Friday's Buckeye Bits

Good Friday morning! Another lovely early spring day here in Columbus. Fair warning, this weather has brought on the usual nasty cold, so my writing may be somewhat Nyquil-affected.

So the news that Fielding Yost is objecting to Wes Fesler's recruiting tactics should come as no shock to anyone.

Well, actually, Bret Bielema is the one that's not happy. "We at the Big Ten don’t want to be like the SEC," he says. He's seems a bit upset that Kyle Dodson flipped from Wisconsin.  Mark Dantonio is a bit upset, too, after Se'Von Pittman decided that Columbus is a nicer place to live than East Lansing. The coaches seem to be concerned that the "gentlemen's agreements" that had been informally in place between Big Ten coaches are being violated.

Well, too bad. Until the letter is signed and faxed (and, seriously, WHO uses faxes anymore?), everyone is fair game. And, honestly, why doesn't Bert want to be a bit more SEC-like? It's not like we are trying to train these young men to grow into mature, morally-grounded adults...

Quarterback Conundrum

Yeah..

Well that wasn’t what we were looking for in the second game of the campaign! Toledo gave the Buckeyes everything they could handle in a 27-22 showdown at the show this past Saturday. Missed opportunities, untimely fumbles and a shaky defense were the culprits that almost finished the OSU season before it could even get to the Big Ten portion of the schedule. Joe Bauserman was the only quarterback that saw action which left many in buckeye nation a little perturbed. Why did Fickell choose to stay with the wily.. err... veteran.. err... old quarterback when he had the Ferrari parked on the sideline? Was it the right move? Could Braxton have done a better job at guiding the offense to a more desirable outcome?

I think it is painfully obvious that our new coach knows that his job is on the line after this season and he will do anything in his power to win games. Unfortunately, his job status may be getting the way of giving our new star quarterback valuable game reps.

If The 'Shoe Fits: Podcast #4

We're back in action for our podcast, "If The 'Shoe Fits". This is only our 4th podcast, but we promise to have one every week from here on out! It's now a weekly feature, along with some of new ones, and we hope it can be as successful as the rest of the blog-o-sphere's.

This week, Brady and I discuss our thoughts and feelings regarding the Akron game, as well as give you guys a preview of what's to come on Saturday when OSU takes on the Rockets of Toledo. We also talk Heisman contenders (or pretenders), some BCS teams that fell hard, or played better than we thought they would, and much more! Tune in after the jump. Be sure to give us your thoughts and feelings on how we can make it better and more enjoyable for our readers/listeners.

Akron Rewind

Fickell had success on his debut in the 'Shoe

Luke Fickell’s first game as head coach of The Ohio State University is in the books.  The result was a dominating 42-0 victory over Akron.  As with any season opener, there were some impressive moments and some not-so-impressive moments. Let’s get started.

What I Was Impressed With

1. Luke Fickell.  Despite all the offseason talk that Fickell would just be Tressel 2.0, he showed that he is a completely different coach.  There were times were the Buckeyes were being extremely aggressive, on both sides of the ball, at moments in the game when Tressel would not have been.  On a 4^th-and-1 inside Akron’s 20 in the 2^nd quarter, Fickell went for it, got it and scored a touchdown a few plays later. 




That would have been a time in Tresselball where the field goal unit would be on and the Buckeyes would take the points.  Fickell was also aggressive on defense throughout the game, never taking his foot off the gas.  It showed as the Silver Bullets held the Zips to 90 yards of offense.

2. Dominic Clarke.  The sophomore cornerback started in place of the suspended Travis Howard and was one of the most impressive Buckeyes on defense.  Clarke had multiple pass breakups and seemingly shut down every receiver on his side of the ball.  This experience will help the secondary down the road if Ohio State is going to be in nickel as much as they say.

3. Kick Coverage.  After all of the struggles this unit had last season, it was refreshing to see good coverage downfield and, most importantly, actually bringing down the kick returner.  Yes, it was Akron, but you have to start somewhere.  Doc Tressel has done an excellent job so far with this group but it will get tested in the coming weeks, especially against Miami.

4. Jake Stoneburner.  What was there not to be impressed with? He caught some touchdowns, blocked, caught some more touchdowns, blocked some more, and then caught some more touchdowns.  Stoneburner was the first Ohio State tight end to catch three touchdowns in one game on Saturday. 

Stoneburner scored not one, not two, but three TDs vs. Akron

His size makes him difficult to cover for defensive backs and his speed makes him too fast for most linebackers.  Stoneburner could have a field day in a couple weeks against Miami as they looked rather soft over the middle against Maryland this week.

