The Road to Santa Clara: Week 11 (Maryland)
I 100% refuse to look ahead to the team coming to Columbus next week. Won’t mention them until this game ends. This is about Maryland, and nothing else. But I’ll be honest, that up and coming Michigan team that is apparently the media darling of ESPN this year does look good, against a cupcake schedule. I mean, they had Penn State at home this year, and they didn’t even have to play against Purdue. Yeah, they should be 9-1. They’ve only played 1 good team! And they lost to them. Anyways, the Buckeyes schedule has been loaded with good teams. Look no further back than last week, when the Buckeyes steam rolled Michigan State in their own stadium. It takes a very good team to go into Spartan Stadium and win by a couple scores. Regardless, I will admit that I was a little nervous coming into this week against Maryland. Classic definition of a trap game. But thanks to that hack reporter Brett McMuffin spreading fake news and lighting a fire under everyone’s asses in Columbus again this week, I see no reason the Buckeyes don’t come out here and boat race these lobster catchers from the East coast.
Week 11:
Date: November 17th, 2018 Time: 12:00 EST TV: ABC All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 4-0 Last Meeting: Ohio State 62-14 in 2017 Spread: Ohio State -14
The Committee Needs to Watch This One
I’m honestly not sure what they playoff committee does each weekend. The Buckeyes just went on the road and curb stomped a top 20 team in the country, and they left them sitting at #10 twiddling their thumbs. Ohio State is well behind #6 Oklahoma. I’m not concerned about being behind two-loss LSU (even though it’s a joke), a terrible Washington State team that we’ll jump after next weekend, or a West Virginia team that will lose soon. I’m only concerned about Oklahoma. And with that in mind, this weekend should be HUGE in the eyes of the committee. Condoleezza Rice please take note. If the Buckeyes beat Maryland today, here’s the situation we have on our hands:
I mean, am I biased or is this clear as day? An Ohio State victory today should jump them over Oklahoma, no questions asked.
Urban Liar
For the last three months, all of the jealous Buckeye haters throughout the country have been calling MY coach by the name of Urban Liar. It’s elementary school bullying to simply change a last name to something less appealing that rhymes, and it’s disgusting that adults would resort to such a thing. And quite honestly, it was factually incorrect. My coach has a cyst on his brain, and he suffers from memory loss. It is not surprising that he can’t remember every little detail of every little action made by his assistant coaches in the last decade. And he fired him like he should have. So I simply brushed off everyone’s harassment and focused on football. But after hearing Urban’s press conference this week in which he described this Maryland team, I believe I owe everyone an apology.
“The video tape doesn’t lie. This is as talented a team as we’ve faced this year, that we’re getting ready to face, and you can see that on video tape.”
As talented of a team as we’ll face all year? Maryland?? Coach Meyer, with all due respect, Penn State, Michigan State, and TCU all have hands down more talented rosters than these chumps. And you can’t forget about that gutsy Purdue team either. We’re going to boat race this team by 25+ points. So for Coach to come out and say this after I’ve defended him all year is rather disappointing. And to all of you that I’ve looked down upon for calling an honest man a liar, I apologize.
The Return of Dwayne Haskins
This will have multiple meanings, because that’s what good writers do. The first meaning will be about the fact that Haskins is finally going home. He grew up just a short drive away from Maryland’s campus, and he actually committed to the Terrapins back in May of 2015.
Then, in a no-brainer move by Haskins in January of 2016, he flipped his pledge from Maryland to Ohio State when Urban Meyer came calling. I’m sure the Maryland faithful (if there are any) were upset, but Haskins always wanted to be a Buckeye.
So Haskins will have tons of family and friends here for his return party, one of which features a whole lot more than coming home. He will also be returning to greatness this afternoon. Just a few weeks ago, Haskins name was up there with those of Tua, Kyler Murray, and Will Grier as Heisman favorites and best quarterbacks in the country. Since the Purdue game, the Buckeyes offense has sputtered and underachieved, and Haskins seems to have completely fallen off the map of the national discussion. Well, this afternoon, I expect him to regain his form. I know Maryland has a great pass defense. In fact, they lead the FBS in interceptions with 17. But Haskins has a chance to put his name in the record books this weekend, and I think he does it with an exclamation point. Haskins is just 50 yards shy of Joe Germaine’s all-time Ohio State passing yards in a season record of 3,330 that he set in 1998. He is also only 3 touchdowns away from breaking JT Barrett’s passing touchdowns in a season record of 35 that he set last year. I say Haskins breaks them both this afternoon, so we don’t have to pause the butt-kicking we’re going to give Michigan next week to announce the record-breaking plays.
Keep Using Ohio’s Tate
I honestly don’t mind sharing the name. It’s catchy and creative. Tip of the cap to me for coming up with it. But I’m definitely not going to share it with a backup QB. However, I’d like to see Tate Martell gain more of a role in the offense and become less of a backup QB. There is no question that Dwayne Haskins arm is a gift from God, but with the struggles we’ve had running the ball and scoring in the red zone, we have to make some sort of adjustment. Martell came in on Saturday against Michigan State and rushed for 5 yards on his first play, and I think that additional running threat will continue to open up more of our offense. The Buckeyes still had a season low 120 yards on 45 carries against the Spartans, but I think including Martell as an option provides the option to run the QB keeper that we need. We may need that option today, but we’ll definitely need it next week against an up and coming Michigan team.
Let’s Get the Job Done, Men
Maryland is without their starting QB, Kasim Hill, as he tore his ACL last week against Indiana, and they may be without their senior RB, Ty Johnson, as he is a game-time decision due to getting banged up last week, too. The Terrapins are walking into this one unhealthy, and the Buckeyes should be walking into this one hungry. We have an angry football team with everything we want to play for still on the table, right in front of us. Get the job done today and all eyes will be on you next Saturday. Win and you’re in. Buckeyes LARGE today. Take it to the bank, BillyTheKid.
Prediction: