Kyle Snyder was able to grit his teeth and get the job done with a 19-6 major decision over Duke's No. 4 Jake Kasper in the semifinals.

After a slow first minute, Snyder was able to find the key to taking Kasper down, which he did repeatedly on his way to nearly earning a tech fall. Snyder injured his ribs in the quarterfinal match against Michael Kroells, but he had a chip on his shoulder against Kasper thanks to some quotes Kasper gave earlier in the year.

"I want to punch him in the mouth and see what he’s got," Kasper said when discussing the possibility of facing Snyder in the NCAA Championships.

Snyder remembered the quote, referencing it in his post-match interview.

"He said he was going to punch me in the mouth," Snyder told ESPN's Quint Kessenich. "I didn't really feel it. You've got to back it up if you're going to hype it up." 

Snyder acknowledged his sore ribs, but mentioned the medication he took prior to the match is helping the pain. 

Snyder will wrestle Wisconsin's No. 2 Connor Medbery in a rematch of the Big Ten finals for an NCAA title on Saturday night. The finals will air live on ESPN on Saturday night at 8 p.m. 

Not only is Snyder vying for his second NCAA title, but he is also a finalist for the AAU's James E. Sullivan Award. You can vote for Snyder once daily until midnight on March 22. 

The semifinals and consolation bloodround action helped to sort the contenders from the All-Americans as the Buckeyes ended the second day of the NCAA tournament trailing only Penn State in the team race.

The Buckeyes advanced two wrestlers to the finals on Saturday with Bo Jordan earning his first trip to the finals and Kyle Snyder earning his third. Nathan Tomasello and Kollin Moore suffered heart-breaking losses in the semifinals, but both join Myles Martin and Micah Jordan as All-Americans.

Nathan Tomasello

Nathan Tomasello fell short for the second straight year to an Iowa opponent in the NCAA semifinals, losing a tough bout to No. 4 Cory Clark 7-4. Clark was able to hit two merkles to earn late takedowns as a response to Tomasello's leg attacks. Tomasello will face the winner of No. 7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) and No. 9 Scott Parker of Lehigh tomorrow in the consolation semifinals. Clark advances to the finals for a third time, where he will face former Iowa teammate Seth Gross, who now wrestles at South Dakota State. 

Micah Jordan

Micah Jordan lost in the quarterfinals, but earned his first career All-American finish with two straight wins in the consolation bracket. Jordan defeated Lehigh's Laike Gardner and South Dakota State's Alex Kocer at 149 to advance to the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning. There he will face Northern Iowa's outstanding freshman Max Thomsen. Penn State's Zain Retherford will be looking for his second NCAA title at 149 on Saturday night, but will have to defeat Missouri's No. 3 Lavion Mayes to do so. 

Bo Jordan

Micah's brother Bo Jordan punched his ticket to his first NCAA championship match with a wild comeback win over No. 2 Brian Realbuto of Cornell. Jordan was frustrated throughout the match as Realbuto was able to counter Bo's takedown attempts and score points of his own. In the last minute of the third period, Realbuto attempted a risky counter to a Jordan shot, but Bo anticipated the throw attempt and caught Realbuto on his back. Jordan scored a takedown and four nearfall points to earn the 11-7 victory. Jordan will face Penn State's No. 5 Mark Hall in the championship match in a rematch of their Big Ten finals bout.

Myles Martin

Myles Martin was stunned in the quarterfinals on Thursday night, but battled back with four wins on Friday to earn a spot in the consolation semifinals. While it wasn't the repeat championship that he'd hoped for, Martin can now finish no lower than sixth place at 184. In the bloodround, Myles had to defeat former All-American Jack Dechow of Old Dominion, which he did in dramatic fashion. Martin then outlasted Northern Iowa's Drew Foster to earn a spot in the consolation semifinals, where he'll meet Iowa's Sammy Brooks. Penn State's Bo Nickal will look to prevent Cornell's No. 1 Gabe Dean from ending his career with a third NCAA title in the finals at 184 on Saturday night.

Kollin Moore

Kollin Moore defeated Brett Pfarr in the Big Ten championship match, but was unable to recreate the magic as the Minnesota senior won an exciting 13-9 match. The two athletic big men traded takedowns throughout the match, but a Pfarr takedown off of a Moore shot attempt sealed the deal. Moore will now drop to the consolation semifinals, where he will face Aaron Studebaker of Nebraska.

Kyle Snyder

Kyle Snyder was able to stay undefeated, despite sore ribs, and put a beating on Duke's Jake Kasper. Snyder started slowly, but managed a 19-6 major decision in the semifinals to advance to the big stage on Saturday night. Snyder will have a rematch against No. 2 Connor Medbery of Wisconsin, who edged Ty Walz of Virginia Tech. Snyder defeated Medbery in the Big Ten final two weeks ago, and will look to repeat the victory for a second NCAA title.

Team Race

The Penn State Nittany Lions went five for five in the semifinals and pulled way ahead in the team race, scoring 121.0 points after Session IV. Ohio State is in second place with 89.5. Oklahoma State and Missouri are nipping at the Buckeyes' heels with 86.0 and 81.5 points, respectively. 

The consolation semifinals begin on Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN with the medal rounds to immediately follow. The championship finals will air live on ESPN at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, beginning with the match at 197.

Welcome to the day after St. Patrick's Day. Or as Ohio State students know it, "The creeping feeling of dread about returning to reality on Monday." Just wait til reality hires y'all.

Word of the Day: Flout.

 THE FINAL CHAPTER. It would be interesting to see how much equity J.T. Barrett would still have with Ohio State fans if he didn't fall injured against Michigan in 2014 and led the Buckeyes to the first national title of the Urban Meyer era.

Unfortunately for Barrett, Cardale Jones took the honors. But with Barrett already amassing so many records, it was fair to consider him the greatest quarterback in Buckeye history before the Fiesta Bowl.

Unfortunately for us, we remember how that went. Now, according to Urban Meyer, it will take more than records to cement Barrett's legacy as the passing G.O.A.T. in Columbus.

From theozone.net:

If Barrett wants to be viewed as one of the greats at Ohio State, he won't need more stats, he'll need more banners.

"How do you measure the success of a quarterback?" Urban Meyer asked recently. "Some people do passing yards. You’ll never hear me talk about that. It’s wins and losses. So he’s a very decorated quarterback. His winning percentage must be off the chain. However, he’s never lifted the trophy yet, and I’m talking about the Big Ten championship or the next one after that. And so in my opinion that’s how quarterbacks should be measured."

Yesterday a reader accused me of "doing my best to conjure a quarterback controversy in Columbus." Buddy, I wish people paid that much attention to me.

I'm #TeamBarrett, because he's right—if somebody were better than him, he'd be playing.