5. Both Quarterbacks.  Joe Bauserman shocked most Buckeye fans when he came out and led the team down the field to a touchdown on his very first drive.  Perhaps even more shocking was the 15-yard touchdown run he had to cap off that drive.  The 5^th-year senior didn’t seem fazed by the fact that he hadn’t started a game at quarterback since 2003 and came out to throw three touchdown passes, all to Stoneburner.  Bauserman certainly looked the part, playing all but one series in the first half.  Give credit to Bauserman for playing well enough to keep Braxton Miller off the field for all but three plays in the first half.  A poor snap and a drop cut Miller’s first drive as a Buckeye short, but he would rebound in the second half.  Miller finished the game 8-12 for 130 yards and his first touchdown pass of his career, a pass that was caught by fellow freshman Devin Smith. 

Things I Was Unimpressed With

1. Drew Basil. The kicking game could be a point of weakness this season for the Buckeyes.  Especially if Basil kicks the ball the way he did in the first game.  Basil missed both of his attempts, one from 40 and one from 45.  He was only credited with the miss from 40 since the 45-yarder was wiped out by an offside call on Akron.

2. Rod Smith, Inside the 5.  In his first collegiate game, there was plenty to like about Rod Smith.  The redshirt freshman rushed 18 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.  He could have had two touchdowns if he had not fumbled inside the 5-yard-line on the Buckeyes’ second drive of the game. 



Smith's fumble cost the Buckeyes 6 points early



If not for the fumble, Smith may have made the other side of this list, but turnovers can change a game.  Luckily for the Buckeyes, this one did not come back to haunt.

Normally, we will try to find an even amount of things we are impressed and unimpressed with.  But this was Akron.  Akron went 1-11 last year, and for good reason.  If there was much to be unimpressed with after this game, we would be in for a long year.  The weeks ahead will present the Buckeyes with greater challenges, allowing us to nitpick a little more.  All sides of the ball were very good on opening weekend.  The defense didn’t force many turnovers, but they did their job and kept Akron off the scoreboard.

Luke Fickell Gets First Win As Head Coach

After much speculation and waiting, the 2011 season finally started. Start it did, as the Buckeyes rolled to a 42-0 win over the Akron Zips. Luke Fickell was coaching in his first game as the main man, and Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller were impressive in their season debuts. More in the recap, which will go up tomorrow. Go Bucks!

Live Blog: #14 Ohio State vs. Akron

The first game of the season is finally here! Also, in case you missed it yesterday and need to catch up, go back to our game preview, and our interview with an Akron blogger. Go Bucks, and we hope to see you at the Live Blog!

Live Blog begins at 11:45 AM EST

Enemy Blogger Interview: Akron

Middle of the pack since 1946

Matt Sussman from Hustle Belt has been a very busy man among the Internets, what with several Ohio State blogs asking for their questions to be answered, and after all of that, he was still kind enough to answer ours. So, with that, let's jump right in!

1. It appears that Akron has lost some of their key starters on the offensive side of the ball, and although they went 1-11 last season, that's still veteran leadership they are missing. How will the Zips replace them?

Well, head coach Rob Ianello made his reputation as a master recruiter at Notre Dame, so he's going to do it the old fashioned MAC way: Locate people who fell through the cracks, both as high school seniors and JUCO transfers. He knew in his first year what he was going to lose in terms of seniors and I'd like to say he prepared exceptionally well to fill out a competitive two-deep. So, he may have lost seniors he didn't recruit, but in Year Two, he gets to plug in some of his new guys and redshirts to see what they can do in his new pro-style system and 4-3 defense.

Preview: #14 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Akron Zips

Fickell In Charge In 2011

The Ohio State Buckeyes are without head coach Jim Tressel for the first time in 10 years. Luke Fickell has taken over a program that continues to hold the headlines with the NCAA, and that's not good news for any football program in America. Yet, despite all this the Buckeyes are still ranked fairly high with some decent expectations. 


The departures of Tressel and Pryor aren't the only absences which may plague the Buckeyes. Although the team returns top rusher Boom Herron and brings back receiver DeVier Posey, they are among four players who were suspended the first five games for taking part in the exchange.

Also sitting out will be starting tackle Mike Adams, backup defensive end Soloman Thomas, starting running back Jordan Hall, starting corner Travis Howard, and 2nd string defensive back Corey Brown. The last 3 came with the release from Ohio State yesterday, when we reported that they had received a combined total of $300 in a supposed gift basket from a Breast cancer charity event. 

