Ramzy: We Are Not Okay
If you have read everything here, watched every Rose Bowl game highlight, or read twice/thrice for Brian's main game column as I did, here is some schadenfreude from our super lovely rivals. Extra juicy - and well written by Ramzy.
https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-football/2023/12/144478/we-are-not-okay
January 3rd, 2024 at 5:54 PM ^
Nature’s first pants are gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Woody sank to grief,
So down goes Ryan Day,
Nothing gold can stay.
January 3rd, 2024 at 6:17 PM ^
Gotta love a Robert Frost reference. Well done!
January 3rd, 2024 at 8:27 PM ^
You know it is crazy when 2 loss seasons are "down times". OSU has not felt anything for multi decades like even Bama post Bear, forget Michigan Texas USC Penn State Notre Dame Florida - fuck them they don't even know a bit about what it feels like. Wait til you have a 5 loss season.
January 4th, 2024 at 12:32 AM ^
For years Ramzy was the insufferable, full of himself fanboy leader/sychophant of OSU football. He was basically Gerdeman without the funny parts. Somehow, he seemed even less self-aware. His writing too often a combination of snarky and dismissive and he happily wallpapered over all of the dirty, the scandals, the cars/weed/money and the path that OSU took to win under Tressel and Meyer.
I'm not sure Ramzy was even aware that one day the worm would turn. That the 80's/90's of Michigan dominance happened. That, if Gary Moeller hadn't had a few drinks one night, it probably would have lasted a lot longer. Ramzy's presentism and his willingness to forgive every transgression just for the win exposes him as the worst of the Ohio State fanbase. It's sad he has platform.
Enjoy a few years in the football wilderness kid.
January 3rd, 2024 at 3:58 PM ^
Rangy WR Reggie Germany was forced to sit, having pulled off a 0.0 GPA
Even though it pulled the average mean of the OSU class up a point or 2.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:17 PM ^
Something, something, not playing school, something.
January 3rd, 2024 at 3:59 PM ^
I really don't think Ohio State's special teams coordinator is why they've lost 3 straight to us, or why they lost to Missouri, but okay, all the better if they don't realize the issue is cultural.
Side note, am I correctly interpreting this article to blame the ST coordinator for failed 2-point conversions? Surely 2-point tries are the domain of the OC/Ryan Day, not the special teams coach?
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:06 PM ^
Maybe they do things differently in Cbus. I would say that it seems odd to be laser focused on a ST coordinator, but then I think back to Monday.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:12 PM ^
It's not special teams.
It's the weather. IIRC - this last fall ('23) it was too warm in Ann Arbor - and sunny in the first half.
Another item that's rarely discussed is - the crowd. It seems like fewer Buckeye fans wanted to spend a few dollars on a ticket than had been the case in the past.
Of course - the fact that their defense has forced one Michigan punt - in the second halves of the last three (3) games combined - is never mentioned.
This is the Buckeye culture.
Maybe I've been out of communication - but, how many Buckeyes are driving around in Mercedes G63's? They need more - more Mercedes, more Maserati's (like Marv who aren't too focused on blocking when they're not the target), and - perhaps, picking up a pointer or two from Ole Miss and finding some Lamborghinis for the entire team.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:24 PM ^
He's using ST to say Ryan Day isn't managing the staff well enough. My assumption is the 2PA were of the fake XP variety but I don't know.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:44 PM ^
The linked video was all conventional 2-pt attempts. And it blames the ST coach for them by name.
"Fleming's unit has been defined by its unrelenting and aggressive incompetence. It attempted three 2-point conversions in 2022 and took pre-snap penalties on all three of them"
That's just asinine.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:28 PM ^
He's not saying its the special teams coordinator, but using the that coach as an example of what his main point is. He's disappointed with the coaching staff as a whole, it being full of nepotism hires and guys that don't deserve their positions (or so he says).
January 3rd, 2024 at 3:59 PM ^
Eff him too.
Eff 'em all.
edit: question here for people who know football better than I (which isn't saying a lot) Ramzy exorciates Parker Fleming for being a shitty special teams coach, which is fair, but as a data point he cites OSU false-starting on all three 2-pt conversion attempts last year. Wouldn't 2 pt conversions be more the purview of the offensive coordinator, given the personnel involved?
