Mike West

Some great quotes here. Sorry guys, I’m going to write an article without pictures, so bear with me. I’m better at it freestyle, so here it goes… I happened to watch the CCG last week. I came away disturbed to say the least. I really, really wish I had time to break down what I saw, but I don’t. I have lost confidence in Tosh Lupoi, and I hate saying that. I caught a trend that Chip Kelly completely exploited, and I happen to believe James Franklin also caught it. Thus, I’m not as suspicious about Franklin as most of the nation is-especially his fan base. To be fair to PSU fans, they have title trophies in their display case, so they have reasonable expectations. Not many people admit this glaring fact in the CCG-the refs bailed us out a couple of keys times in the game. I believe it tilted the game in OBD’s favor, both times. My first impression, initially after the game was that Stein took his foot off the petal. He didn’t. Penn State’s defense stepped up. But they didn’t recover from the poor calls. One of the reasons I believe we got robbed of a competitive Rose Bowl is OBD OL destroyed Penn State’s ferocious DL. That time off was like ending the season until the Spring imho, because we looked like we did against Idaho and Boise State the entire game-poor timing to play that horribly. After watching Texas handle Ohio State at the LOS much better than they handled Georgia (both games), I am convinced we would have given Ohio State all they could handle. Back to Lupoi: he ran a defense I absolutely would not have against Penn State. And they manhandled our DL as if they didn’t exist-actually the entire Front Seven in my opinion. Not to mention , Penn State’s average WRs played way too good. And Lupoi played an entirely different front in the Rose Bowl, that he didn’t feature in Eugene against the Buckeyes. Now part of this to me is I believe Ohio State didn’t want to play us three times, so they played possum the entire year after they lost in Eugene. They had way more talent than they featured against Michigan, and I believe they did that on purpose. I’m not sure they wanted to lose, and they missed two FGs, but they definitely masked what they had intended for OBD, and I’m not sure they wanted to show it in more than once. Match that with the fact OBD really shouldn’t have gone undefeated. In fact losing to Penn State would have been the perfect wake up call because neither Lupoi or Stein pulled out new versions of their playbook in the Rose Bowl. Stein keyed completely on getting Tez the ball with room to run( and DC Knowles took the entire middle of the field away from our offense) and Lupoi relied on his backside DE/LB to cover counter plays back to the 0 hole ( and Chip just annihilated that strategy). Lupoi though, he schemes directly into our weaknesses, and elite teams’ strengths. Until further notice, I don’t want to see man to man coverage against elite teams (and I happen to believe this year’s secondary can actually play strong man to man coverage). The reason I say that is Lupoi designs horrible coverage rules. I’ve never seen such out of position play over a three year stretch-even when OBD were horrible in the Seventies. I think Lanning gives Lupoi too much autonomy. Same with Stein for that matter. Dan Lanning is a football guy. As in "Gentleman, this is a football " type of coach. His vision is excellent. He proved that to me in Seattle, and again in Eugene last October 12th. In the Ducks versus Them series, he called out exactly what needed to be done-on offense and defense. They shut down Ohio State’s ability to run the ball, and despite terrible 1 on 1 coverage, Ohio State had to score on long drives. On offense, he correctly assessed Ohio State couldn’t handle deep fades and seam routes. Ohio State also has a tendency to look at the QB, and they practiced for that, and Gabriel had his best deep passing game all season. That’s what I’m talking about. I believe DL must take on more direct supervision of both coordinators. Especially Lupoi, because I don’t think Lupoi understands what it takes to shut down elite talent. Lanning does. Stein is much better at it, but he’s too cautious. Gabriel doesn’t have a long ball arm, but when he trains for it-he’s money. That’s all about precision in coaching. I have some worries about Dante Moore, but some of that to me is timing, and I’m hoping he is working with his receivers twice a day right now, and for that matter I hope it’s against that good set of DBs. Both units need the work. Now I have a completely unconventional method of looking at football. I think coaches get stuck on their schemes, instead of learning how to wing it when the situations call for it. For me, I would never want a coach to understand what the he’ll I’m doing. So my schemes would be every damn football strategy known to mankind. Hence my players would know the game much more than they would know strategy. There are only so many things you can do based on where your team is located on the field. So game theory matters to me more than style. And culture matters more than everything. Dan Lanning has shown me he is that type of guy, but I’m not sure he’s learned how to teach his coordinators that philosophy. You can’t coach against a ghost, because you can’t see when he’s coming. So,when you hit me with anything, I want my crew to have an answer in 60 seconds ( that’s about two plays btw). I got this philosophy from Don Shula. He made Dan Marino look at formations, and call a play on the spot based on formations. Imagine if you had every play known to mankind to choose from. Now try to defend that. Same on defense. Call your audible and watch me audible to your new formation. Will coaches ever do that. Ask none other than Mary Cristobal. He junked the most lethal offense Oregon EVER had, just to prove he was a mastermind himself. So no. It’s very difficult to do, but I think Nick Saban came the closest. That’s why he’s the GOAT. I think if Lanning learns how to teach his vision, to his staff, he’s going to be pretty damn good. I’m not sure he’s there yet, but Lanning knows football. Now it’s about drilling the game itself to his staff. I’m crossing my fingers. Thanks for indulging me friends.

