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The Edge of the Unknown
The 2016 Ohio State football season will be…
?
Head football coach Urban Meyer has proven his prowess for delivering a Buckeyes team that seriously challenges for the national title/a playoff spot during the past few years. This includes a national championship in 2014. Following a mega successful NFL Draft this summer, the 2016 season will likely be successful, but with questions. Many of these questions will start with the words “how” and “who.”
How will quarterback J.T. Barrett rise to the level of a Heisman candidate, necessary for Ohio State’s overall team success? Who will Barrett pass the ball to in short down situations? Who will Barrett’s long-range target(s) be down the field? How will Mike Weber compare to Ezekiel Elliott? How much running will Barrett have to do to make up for a (potentially) struggling Weber? Who will be the play makers on defense? Who among the heralded freshmen will make a name for themselves like Joey Bosa?
Luckily for the Buckeyes, they have a defensive end with the last name Bosa (Joey Bosa’s brother Nick).
The point is that Ohio State football is a well-oiled machine that will, in all likelihood, produce yet another incredible season for its passionate fans. But how incredible? Nobody knows for certain exactly how this season will transpire. In order for November showdowns to have the same consequence as past seasons, there’s a word that must reveal itself in the preceding months:
Inspire.
Who will inspire the Buckeyes to push themselves beyond their expectations to the next-level seen during the 2014 National Championship run? This is the question that Urban Meyer most likely wants answered the most because the solution to this overarching, macro problem could resolve or band-aid many of the existing and inevitable micro issues.
The video editing crew is giving it their best shot to inspire fans before the first kickoff of the 2016 season against Urban Meyer’s former team Bowling Green State University this Saturday at The Ohio Stadium at noon.
“Welcome to the Edge.”
And what will be on the other side of the edge for the Buckeyes in 2016?
#15 is Gone, but ’16 is a Fiesta
(Bleacher Report)
Ohio State 44
Notre Dame 28
Following one of Ezekiel Elliott’s triumphant four touchdowns in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl in Arizona, the aforementioned Buckeye running back modestly shrugged off another highlight run.
Actually, Elliott was paying tribute to teammate Joey Bosa who was suspended after targeting the Notre Dame’s quarterback DeShone Kizer with the crown of his helmet in the first quarter. The no-big-deal shrug is a trademark of Bosa, who will be entering the NFL Draft early (along with Elliott and others) as a potential #1 overall prospect.
Upon further reflection, the picture above captured a sentiment many in Buckeye Nation are feeling after a victorious Fiesta Bowl win.
Yeah, we can be that good. But, what can you do now?
The Buckeyes won impressively in the desert in 2016, but it wasn’t the win everybody imagined. The National Championship game will be played in a week and a half on the same field as this year’s Fiesta Bowl: The University of Phoenix Stadium. All the sports experts had The Ohio State Buckeyes in the playoff and, more ambitiously, playing in the title game. However, the shocking loss to Michigan State in the Horseshoe in November stopped the powerful Buckeye train one station too soon.
And yet, with the continued frustration from that loss still lingering, Ohio State’s victory today provided fans and casual viewers a valuable lesson for the New Year:
When our most grandiose dreams collide with harsh reality, shrugging off the ashes of failure and responding with a gritty, revitalized work ethic is what opens the (running) lanes for renewed opportunities and success…
like a phoenix.
Congratulations Ohio State and Happy 2016 Everybody!
That Other Team Up North
However strange the following term is for college football, it’s appropriate in the competitive sense.
It’s money time.
Ohio State vs. Michigan State will kickoff tomorrow in Ohio Stadium at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. Buckeye Nation will paint the Horseshoe in scarlet and gray. Traveling fans from East Lansing may provide a sprinkle or two of green in the crowd.
Just think of the red and green as Ohioans getting excited for Christmas.
This is the toughest game so far for both of these teams and the past three meetings have proven a Goliath vs. Goliath match-up. A trip to the Rose Bowl and a pathway towards the National Championship have essentially been all that’s separated these two programs the past 3 seasons when they’ve competed.
With several recruits planning to be in attendance, this is one of those games.
And everyone’s waiting to see the marching magic from The Best Damn Band in the Land for senior day, the final home game of the season.
Go Buckeyes!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 