Maybe Lebron could coach the team as well? 

That's a good question, but the B1G just made a seven year TV deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC worth $8 BILLION, so I'm not sure why OSU (or the rest of the teams in the conference) are so "hat in hand." $8 billion for what? Presumably mostly football and men's basketball. Who is getting all that money? Not trying to sound like a communist "bourgeois vs proletariat" here, but that's almost a billion dollars for each of the B1G schools (currently). Surely each B1G school could "stipulate" that each team gets a "rev share" of that money. 

Agreed. I "fear" that this is going to take the shape of a player being sued by a university or an NIL sponsor. I have absolutely no idea what's in a contract like the one Quinn Ewers signed that saw him leave HS early, but if it said something like "we will pay you $1 million to be the starting QB at OSU" or whatever, and then he leaves OSU, that's a breach of contract and the sponsor has the right to sue him (unless stated otherwise). We're already seeing the Florida Gator QB getting ready to sue Florida for breach of contract because the $13 MILLION four year deal "fell through." (That's $4 million MORE than Lamar Jackson is getting on HIS rookie deal, fyi) There is no "precedent" for enforcement of these deals as some are even made when they are minors. Good luck enforcing a contract with a minor. I'm of the mind that schools like OSU should even, perhaps, have the players pay THEM for the "opportunity" to access OSU's brand, audience, history, tradition, etc. In fact, if someone WAY smarter and more motivated than me would hop on the idea, I would essentially do what IMG and other "football factories" do and "sell" my players to schools based upon the potential of making both the players AND the university money. That's essentially how other entertainment industries work. The "real money" is in OSU's brand and reach. Let a smart NIL agent figure that out and you'll have the pick of the litter everyday when an NIL agent can properly "sell" their talent to bigtime schools and other brands like Nike. Imagine Nike selling a shoe deal to a college player? Imagine the shoe sales, etc. Now we're talking.  

Thanks. You're spot on. At least with VC's there's some sort of ROI sought/expected, even if they take 50% stake in the company, or take the company altogether if the company fails to meet the goals set by the VC. This is, as you say, "pay for play." It's completely unsustainable. I was actually working with an OSU NIL firm (that will remain nameless and was NOT The Foundation) and they were pitching a few players (none of the well known ones) from the football team, and some from the other teams (female BB, a kid from another school etc) and they were selling it to me as "marketing/pr." Now, this is absolutely no criticism of anyone, but how are these athletes going to help me market my stuff? It's one thing to have CJ Stroud or Marvin Harrison JR hocking my wares, but these folks? I'd never even heard of them. I'd essentially just be giving them money, and maybe get a photo to post on my IG that those two people follow me. But the same COULD be said for the NFL. How many stars are there exactly that get shoe deals etc? A few. The rest are professionals you've probably never heard about, but they're invaluable to the team, so how do you pay THEM? Rev share (of sorts). 

I do a fair amount of work with tech venture capital companies (VC's) and I can tell you that all this NIL is going to head that way very, very soon. At the end of the day, everyone wants an ROI (return on investment) and the risk is VERY HIGH that there is absolutely NO "ROI" on these NIL deals. None. And despite the amount of "cool" you can get by being a rich guy that built a cool facility to host some blue chip recruits signing their NIL deals and taking some pics, that gets old very, very fast. You're literally throwing money in the toilet. What's needed for that ROI to be "there" is tying success on the field (TV viewership, social media interactions, ticket sales, swag sales, product sales, etc) with the amount of money invested in the players. How do you do that? Well, the only "real way" is to follow the NFL way and have "salary caps" and whatnot based on revenue share etc. We MUST tie NIL to how the schools/conferences do revenue-wise. Because isn't that the point anyway? We all got "mad" about the fact that college athletes were "making millions for their schools but not being paid a penny." Well, that's actually STILL the case. The too slick for their own good lawyers essentially created a situation where they've allowed players to get paid, but have let the schools, the conferences, and the media completely off the hook "because the schools are PROHIBITED from paying them." What? OSU/B1G could lead the way and offer a "standard" revenue share (rev share) for the players on their teams. But those players would SIGN CONTRACTS with performance bonuses etc. That takes care of tampering, pays the players, and you lose this "wild west" feel to the NIL sitch. JUST DO WHAT THE NFL DOES. Problem solved. This isn't that hard. 