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:49 PM ^
That was my thought as well. Also, the first play on that embedded video clip shows a false start, which isn't directly due to coaching. A coaching error is more like sending 10 guys out, like Hoke used to do.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:00 PM ^
I really like Ramsey. Not as good as Brian but better than everyone else in the bloggersphere.
A very well stated case on the current state of OSU football.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:45 PM ^
To each his own, but I find Ramzy to be an exceptionally annoying, whiny writer.
January 3rd, 2024 at 5:43 PM ^
It's reading an article like this that feeds my persistent questioning of every exclamation point I have ever used. Does it convey what I want it to? Does it come across as a sophomoric attempt at adding the emphasis that I don't have the vocabulary to convey?
I guess I will never know!
January 3rd, 2024 at 6:08 PM ^
I saw what you did there!
January 3rd, 2024 at 11:41 PM ^
Not to mention stylistically atrocious. Clearly someone at some point told him that one-sentence paragraphs were a hallmark of bad writing, but he still wrote a 43-paragraph blog with only 16 of those paragraphs longer than two sentences (and that's with generously counting the numerous fragments as actual subject-predicate complete sentences). And many of the "longer" paragraphs look like this one:
That's how it's done. This is the Ohio State football standard. It's a business, not a family.
Writing like that really makes me appreciate Brian, Seth and Alex even more.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:03 PM ^
It all comes back to the "born on third base" line. So much entitlement there, from top to bottom. We all have those Ohio State friends who condescended to us for years. They were just so certain it would never happen to them. As a Michigan fan, I know nothing is guaranteed. I'm mentally prepared for that at a moment's notice, and that works fine for me. They could all use a little of that kind of humility.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:19 PM ^
this is 100% spot on. growing up watching the late 70s, 80s and 90s Wolverines largely dominate ohio state..... it sucked living through the 2000s and 2010s... but what made it 1,000x worse was the fact that the majority (at least the vocal majority) of ohio state fans that a person was unfortunate enough to encounter, had never known the other side of the rivalry.
when they would get to mid-level obnoxious I'd usually say "the pendulum swings both ways. ohio is on top now, but it will go back the other way, eventually" They didn't believe it could happen..... After The Game last year, my ex's son text me "you were right, I just hope Michigan doesn't kick our ass for 20 years". LOL
GO BLUE! I'll take 17 more!
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:24 PM ^
Alabama brought that same energy to the Rose Bowl Game. Their "Roll Tide Roll" skywriter was all I needed to see to understand that these programs believe they're entitled to spend enternity in the dark money prime of the 2010s. Now that we're all solidly in the 2020s they hate it.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:30 PM ^
In their defense, I didn't think this would happen.
I believed in 2016, and in 2018. But after the 2018 game I thought that we may beat them once every 5 years, but this rivalry was headed the way of Navy-ND or HC-BC or Texas-TTU - a dominant partner and a little bro.
As amazing as '21 was, it wasn't until '22 - and THE GAME in '22 - that I realized we truly were an elite program. I figured '21 may be a one-off. As '22 season went on, after we blew out Penn St i realized we were really good. But replacing Corum and running and throwing all over these fools - WOWZA that was just completely unexpected!
I know these things turn - nothing is constant in CFB, NOT EVEN ALABAMA! So let's enjoy this, and remember the bad days enough to not be complete dicks about it.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:36 PM ^
I haven't said one word to my Ohio State friends. Not a word. Losing is enough punishment. It really is. It's not like they don't know they completely shit the bed in the bowl game, and losing to us for the third year in a row qualifies as shitting the bed, too, at least in their world.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:57 PM ^
Yea, I mostly console my buckeye friends saying "I remember, it'll pass."
January 3rd, 2024 at 5:25 PM ^
I sent Michigan Christmas Cards to my Buckeye friends this year
It read:
Merry Christmas and may all of your signs point toward a wonderful New Years!
January 3rd, 2024 at 7:38 PM ^
Same here. The Michigan difference.