Meyer is also right. If Barrett ever wants to supplant Troy Smith as the greatest quarterback of the modern era, he needs to lift a trophy. Perhaps that's not fair in a sport where 10 other teammates are on the field with him, but that's how it goes.

The good news for Barrett is he's already locked up "forever employed in Central Ohio" status. It may not pay as well as NFL stardom, but he won't end up begging on the streets and the benefits package ain't too shabby either.

 HOOKER WORKING. Malik Hooker earned iconic status well before he balled against Clemson while suffering from a torn hip labrum and a sports hernia. 

The original report sidelined Hooker for four-to-six months. That may be true if we were talking about a human being and not an alien. At the NFL Combine last month, Hooker told reporters he was "way ahead of schedule" in his rehab.

A month later, that appears to still be the case.

From Malik Hooker's Instagram:

Not even I, the "healthy man," possess the hand-eye coordination required to side-step on a treadmill like that while also catching footballs. This is probably another rare insight into why I type for a living and not in the NFL.

With rehab going this swimmingly, Hooker's Top-5 selection seems surefire at this point.

 THE LUXURIOUS EL GUAPO. San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde shot an ad with Lexus in which he discusses Chip Kelly, his love of cake, and his wish to return to Ohio State for one more season. (I doubt the last part because it'd be a substantial pay cut.)

Ezekiel Elliott should draw a page from Guapo's book. Hyde had that incident at Sugar Bar 2 (damn that den of iniquity to the deepest pits of Hell) and hasn't been in trouble or the subject of a salacious TMZ headline since.

 THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. Michigan football held a spring combine. As a #content maker, I wish Ohio State did something like this. And I wouldn't be surprised if Meyer, always vigilant for good ideas percolating at other programs, swoops it.

Respect to Michigan for publishing believable numbers, even if the prospect of the 6-5, 293-pound Rashan Gary running a 4.57 is terrifying for a guy who won't have to block him this fall.

 THOSE WMDs. The trials of White Boy Rick... Jason Molina's long dark blues... The grays of our lives... Deaf, mute, and accused of murder... What happens when Queen Elizabeth dies?

“I do miss him. But in coaching, that’s kind of the way it is. Change is inevitable in this business, I guess in any business,” Ohio State's defensive coordinator and safeties coach said last week. “It’s such a cyclical thing, right? You recruit, you have winter workouts, then you have spring ball, then you have spring recruiting, then it’s back to summer stuff and camps and into training camp.

“So you just go, you don’t really think about it much.” 

For the first time in essentially two decades, Fickell no longer works in Columbus. He is the head coach at the University of Cincinnati. Fickell's new job is not even two hours away, yet his absence on the Ohio State coaching staff resonates.

“Yeah, when someone asks me if I miss him, I do,” Schiano said. “I enjoyed working with Luke.”

Urban Meyer filled the lone vacancy on his defensive coaching staff with the hire of Billy Davis on Dec. 21, the best man at the head coach's wedding and a longtime veteran on NFL sidelines. A week before spring drills began at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Ohio State casually slipped in a press release that Schiano had assumed sole responsibility of the team's defense as the coordinator. On March 7, his boss refuted that. Sort of.

“You want guys that have strong opinions But at the end of the day, we always come to what’s best for Ohio State football. It’s not always like that. I’ve been places where it isn’t.”– Greg Schiano

“I didn't release that he's the sole defensive coordinator. I don't know where that came from. That was not an Urban Meyer release,” Meyer said. “He's the defensive coordinator. I'm going to evaluate what's the best for our program.”

Fickell was Ohio State's defensive coordinator for the first five seasons of Meyer's tenure, and Schiano received the title of co-coordinator when hired ahead of last season. The natural progression would be for Schiano to step into Fickell's role with him gone. Kerry Coombs will have a larger influence on things while he coaches the team's cornerbacks, and we can't forget what Davis or Larry Johnson bring to the table. The latter also has the title of Assistant Head Coach next to his name, after all.

“I want to watch Coach Davis, watch Coach Coombs and obviously Larry is a very integral part,” Meyer said. “Kerry will have a much-expanded role just because [of] the nature of it. Greg's going to be defensive coordinator and now Luke Fickell's gone.”

So, it sounds like Schiano is the defensive coordinator like the program released before spring drills started, even though the head coach claims there was a disconnect between him and his spokesman.

Regardless, one thing Meyer did confirm was Schiano will have more of impact on what the front seven does.

“That means Kerry will have a little more responsibility on the back end of our defense,” he added.

That makes sense. So where does Davis's piece as linebackers coach fall into the pie? Apparently right on top next to the whip cream and cherry of a bevy of tenured assistants.

“I’ll be honest, the three guys that we have in our room other than myself, Billy Davis, what a great resource,” Schiano said. “He’s been coaching for so many years at different places. He brings a wealth of knowledge. Certainly, you can’t change everything you do but there’s little tweaks and things you pull from each other that let you continue to enhance it.”

Schiano's own NFL experience is extensive. He served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2012 and 2013 seasons and worked as an assistant in Chicago in the late 1990s. So he and Davis specifically know what it takes for players to make it to the next level.

Add that to the track records of Coombs and Johnson — multiple first-round draft picks and a tangible improvement in their units the last few seasons — and Ohio State's defense looks mighty good on paper. At least in terms of its staff.

“I said it many times, in that room we have such experienced coaches,” Schiano said. “You’re talking about Larry Johnson. He’s the best D-line coach in America. He’s turned down coordinator jobs right and left. This is a special place. People come here and stay here for a reason. Kerry Coombs is one of the elite coaches, one of the elite recruiters. Look at what his guys have done. He chooses to be here and stay here. Billy’s an experienced coach.”

So even though a stalwart like Fickell is elsewhere and Davis has never coached at the college level, Schiano says "nothing's changed" with regards to how Ohio State's staff operates.

“I haven’t been here that long but it’s always been a four-way conversation that we always come to a consensus,” Schiano said. “I’m not saying we don’t disagree with some things but if there wasn’t we’d really be in trouble, right? You want guys that have strong opinions.

“But at the end of the day, we always come to what’s best for Ohio State football. It’s not always like that. I’ve been places where it isn’t.”

I honestly forgot what it's like to not be in Vegas for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. 

I think I was on about a 10 or 11 year run of spending the opening weekend of the Dance in the Sin City but life happens so this year I'm watching from the confines of my humble abode. 

That doesn't mean gambling isn't a part of the equation however and since we've got a pretty solid slate of Saturday games thanks to so few upsets on Thursday, I figured we should run a quickie contest for the day. 

Here's the deal. 

There are eight games today. Your task will be to correctly predict the point spread winner in each game. Should multiple folks post a perfect record (or at least best record) against the spread in those eight games, the grand prize winner shall be the person who submitted their perfect picks (or best record) first. 