I totally agree. Both those offenses were lights out. The most dominant in the modern era, and nobody is close to that kind of talent. I happen to think our scheme on defense, combined with what really has been subpar talent in the secondary, makes teams in that image, look like and score like those teams on the past three defenses DL has had at his disposal. Heck, I'm worried Indiana is going to drop 35 on our defense. And they don't have an elite OL, or three elite WRs. I watched the B1G title game last week. We made Penn State, who performed awfully against Ohio State, look like Ohio State looked against us. Penn State did not have a WR that could make our team last year. I'm beginning to wonder if Lupoi and Stein go full blown timid in big games. That Ohio State win is the only time I've seen DL actually be aggressive (well he actually did the same thing in Seattle, but Nix just happened to whiff three times in that game). He actually called out exactly what to do against Ohio State in the Ducks v Them video (which they promptly dropped as a strategy in the Rose Bowl). Which brings me back to this year. We don't throw enough explosive routes. I expect five explosive pass catches a game. Two for TDs. Teams need to fear us like they did when Chip was HC. This time, it needs to be an explosive passing attack. My opinion of course.

I actuality believe Texas will beat Ohio State in Columbus. I happen to think Arch is better than Ewers, with a returning WR that did well against OSU in the playoff, and Ohio State is replacing their entire defensive line. I think the game looks a lot like last year's Texas/Michigan game. Not as big a winning margin, but Texas was the one team that schemed well to stop Johnathan Smith. With Ebuke gone, Ohio State is short one lethal WR. And that unit didn't dominate Texas last year. Let's also remember Ohio State pulled a 14 point turnaround to win that game- it should have gone to OT. Texas knows they have the athletes to handle osu2, and osu2 is replacing both coordinators. I'm putting my money on Texas. More than $100 to be exact. That's how confident I am about that game. Ole PAWL though...that's plain SEC bias.

If anything, I hope Will Stein learned he needs to score at least five touchdowns a game. Until further notice, we don't have a defense that can hold an elite offense below 30 points. So every team we play that has an elite offense must face the pressure of scoring on every single one of their drive to win, because OBD will have to score on every single drive in order to win. That's my take. I don't trust the defense to win games against elite teams. It happened once, and that was because DL exploited an unconventional rule, and Ohio State played right into that decision. We have to assume every single title contender is as good as the 2019 LSU Tigers. We have to assume we must outscore that lethal of an offense. So, I'm hoping Will Stein is taking lessons on dismantling the best defense ever created for college football. We know OBD weakness. Our Achilles Heel is our defense.

Wow, The thought hadn’t occurred to me. Pull scholarships and just hold intramural tryouts for positions! Field a brigade of Joes for a year! I wonder if fans would go for that. Just to stick it to lawyers and players. It would be comical to watch a bunch of kids G5 caliber playing for Blue Bloods. If fans had the patience to let that play out, man. Who cares what Fox, CBS, ESPN and NBC think. Too bad that won’t happen. It’s getting to the point I might only watch games I put money on. Which I wouldn’t really do. I’d just want the results of the game in that case. Since it’s all about money, who cares who the players are, I just want my money.

