Inspired Play: The Nick Kapatos Story
- Thread starter Kap4334
- Start date
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
So Lewis is fourth string? Yeesh. Unless there's something unexpected in store, like him playing up to his five-star potential and making a run for Kap's starting job next season, I'd expect a transfer.
I don't think OSU should drop out of the top-ten for losing to the number-one team with injuries to their starting backfield.
I don't think OSU should drop out of the top-ten for losing to the number-one team with injuries to their starting backfield.
Losing a winnable game didn’t suck, that was bound to happen eventually. Getting injured the way I did didn’t suck, but I should’ve audibled to prevent it. Falling from five to nine in the latest BCS standings wasn’t that bad, as it left us with a slim chance of getting an at-large selection for a BCS bowl. What hurt the most about losing to Northwestern was not being able to do anything about it after I went down. If I was able to go in for just one series, I bet I could’ve done enough to get the team some points so the defense wouldn’t have to stand on their heads to give the offense a chance to win.
This was all I could think about as I sat out practice all day Monday and Tuesday with my ass planted on the bike and my right arm in a sling. It was the first time since high school where I was forced to miss a practice, and it sucked. When I wasn’t on the bike, I was lost in what to do. I would often wander around the drills, mostly staying with the offense and quarterback drills, but it was unnatural for someone like me to be away from the action.
While I wandered around and rode the exercise bike during practice, the time spent after practice was put to much better use. I was practically ordered by the trainers and coaches to go to the trainer’s room to get my shoulder worked on every day after practice. Roughly an hour of shoulder massaging, heat-pads, and icing were used to heal my shoulder as quickly as possible, and I could feel them working every day. My shoulder felt looser with each passing day, and with the amount of pain going down as well, and it would only be a matter of time before I was allowed to throw.
It was towards the end of another healing session, while I was having my shoulder iced and wrapped, when that shithead Joey Lewis sauntered into the trainer’s room. He had a smug grin on his face as he small talked one of the trainers into giving him a few rolls of athletic tape.
“Sup pussy,” Lewis said out of the corner of his mouth.
“Not much, scout,” I replied, making sure to emphasize his placement on the scout team. “What do you need so much tape for?”
“Jammed a couple fingers actually playing today.” Joey stuck both middle fingers into the air. “You know, something you wouldn’t know anything about since your little boo-boo on Saturday.”
I rolled my eyes and paid more attention to the head trainer coming back with both arms filled with wraps.
Playing catch with the roll of tape, Joey moved over to my side as the trainer began the process of taping the ice to my shoulder. “So how’s your noodle arm going?”
“You mean the arm that beat yours back in the summer? Feeling much better. Hopefully I’ll be good to go on Saturday.”
“Oh now, we wouldn’t want the next great Buckeye QB to miss a start. Oh heavens no!”
“You know what,” I asked, sitting up while the tape was being wrapped around my shoulder. “I don’t get you, man. You have all the talent, all the ability in the world, and yet you’re happy as a clam to just be on the team.”
“And… you’re point?”
“My point is, why are you so damn happy to not be suiting up every Saturday?”
“Oh Kap.” Joey shook his head and patted me on the head like a father would to a naïve child. “Stupid, stupid Kap. You see, I’m not like you. I mean, yeah it kind of sucks I’m not on the actual roster, but it’s not all about that for me. As long as I’ve got free room and board, all the hot ass I can get, and all my friends from high school at the same school, I’m good.”
I sat there, with the trainer now bandaging up my shoulder, amazed that someone like this could be so… lazy. “Are… are you serious? You know you’ll get cut after a few years if you don’t show the coaches anything.”
“Hey, as long as I keep my nose clean and show the coaches enough where they don’t cut me, I’ll be fine.”
“Alright Nick,” said the trainer, scooting his chair away from the table. “You’re all good to go. If you feel any discomfort tonight, just take a couple of Advil and we'll deal with it tomorrow morning.”
I got up off the table, grabbed my winter coat and duffle bag, and headed for the door. Before I left, I turned back to Lewis. “Joey, you have to be one of the most apathetic athletes I’ve ever met. I mean, I’ve read stories of pros checking out once they’ve gotten their big pay day, but I’ve never heard of it happening in college.” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You are a very… special person. And I hope you get everything you deserve in life.”