Grand prize winner receives a t-shirt, cap or beanie (sorry, no polo) from in-stock items in the 11W Drygoods and a $20 donation made by me, on the winner's behalf, to our Pay It Forward fundraiser seeking to build a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.  

For anyone else who turns in a perfect 8-0 record (or best record) against the spread but not before the grand prize winner tossed in their entry, I'll donate $10 to the Woody fund on your behalf. 

Please list your picks, in the same game order as the chart below, simply noting the teams you think will cover (no need to list the spreads). 

The fine print:

• Must be at least 21 years of age to enter
• One entry / comment per person
• Duplicate entries/comments will be ineligible
• Deadline for entries is 12:00 p.m. EDT
• Any entries/comments edited after 12:00 EDT will be disqualified 
• Entries must be on 11W website - not twitter, Facebook etc. 

Chris Worley is entering his final season, Jerome Baker is a candidate to leave early after bursting onto the scene last year, and Dante Booker will look to make a splash after suffering a knee injury a season ago.

The Buckeyes remain in the hunt for a number of the country's top linebackers as they'll look to reload the position for 2018. A new name was added to the board two weeks ago, and it wouldn't be a surprise if another Ohioan soon enters the fray with an offer.

On the recruiting front, big things are expected in the coming months, and there's certainly a chance for the Buckeyes to already have at least a pair in the fold by the end of the spring.

Starting at the bottom of the list, Michael Harris hasn't been shy about his affinity for the Buckeyes, hitting them with the "dream school" label before even receiving an offer. The one-time Springfield, Ohio resident did in fact receive that offer just over a week ago, and things look like they could move fairly quickly here. 

Despite his three-star standing, Harris has put together an impressive offer list that features virtually every SEC school including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, and LSU. He's a true middle linebacker and that is clearly a position of need for Ohio State.

The 6-foot-2, 213-pounder is expected to make the trip to Columbus this spring, and – depending on how the staff elects to play things – it wouldn't be a surprise if he's a part of the 2018 class shortly thereafter.

Cincinnati's Christopher Oats hasn't had a lot going on lately, but his recruitment has still been an interesting follow. At one point it looked as though a commitment could come at any time, but he's recently backed off of that and claims to be in no rush to make a decision. Some have questioned whether or not the staff is pushing for him right now, but given their frequent communication, it's hard to imagine that they're slow-playing one of the state's top players.

At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Oats may be a candidate to move to defensive end, so his versatility may very well work in his favor. He's expected to be back in Columbus yet this month, and anything's possible when an in-state kid is on campus with family. Oats has identified Ohio State and Cincinnati as two of his favorites with schools like Oklahoma and Miami also in the running.

Outside of a February trip to Southern Cal, t's been mostly quiet on the Adrian Jackson front as well. Ohio State had consistently been listed as the top school for the Colorado star, but he recently mentioned that Oregon and USC are also at the top of his list. Jackson is another interesting case because while he's listed as a linebacker, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder also has mentioned playing more of a strong safety position.

Jackson looked like he was close to pulling the trigger at one point, but right now his status appears to be totally up in the air. If Ohio State elects to back off a bit – and perhaps it already has – then the four-star is likely to stay out West. 

The Buckeyes continue to be in great shape for Dallas Gant as his recruitment seems to be coming down to an Ohio State and Notre Dame battle with Penn State also lurking. The state's top linebacker hasn't set an announcement date, but he's expected to make a decision before the start of his senior season. Gant was in Columbus last month and should return this spring. His crystal ball is still 100% in favor of the Buckeyes. 

North Carolina linebacker Payton Wilson is a bit of a newer name, but the Buckeyes have been in pursuit since offering shortly after signing day. Wilson released a top seven that included Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Penn State, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina. He's one of the fastest-rising names in America, and it looks to be too early to tell which way he may be leaning. The nation's No. 4 outside linebacker is scheduled to be in Columbus the weekend of April 1st.

The lone five-star on the list had some big news earlier this week when he announced that he will be making a trip to Columbus this spring for another visit. Teradja Mitchell is the nation's top inside linebacker, so the visit is certainly big news. Florida State has had some major success recruiting Virginia over the years, and the Noles look like the team to beat for the Virginia Beach star. 

Mitchell was in Columbus last November for the Michigan game, but he'll be looking to do some more research when he's back in town on April 8th. 247Sports'Alex Gleitman submitted the lone Buckeye crystal ball pick just yesterday.

There are a lot of moving parts at linebacker, and the staff's 2018 recruiting approach is likely going to depend on a number of factors including how quickly incoming freshmen Baron Browning and Pete Werner can transition to the college game. Browning has already been on campus for a few months while Werner will arrive this summer. Both may end up manning the middle, but that remains to be seen.

Another piece could come into play if West Chester's Xavier Peters receives the offer that he seems to covet above all else. The four-star was in town in early March and is looking to come back this spring. Florida, Tennessee, Oregon, and Oklahoma all have offered within the past six weeks.

Right now Kentucky and Penn State may be the frontrunners, but Ohio State is clearly sniffing around on the state's third-ranked linebacker. Peters is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds and could end up at any of the three linebacker spots or potentially even as more of an edge rusher. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Buckeyes made a move at some point over the spring or summer.

Regardless of whether or not any new offers are extended, it still should be an exciting couple of months that will go a long way in solidifying the unit for 2018. 

Growing up in Manvel, Texas, Ohio State softball senior right fielder Alex Bayne lived just two hours away from Texas A&M University — and in turn, her parents raised her as a fan of the Aggies. In her final year in Columbus, however, Bayne said she has “made two more Buckeye fans in Texas” after her time in a Scarlet and Gray uniform.

Now a college transfer and an undergraduate degree later, Bayne and the Buckeyes are preparing to take on No. 4 Auburn and North Dakota State Saturday afternoon in Clearwater, Florida in hopes of extending the team's current seven-game winning streak.

We sat down with Bayne to discuss her transfer from Marshall University, getting kicked out of an apartment complex with the team and much more.

When did you realize you might have a chance to play softball at the collegiate level?

Alex Bayne: I would say probably around the middle school years, so I guess I was about 12, 13 or 14. My dad had always put the idea of collegiate softball out there, and as a kid it’s an awesome idea — but then at that age, you kind of figure out if it’s something you really want to pursue or not, and you see your skill compared to other people. So when I was 14, I decided to try out for an 18-and-under team, which usually the players that play on those teams are 17 or 18. I wanted to play more competition and see where I stacked up, I made the team and that was kind of the first time I saw an organization see my potential and I realized I can develop my skills and be able to play at the collegiate level.

What drew you to come to Ohio State?