I agree. Oregon is threatening the status quo. Now it's time to perform. I sincerely hope we not only win the title this year, but totally dominate. Leave no room for discussion. I want OBD to do some baaaaaad things to some reputable blue bloods. No mercy. Pure ruthlessness. I want fan bases to hate us for decades. We don't have talent stacked like Kirby and Nick have had. Dominating in this environment would make winning ever the sweeter. We were abused for decades. I want redemption.

So it all comes down to development. I like our strategy. These kids need to show me they're legit. You get paid when you perform. There are too many 4&5 star misses to be throwing away money on hope and a prayer. I am so glad I don't have to tolerate people expecting me to pay them based on their potential.

Yep, They're trying to claim 5-3 in the SEC is like going 11-1 in the ACC or Big 12. Funny how South Carolina, one of those bubble teams, almost always loses to a real playoff contender in Clemson. Any guess why the SEC rarely schedules OOC teams capable of defeating them? It's a joke. The SEC has leverage because their fans are far more glued to their games than the rest of the country. Let's be real though. Illinois beat South Carolina. Michigan outclassed Bama. It's been that way during bowl season for years. But somehow, the SEC really believes they are deeper than the B1G. Show us in the regular season SEC. Tuck away your two to three games that gets you closer to 10 wins and play OOC teams that are threats to your record. I didn't see Illinois and Michigan pulling upsets last year, but I'm not surprised given that the vaunted SEC schedule only confirms they play each other tough because they're so familiar with each other. All the SEC has done is proven their propaganda narrative works. It doesn't hold up in the postseason - but it sure works wonders in the regular season. I still remember Les Miles calling out Pete Carrol the year they shared a title. But he didn't dare schedule him. Because ole Pete owned the SEC. And Miles knew it. Right now, the middle of the B1G is clearly as deep as the SEC. After all USC did defeat LSU last year didn't they? That's why the SEC avoids competition in the regular season.

Man, Sabrina has really upped her game this year.

So, I attribute this loss to win fatigue. Sabrina dropped 34 in a losing effort. Clark finished nearly pulling off a triple double ( 32 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds). I will say this. The Fever aren’t as good as the Liberty, but they are close. Indiana is legitimate. They are going to lose some games they shouldn’t, but they have shown they will give the big girls a run for their money. The first game wasn’t a fluke. This rout demonstrates they can dominate a strong opponent on an off day. That is a huge statement. Now we get to see how they handle the Liberty in New York. That will reveal just how much a contender they actually are.

Fever are ahead at halftime. It’s difficult to win ten straight, in any sport. Clark has 25 points. Sabrina 14. Clark is the only Indiana player that has scored in double figures. That lead wont hold if Clark doesn’t get help from two others scoring more than 10.

I had to think about this issue for awhile. Sankey just bamboozled the ACC and Big 12. They are going to regret going the 5-11 route. It essentially means the ACC and Big 12 will fill ONE SLOT EVERY YEAR IN THE PLAYOFFS. So basically, Clemson, FSU and Miami are going to start fighting for recruits with schools like USuC, Nebraska, Indiana, the Fuskies and Illinois on a regular basis, because all it will take is any of those teams winning 10 and the ACC is cooked. Reputation doesn't matter anymore. The ACC is Miami,FSU Clemson and Notre Dame. Norte Dame gets a free pass with 9 wins, with two against those three. The Big 12 probably wouldn't get two in if both had 11 wins because their SOS is totally weak (and all you have to do is watch them play-you can see the vast difference in talent -mid level SEC teams would storm the Big 12). The winner of course, will be the SEC. All it will take is teams like Auburn defeating Baylor, and Georgia Tech beating Colorado and the discussion is over. And the SEC will crow for centuries about the mediocrity in the Lesser Two. The only thing the lesser Two have going for them is scheduling. They'll have to start scheduling the P2 regularly. They'll have to demand it, in fact call out the P2 so they can schedule OOC games regularly. This is going to be interesting. The SEC knows this is a move to get five minimum every year. Petitti will have to explain himself because it just might impact the B1G as well. We know for a fact the SEC won't dare schedule the B1G in OOC games if this model goes through. Like I said, plenty of SEC teams will only need to defeat one SEC power to demand their spot. With an 8 game conference schedule, Vandy, Mississippi State, Kentucky, are gimmie wins for above average SEC teams. Add bad years for another two or three and you're looking at an easy five win SEC record. With the four high school teams they play, 9-3 is a playoff berth. That won't be as easy for the middle of the B1G to accomplish.