January 3rd, 2024 at 10:50 PM ^
A wry smile will do.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:39 PM ^
sadly if urban liar was still there.... i don't think we would have turned the tides like we have. We probably do get a win, maybe two, but it wouldn't be three in a row and we wouldn't be looking forward to next season expecting to be favored. Day's ohio state isn't urban's ohio state and they never will be.
with the talent they are losing, coming off three straight losses to Michigan and getting wrecked by MO.... next year will be interesting for them, they're lucky they have a very easy schedule compared to Michigan's.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:43 PM ^
The Buckeyes are SO focused on Will Howard / QB - and, I wonder what percentage of the fans realize that QB play isn't the big problem. It's line play - defensive and offensive.
If they strike out trying to get Will Howard - and, their OL doesn't step up noticeably - it's going to be very interesting in Columbus.
January 3rd, 2024 at 6:08 PM ^
At least the staff knows they need OL help and are getting a visit from a kid from.....Troy?
January 3rd, 2024 at 7:44 PM ^
Will Howard’s writeup in ESPN Top 100 seems to be more about what it doesn’t say.
“He produced a QBR of 82 or higher in half of his games…”
He’s two spots below Shedeur. 38 below JJ, who has a QBR of 89.5 for the season (not clear if that includes Rose Bowl though).
January 4th, 2024 at 10:16 AM ^
They're lucky theres a 12 team playoff now.
January 3rd, 2024 at 5:38 PM ^
I actually have zero buckeye friends and plan to keep it that way.
January 3rd, 2024 at 6:30 PM ^
No truer words have ever been said. Legendary take down that shook Ryan Day to his very core.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:03 PM ^
This guy went off the deep end with sign gate. Therefore, fuck him
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:31 PM ^
Yea I basically lost faith in that site when the Yahoo/AP/SI leaks came out and they invented the "4th grade science test" analogy. Duerr has countered with "you bought your weed from a dispensary and Stalions got it from the corner." Ramsy lost me then so I now mostly just hate read him.
January 3rd, 2024 at 9:05 PM ^
Before "Signgate" he also defended Urban Meyer to the nth degree after pretending he cared about morality. He's just the rare Buckeye who can string a few sentences together without seeming like a complete tool which is why he rises to the top of that cesspool. They made the '23 game a referendum and now they get precisely what they deserve, a narcissist coach who can't learn from his failures so he launches a PR campaign to take down his rival. The campaign works but the rival team's culture is so strong that he gets owned by the understudy. I hope they never reach the heights of success again. May every Ohio State supporter be miserable with their team forever more.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:04 PM ^
The second sentence here was a DOOZY and left me utterly confused (until I clicked the links).
Failing to act with urgency is how head coaches lose their jobs. Unfortunately, Meyer was prone to making emotional hires too - you may be surprised to learn he's actually human. Wilson and Day entered the program in an era where Meyer also hired the man who proposed to his daughter and the best man from his own wedding.
January 3rd, 2024 at 5:03 PM ^
He also hired Earle Bruce's grandon who sucked balls as a wide receiver coach and was a worse human being than wide receiver coach.
January 3rd, 2024 at 7:03 PM ^
Harbaugh hired his dad and his son. But the actual truth of nepotism is that nobody really minds it if it's working.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:06 PM ^
edit: didn't see someone quoted it above but still....Sounds about right for OSU:
Rangy WR Reggie Germany was forced to sit that one out, having infamously pulled off a 0.0 GPA during the fall term.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:18 PM ^
Apparently, he may be the poster child for - "We didn't come here to play school."
Such is the culture and academic focus at The University of Ohio State.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:44 PM ^
An Ohio, state university.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:30 PM ^
Was it over when Reggie Germany bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:10 PM ^
The tears from our enemies taste like champagne!
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:12 PM ^
Pride Comes Before the Fall.
Dantonio said more than he knew when he uttered that biblical phrase. Michigan had become entitled. They became used to winning and so took it for granted. What would follow was a decade-long sojourn through the wilds of mediocre-to-bad football.(Ironically, Dantonio would suffer the same fall as his rival)
Ohio State isn’t there yet so they have time to humble themselves. But that fall is rapidly approaching(Will Howard?) and if it happens it will be spectacular. The potential for players like Emeka and Burke to return to a team that will at best have a meh QB is no guarantee of a return to greatness.
OSU has talented players. What they need is the culture.
January 3rd, 2024 at 4:20 PM ^
Will Howard's decision will be interesting. If Will decides that USC, Miami, or the NFL are more attractive - the situation in Columbus will become even more enjoyable and entertaining to watch.