AB: After my first year at Marshall, I realized it wasn’t a good fit for me so I decided to take my sophomore year off because I wasn’t sure if I was going to play softball again — but I didn’t think to much into it because I knew I would miss the crap out of it. My boyfriend at the time, now fiancé, was a student at Ohio State. So I would come visit him and I just fell in love the university as a whole, the culture, how people don’t come here to just be average. The campus is beautiful, it was big but I didn’t feel like it was overwhelming when I was visiting. So I knew regardless if I wanted to play softball or not that I wanted to finish my academic career at Ohio State, and it just worked out that (the softball team) had try-outs and the coaches liked me and wanted me.

What is the best part about being a student-athlete?

AB: I think the opportunities you receive and kind of the people who are surrounding you who want you to succeed. I get to make connections and network for jobs I want to do, and there are so many different things that we’re spoiled with that aren’t necessarily gear. It’s more of building you up as a person and allowing you to be able to succeed in the future, and I know that the support group with my professors, athletics department and my coaches is amazing because it is a challenge sometimes to balance things. I think that is one of the best things about Ohio State, I’ve never asked someone for help and felt like I’ll be rejected.

What’s been your best softball moment in your career?

AB: Last year when we got a bid to the NCAA tournament, we were all together at this apartment complex in northwest Columbus in their media room. We turned on the selection show, we had a good idea that we played well enough, but there was still that anticipation of where we would be for the regional — and when our name was announced, we went crazy. We were so excited, it was so awesome to be one of the top-64 teams in the country, but we actually were so loud that we got kicked out of the apartment complex because we we’re so excited and pumped up for each other. It was such a cool moment that you just felt the energy and adrenaline from one another, and that has to be one of the top moments I will remember forever — especially because we got kicked out.

What are you studying?

AB: I actually graduated last May with my undergraduate degree in strategic communications, and now I’m going to graduate school for sports administration/management and I will graduate that program in August.

What’s been your favorite class you've taken at Ohio State?

AB: My two favorite classes have been Intercultural Communications and Crisis Communications — both taught by a professor named Lanier Holt, who is my absolute favorite professor and I’ve taken him to softball professor appreciation days because he’s amazing.

What’s your favorite part about/spot on campus?

AB: I love walking through the Oval. When I first came here, I loved it but took it for granted because it was apart of a walk I did every day, but now that all of my classes are in the RPAC I miss it so much. That, and Mirror Lake are two places that I think make Ohio State what it is, and those are two places where I think I could just sit and relax.

What’s been your favorite aspect of Columbus?

AB: Probably my favorite aspect of the city is that there are so many locally owned and hole-in-the-wall shops all throughout Columbus. People here want to shop local, want to help their local economy by going to places like the brewery district or restaurant week. People are willing to help out one another, and people want to have that local feeling and I think that’s such a huge part of Columbus and a reason why it’s growing.

What’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

AB: I am a nerd when it comes to fantasy fiction. I love Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, basically anything fantasy fiction like that I could talk to people for hours about that. People poke fun and laugh, but a goal for me would be to learn Elvish.

What is something you would tell an incoming student about Ohio State that you'd like them to know?

AB: I guess one thing I would tell them is to embrace the journey, enjoy every moment. My dad always tells me to embrace the good and the bad because it goes by in the blink of an eye — and before you know it, it's going to come to an end and you're going to wish you embraced more moments and wish you had it back. I think that's something really personal to me, to try to take advantage of every day I have, especially being a student-athlete (at Ohio State). There's going to be ups, and there's going to be downs, but live it and love it and don't wish it away because it's going to be gone before you know it — and you're going to wish you had those moments back.

Ohio State quickly realized it wasn't going to win its second national title in program history, but the Buckeyes got back to work on Saturday morning in the medal rounds in an effort to close the gap on first place Penn State. 

Nathan Tomasello bounced back from a disappointing semifinal loss on Friday night and picked up a pair of wins on Saturday morning to take third place at 133. Tomasello was able to pick up another win over Nebraska's Eric Montoya 4-1 and defeated Michigan's Stevan Micic 5-2 in the third place bout. Tomasello finishes his junior career with a record of 24-1 and his third career All-American finish. 

Micah Jordan responded after a tough quarterfinal loss on Friday morning and won three consolation matches to have a rematch with Iowa's Brandon Sorensen in the third place match. Micah used a decision, tech fall, and major decision to advance to the consolation finals. Jordan was defeated for the third time this season by Sorensen, falling 4-0 in the third place match. Jordan ends his sophomore season with a record of 33-5, but earned his first All-American finish with a fourth place at 149. 

Myles Martin battled back through the consolation bracket and finished in fifth place at 184 to cap off his sophomore season. Martin lost his first match on Saturday to Iowa's Sammy Brooks 6-2, but scored big team points for the team with a 10-6 decision over Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State for fifth place. Though it wasn't a repeat championship like he'd probably hoped for, Martin earned his second All-American honors in just his sophomore season and finished the year with a 32-9 record. 

Kollin Moore dropped a tough loss in the championship semifinals, but won two tough matches to finish in third place at 197. Moore won yet another tough match against Nebraska's Aaron Studebaker to advance to the third place match against Virginia Tech's Jared Haught. In the third place match, Moore pinned Haught late in the first period to cap off an outstanding freshman campaign. Moore ended the season with a record of 33-4 and his first All-American finish. 

With just the championship finals remaining, Penn State locked up their sixth national championship in seven years with 122.0 points. Ohio State currently sits in second place with 106.0 and two finalists, while Oklahoma State is in third with 99.0 points. Iowa can improve upon their fourth place position with 93.0 points with a pair of finalists. 

The NCAA Championship Finals will air live tonight at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN. 

World Champion. Olympic Gold Medalist. Two-time Big Ten heavyweight champion. Two-time undefeated NCAA champion. 

Buckeye redshirt junior Kyle Snyder added another accolade to his resume on Saturday night as he won his second-consecutive NCAA championship with a victory over Wisconsin's behemoth heavyweight Connor Medbery, 6-3, on Saturday night. 

Snyder struck first with a takedown early in the match, but Medbery didn't make it easy. Snyder switched to a double leg while Medbery locked around Snyder's waist. The Buckeye earned the takedown by lifting the much larger Medbery.

Snyder earned a penalty point for Medbery fleeing the mat to avoid a Snyder takedown. Snyder added another takedown and an escape to his total, while Medbery earned a takedown of his own late in the match. 

With the 6-3 decision, Snyder caps off a second-consecutive perfect season with an NCAA title.

“I’m just happy I could wrestle well and represent Ohio State well,” said Snyder. “I’m excited about the future of improvement, just becoming a better wrestler, but that was a pretty awesome environment. Very grateful that I could compete in front of all those people.”

