Colin: Was it just me or did Urban look more like his old self last Saturday in East Lansing? Did I see some swagger?
Baver: The one-two combo punch on the sideline (seen on Twitter HERE) was vintage Meyer....wasn’t it? Yeah, I think he was much more at ease than he has been...not exactly sure why. And the Buckeyes landed two verbal commitments last week. This may indicate that the chances of Urban bailing after this season aren’t so great after all. We shall see.
Colin: I’m not sure it will ever end with Brett McMurphy. Is there anything at all behind McMurphy’s latest piece where Buckeye Nation should fear that there’s more to come? At least Urban handled himself pretty well this time around.
Baver: McMurphy outdid himself with this one. His #1 source is an admitted drug dealer that has had two domestic violence charges filed against him within the last 8 years, with both of the cases being dismissed. This....after McMurphy crucified Zach Smith for strikingly similar charges and nearly identical legal outcomes. You can’t make this s--- up. So far, this has backfired on McMurphy, and has lessened his credibility on the national spectrum.
As far as a fear of more to come...many think Trevon actually did make the claim that Zach Smith called him a “bitch ass n-----", but few believe it ever happened. As for Urban taking his trip to Florida to deal with the racial slur accusation, that wouldn’t shock me. If Trevon did make the claim, but made it up, it would make sense to me why Urban would want to deal with the issue immediately....and obviously privately. Going down there to try to quiet a family whose son had been called a bitch ass n----- by one of his assistants would be career suicide for Meyer, and makes no sense. So, there may be more to come, but I tend to think OSU is okay here.
Colin: The Buckeyes looked better but without the heroic effort from Drue Chrisman I’m not sure Ohio State comes away with the win. How do you view OSU’s performance in East Lansing? And as an aside...has any team ever started 6 consecutive drives inside their 6-yard line?
Baver: You make a good point about Chrisman possibly saving the Buckeyes in this one, but I think this win was huge for Ohio St. And the word is that the Buckeye locker room was quite the scene in the post-game. The Bucks definitely needed some self-assurance and got a big confidence-shot in the arm. There was progress with the running game again, and this time it was against the nation’s #1 rated rush defense. And the fundamentals on defense were without a doubt the best we’ve seen all year.
6 straight punts downed inside the 6...is that what it was with Chrisman and the punt coverage unit? Unheard of....gotta be some kind of record.
Colin: Ohio State as a 4-point favorite beats a ranked Michigan St team in East Lansing by 20 points and falls in the coaches and AP polls while making up no ground in the playoff rankings. What gives? And what are OSU’s chances of making the playoff with the win in East Lansing not moving the needle for these voters?
Baver: Actually dropping in the polls made me chuckle a bit....seems a bit absurd. But like I have said I think about every year at this time....let’s see how things play out over the last few weeks before we decide whether OSU was slotted fairly by the committee. I tend to think if they win out, OSU is probably in, but it’s not a given that winning out gets them in. And while I’ll admit the chances of OSU winning out are less than 50%, I will tell you that those chances are definitely better than the 0% that I hear some OSU fans and naysayers claiming.
Colin: Other Maryland type teams like Minnesota, Indiana and Nebraska have hung tough with Ohio State for much of the games or for the entire games. And if a game ever fit the definition of a trap-game it would be one that was sandwiched between Michigan State and Michigan. Can the Terps upset Ohio State...and how do you see this one playing out?
Baver: It’s indeed a losable game if OSU plays like they did in the games you mentioned. They will need to play good D again, as acting Maryland head coach Matt Canada knows a thing or two about coaching an offense. And if there is a look-ahead to the showdown against team up north, OSU is in for a struggle against the Terps. But I finally see this Buckeye team gaining some steam after the 26-6 win in East Lansing. Maryland lost by 21 to both Michigan and Michigan St, while losing to Iowa by 23. Their success in Big Ten play occurred in games against the bottom feeders. And to boot, the Terps may be about out of gas. I’ve got the Buckeyes winning and think the Bucks are a strong play laying 14½ pts. I’ve got Ohio State 41 Maryland 20 in what should be pretty good weather in College Park, Md for mid-November.