2021 ohio state

Sponsor note. Maybe you've noticed something: Ohio State fans complaining endlessly about minor digs. They're soft. Well, maybe that's a business opportunity. You could peddle OSU-branded fainting couches, opium, and handkerchiefs. Wait… wait, what's that sound?

That's Richard Hoeg informing us that opium isn't legal and we can't sell it! Thanks, Richard. I bet he knows a bunch of other stuff about forming your own small business, and can be employed to make sure you don't run into any hiccups like being arrested for selling opium. Which, to be clear, you should not do. The fainting couches, though? That's gold.

Leveling out. The top of college football's recruiting rankings doesn't look a whole lot different than they did before NIL came into play, but with the #1 recruit in America signing up for an HBCU and some weird stuff happening in the top twenty—hello Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana—there's clearly some impact. Also, Clemson has just 13 guys committed, ranks 17th, and saw both coordinators take head jobs this offseason. Dabo's mad:

"It's crazy, it's really sad to be honest with you," Swinney said Wednesday at Clemson's signing day. "There's right around 2,000 kids in the portal and most of them don't have anywhere to go. There's so much tampering going on and so many adults manipulating young people. It's sad, but you know, it it what it is from that standpoint. You've got a lot of young people that ... there's a time and a place, but most of the kids are in there when they shouldn't be in there.

"Some are and some shouldn't. Some of the lessons we're teaching young people I don't think is going to benefit them well as they move through their life. It is something everybody has to manage and deal with. There's no consequences. There's no rules."

You could do worse than living your life by the mantra "would Dabo Swinney complain about this?" I will be fascinated to see what happens to Clemson now that Swinney has to find new coordinators and recruit in a world where it's all perfectly legal.

[After the JUMP: boom!]

Formation/Nomenclature Notes: OSU would line up their TE as a deep H-back which I called “F” so this is “Pistol F Wk,” meaning the slot receiver (H), is opposite the side the TE is on.

Substitution Notes: Barrett came in for Ross on a few passing downs, probably to get a little more speed out there. Snap counts.

Lexicon Note: I also started tracking “WRDIS,” which stands for Wide Receivers Doing Insane Shit, because OSU’s three dudes were making incredible plays against coverage that would have beaten anything less. This is an acronym, pronounced like “whirr diss,” because I had to break it out so many times that it was cumbersome to read it as an initialism. Hopefully it becomes a thing in offensive UFRs as BROYLES WINNER JOSH GATTIS’s wards get to the part of their careers where they can grow full beards. For now it’s an OSU receiver thing with enough exasperation in it that you’re forgiven if you start pronouncing the ‘h’ sound with the ‘w’.

[After THE JUMP: Domination punctuated by many opportunities to practice saying “WRDIS” with an ‘h’.]

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. UGP makes custom apparel such as t-shirts and sweatshirts and was founded by 2 Michigan alums over 20 years ago. They have 3 retail locations in Ann Arbor and offer thousands of University of Michigan athletic products for sale, ranging from clothing to accessories and memorabilia. Check them out at ugpmichiganapparel.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: Peak Wealth Management, HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, Prentice4M, and Team Fan Club. We are of course made possible by SignalWire.

THE VIDEO

[After THE JUMP: the player and what we said]