Many wrestlers can only dream of the many things Snyder has accomplished but he will get another opportunity to add to his list next season as he will still have another year of eligibility left to wrestle for the Buckeyes. 

Snyder will now take a backseat from competing and switch into a teammate role as fellow Buckeye Bo Jordan will wrestle for his first NCAA title later on this evening at 174. 

Bo Jordan was able to avenge his only previous loss of the season in Friday night's semifinals, but he dropped his final match of the season on Saturday evening to Penn State's true freshman Mark Hall. 

The turning point in the bout came when Jordan nearly earned a takedown on the edge before Hall reversed control. The Buckeye coaches were looking for a takedown for Jordan and a reversal for Hall, which would have made the score 3-2 in Hall's favor.

The officials opted to give Hall the outright takedown, saying Jordan didn't have control in what was ultimately a razor-thin call. Hall fended off late takedown attempts by Jordan and managed a last-second takedown of his own to earn an NCAA title as a true freshman by the score of 5-2. 

Jordan ends his junior season just one match short of a national championship, but he will have another opportunity to earn the elusive NCAA title next season. 

Ohio State earned a runner-up finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships, finishing behind an elite Penn State wrestling squad, which won its sixth national championship in the last seven years.

The Buckeyes were led by six All-Americans including two-time NCAA champion Kyle Snyder. Bo Jordan fell just short in his first NCAA Championship match but still scored crucial team points to help the team to a runner-up finish. 

Jose Rodriguez entered his first NCAA championships unseeded and went 1-2 in the tournament before being eliminated on Friday morning. 

Nathan Tomasello entered the NCAA tournament undefeated but fell to eventual national champion Cory Clark of Iowa in the semifinals. Tomasello refused to give up and won two matches on Saturday morning to finish in third place at 133. 

Luke Pletcher entered the tournament seeded No. 12 at 141 but ran into a pair of tough conference opponents and bowed out of the tournament short of an All-American finish. 

Micah Jordan earned his first All-American finish as he finished in fourth place at 149. 

Cody Burcher advanced at his first career NCAA tournament but made a quick exit after dropping his first two matches. 

Bo Jordan entered the tournament looking to improve upon his previous two third place finishes but he fell short in the NCAA championship match to Penn State's Mark Hall. 

Myles Martin fell short of repeating as NCAA champion but still managed an excellent tournament to finish in fifth place as a sophomore. 

Kollin Moore capped off his outstanding freshman season with a third place finish at 197. 

Kyle Snyder again took home the top prize in the heavyweight division as he won his second NCAA title on Saturday night. 

The Buckeyes finished second as a team to a Penn State squad that went on a ridiculous run in the finals, winning five straight bouts to end the tournament.

Penn State won their sixth NCAA championship in seven years with 146.5 points.

Ohio State finished second with 110, while Oklahoma State rounded out the top three with 103.0. 

It wasn't pretty, but the Buckeyes downed No. 12 seed Western Kentucky 70-63 on Friday, advancing to the round of 32 where they will meet No. 4 seed Kentucky at 12:05 p.m.

The win was about as uncharacteristic as it gets for Ohio State. The nation's fourth highest-scoring team couldn't find consistent offense and the Big Ten's leading scorer had an off game, scoring just four points in the first half and 15 on the game.

Instead, the Buckeyes won with stifling defense and play from their bench players. Ohio State held the normally hot-shooting Hilltoppers to just 63 points and 29 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Asia Doss and Shayla Cooper came off the bench and delivered season-high performances. Doss led the team with 15 points and Cooper pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, helping fill the void left by the injured Stephanie Mavunga.

It undoubtably wasn't how Ohio State wanted to open NCAA Tournament play, but it should leave the team optimistic about its chances going forward. The Buckeyes proved that when the game doesn't go their way, shots don't fall and they don't get the usual production from their star, they can still win a game.

Ohio State survived, and faces a new task in No. 4 seed Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes will look to top the Wildcats and advance to their second-straight Sweet 16.

Scouting Kentucky

Kentucky may be the higher seed, but Ohio State comes into Sunday's matchup with a better record and a higher ranking in the polls. The Wildcats have 10 losses to the Buckeyes' six and were ranked No. 18 in the final regular-season AP Poll while Ohio State was ranked No. 11.

Still, Kentucky is a dangerous team. The Wildcats are ranked No. 14 in the RPI rankings while the Buckeyes rank just No. 27. Kentucky has been tested all year with a much more difficult schedule and will be a tough out on its home court.

The Wildcats are led by two seniors: Makayla Epps and Evelyn Akhator. The pair is responsible for nearly half the team's scoring and rebounding this season and combined for 52 of Kentucky's 73 points in its first-round win against Belmont.

If the Buckeyes can limit Epps and Akhator, or get them in foul trouble, the Wildcats may be in trouble as they aren't terribly deep. Only six players on the roster average more than 13 minutes a game and 80 percent of the team's scoring comes from four players.

Scouting Ohio State

The Buckeyes enter Sunday's matchup coming off back-to-back poor offensive performances. Following the rule of averages, I wouldn't bank on that happening a third time with how high-scoring this team has been all season. At some point, shots will fall.

Ohio State is waiting for one player in particular to play up to her potential, at least offensively. Kelsey Mitchell is scoring 22.8 points per game on the season but has averaged just 12 points over the last two games. She's a volume and rhythm shooter, so if she can catch fire, it could doom Kentucky.

With a win against Western Kentucky, however, the Buckeyes proved they can win even if Mitchell is not at her best. If Mitchell comes out flat again, look for players like Shayla Cooper, Sierra Calhoun and Kiara Lewis to pick up the slack.

The biggest storyline heading into the game is whether Stephanie Mavunga will play after she missed her seventh-straight game with a foot injury on Friday after being declared a game-time decision. Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said she will again be a game-time decision Sunday. If she does play, it's difficult to imagine she'll play heavy minutes. Tori McCoy and Alexa Hart will likely have to hold down the post for one more game.

Another point of interest is that Ohio State guard Linnae Harper will meet her former team. Harper transferred from Kentucky midway through last season and became eligible for the Buckeyes in December. Since then, she's provided a valuable spark for Ohio State off the bench, quietly averaging 8.2 points per game and pulling down almost five boards a game despite standing only 5-8.

How it Plays Out

Kentucky is a solid team with two exceptional players that's been tested all season, but Ohio State has one decisive advantage: depth.

While the Wildcats have only six players who average more than 13 minutes a game, the Buckeyes have ten. That coupled with the pace at which Ohio State likes to play, it's likely Kentucky will tire well before the Buckeyes do.

If Ohio State can force an uptempo game like it tends to do, the Wildcats will have a difficult time keeping up with the Buckeyes on the court and on the scoreboard.

