’s not kid ourselves about what we do. I’m paid to score points and run the offense, and that relationship only goes so far. And I don’t want it any different. He’s my boss. My job is to work my ass off and for us to be as good as we can be on offense. The moment I don’t see it that way [is] the moment I’m wrong. This is a business,” Monken said. “I’ve done organizations where ‘this is a family.’ This isn’t a family. You’re going to fire me if we suck, so don’t say it’s a family. This is the way it is. This is what we choose to do. This is a business, and I get it that way my job is to do the best job I can for Kirby Smart and our players. That’s hard. It’s a hard job. It’s hard to win a lot, and that’s part of it.”
There are times I’m reminded that Ryan Day sought and accepted a job under Endgame Urban Meyer.
Todd Monken once accepted a job under Hue Jackson with the Cleveland Browns. We’re a long way from 2019, but that stain will forever mean Monken is insanely beatable.
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