“Welcome back to Buckeye Breakdown on WBNS 97.1, The Fan. And happy Wednesday, live from the practice fields of The Ohio State University. With Danny Pull, I’m Jordan Walker, presenting you with non-stop Buckeye talk on the number one destination for Ohio sports. It’s a cold one out today, Danny, you feeling alright?”
“I can tell you one thing, Jordan, I definitely wish today’s practice was indoors. It’s freezing outside!”
“Well bundle up, this is only the beginning. The whole Midwest is supposed to get hit with another snow storm, starting on Friday afternoon and not stopping until just before the early afternoon kickoff on Sunday. That means our Buckeyes could be playing in blizzard-like conditions on Saturday when they travel to West Lafayette to take on the four-and-five Purdue Boilermakers.”
“And some good news for Buckeye fans; coach Tressel has announced that senior running back Dan Herron, who left the game against Northwestern with a back injury, will be active for this Saturday.”
“But still no word on whether freshman QB Nick Kapatos will be playing. Remember he took a big hit to his throwing shoulder, and hasn’t dressed for practice all week until today. And he wasn’t able to practice every drill with the first team, but it’s a good sight to see him at least out there today.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see him play against the Boilermakers, but we need him taking the snaps. No offense to Joe Bauserman, but the offense looked awful with him taking the snaps.”
“No doubt about it, friend. When Kapatos went down, it was like the whole offense came to a screeching halt. If the defense doesn’t respect the pass, then they’ll stack the box eight in the box against the run and shut it down again.”
“And what resulted was an abysmal passing effort from the senior; sixteen completions on thirty attempts for two-hundred eight yards and two interceptions, coupled with two sacks. It wasn’t until coach Tressel finally yanked Bauserman for Kenny Guiton late in the fourth did the offense finally show some signs of life.”
“Which begs the question, Danny boy… why in the world did Tressel wait so long to pull Bauserman?”
“Well the score didn’t really get too far away from the Buckeyes until the fourth quarter, when Northwestern scored off of two straight possessions. It was actually eleven-seven going into the final quarter, and you can thank the defense for that.”
“And the defense is going to have to play at that level again on Saturday; Purdue is coming into the game on a two-game winning streak, and has scored thirty points in both victories.”
“I think Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock has nothing to worry about. For most of the game, he held Heisman Trophy candidate Dan Persa under control for three quarters and most of the fourth before allowing two straight touchdowns to put the Buckeyes behind.”
“But the defense can only play well for so long before the offense has to start contributing, and that’s where, I thought, they lost the game.”
“Hopefully Kapatos’ return to practice today, albeit in only a helmet, signifies he’ll be good to go on Saturday. Because they need him taking the snaps, and they need him badly.”
“No doubt about that, but we’re also getting some news on the recruiting front. Word has it that despite the loss, top twenty-eleven recruit Jakari Mullins enjoyed his visit to Columbus. He’s still not ready to make his decision yet, but Ohio State has moved into his top three.”
“I’ve seen just about every highlight video of this kid, and I think he’d be a great addition to the Buckeye recruiting class. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a big one, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality.”
“That’s right, Danny. Several of the top prospects at their position have given their verbal to the Buckeyes, with most of them coming from the O-Line position.”
“It’s never a bad thing to invest in the boys up front, especially when you consider we really don’t have a proven replacement for when left tackle Mike Adams leaves.”
“I don’t necessarily agree with that statement, Dan. I like what I’ve seen from freshman Greg Moody working with the twos. He’s got good mobility, good footwork, and he’ll have a full offseason of working with the offense. It’s a better option than moving a right tackle over to the left, or starting a true freshman. We got lucky with St-Croix sliding into the left guard spot after all three seniors graduated, but you shouldn’t expect a freshman to start from day one and have immediate success. Not at a position like left tackle.”
“Hey, we’ve still got a couple of months left before any of this stuff matters. Let’s bring this back up after National Signing Day, fair?”