Kevin's Prediction: Ohio State 84 Kentucky 70

How to Watch

The game will take place in Lexington, Kentucky on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2 as well as streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App.

In three of the last five seasons, Indiana ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the Big Ten in total offense. The Hoosiers were inside the top-five the other two years.

The common thread: Kevin Wilson was calling the shots.

One of the more respected offensive minds in all of college football, Wilson turned Indiana into a program no Big Ten team wanted to see on Saturdays. The Hoosiers could score and they could score on anybody.

“We didn’t want to play them every year,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said of Wilson and Indiana. “I know that.”

It’s precisely why Meyer targeted Wilson this past offseason after he resigned from his post as the Hoosiers’ head coach amidst allegations related to player mistreatment. The Buckeyes had an opening after both Ed Warinner and Tim Beck moved on and Meyer knew who he wanted to come in and enhance Ohio State’s offense.

What Wilson did at Indiana was no doubt impressive. But while the Hoosiers had their fair share of talent — running backs Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard are both successful in the NFL already — the options are more plentiful in Columbus.

The possibilities seem endless with all of the toys now at Wilson’s disposal even if Wilson was quick to defend the talent he had during his tenure at Indiana.

“We’ve got talent here but the talent we had over there was really good too because we recruited and developed it with what we did in the weight room, what we did on the field in practice,” Wilson said last week. “You talk about talent but it’s also getting guys to play it.”

“... Talent doesn't win, it's the ability to play together.”

While that may be true, it’s hard to ignore the significant talent upgrade Wilson now has in the palm of his hand. There are NFL-level athletes at nearly every position and a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in J.T. Barrett.

Still, Ohio State’s offense — specifically the passing game — struggled at times over the last two seasons. The Buckeyes’ flaws were exposed against Michigan State during the 2015 campaign and they reached a breaking point in the 31-0 loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl this past season.

Warinner and Beck moved on at the end of the season — Beck to Texas; Warinner to Minnesota — and Meyer brought in Wilson to make the necessary fixes to Ohio State’s offense.

“The term we use around here is we’re not changing, we’re enhancing what we do,” Meyer said. “If it was broken then we’d have to change it. If we wake up one day fifth, sixth in the Big Ten in offense or something then you’re going to see one of those overhauls.

“There’s just things we have to work on and he’s the perfect guy, him and [new quarterbacks coach] Ryan Day and our offensive staff to get them fixed.”

Over the last six years, Ohio State fans grew accustomed to seeing Indiana’s offenses — often times with significantly less talent — shred Buckeyes’ defenses and rack up a ton of yards and points. Now, with Wilson at the controls in Columbus, Ohio State hopes to do the same to all of its oppositions.

And with Barrett, running back Mike Weber and some young, talented wide receivers on the outside, Wilson now has more weapons at his disposal than ever before.

“I’m kind of used to change,” Wilson said. “I have core values in offensive football that parallel almost exactly word for word verbatim to what Coach Meyer believes so the first adjustment is not an adjustment because we’re on the same page as far as how you want to run the offense.”

“Maybe the language is different, maybe you emphasize,” he continued. “And as I continue to learn and grow that, in time maybe we enhance. But now we’re kind of running our stuff and getting to run it with some great players.”

It's the last day to turn earn a Sweet Sixteen bid so let's run another contest to spice things up. 

Here's the deal. 

There are eight games today. Your task will be to correctly predict the point spread winner in each game. Should multiple folks post a perfect record (or at least best record) against the spread in those eight games, the grand prize winner shall be the person who submitted their perfect picks (or best record) first. 

Grand prize winner receives a t-shirt, cap or beanie (sorry, no polo) from in-stock items in the 11W Drygoods and a $20 donation made by me, on the winner's behalf, to our Pay It Forward fundraiser seeking to build a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.  

For anyone else who turns in a perfect 8-0 record (or best record) against the spread but not before the grand prize winner tossed in their entry, I'll donate $10 to the Woody fund on your behalf as a consolation prize. 

Yesterday, Buckeye In Orlando, Jugdish and PS IT'S all posted a 7-1 record. Buckeye In Orlando was the first to submit a "best record" entry so he won the grand prize. Jugdish and PS IT'S each won the consolation prize. 

Please list your picks, in the same game order as the chart below, simply noting the teams you think will cover (no need to list the spreads). 

The fine print:

• Must be at least 21 years of age to enter
• One entry / comment per person
• Duplicate entries/comments will be ineligible
• Deadline for entries is 12:00 p.m. EDT
• Any entries/comments edited after 12:00 EDT will be disqualified 
• Entries must be on 11W website - not twitter, Facebook etc. 

More than 4,000 votes were cast in the opening round of Eleven Warriors' Ohio State Alternate Uniform Bracket, and — much like this year's NCAA tournament thus far — there weren't many upsets. 

For what it's worth, Wisconsin's win over Villanova on Saturday wouldn't have been so shocking if the Badgers were properly seeded.  

But back to the uniforms...

The Buckeyes' first alternate uniform, which paid homage to the 1954 national championship squad, knocked off the 1942 tribute by a 71 percent to 29 percent vote. Though both are about as historically accurate as you can possibly get on modern templates, it seems as if the simplicity of the white helmet and the striped socks paired with the uniform are what gave it the edge.

Though not as aesthetically pleasing as the current set — with the helmet stripes matching the sleeves and pants — most fans would argue this should be Ohio State's standard home and road look. But sometimes the luck of the draw doesn't go your way, pitting two of the best looks against each other way too early. In this case, the national championship uniform took it 62 percent to 38 percent.

Sometimes a higher-ranked team finds itself in a close battle it wasn't expecting, which is exactly what happened with the Chrome Region. The "Cocaine Whites," as dubbed by our very own D.J. Byrnes, narrowly escaped their home counterpart by a 52-to-48 margin. While Ohio State went undefeated donning these uniforms, some fans didn't forget how much the Buckeyes underachieved in those two games.

There are times when filling out a bracket where you'd rather just not pick a winner — say, for example, Duke and Michigan meet at some point in the tournament. Well now you know how a traditionalist felt upon having to choose between Ohio State's all-black uniform and the Buckeyes' mix-and-match look. The latter will be forever ingrained in Ohio State lore thanks to Curtis Samuel's overtime heroics, but the Dark Night in the Shoe takes this round by a wide 74 percent to 26 percent vote. 

NOW ONTO THE FINAL FOUR...

For the first time in eight years the Ohio State hockey Buckeyes are going to the NCAA tournament. The Scarlet and Gray finished the season in a three way tie with Providence and Boston College for No. 14 in the PairWise rankings. Only two of those teams made the cut, but thanks to a .0035 RPI advantage over the Eagles, the Bucks are one of those two teams. 