Mudslide, Great point on market value. But is that really NIL? To me, that's more a signing bonus for joining the team. Of course, we don't know what the language is in the House Settlement, so what exactly are we paying for when we shell out $10M a year to a serious unknown entity? I'm quite sure all those attorneys feeding off the system are salivating at their chance to slop off the gravy train. It really is a matter of the schools being wise. The NFL is already stupid. But they're all pulling in $500M a year in revenue. That is not going to happen in college football. Ever. So if it's an arms race (including the portal), this year is more important than last year. Draft picks and a Natty appearance are a must for OBD. We need 10 kids plus drafted in the NFL this year. And that Natty appearance depends on a hell of a performance from kids we most haven't seen. If we're going to keep up, we're going to have to stomp on at least one Blue blood, if not two. Nothing says more than laying the wood on a blue blood. If course, I'm hoping one of them is The Ohio State.

And that is the question. Can you name any of these high school kids of the to of your tongue that have endorsement deals? Anybody? Any of these kids signing hundreds of autographs at elite camps? And I mean sitting down for two hours straight. I agree there should be no limit to earning money on your NAME LIKENESS AND IMAGE I'll be the first to congratulate a high school kid that can demonstrate he is worth more than Caitlin Clark ( Mr. Bowman, where is your Nike,Adidas, or Under Armour deal?). Do you think those $2M deals are going to hold under scrutiny? I'm curious about which local car dealership is going to shell out more than $500,000 to a prospect over four years. And will the commercials start running the moment the kids gets on campus? We KNOW who the current players are. And yes, I've seen some freshman in the spring I'd drop some money on. But I'm not cutting a $10M check on my grandmother. And she's dead. I can bet my bottom dollar both my grandmas get $10M before some schmuck that hasn't played a second of fall football at the next level. Both would be great in commercials too. , 😄

Great article Darren as usual, I say we can't even rely on signing LOI anymore. Look what happened with Dallas Wilson this year. I am begging to believe it may be better to sign four or five highly ranked recruits that have the kind of character to grow into their respective rating, and really scout the diamonds in the rough and develop them. Offensive Line especially comes to mind. It is possible to develop a high 3 star OL into a high 4 star performer. Look at Dillon Gabriel. That dude is money. Was that apparent before he got to Central Florida? Furthermore, when Gabriel was at Central Florida before going to Oklahoma? And others like Derrick Harmon, and Cam Ward before he got to WSU. The Portal has become more important than high school recruiting now. You can find real talent after a year of play. I don't like that OBD lost as many 2026 recruits as we have, but damn, there are at least 20-30 that will be as good or better that play college football this year. Those are the guys to scout, and recruit this season. Not to mention the kids on the roster now (like Darren emphasized) that will contribute in the coming year. OBD has a very loaded roster, and its going to perform way better than most of the top recruits will now, or their entire career. They wanted NFL money, its time for NFL cutting the potential and paying the performers. The smart kids, including kids that aren't really looking for "the bag" should know by now OBD are developing kids that will get drafted. Thus, I hope Lanning is actually scouting Sophomores that play this year, and any Freshman that played last year that are looking for a title and want to get drafted. ESPN has their top 300. I say only 100 from that list are worth signing. It's find those in that group, and maybe find diamonds in the rough, and find the proven players that will be around for at least 2 years in the portal. These "$2M" kids can take a hike. If a high school kid isn't bringing me $5M, I'm not justifying signing an NIL deal worth $1M. He is a liability, not an asset. He isn't going to start year 1, and that is a waste of money instead of signing a portal guy that will play the year you sign him.