Yearly time to brag about my alma mater. North Central College back in the finals after the NCAA tried to trip them up with an end of the year seeding 100x's more ridiculous than FSUs.

It’s a big deal for North Central to be making its fourth straight appearance in the Stagg Bowl, the Division III championship game, against SUNY-Cortland (6 p.m., Friday, ESPNU).

The defending champs are riding a 29-game win streak, they’ve gone 54-1 in the last 55 games and haven’t lost since the 2021 Stagg Bowl.

I posted something about it in Michigan spygate but I felt it deserved its own thread

Howard reportedly had a physical altercation with another member of the coaching staff on Friday and will be fired at some point this week

go Huskies

I want to avoid revisionist history a year from now. Rivals just came out with their updated 250. The recent plan has been to chase a small handful of the nation's elite, we don't invest much time or energy in more realistic regional targets, we miss on the national guys, then scramble to get who we can. Below are some OTs I would like to see the staff recruit hard now. I based most of this on rankings and locale. While many of the highest rank guys reside in AL/GA/FL/TX, there are a number of guys on the east coast and midwest I'd like to see us go-hard after.

I'm including Rivals position rank followed by size and location

8 Jaelyne Matthews 6'6 300 Tom's River, NJ
10 Owen Strebig 6'8 295 Waukesha, WI
11 Avery Gach 6'5 285 Beverly Hills, MI
12 Nicolai Brooks 6'8 385 Cedar Rapids, IA
13 Rowan Byrne 6'6 295 New Rochelle, NY
17 Jaylen Gilchrist 6'4 280 Virginia Beach, VA
18 Carter Lowe 6'6 290 Toledo, OH
19 Hardy Watts 6'6 285 Brookline, MA
22 Michael Carroll 6'6 298 Doylestown, PA
25 Andrew Babalola 6'7 270 Overland Park, KS

I've read OHST articles about Byrne and Gach, but not much about any of the other guys.

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These days it’s pretty much expected that there will be opt-outs in bowl games, especially at the top NFL factory programs where it’s playoffs or bust. That’s why I thought it was cool last year that Alabama had no opt-outs in the Sugar Bowl. Everyone played including Bryce Young and Will Anderson.

So far the feedback has been really encouraging regarding who will likely be playing in the Cotton Bowl. It seems like Marv is the one guy most people are expecting to sit out which I would understand. At the same time, his personality is such that I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to play either.

Whatever happens it’s feeling like there will be less opt-outs and more excitement around the game that I originally expected.

With his latest All-American nod today, Marv has locked up unanimous honors for the second year in a row -- which makes him just the fifth player in Ohio State history to earn that status. Truly elite company: Hop, Ferguson, Archie and Orlando are the only other guys to achieve that recognition.

NIL has been the buzzword in the world of college sports for a while now, but does everyone really understand what it is and how it impacts recruiting and player retention? I am not sure I do.

The Overall Ask
Can someone who is knowledgeable on NIL from the beat (@Birm, @AustinWard, @Landis) or in this forum go through it with the following lenses.

Question Breakdown

• NIL overview (the basics)
  • What is NIL
  • How does it work
  • How do the players get paid
  • How do they earn it
    • What do they have to do to get money outside of play football? Do you need to go to local businesses and take pictures for example?
  • Who is involved
  • What is a collective
• NIL in recruiting
  • What does it look like when a team goes to a recruit to present their "NIL package"
    • What is included
    • How do they determine how much money they can give
  • How do they earn it (if prior to attending)
  • How do schools like Miami/TAMU seem to have more money for NIL deals
  • How do players know if the schools have the money or are making it up
• NIL once in the program
  • How often do these guys negotiate to get more money/deals
  • If a player blows up in season (i.e. walk-on no one knows becomes WR1 and dominates), how quickly can they capitalize and make grow NIL money
• NIL for portal players
  • How does it differ (if at all) in process from when you are discussing NIL with high school players
• How can we (the fan) help
  • donate to collective, buy Paris Johnson beef jerky, etc
• Any other big things to know

Do you think that Gene Smith Leaving will have an impact on NIl, Recruiting, etc

Buckeyes feeling good on accomplishing their goals right now ... but gotta get through the next 24-48 hours and see if the buzz wears off.

This Maalik Murphy thing has me baffled.

I understand why the window is now with the need to enroll for the next semester at most schools. But what is stopping these players from holding on through the spring?

It would give:
A. More time to evaluate their standing on their current team. (Maybe you get better, maybe person in front of you gets hurt)
B. Allow yourself a better opportunity to evaluate the landscape. (I.e. OSU - if we don’t feel our qb situation is solved by an in house solution. DB and Lk struggle in cotton bowl and don’t improve through spring - if OSU feels like Brown is the guy and believes in him, why would someone want to compete against that and why would they want to push brown out?)

I’m sure Texas told him that either Ewers is def back or Arch is ahead of him, but why not stick it out through the playoffs? Maybe Ewers plays great in the playoffs and goes pro? Maybe Ewers gets hurt in a CFP game and Murphy balls out? Why not wait til after spring unless you’re just absolutely miserable.

Curious to see how people fall on this. I’m not saying OSU HASN’T done this in the past, but it does strike me how many of the really good portal targets have predicted destinations as soon as they enter. I’m sure it’s just a happy coincidence but…..

On Jordan Hancock, Devin Brown, Sonny Styles and Josh Fryar.

I know Birm has been talking about this, and reading it just now I am very thankful for this - it just has to be it. We cannot have anymore "we do things better" or "we can win the old ways we always have". No fanbase is bigger, no university has the power quite like The Ohio State. Once this is official, there better be action and no more excuses from anyone on why we are unable to land/keep 5 stars.

Remarkable the parallels between the American anti-immigrant rhetoric then and now.

Almost verbatim the same we here from the nationalist Americans constantly wailing about the border, or culture war issues about diversity impeding American progress, fear of migrant laborers.

Additionally, the contempt with which Hitler had for Jewish “intellectualism,” hatred of “leftist thinking” taking over major cities like Berlin. One hears the echoes in how right wing Americans speak about “Dem cities” today.

Worthwhile watch, for those who are suckers for history docs. Very much enjoyed it, especially as Jews face unprecedented threats from right wing politics today, or constant threats of extremism and retaliation stemming from Zionist occupation.

Draft and possible portal entries

Draft
Marv - Gone
Trey - Gone
Emeka - Staying
Cade - Gone
Tommy - Gone
Steele - Gone
Simon - Staying
Denzel - Gone
Hancock - Staying
Ransom - Staying
Tyleik - Gone
Mike Hall - Gone
JTT - Staying
Jack - Staying

Transfer Rumors
Hayden - Staying
Kenyatta - Gone

...from All We Talk About Is College Football...

...they said that Trevion Henderson announced he was returning for his senior year...can I get confirmation from people that I actually trust. Honestly don't even know how AWTAICF got my information.

We didn't talk to all of OSU's players who could opt out of the bowl game, and surely there are more who will be playing that didn't speak on Tuesday. But today's interviews still brought some good news for the Buckeyes as they prep for Missouri.

New Rivals250: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals250/2025

Top 10 risers: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-ten-biggest-risers-in-the-rivals250-14

Position by position breakdown: https://n.rivals.com/news/tuesdays-with-gorney-new-2025-rivals250-released-2

Very deserving.

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