“Sounds fair to me. And we’re going to take a break from The Ohio State practice facility. You’re listening to Buckeye Breakdown on WBNS 97.1 The Fan, your one-stop destination for Ohio sports.”
…
With every passing day, I could feel my shoulder returning back to normal. It was a slow process, and it wasn’t going to feel like new by the time Saturday rolled around, but it hopefully it would recover enough to the point that I could throw the ball without wincing every time. I couldn’t throw it as far as I could – that would come back after another week or two – but the accuracy was still there.
I wasn’t allowed to go full pads yet – just shells today – but I was at least allowed to participate in the team drills and scrimmages.
It was after another therapy session that I was called back into coach Tressel’s office. This had to have been about whether I was starting on Saturday. While walking towards his office, I began rotating my shoulder to see if it still hurt. I guess I was nervous.
My shoulder wasn’t close to being fully healed – it was at maybe eighty, eighty-five percent health – but that was good enough for me to play. If it was good enough for coach, though, was the big question. Would he want to risk me getting hurt again in a winnable game with us still in the hunt for a BCS bowl-berth? I mean, he kept me out of the second half in last week’s game against the number one team in the country, so why would he risk it against a team with a losing record?
Only time would tell.
“So, Nicholas,” asked coach, pausing the film he was watching as I entered his office. “How’s your arm feeling?”
“Pretty good. I can definitely feel it getting stronger and more healed every day.”
“Good, good. You think you can take another hit to that area?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good, because I don’t want you out there if you’re too scared to take the hit.”
“So... does this mean I’m starting on Saturday?”
“It appears so.” I had to intensely focus on not smiling I was so happy to hear the news. “But I’m not going to have you sling it all day on Saturday and wear your arm out. Unless the run isn’t working or we’re down big, don’t expect to throw it a lot.”
“Whatever you say, I’ll do, sir.”
“Good.” Tressel shook my hand and turned back to the television. “Have a safe night tonight. You know, get a good night of sleep, don’t do anything stupid, all that stuff.”
I chuckled, and quickly left the office. I felt almost as giddy and excited as I did when coach first told me I was his starter. I knew that as long as I was careful with my arm, and didn’t do anything to mess it up any further, I would get the nod. What little film from Saturday with me playing, plus my performance in every game prior to Northwestern, backed that assumption up.
All that was left to do was to prove coach right by having a strong bounce-back game.
The snow had been gently falling on this quiet November night for some time, as I strolled out of the Woody Hayes Complex I saw that a lot of it was starting to stick. I took a deep breath, with the cold air stinging my lungs, and exhaled with a smile. I knew I would’ve been playing on Saturday, but it still put a smile on my face to hear from the coach that it was official. My shoulder wasn’t fully healed, we both knew that, but it was still good to know that he trusted me to know my limits and take myself out if I felt any discomfort. One wrong hit or motion and I could be lost for the season.
I couldn’t keep this news to myself, so I figured I would give the family a call. I slipped on my OSU winter hat as I waited for someone to pick up. Finally, the phone stopped ringing and I heard a very familiar voice on the other side. “Hello?”
“Hey Mom.”
“Hey, my Nicky boy! How’s everything going?”
“Pretty good, pretty good. It’s snowing right now, and I’m on my way back to the room.”
“Oh I hope you’re dressed warm. No need to get sick this late in the year.”
“Trust me, I’ve got a couple of layers on. Hey, I just wanted to let you that coach gave me the green light to start on Saturday.”
“Wow, that’s great! Are you sure you’ll be alright, though? I saw that hit you took last week and it looked pretty bad.”
“It was just a sprain, and I’m feeling fine.”
“Are you really sure? I mean, I don’t think anyone would think any less of you if you didn’t want to play.”
“Mom, I’m feeling fine. Trust me, everything will be OK. If I feel like I can’t do it, I told coach I’d take myself out.”
“Nick, be serious. Would you really take yourself out of a game?”
“Yeah.”
“Nick, I know you. I know you’ll do whatever it takes to get the win. Even if it means putting yourself in harm’s way. So please don’t lie to me about this. The team doctor told me if you get hit there again, you could separate the shoulder and be out until next year. Do you want that to happen?”
