Beat Michigan.
Word of the Day: Loathe.
GOLD PANTS JERSEYS. The football team has been commemorating a Michigan win with Gold Pants for over 80 years. But these days, we’re into beating that team at everything – not just football.
Last year, Chris Holtmann decided his team needed some comparable bling after a season sweep of the Wolverines, awarding Gold Jerseys to the team. And with Michigan only on the schedule once this year (unless there’s a postseason meeting), the Buckeyes have a chance to earn another Gold Jersey on Sunday.
That sparked a discussion about the tradition of Ohio State’s football players earning “gold pants” to celebrate each win against the Wolverines. Ideas for a basketball equivalent — a ball? a sneaker? — were debated, and director of basketball operations David Egelhoff reached out to the football program for details on how theirs are made.
Then came the next, and arguably biggest question: How can the team earn them in a sport with the potential for multiple matchups in a single season? With a 20-game Big Ten schedule, there is the real possibility that teams could meet twice in a season, as well as in the conference tournament.
“I wouldn’t be thrilled to get a (gold) jersey if I went 1-2 against Michigan,” Egelhoff said. “I go, ‘Fellas, we gotta sweep ‘em. You can’t have a loss against Michigan and get a gold jersey.’ ”
And for those wanting a picture of the goods, Clay Hall was kind enough to share Ohio State’s photo with everybody on The Bird App:
.@ChrisHoltmann means business. Now the reward for sweeping Michigan in any given season. @OhioStateHoops photo courtesy: OSU pic.twitter.com/DmdCKzGOkd
— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) February 18, 2021
I love this, and it actually makes a Gold Jersey an even more elusive prize than Gold Pants. For one, those games will likely be more difficult (Michigan *is* a basketball school, after all), and there will be more of them. There’s a chance the Buckeyes would have to beat the Wolverines two, three, or even four times to get this jewelry.
I guess Ohio State football could technically have this issue in the future too if the Buckeyes beat Michigan in the regular season and then happen to meet them again in the College Football Playhahahahahhahahahahaha never mind.
“THE GREATEST 45 MINUTES IN SPORTS.” The list of legendary Buckeye athletes is lengthy. But truthfully, needs only be one name, because Jesse Owens is in a class by himself.
A year before Jesse Owens won Gold in Berlin, he set three world records and tied a fourth at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor for @OhioStAthletics.
It was dubbed “The Greatest 45 Minutes in Sports”.
Owens is a member of the #B1Gimpact Pioneers Class of 2021: pic.twitter.com/7ukyk7VT1X
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 18, 2021
Four world records in very different events in under 45 minutes. That’s a mark nobody will ever come close to touching ever again.
TWO-SPORT STAR? I couldn’t tell you the last time Ohio State had a legitimate football/basketball two-sport start, but it sure hasn’t happened in my memory, or in the memories of any of my much older coworkers (sorry guys, but it’s the truth).
But it looks like this fellow will have a chance to pull off the relatively unprecedented feat.
Blessed to receive a dual sport scholarship to the university of Ohio state Go Buckeyes !! @DemetricDWarren @Mansell247 @kentuckyvb_13 @Rivals @OhioStateFB @OhioStAthletics pic.twitter.com/FQCi9nAfga
— Lebbeus Thomas Overton (@LebbeusO) February 18, 2021
The skeptic in me would normally see this as a cheap recruiting pitch to the No. 1 football player in the country, but I honestly think it’s legit for a few reasons.
For starters, Ohio State doesn’t really need to play games to land elite football players, especially on the defensive line. And they don’t, and never really have. Terrelle Pryor didn’t get a basketball scholarship offer back in 2008, and J.T. Tuimoloau doesn’t have one this year, and neither of those guys is a bad basketball player.
Second, he’s a teammate of 2022 Ohio State guard commit Bruce Thornton, so there’s an actual hoops connection there, it’s not just a random offer. Then again, his scholarship would be with the football team and he’d basically be a free player for the basketball team, so it’s not like there’s a huge risk involved, either way.
In any case, he’s in the class of 2023 and I try not to spend too much of my energy thinking about high school sophomores. That’s Zack’s department.
I’ll just get back to flaming Michigan online.
OKLAHOMA, BUT SHITTIER. It would seem that Michigan’s trying to make a run at Oklahoma’s “Transfer QBU” crown. But unfortunately, the Wolverines only seem focused on the “transfer” part.
All but 1 of Michigan’s starting QBs (McNamara) have either transferred IN or OUT during Jim Harbaugh era:
Rudock — IN (Iowa)
Speight — OUT (UCLA)
O’Korn — IN (Houston)
Peters — OUT (Illinois)
Patterson — IN (Ole Miss)
Milton — OUT (???)McCaffrey also left (N. Colorado)
— Dustin Schutte (@SchutteCFB) February 18, 2021
Joe Milton would be the 3rd QB to start at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh and later transfer, joining Wilton Speight and Brandon Peters.
Ohio State has had 1 such QB transfer in the last 50 years (Austin Moherman in 1999). https://t.co/MnhgmPJT9h
— Jason Starrett (@starrettjason) February 18, 2021
I’d say the transfer portal has been significantly kinder to Ohio State these past few years. I guess we’re just lucky.
SONG OF THE DAY. “We Don’t Give a Damn For the Whole State of Michigan.” by The Best Damn Band in the Land.
NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. Dubai’s disappearing princesses… Inside the hidden society of lightning strike survivors… She always knew she was adopted, but she’s just discovered she’s probably an infamous killer’s child… One day in 1983, we almost blew the hell out of the planet… The mountain you can’t climb…
