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Happy Monday, friends, and for those who celebrate the holiday, merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve! In just under two weeks, Ohio State and Clemson will face off yet again in the CFP, and man oh man are the Buckeyes HUNGRY for revenge (but we’ll get to that later).
From around Land-Grant Holy Land...
For some exceptional grade-A content, mosey on over to our home page where we have a couple spicy columns by Matt and Meredith respectively, a B1G championship game analysis by Gene, and another MC&J by Brett.
I’m sick of this man being the main subject of my Monday Buckeye Bits...
Yet here we are. Dabo Swinney continues to be the worst after ranking Ohio State outside of the top 10 in his final coaches’ poll ballot. (Also, why in the world is there a coaches poll, anyway?)
I mean... Ohio State already had enough material on their bulletin board for this game but hey, we’ll make room for this one! There’s no doubt in my mind that the Woody Hayes facility will be wallpapered with this list by the end of the day today.
Clemson HC Dabo Swinney ranked Ohio State 11th in his final coaches' poll ballot pic.twitter.com/2OdEvETOt9
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 21, 2020
Same, Lebron.
https://t.co/mxjvWELAJa pic.twitter.com/r4Duz6iO9e
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 21, 2020
What makes this storyline even better is that Michigan (!) offensive coordinator Josh Gattis jumped to Ohio State’s defense, arguing that a 6-0 Big Ten team had to endure more challenges despite playing less games than other contenders.
Regardless of polls, a 6-0 BIG team deserves in. No conference has had to endure more
— Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) December 21, 2020
1. The emotional roller coaster if a season would happen/ opt outs
2. No fans all year/Environment
3. 21 day protocol to miss games/ add in injuries/contact tracing
4. Inability to reschedule
That is until Michigan fans lost their ever-loving minds on him and he was forced to delete the tweet and lock his Twitter account. We appreciate the effort though, Josh!
Michigan OC Josh Gattis tweeted earlier in defense of Ohio State being CFP worthy. He's now deleted the tweet and locked his account after UM fans went to town on him pic.twitter.com/qKecWtDm1W
— Jason Priestas (@priestas) December 21, 2020
Not every bad take, insult, remark, etc. is enough to motivate a team, but this...this has to have Ryan Day and company fired. the. heck. up. Swinney’s been disrespecting Ohio State in the media for weeks now, saying an undefeated team who has played six games should not be ranked above teams who have played nine or 10, but ranking them ELEVENTH? Like Doug writes “what Swinney gave the Buckeyes on Monday is bulletin board, wallpaper, voicemail, T-shirt, social media, let it sink into your soul material. Oh, and Ohio State should consider changing its Twitter handle to ‘The 11th-best team in the country.’”
I typically think stuff about bulletin board material is overblown. But this is real.
— Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) December 21, 2020
I can't believe Dabo Swinney voted Ohio State No. 11. I also can't believe the great photo I chose for this column.https://t.co/N9IZYDeXcM
The video below (which apparently Demario McCall secretly streamed?) was before Dabo’s ranking became public, for reference.
Ryan Day talking big shit before their playoff appearance!
— TM (@CFBLive247) December 21, 2020
Gotta love it...
I wonder who thought it was a good idea to record this though lol pic.twitter.com/qgDk2Afn5L
Players of the game...
Trey Sermon was named the Offensive Player of the Game after he set an Ohio State single-game record AND Big Ten Championship record with 331 rushing yards.
What. A. PERFORMANCE. There’s no doubt about this one.@treyera is the Offensive Player of the Game for the Big Ten Championship ‼️#GoBuckeyes #Fight pic.twitter.com/Sn6WPguJUe
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 21, 2020
Sixth-year senior Justin Hilliard was named defensive player of the game after leading the team with nine tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
He showed the world what we all know he can do.@JHilliard47 is the Defensive Player of the Game for the Big Ten Championship ‼️#GoBuckeyes #Fight pic.twitter.com/a7lil1nu6S
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 21, 2020
And last but not least, walk-on punter Zach Hoover—who was called upon after Drue Chrisman was ruled out due to COVID-19— rose to the occasion and then some, averaging 39.3 on three punts, downing two of them inside the 10-yard line.
( ) - Being ready to make a play whenever your number is called.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 21, 2020
No doubt @zhoover23 did this on Saturday! Hoov is the Special Teams Player of the Game for the Big Ten Championship ‼️#GoBuckeyes #Fight pic.twitter.com/W1x60jXX33
Here’s the full list of game champions. You will notice a prominent name on offense missing from this list.
Ohio State champions from the Big Ten title game win over Northwestern: pic.twitter.com/BsQTpwKc2R
— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) December 21, 2020
Haskell Garrett throwing some shade at the Big Ten, who ranked him third-team all Big Ten. We really do love to see it.
Just gonna leave this here.... @BIG10 https://t.co/xTPlX8EVyY
— Haskell Garrett (@HASKELL_808) December 21, 2020
I mean did anyone actually have Trey Sermon passing Eddie George’s program record for rushing yards on their 2020 bingo cards?
Most rushing yards in Championship Week
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 20, 2020
1. Trey Sermon, Ohio St - 331
2. Trey Sermon after contact - 196
3. Najee Harris, Bama - 178
4. Spencer Brown, UAB - 147
5. Travis Etienne, Clemson - 124 pic.twitter.com/sPhnhZMrXt
EYEBALL EMOJI...
Our recruiting analysts will have more on this in tomorrow morning’s State Secrets, but here’s a preview.
Ohio State recruiting happenings on this fine Monday:
— Gene Ross (@Gene_Ross23) December 21, 2020
- four-star 2021 LB Raesjon Davis has decommitted from LSU. Top-50 national player, priority target for OSU.
- five-star 2022 CB Jaheim Singletary picks up two more Crystal Balls for OSU (Ivins, Kurelic). Announcing Jan. 2.
From around the hardwood...
After losing to Purdue on the road and beating UCLA last week, Ohio State dropped three spots from No. 20 to No. 23 in the latest AP Poll.
11. Rutgers
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) December 21, 2020
12. Michigan State
13. Creighton
14. Missouri
15. Texas Tech
16. Virginia
17. North Carolina
18. Illinois
19. Michigan
20. Duke
21. Florida State
22. Xavier
23. Ohio State
24. Virginia Tech
25. Oregon