Many supposed Ohio State was headed for Cincinnati and the Midwest regional. However, the bracketologists in their infinite wisdom have placed the Buckeyes a bit further west. OSU will be the No. 4 seed in the West Regional which takes place in Fargo, North Dakota. 

This is the first NCAA appearance for the Bucks under the leadership of head coach Steve Rohlik, though both coach and program have separate tourney experience. Ohio State has made six previous trips to the big dance (1998, 1999, 2003-05, and 2009).

Rohlik skated in three NCAA tournaments as a player at Wisconsin, the most notable of which came in 1990 when the Badgers won it all. He also has two appearances as an assistant coach. Rohlik was part of Scott Sandelin’s bench crew at Minnesota-Duluth for their tourney journeys in 2004 and 2009.

Coincidentally, Ohio State is set to open the 2017 NCAA tournament against the regional’s No. 1 seed…Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs are the NCHC’s regular season runners up and the conference's tourney champs. We’ll take a closer look at this match-up later in the week. For now, enjoy the prospect of some spring Buckeye hockey. It’s been awhile.

• OSU and UMD face off on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The game will air live on ESPNU.
• Buckeye associate head coach Mark Strobel also has NCAA tournament experience as a player (Wisconsin, 1992-95) and ties to Duluth where he was an assistant coach from 2000-02.

It wasn't easy, but Ohio State survived a second-half surge from Kentucky to down the Wildcats 82-68 and advance to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

The Buckeyes had a 19-point lead at the start of the second half, but Kentucky didn't quit, cutting the lead to just two points midway through the fourth quarter. Ohio State hung on, however, playing clean basketball down the stretch to seal an 82-68 win.

After averaging just 12 points her past two games, Kelsey Mitchell was on fire at the start of the game on Sunday afternoon, draining a three-pointer less than five seconds into the game. Mitchell scored 19 points in the first half before slowing down in second and finishing with 21.

Despite the early points, Mitchell was not Ohio State's MVP of the day. Playing against her former team, Linnae Harper was arguably the best all-around player on the court, especially down the stretch. She came off the bench and was just two assists shy of a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The difference in the game was depth. Kentucky plays a very tight rotation and got points from just six players while the Buckeyes had five players in double figures with nine players seeing meaningful minutes. Down the stretch, the Buckeyes just seemed to have more gas in the tank, and sealed the victory.

The one decisive advantage the Wildcats had was on the boards. Ohio State was without its top rebounder, Stephanie Mavunga, for the eighth-straight game and it showed. Kentucky's Evelyn Akhator dominated the boards, pulling down 23 rebounds.

The Buckeyes had their way in the first half, pushing tempo, getting open shots and hitting almost 50 percent from the field all while holding Kentucky under 30 percent from the field and Epps to just nine first-half points.

Ohio State extended its lead all the way to 19 points before the Wildcats went on a second-half run while holding Mitchell to just two third-quarter points, cutting the Buckeye lead to just seven points late in the third quarter.

The run continued in the fourth, as the Wildcats outscored the Buckeyes 7-1 to start the quarter, but Ohio State weathered the storm. The Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run midway through the quarter to retake control and finished with an 82-68 victory.

With the win, Ohio State advances to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 where it will face the winner of Sunday night's game between No. 1 seed Notre Dame and No. 9 seed Purdue on Friday in Lexington, Kentucky.

In case you haven't heard, the Big Ten was bad but it switched now that Wisconsin, Michigan and Purdue all made the Sweet Sixteen while Michigan State still has a shot later today and Northwestern damn near took down No. 1 seed Gonzaga last night. 

These facts aren't lost on Rutgers Basketball twitter which took to the internet to celebrate despite the Scarlet Knights posting a 3-15 record in regular season B1G play, going winless against tournament teams. 

When they tried to tell you it was a "down year" for @B1GMBBall... pic.twitter.com/Y6dKrWRnRh

— Rutgers Basketball (@RutgersMBB) March 19, 2017

To their credit, Rutgers did post a signature non-win in a 61-54 overtime loss at home to Wisconsin way back in January. 

As a Buckeye hoops fan it's difficult to bash Rutgers too much here (especially after they handled Ohio State in the B1G tourney) but when a tweet makes the SEC's conference pride blush, you gotta get in a few body shots. 

The rest of Twitter certainly celebrated the magical tweet: 

@RutgersMBB this is the Lavar Ball of big ten basketball tweets

— 2nd round exit bound (@drunkzanjo) March 19, 2017

@RutgersMBB@B1GMBBall@BigTenNetwork@RutgersOnBTN@RUAthletics@bigten@RURiotSquad@RutgersU@RUBballManagers@bigtengeekpic.twitter.com/gxNEFLwvCo

— Danzel Washington (@imdanzeleniak) March 19, 2017

@RutgersMBB@B1GMBBallpic.twitter.com/OX5M7rQjvS

— Trevor (@trevordalton01) March 19, 2017

LOVING THE ATTENTION

Though he's only been on campus once — for Ohio State's double-overtime win over Michigan last season — McDonough, Georgia, Eagles Landing Christian four-star cornerback Tre' Douglas told Eleven Warriors on Sunday Ohio State is his leader.

"Just the love that coach [Urban] Meyer and coach [Kerry] Coombs show," Douglas said. "We talk on a daily basis."

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Douglas is considered the 28th-best cornerback and the No. 318 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, having recorded 34 tackles and three interceptions to help the Chargers to the Class A Private state championship last season. He holds more than 30 offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, UCLA and USC.

Douglas hopes to make another trip to Columbus and make a decision on his future later this spring.

OFFER COMING SOON?

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Blackman four-star running back Master Teague III doesn't yet have an offer from Ohio State, but included the Buckeyes in his Top 12 on Sunday afternoon alongside Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Duke, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt nonetheless.

Top 12
Recruiting w/Offer
Auburn
Duke
Georgia
Louisville
Miss State
S. Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

Recruiting
Alabama
Clemson
LSU
OSU pic.twitter.com/P6XXmpTsQb

— Master W. Teague III (@33_blackman) March 19, 2017

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Teague also told Eleven Warriors he'll be on campus the weekend of April 1. It'll mark his second unofficial visit, as he attended last season's win over Northwestern.

"Coach [Tony] Alford wants me to observe the running back meetings and watch him coach," Teague said. "I look forward to it."

Teague, who rushed for 2,031 yards and 24 touchdowns to help the Blaze to the state quarterfinals last season, is considered the 18th-best running back and No. 324 prospect overall in the Class of 2018.

"An offer would be awesome to add to the relationship that has been built," Teague said, recalling when Meyer stopped by his high school in late January. "It was really cool to know that he came by and cool to see the pictures of him and coaches."

