{"id":212150,"date":"2026-11-09T21:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T02:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=212150"},"modified":"2026-11-09T21:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T02:30:19","slug":"random-thoughts-college-football-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/11\/09\/random-thoughts-college-football-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Random Thoughts: college football, more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week\u2019s installment of Random Thoughts centers around Ohio State football, a team that gave up three points all season, the Glenville mess, the expanded College Football Playoff and the leap from high school to college football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hear me out on this, but a down year like this was going to happen at some point. It was inevitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? If for no other reason, top recruits out of high school, especially on defense, who wanted playing time sooner instead of later knew they weren\u2019t stepping in and displacing the likes of Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese etc. So they went elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transfer portal you say? Let\u2019s face it \u2013 the transfer portal is very hit or miss. Sometimes it works out \u2013 Caleb Downs for instance, but more often than not, it\u2019s not a huge difference maker. For every one big impact at Ohio State or any other major college program, there are probably 10 that didn\u2019t go as planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hear and see people screaming about starting Tavien St. Clair at quarterback. \u201cHe\u2019s a former 5-star guy!\u201d they proclaim. Here\u2019s the thing \u2013 a 5-star rating isn\u2019t the end-all be-all. Sometimes those rankings are inaccurate. Sometimes the talent is there but another part of the player\u2019s game is missing. There\u2019s a reason he\u2019s not playing and it\u2019s not \u201cthe coaches are too dumb to play him.\u201d Come on now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every major college program has a down cycle. For some it\u2019s brief and for others, it\u2019s not. Ryan Day and his staff, whatever that may look like after this season, have some work to do. There will be plenty of positions up for grabs both on offense and defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coordinators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ohio State special teams coordinator Robby Discher is gone. He was fired on Monday. That won\u2019t be the only change but I believe it\u2019ll be the only change during the regular season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Despite the defense\u2019s struggles, I think defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is safe for now. He may leave on his own but unless the defensive collapse gets worse the next three Saturdays, I think he\u2019s safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not so sure about offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. This hasn\u2019t been a good fit since Day No. 1. \u201cA square peg in a round hole\u201d is what I called the fit earlier. When you look back at Saturday\u2019s game, Ohio State actually outgained Oregon in total yards but some of that came when the Ducks sagged back and kept everything in front of them. It\u2019s the play calling and the tempo that\u2019s concerning. Smith seems to favor a rather bland NFL-style of offense, conservative, don\u2019t make mistakes etc. The tempo is best described as plodding. Some of the play calls, especially in key situations, are baffling. As I\u2019ve pointed out before, look what Chip Kelly did and continues to do \u2013 always exploiting mismatches with creative schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, I\u2019m not sure Arthur Smith makes it to a second season in Columbus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

75 million reasons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the fire Ryan Day crowd – it\u2019s not going to happen. Why not? A $75 million buyout, that\u2019s why, not counting the buyouts for his staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forgiveness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These last three games are winnable for Ohio State. The last one, obviously, is the most important. I can\u2019t help but think most will be forgiven with a win over Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 vs. 45<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drew Pastuer of fantastic50.net<\/a> pointed this out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cincinnati North College Hill (Division IV Region 16) went 9-0 during the regular season and gave up a total of three points in those nine regular season games. Three. The Trojans outscored their opponents 503-3. What happened in their first playoff game? They surrendered 45 points and lost to Urbana 45-38.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glenville mess<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank goodness the Glenville mess is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not that anyone asked but here are my thoughts. It should have never ended up in court. Not just one court, but two. It was a waste of courtroom time. The judge who issued the injuction admitted he had no authority over who was in or out of the playoffs, then what did he do? Ordered Glenville in the playoffs. The Eighth District Court of Appeals quickly reversed that ruling, which ended the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membership in the OHSAA is voluntary. You don\u2019t have to join. Of course if you don\u2019t, you won\u2019t be competing in any of their tournaments. When you do join, you agree to follow the rules established by the majority of OHSAA member schools. For those who don\u2019t quite get it \u2013 the majority of schools agreed on the rules. Even if you don\u2019t agree with them, you agree to abide by them when you join.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, it\u2019s my understanding that the Ginn Academy students attending Glenville but should have been attending other schools could have done so legitimately, but via open enrollment. Through OHSAA\u2019s competitive balance formula, that would have likely resulted in the school being placed in Division I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanded playoff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it\u2019s official \u2013 a 24-team College Football Playoff will begin next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a little torn here. On one hand, tell me a year where 24 teams had even a remote shot of winning a national championship. Some years there weren\u2019t four teams capable of winning the national title. On the other hand, no more conference championship games. I despise conference championship games. They\u2019re simply made for TV, both for college football and college basketball. Good riddance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What could go wrong?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears North Carolina State is on the verge of hiring Phillip Rivers as its next head football coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rivers was a fine NFL quarterback and has enjoyed success as a high school coach. But the jump from high school to Division I college? Good luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s review some past high school to major college head coaching hires?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n