Anyone that would draft a 5'10" (on his tiptoes) 190lbs (dripping wet) Young over Stroud or Levis deserves what they get. Stroud (and Levis) are a full head taller than Young, and perhaps nothing matters more in the NFL than being a "big bodied QB" that can actually see over their offensive line. This is where people talk about Doug Flutie, Drew Brees, etc. His height alone should send Young to the CFL. But I digress. The reality is that one of the OTHER QB's on the list of 24 eligible for 2023 will be "the star." But how do you find them? How do you find the Brock Purdy on that list of 24? Yes, I know Stroud et al will go in the first round, but there's a guy on that list that people will say "how did he go that low?" Stroud to LV would be nice. 

Thanks bro. 

Hartline is the guy that everyone wants to hang with. He's the guy that everyone wants to be coached by. He's already a legend and a fantastically good father, husband, and man. We're blessed to have him. 

He needs to transfer to Oregon State University (somehow) so that he can say he attended "all the OSU's." lol

First off, lighten up, Francis. You're at a 10, and I'm at a 1. This is not a big deal, and arguing with anonymous people on the internet is a sure way to ruin your day. Trust me. I didn't invent "lying with statistics," it's an old saying that comes from a great book from the 50's, How to Lie with Statistics." 

Yes, you're right, it's NOT a "yahoo poll." Yahoo is a news aggregator (they do not produce the content, they link to other sources for content, and in this instance, CFN which is part of the "paramount group" which bought CBS sports, which bought scout.com which CFN is part of. Wikipedia is amazing!

Your post LITERALLY proves my point. Our "average ranking" based on the last 10 years you cite is 3.4 or #3. Ain't too shabby, but doesn't get us to #2 based upon real averages, but again, I'm talking about NEXT SEASON. Ain't no reason we can't/shouldn't be ranked higher. Now, have a nice day and get outside and get some sun. It does WONDERS for your mood. I'm going to do the same. 

This is called "lying with statistics." All that yahoo poll demonstrates is that OSU has been "pre-season ranked" in the top 25 for a long, long time. Not #1 or #2, could be #9, #14, #1 or whatever. Each "ranking" has a point award. #1 is 25 points, #2 is 24 points, and so on and so forth. in actuality, this upcoming season is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. We're "pre-season ranked" #2 by ESPN, and pretty much everyone else has us #4 or lower for 2023. No #1's whatsoever. Georgia, despite losing Bennett and others, is the unanimous #1. THAT's "getting the benefit of the doubt." Alabama's #2 in most of the preseason polls despite losing Young. That's getting the benefit of the doubt too. And every season since the BCS, and now the playoff era, we always seem to be "playing ourselves in" or "backing in" to whatever post season game there is. I think the ONLY time we "ran the table" as the #1 was the 2007 season (if memory serves) then we lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl NC. It's NOT POSSIBLE for the sports establishment to look at what we did to Georgia in the semifinal and say "you know what, OSU and Coach Day ARE a good program, let's put them at the consensus #1 or #2." Nope. Heck, even TTUN get's "the benefit of the doubt." Most pre-season polls have them ranked ahead of us.  

Yep, and everyone (mostly Danny Kanell) was all over Brad Banks' nutsack that season. Oh well. 

Indeed. I was just reading that a Florida Gator QB commit who de-committed from Miami was going to sue UF because his 4 year, $13 MILLION deal fell through. $13 MILLION. To put that into context, Lamar Jackson is on a four year $9 million deal. Dude was the NFL MVP a couple seasons ago. This is absurd. 

As the NIL becomes even more and more ridiculous, we will not be talking about "recruit x has OSU in their top 5" anymore. We'll be hearing about the "deal" they got. National signing day, early signing day, etc will be a thing of the past. I read this morning about a Florida QB commit that decommited from Miami because he agreed to "a four year $13 million NIL deal with Florida." And now that deal has evidently "fallen through" and he looking to sue Florida. I mean WTF. $13 million for a 4 year deal?? That's four million MORE than Lamar Jackson's making in the NFL! Lamar's four year deal was $9,471,648. I'm sure other rookie QB contracts are similar, and this is an unproven HS QB. There's a BIG JUMP from HS to college, then college to NFL. These numbers are just ABSURD. Colleges just have to stop playing this game. It's a total waste of money. "Oh, you want us to put together an NIL deal for you? Sorry, we don't do that here. When you prove yourself on the field, you can make money off your NIL." 

