Joe Thomas Barrett IV - The Ohio State University

source: Eleven Warriors
J.T. Barrett IV

One of the most dramatic comebacks in Ohio State football history took place yesterday against the 2nd ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.

All led by 5th year senior quarterback J.T. Barrett IV.

Down 14 points within the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, the Buckeyes trailed as much as 18 points to mount an impressive comeback in the last 5 minutes of the game.

To give you an idea of how much Penn State dominated for 3 quarters, here is the scoring summary:

source: Ohio State Buckeyes

J.T.'s final stats:
Rushing: 17 times for 95 yards.
Passing: 33 completed passes of 39 attempts, 0 interceptions, 328 yards, 4 touchdowns.
He completed his last 16 passes, 13 of them in the 4th quarter.

Video highlights here:


Ohio State moves up to 3rd from 6th in the AP Top 25, week 10, 2017 season.

Season Enders - Ohio State Buckeyes and San Francisco 49ers

source: Forbes.com
L to R: Jed York, Chip Kelly, Trent Baalke

Happy New Year!

The much highly anticipated Fiesta Bowl (College Football playoffs) match between Ohio State and Clemson turned to be a lopsided disaster for Buckeye Nation. Clemson dominated the entire game and shutout Ohio State, 34-0.

North of Arizona, the San Francisco 49ers lost their last game of the season to the Seattle Seahawks, 25-23. As reported from numerous news sources, San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York fired General Manager Trent Baalke and Head Coach Chip Kelly.

Less than a month ago (see December 4, 2016 entry), it was in my humblest of opinions that new ownership and/or management of the team is sorely needed to rebuild effectively long-term.

Hopefully, next year there will be the photo of 3 different faces when the 2017 NFL season begins.

2016 - Ohio State 30, Michigan 27, 2 OT's

source: OhioStateFootballTickets123.com

source: Ohio State Buckeyes Football

I've watched lots and lots of Ohio State - Michigan games. Many live up to the rivalry hype: intense, hard fought battles.

Up until yesterday, the most memorable game for me was my sophomore year in 1979. Members of the Ohio State team included:
- defensive backs coach/Marin county native and current Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
- place kicker Vlade Janakievski, who was 2 years ahead of me at Whitehall-Yearling High School.
- quarterback Art Schlichter, who led the Buckeyes to a 18-15 win in Ann Arbor.

Add 2016 to the list. Down 17-7 in the 3rd quarter and 2 missed field goal attempts, Ohio State is able to tie the game with seconds left in regulation.

Like the 2003 BCS Championship (aka Tostitos Fiesta Bowl) versus Miami (Florida), it took 2 overtimes for the Buckeyes to capture the win, thanks to H-back Curtis Samuel's 2 runs in the last 3 plays of the game.

Courtesy of the Big Ten Network, here it is:

Ohio State vs. Michigan 2016

source: CBS Sports
AP Top 25 - week of November 20, 2016

Thanksgiving 2016 is quickly approaching. Short work week, gluttony and big gatherings with friends and family.

Then on Saturday, the long awaited college football showdown of the season: Ohio State versus Michigan.

Ohio State is currently ranked #2, Michigan, #3, something we haven't seen in many years.

Game will be played in Columbus. To get our Buckeye hearts racing and spirits fired up, l close with a video clip of The Ohio State University Marching Band's traditional entrance into Ohio Stadium. GO BUCKS!

Noah Brown's catch - Ohio State vs. Oklahoma

source: 247 sports

Big congratulations to Ohio State's win over Oklahoma 45-24.

Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Noah Brown had probably the biggest game of his career, scoring 4 touchdowns.

It was the third touchdown Noah made that'll be the talk of college football for the season and many years to come.

See for yourself.


O-H! I-O!

The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain - Sports Documentary

source: sportinglifearkansas.com

If you're a regular follower of this blog, it's obvious sports takes up a lot of my time.

An itinerary of my last 3 weekends:

• Birthday night at the Giants - A's game at the Oakland Coliseum. 
• Drove 89 miles to Modesto in 100 degree heat for a 5-game bowling tournament. 
• Watched ESPN's 30 for 30's latest feature on "Doc and Darryl", a story about New York Mets teammates Dwight "Doc" Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.

After the Padres swept the Giants and no longer in the mood for a movie repeat, I switched to Amazon Prime video. Scrolled the not-so-great choices for over 15 minutes to look for something decent to watch. Finally, a sports documentary caught my eye: "The Identity Theft of Mitch Mustain".

Directed by Matthew Wolfe and narrated by former University of Arkansas men's basketball coach Nolan Richardson, the film examines the promising football career of quarterback Mitch Mustain. His career went completely bust after his first year with the Razorbacks.

For sports fans and Amazon Prime subscribers (statistically almost half of all US households), it's a fascinating look at how difficult it is to pursue a sports career at the elite level. Too many missteps from the "adults" he relied upon for guidance.

As of 2014, Mitch is no longer playing football at any competitive level.

Sneak peek:

Ohio State versus Michigan - History of Rivalry

image source: runnerspace.com

Some of my favorite team rivalries include:

• San Francisco Giants versus Los Angeles Dodgers (baseball)
• North Carolina Tar Heels versus Duke Blue Devils (basketball)
• Alabama Crimson Tide versus Auburn Tigers (football)
• USC Trojans versus UCLA Bruins (football)
• Oklahoma Sooners versus Nebraska Cornhuskers (football)
• New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox (baseball)

But for me, what separates rivalries above all others:
Ohio State Buckeyes versus Michigan Wolverines.

Why? It began for me as a 9-year old growing up in Columbus, Ohio. Woody Hayes was the Ohio State coach. His former assistant coach, Bo Schembechler was the Michigan coach.

As Wikipedia describes it:
"The Ten Year War is the informal nickname given to the series of college football games in the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, played between 1969 and 1978. This series of games pitted coaches Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Bo Schembechler of Michigan against each other in classic teacher-versus-student matchups. In most contests, the Big Ten conference championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl were at stake, and in some cases, a possible national championship."

It became the subject of a 2007 HBO documentary. See for yourself:

Wow, oh wow. This year's game, another one right down to the end. Ohio State 42, Michigan 41.