GEORGIA ON MY MIND

Several of the top sophomores from Loganville, Georgia, Grayson will make an eight-hour trip to Columbus next weekend, including:

• Four-star linebacker Owen Pappoe
• Safety Kenyatta Watson II
• Offensive tackle Wanya Morris
• Athlete Ronald Thompkins
• Wide receiver Kenyon Jackson

"We will be up March 24 and 25," former Grayson assistant Kenyatta Watson told Eleven Warriors.

His will be the third unofficial visit to Ohio State for Pappoe and Watson, whose uncle — Todd Dutch — ran track for the Buckeyes from 2003-2006. They were last on campus for the last year's regular season finale against Michigan.

JONES SQUARED

Another highly sought-after Peach State prospect looking to take an official visit this spring is Hogansville Callaway four-star offensive guard Keiondre Jones, the cousin of five-star quarterback commit Emory Jones.

The two will undoubtedly make the trek north together, and talk almost daily about playing alongside one another at the next level. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Keiondre Jones is considered the top-rated offensive guard and the No. 21 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, so he'd certainly be a huge pickup for the Buckeyes.

One of their recent conversations included: 

"Commit to a school/program not a coach ,coaches come and go"

— (@keiondrejones) March 16, 2017

"He has some good points," said Keiondre, who calls Georgia one of his favorites schools. "Me and coach [Kirby] Smart are close, and [Emory] made a good point saying coach Smart could leave at any time."

Doesn't sound like Emory's thinking of a flip to the Bulldogs, now does it?

Today's Skull Session will be served as soon as I recover from this chicken that is actually a dinosaur.

Am I the only person wondering why this chicken is so damn big pic.twitter.com/ZIWmEL2h2w

— LifesBook_Ceo (@LifesBook_Ceo) March 19, 2017

I am vegan now. Please do not hurt me, Mr. Buff Chicken.

ICYMI:

• Men's lacrosse dumped No. 1 Denver in the Shoe.
• Women's basketball topped Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16.
• Kyle Snyder won his second NCAA championship as the wrestling team finished No. 2.
• Alternate Uniform Bracket: The final four.

Word of the Day: Garrulous. 

 BET THE RENT? America's enemies can do nothing to stop football from returning to our shores. It's part of what makes this country great.

Week 1 is always a wild occasion, especially when it comes to gambling. Sure, we think we know who will be good... but it never pans out that way. It's always a crapshoot. 

This won't stop patriots from betting millions on amateur athletics. If you're the kind of patriot who only bets on the local team, the Golden Nugget opened Ohio State as a 20-point favorite for its Aug. 31 trip to Bloomington to tangle with Indiana.

Week 1 College Football Lines are available in Las Vegas @GoldenNuggetLV! This is the earliest release ever! Major kudos to @Gollumlvpic.twitter.com/fn7c3SKO65

— Brad Powers (@BradPowers7) March 19, 2017

This sounds 'bout right to me, despite the Hoosiers always elevating their play when the Buckeyes stroll into town.

I'm also not sure what gives me more joy: Michigan as only a three-point favorite over Florida or Notre Dame not even favored by a touchdown over Temple. 

I also look forward to Texas A&M mangling UCLA and everybody overhyping the Aggies before they go 3-5 in the SEC.

 ONE SILVER LINING. The Fiesta Fiasco is a game we're all trying to forget. There is, however, one silver lining to come out of it: It helped spur Tyquan Lewis to return to Ohio State.

From bcsn.tv:

“I don’t like that sour feeling in my stomach, especially after losing like that,” Lewis said. “That was definitely on the list.”

[...]

As they prepare for one last chance at a second national title, Lewis said he’s confident he chose correctly.

“I had a lot to consider, the pros and cons of everything. I had to make the right decision, so I chose to come back,” Lewis said. “I felt like that was best for me.”

How come when I returned for my fifth season of college everybody called me a slacker with no post-graduate plan, yet this guy gets praised?

Our society remains messed up.

 ZEKE IS AT IT AGAIN. If Ezekiel Elliott has any plans to slow his roll after last week's wave of negative publicity, they didn't start this weekend in Miami when the Coast Guard boarded his yacht.

From tmz.com:

Ezekiel Elliott had his good time temporarily ruined again this week ... only now it was by the U.S. Coast Guard during a rager yacht party in Miami. 

Ezekiel was partying with friends and a gaggle of chicks Saturday on a yacht called No Rules II, when a Coast Guard cruiser pulled up. We're told the yacht had docked minutes before.

Eyewitnesses tell us 2 guards boarded the yacht and conducted a 20-minute search on-board. We're told once the search was complete, the guards went back to their vessel and took off. 

According to Elliott's lawyer, the Coast Guard wanted to see if the yacht had enough life vests, which it did, so that's at least one rule it respected.

Seems like TMZ is hot after Zeke now, which is a fate I would not wish upon any man, let alone a 21-year-old millionaire. Everybody in his camp probably wishes the Cowboys started the 2017 season this Sunday.

 BOSA PRIMED FOR MORE DESTRUCTION. I drafted Joey Bosa in my computer football league and cut him because I thought the Chargers' hijinks would cost him his rookie season.

Don't be an idiot like me. 

From profootballfocus.com:

When comparing Bosa’s rookie campaign to the rookie years of other top edge defenders, it seems evident that Bosa is on track to be great. Bosa put together 59 quarterback pressures. In Khalil Mack’s rookie year, he put up a total of 54, while Von Miller managed to put together 70 pressures in his debut season. However, it is important to emphasize that Mack played in 16 games in his rookie year and Miller played in 15. Bosa, on the other hand, only played in 12 — Miller also had 59 in his first 12 games, the most by a player through his first 12 career games in at least the last 11 years.

Adding to that, Bosa was also able to accumulate 11 sacks on the year. To put that into perspective Mack, who graded out as our best edge defender this season, posted the same number, but with 461 more snaps played than Bosa.

Aside from the numbers, though, what truly separated Bosa from other rookies in 2016 was his relentlessness. Bosa found a way to make his presence known every play that he was on the field and made himself a nightmare for offensive coordinators to plan for every week.

This is all part of PFF's case as to why Bosa is considered a "generational player." Meanwhile, I'm still laughing at the scouts who considered Bosa too small and slow to make an impact in the League.

Fun times in football evaluation, indeed.

 FOLLOW THE LEADER. Billy Price is 2017's King Slob. And when the King Slob speaks, people listen.

Here's a Sunday night evaluation of this year's team:

This upcoming year has me excited, the opportunities and potential is rare.

— Billy Price (@b_price54) March 19, 2017

Your words to Warren G. Harding's ears, Billy!

 THOSE WMDs. Learn new things as an adult... Marines take vigilante-style action amid nude photo scandal... The web is swallowing the whole desktop and nobody noticed... World's heaviest man lost it all... Rap's Unlikeliest Icons: Promethazine codeine syrup manufacturers.