It's amazing that we're the #2 on that list despite the fact that we literally never get the benefit of the doubt. Every season. "Who's this OSU team?" I can still remember that 2002 Buckeye team and people saying Iowa was the "best team in the B1G." Ohio against the world. Man I'm looking forward to the expanded playoffs. 

The highlight of my season this year was getting the chance to talk with Kam and his family after the MD game. Such a fine young man. He will do great things!

“I accidentally went to the wrong OSU.” Lol

Who is asking for "perfection?" Who is talking about a "mythological flawless qb." Certainly not me. I'm offering an honest, unvarnished assessment of CJ now that we're "eulogizing" him in today's Skully. And if we're REALLY being honest, CJ's "struggles" this year began in the PSU game. Were it not for the singular effort of JTT, we lose that game. Every game AFTER Iowa was an "adventure." (except Indiana) Bottom line is that CJ was a great OSU QB, historically speaking, but he is most certainly the Andrew Garfield of the Spiderman universe analogy with Haskins as the Tobey Maguire Spidey, and Justin Fields as the Tom Holland Spidey.  NERD ALERT. lol

I like the analogy too, but I'm struggling to remember which movie that Spiderman, old or new, "lost" in the end. I guess Andrew Garfield's alt-universe Spidey DID lose (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!) MJ, but they all won the last one together. But yes, it is very much the "end of story" for CJ's time at OSU. Sadly, there will be no more CJ QB OSU movies just like there won't be any more Henry Cavill Superman (or Witcher!) movies. *SIGH*

The latest Spiderman movies were SO MUCH BETTER than those older ones. But I digress. Look, it's not "love him or hate him" when it comes to CJ, it's that he DID have some issues with performance in the "big games." It's a fact, and when you look at the NFL (Not For Long), they want guys in CJ's position--all the talent and coaching in the world on OSU football team--to take that ball into the endzone vs. Georgia and win the National Championship. End of story. A cold hard take is that with his talent and OSU's offensive talent, he had no business shrinking away in either Heisman race or losing to Georgia and TTUN twice. I know the defense is mostly to blame in all three losses, but we're talking about a 1st round NFL draft pick here, not my son in his pop warner league. This criticism is MILD compared to what he will get everyday in the NFL. And I love him. Bottom line is that he has all the tools to be great in the NFL, but he still needs to find that "killer instinct" that will leave no doubt. Champions find a way to make it happen when the ball is in their hands. End of story. 

And here we go. It's not going to be the Hatfield's vs. the McCoy's on the 11W comment boards till next season, it's gonna be the Brown's vs. the McCord's. And it's going to be SO annoying. McCord is Super Marv's HS QB. He's a Sophomore going into his Jr. season. He's got a year more in the OSU program than Brown. I firmly believe that he's earned the starting job. That said, I 100% trust Day and Hartline's judgement and so should we all. Let us not repeat a Stroud vs. McCord or Jones vs. Barrett soap opera. We'll be just fine with any of these QB's, including Lincoln. Whomever it is just needs to bring it and lead the team and WIN. 

Well, let's send him out on a low note. I have to think that he was absolutely gone until he got embarrassed by TCU then TCU got absolutely OBLITERATED by Georgia in the worst loss in a major football game in the modern era of football.

Interesting that Harrison is now projecting as a late 1st rounder. I mean, they guy has all the size and tools to be a nice, long-term NFL DL. And Hickman will make a nice, everydown NFL safety. He's always in the mix on every play. Durable too. Somebody must know that he's got teams interested in him or he would be returning. He'll probably wind up at a smart-drafting NFL team like the Steelers, Ravens, or Buccaneers. Definitely not my Browns. 

It is HAAAAARD to stay a Browns fan and not become a Bengals fan. The Browns continue to make mistakes and unforced errors, and the Bengals keep getting it right. They have six Buckeyes (including Burrow) and it's hard not to root for them, especially after Hubbard makes a play like that last night. HAAAARD. But keeping Deshaun Watson is making it easier. I refuse to celebrate or root for that creep. I don't care if he is or was LEGALLY never punished, what he did to at least 70 women (that we know about) makes this father of two daughter NEVER want to root for him or have him in any way associated with the Browns. It's shameful. It's disgusting. He's from the taint grabbing Clemson, AND he SUCKS. Can we please just move on to the CJ Stroud era at Cleveland? Go Bengals. 

"For Life."