Welcome to the Free Thursday of Free Week at Meet at Midfield.
As you might have heard, we’re giving away a week of free content and 10% off the sticker price this week.
A quarterly subscription would get you through the rest of football season—and life after football season can’t be guaranteed, right?
You might as well make the plunge. The banter on the message boards is worth it alone:
- THE LINEMAN REMEMBERS.
The most Irish thing about me other than my Americanized surname is I keep a book of slights. It can be petty or large. It doesn’t matter. Once you’re on the list, you ain’t comin’ off until the next life at the earliest.
That’s the kind of pettiness I love to see from offensive linemen, which is why I was nodding along last night when Luke Wypler reminded Desmond Howard he’s still on notice for taking a pot-shot at Ohio State’s offensive line during last year’s Heisman Trophy ceremony.
From Nathan Baird of cleveland.com:
Wypler told cleveland.com after Wednesday’s practice that he felt some helplessness watching his quarterback take that shot with no chance to respond. Then he just got angry.
“I’m shocked he was able to —,” Wypler said, before pausing. “I would have done things a little differently if I was up there.
“I give him a ton of credit that he was able to keep his cool and keep a straight face, because I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I was him. Huge kudos to him and the way he’s wired as a man — unbelievable.”
Good, let that hate flow through you!
What’s funny is that Howard’s jibe was entirely believable given the source. I’m thank Howard couldn’t resist his natural urge to be a wretched little troll (not that I would know anything about that).
But he was right. Ohio State’s offensive line was shit in that game. And when you win in this series, you get to run your mouth for the next year. Lord knows Howard had been waiting for his moment for a long, long time.
It’s good to see that those comments still get a rise out of Wypler. It means Howards comments hit home, which means mission accomplished for him right until Ohio State takes the field for revenge in 51 days.
- RED ZONE ROSES.
I love Miyan Williams like all other Ohio State fans in part because I love having a tailback that can get two yards when everybody in the stadium knows it’s going to the tailback. Williams is that dude.
That physicality helps in the red zone. Williams isn’t the sole reason for Ohio State’s offense jumping from 45th(!) in the country to No. 1, but you gotta think he’s played an outsized role.
From Chris Lauderback of elevenwarriors.com:
While the Buckeyes were ultimately as productive as a team can be in the red zone last weekend, it was a bit wild to see them run an astonishing 18 plays – nine runs, nine passes – inside the 10-yard line versus the Scarlet Knights. I’m sure that was maddening for the staff on some level but again, the end result was five touchdowns in five trips.
Through five games, Ohio State’s red zone offense leads the nation in scoring, recording points in all 25 trips. Even more impressive, Day’s bomb squad has scored touchdowns on 23 of those 25, giving it a 92% touchdown rate, also tops in the nation.
If Ohio State continues to score at that clip in the red zone, they’re going to be tough for any team to beat.
- BUT WHAT WOULD AN UPSET LOOK LIKE?
I admit to still carrying trauma from the Michigan State game in 2015. I remember running into a group of Michigan State bros downtown outside BBR (RIP to that godawful bar) on the eve of the game.
They told me they would beat Ohio State with a backup quarterback. I laughed as if I had been told the funniest joke in the world. Well, I was the one wearing the clown paint that night. Everybody here probably remembers how that particular porno ended.
Which begs the question this time around. What in the hell would a Spartan victory look like in the first place?
From Grant Bricker of saturdaytradition.com:
“In order to beat Ohio State you gotta be able to score,” said [former Alabama quarterback Greg] McElroy. “Right now Payton Thorne’s been really up and down. Big picture? He hasn’t been what we’d thought he’d be this year. In order to knock off Ohio State, your quarterback better play dang good.”
The Spartans have not been at their best on defense either. There has been times where the defense has looked competent, but then gives up a ton of yards to the opposing offense. McElroy thinks that the Michigan State defense is going to need to force some turnovers to get the job done.
“The defense allowed just six points in the second half to Maryland. You’re like, maybe this is a little bit more where they need to be, then they give up nearly 500 yards. They need to force turnovers this week if they wanna make things interesting. I think things are gonna get sideways badly.”
You know things look grim for Michigan State when even an Ohio State hater like McElroy concedes that an upset would require units on both sides of the ball playing the exact opposite as they’ve played this entire season.
Sure, the Spartans have a chance as long as Payton Thorne uncorks a blinder for the ages and their defense finds a steroid regimen.
The only intrigue, per usual, will be if Ohio State covers the 25.5-point spread.
- KING MENTALITY FROM OL’ ZEKE.
I stand with Zeke Elliot for refusing to drive multiple hours and deal with hellacious Texas traffic to watch a baseball game in Micah Parsons’ suite.
That’s become my look any time I have been forced to drive this summer. Stay strong, Zeke! Don’t let the haters get you down. You didn’t miss anything. Aaron Judge is only the Home Run King to the most miserable people alive.
THOSE WMDs. The histories hidden in our street names… Seven great, notoriously hard-to-finish books… How to recover from a happy childhood… Untold secrets of the Hollywood sign… As counterfeits rise, sneaker authenticators decide real from fake.