National CFB Games This Weekend

It's time to bring back the predictions, the hype, and the eventual glory for one team in college football. That road begins this weekend when the ball is kicked off the tee, and helmets collide in a bruising, powerful way. Let's begin!


Current Season Record: 0-0
Last Week's Record: 0-0


Minnesota Golden Gophers at USC Trojans, 3:30 PM EST, ABC/ESPN2
The Golden Gophers have a new head coach in Jerry Kill, and their offensive weapon at QB is MarQueis Gray. They will have to attack fast and hard if they have any hope against Barclay and the Trojans though, as USC has won 13 straight openers and 11 straight games against Big Ten opponents.
Prediction: USC wins 35-14

Five Things To Look For: Akron Edition

Buckeye football is back!

Today is the day! College Football starts today, with kickoff between Murray State and Louisville at 6. The real college game is at Madison, where the UNLV Rebels take on #8 Wisconsin Badgers at 8 PM EST. Of course, all this means..

Is that Buckeye football is mere hours away from being back! Are you excited? Because I sure am.  If you’re not, then this video definitely will get you pumped up. After all the offseason drama, getting back on the gridiron in the Horseshoe will be sweet for the players and the fans.  I will be going through five things that I am looking forward to from this game and my prediction for the game.

Week 1 Depth Chart Released

Coach Fickell is ready. Are you?

Akron is just days away from invading the Horseshoe on Saturday at Noon, and I couldn't be more excited about it. Along with that bit of news, comes the release of the depth chart for the game, making it all the more clear that I'm not dreaming, and yes, I can stop pinching myself. With that, let's break down what we know from looking at the depth chart.

Quarterback
1. Joe Bauserman OR Braxton Miller

Thoughts: This was much expected as we predicted throughout the off-season that Fickell is going to give the redshirt senior his first real career start. If Braxton Miller outplays him in the first two games, then I expect Miller to take over soon after.

Running Back
1. Jordan Hall
2. Carlos Hyde OR Rod Smith

Thoughts: My first initial reaction to this was no. How could Jaamal Berry not be starting after all the good things we had seen and heard from camp. Then I came back to reality and remembered that Berry had suffered a hamstring injury that had kept him from participating in many Ohio State practices and key drills that show the coaches who's the best from the rest. Without that shot to prove, Berry moved down the depth chart, and my guess is that this hamstring injury is more than OSU is willing to let on, which isn't good news at all.

Akron and Toledo Will Be Noon Kickoffs

Brutus is already ready for next season

A short break from all the downer news for Buckeye fans, a little look into the future of this fall. When the Buckeyes take the field for the first game, there will surely be many unanswered questions, but now we know the time for those questions.

Ohio State's season opener against Akron on Sept. 3 and the Sept. 10 game against Toledo both will kick off at noon, the Big Ten announced today. ESPN or ESPN2 will carry the Akron game, and the Big Ten Network will broadcast the game with Toledo.

Five of Ohio State’s 2011 games now have start times. Start times previously announced were:

Sept. 17 at Miami (Fla.) – 7:30 or 8 p.m. on ABC or ESPN;

Oct. 8 at Nebraska – 8 p.m. on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2; and

Oct. 29 against. Wisconsin – 8 p.m. on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

As of right now, there seems to be no other indication that the other times for games will be released. Usually for the rest of the games, 12 days before kickoff those game times will be announced.

LeBron: From and Akron Native's Perspective

Yesterday, LeBron put an ad in the Akron Beacon Journal thanking everyone from Akron for all their support, vowing to do whatever he can for his hometown. He also said:

"Akron is my home, and the central focus of my life. It's where I started, and it's where I will always come back to."

This would've been viewed as a great gesture from our native son if he would've handled himself like someone who cared about any one's feelings over these past few months. Because he's acted like a complete (fill in desired adjective here), this gesture that would normally be viewed as humble and caring, is seen (in my opinion) as very hollow. As someone who went to elementary school with him and was a high school student in Akron during his tremendous high school career, it's sad to see what he has become. During his years in Akron he was very humble, nice and approachable (as documented in this lovely musical montage). I was overjoyed that Akron finally had a representative on the global scene. I still get goosebumps (or at least I used to) when I see video of Austin Carr's emotional reaction after the Cavs won the draft lottery in 2003.

My opinion of LeBron remained unchanged during his 7 years in Cleveland however, after reading various articles and reports, the LeBron I thought I knew wasn't who he really was. Reports of his horrible attitude and lack of respect are truly saddening and disheartening, his great service and dedication to his hometown has been overshadowed by his ego. This type of person is not who I want representing my hometown, we may not have many notable natives, but I hope and pray that one day someone else will eclipse the so called "King".