Friday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye Nation!  I really wanted to do  that in the Robin Williams "Good Morning Vietnam" voice, but it doesn't really translate well to the written word...

I digress. We are finally starting to see something resembling winter here in Columbus. So imagine a warm September Saturday in the Shoe, surrounded by thousands of your sweatiest friends, and that will take the chill out of this weather.

What, recruiting season's still open? Yep, for players who want to have the spotlight to themselves can't make up their minds in time, there's still time.  Stefon Diggs is one highly rated recruit still on the table, for now. Deciding between Ohio State, Auburn, Florida, and...Maryland? Really, Maryland? Hometown team, for certain, but the Terps don't have a particularly stellar track record for producing either winning teams or lots of high draft picks. Randy White, Boomer Esiason, and Shawne Merriman are the only ones I can think of.


Anyhow, Diggs is expected to announce his choice tonight on a local cable network. Most experts seem to think he's headed to College Park. Come to think of it, perhaps this is a smart move. Maryland has become the "flagship" university for Under Armour apparel (who can forget their special unis last season?), much like Oregon is the "flagship" for Nike. Oregon's program has certainly benefited from Phil Knight's pocket change...

Hoops news: Sparty's comin' to town. 6pm Saturday, in the Schott, or on ESPN. Coming off a twenty point win against the Lions of Mount Nittany, the 11th ranked Spartans are a game back of the Buckeyes in the B1G. Look for one heck of a battle Saturday evening. Look here Saturday for my preview of this matchup.

Playoffs? Yep, the B1G is proposing a four-team playoff for the national championship. Interestingly, the first round of playoffs would be a home game for the higher ranked team. As Rob Oller points out over at The Dispatch, simply the thought of a third or fourth ranked SEC team having to play in Columbus, Madison, or Ann Arbor, outdoors in January, brings dreams of redemption and frostbite to many a Big Ten fan. Will it happen?

My thoughts: probably. Considering that ESPN seems to run the show anyhow, I'd imagine they'd jump at the opportunity for two more marquee games for Gameday to show up at and have Erin Andrews strut.

Well, that's it for today. Like I said, come back tomorrow morning for my Buckeye Hoops preview, and get thineself to the Schott for that game!