Tulane

Post TCU thoughts:

1. The Horned Frogs were much quicker and faster than I thought they would be. That still doesn't explain why we missed so many tackles though. 

2.  The DL will be fine if Nick Bosa misses a game or three.  It would be better to have him for PSU but I'd rather have him healthy.

3.  Austin Mack will be fine too.  And if you know anyone who is tweeting negative stuff to Mack, go ahead an punch that person in the nose.

Post Urban interview thoughts:

1.  Stop. Please.  Just stop.  Coach, you are not going to say what some people want you to say and the rest of us just want to move on.  And you are not going to change the minds or narrative of those critical of you and your handling of . . . well, everything to date. Next time, pull a Belichick and say "We are focusing on Cleveland (or, you know, the team we play next)."

2.  That being said, I've now seen the photos released by the Florida police concerning the 2009 domestic violence incident.  It appears to my untrained eyes that Courtney Smith doesn't have a mark on her, while Zac appears to have red marks on his arms.  Not changing my mind that Zac is a turd, I'm just saying that in these situations it can be so difficult to determine who is telling the truth.

Ok, with that done, and apologies to Carole King, it's Tulane baby, now it's Tulane (or are those REALLY the lyrics - I report, you decide).

How many of you think the Green Wave can actually win this game?  That's what I thought. Tulane doesn't even think it has a chance, but it still has 1.5 million reasons to play the game.

Coach Willie Fritz is in his 3rd year and returns 9 starters on offense and 52 out of 66 lettermen. In 2017, the Green Wave were 5-6 and needed a win at SMU to make a bowl game. They lost 38-41 on a controversial last play, so it's not like this team is awful.  They don't do so well against ranked opponents, however, losing their last 6 matchups by an average of 33 points, including losing at Oklahoma last year 14-56.  Senior QB Jonathan Banks (1) is more of a threat with his legs than his arm due to accuracy problems. Tulane has an experienced OL and some talent at the skill positions and should be able to score some points. 

The bad news is the defense, which gave up 29 ppg and 436 ypg in 2017, lost 3 DL and 7 of the top 12 tacklers.  So far, they are 110th in total defense but only giving up 24 ppg.  However, that was against Wake Forest, Nicholls State, and UAB.  This will be a little different.

Vegas has the Buckeyes as 37 point favorites with an over/under of 66.  If you asked me if I would like to put my money on this game, I would pass. Two weeks ago, I wrote about how Ohio State is good to cover one big spread at home, but rarely two. Then the Buckeyes throttled Rutgers, some friends lost some cash, and I was burned in effigy.  There are so warning signs out there that these are too many points: (1) The Buckeyes are coming off of an emotional win v. TCU last week; (2) Ohio State has a YOOGE at Penn State next week; (3) Urban's return won't cost the Buckeyes the game, but it is now something "new" and may throw a wrinkle in the team's performance; and (4) under Meyer, the Buckeyes have never covered 3x in a season spreads of 30+.  After the 38 v. Oregon State, and the 35 v. Rutgers, this 37 looks monstrous. 

Yet, this offense is rolling and operating on a level we haven't seen since the last 3 games of 2014.  The only reason we didn't cover against TCU was our defensive back 7 goofed up and the Horned Frogs had the athletes to make some unbelievable plays.  Not to denigrate the Green Wave, but Tulane doesn't have those athletes.  And it's defense shows no sign of stopping the Buckeyes.  Finally, I'm not sure this Buckeye team looks ahead to anyone because I don't think they care who is next.  They feel like they are going to beat everyone.

I got no feel for this game, but I have to make a prediction. So against my better judgment, I'm going to take the Buckeyes and give the points and while we are at it, let's take the over.  "Dream small, live small." - Michael Galeano.

Schaef Says:  Ohio State 59, Tulane 10.

Bonus:  In honor of his return.