“Mom, you’re worrying over nothing.”
“I know I sound like a broken record, but I don’t care. It’s my job to care about you. I wouldn’t be a very good mother if I didn’t. Now, promise me that you’ll do what’s best for you, OK?”
I sighed, and rubbed my hands together to get some warmth into them as I reached the parking lot. “I promise.”
“Good. That’s all I wanted to hear.”
Before I could say anything, I heard someone shout something from far away. I turned around, and saw a barrage of snowballs rain down from the sky. I braced myself, but was still pelted with a good number of snowballs.
“Fuckin’ got you, man,” shouted Dominic, laughing his ass off. “Fuckin’ GOT you!” Behind him was Josh and Shannon, each bent over laughing like hyenas, with Cedric wearing the thickest winter jacket I’ve ever seen.
“Oh you guys are dead! Fucking dead!” I shouted back.
“Nick, what’s that? Who are you talking to?”
“Oh, just some of the guys on the team starting a snowball fight. I’ll call you tomorrow before we leave for West Lafayette. Love you.”
I put my phone away and turned back towards the group, who came out from behind a van with wide smiles. “Thanks guys, really appreciate that.”
“Man, it was all this fool’s idea,” said a shivering Cedric, pointing to Dominic. “Let’s get the fuck inside before I freeze my dick off or something!”
“Sweet hat, you goober,” I said, pointing at the bright orange, ear-flapped hat Cedric was wearing. “Bet you wish you went to USC right now, huh?”
“Fuck off, it’s the only one my redneck roommate would let me borrow. And play for that douchebag Lane Kiffin? I’d rather go to fuckin’ Russia or some shit than play for him. But sure as hell I wouldn’t mind livin’ back in Cali.”
“Aw, what’s the matter?” I grabbed a wad of snow and started rolling it together. “Don’t like playing in the snow?”
Cedric started backing away. “Don’t you do it, Kap! Don’t you do it!” The other three made their own snowballs and raised the back. “I swear to God, don’t y’all fuckin’ do it!”
“You guys ready to introduce our boy Cedric to what we in the colder states like to call a snowball fight,” asked Shannon, as we closed in on the Californian.
At that instant, all four of us unleashed our snowballs on the linebacker, sending him behind a nearby tree for cover. We ganged up on him and hurled a barrage of snowballs as the snow continued to fall.
“Y’all are a bunch of assholes,” shouted Cedric, before taking a quartet of snowballs to his chest as he peeked around the tree.
After a few minutes of ganging up on Cedric, we started turning against each other and what began as a four-on-one fight turned into a five-man free-for-all snowball war.
As snowballs collided with friends, and laughter cut through the frigid Ohio air, it felt as if we were normal. No need to worry about defensive packages, no having to worry about what gap to hit on what play, no need to remember who you had to block or what route you had to run out of the formation. Tonight, we were your average college students having fun in the snow.
This was all I could think about as I sat out practice all day Monday and Tuesday with my ass planted on the bike and my right arm in a sling. It was the first time since high school where I was forced to miss a practice, and it sucked. When I wasn’t on the bike, I was lost in what to do. I would often wander around the drills, mostly staying with the offense and quarterback drills, but it was unnatural for someone like me to be away from the action.
While I wandered around and rode the exercise bike during practice, the time spent after practice was put to much better use. I was practically ordered by the trainers and coaches to go to the trainer’s room to get my shoulder worked on every day after practice. Roughly an hour of shoulder massaging, heat-pads, and icing were used to heal my shoulder as quickly as possible, and I could feel them working every day. My shoulder felt looser with each passing day, and with the amount of pain going down as well, and it would only be a matter of time before I was allowed to throw.
It was towards the end of another healing session, while I was having my shoulder iced and wrapped, when that shithead Joey Lewis sauntered into the trainer’s room. He had a smug grin on his face as he small talked one of the trainers into giving him a few rolls of athletic tape.
“Sup pussy,” Lewis said out of the corner of his mouth.
“Not much, scout,” I replied, making sure to emphasize his placement on the scout team. “What do you need so much tape for?”
“Jammed a couple fingers actually playing today.” Joey stuck both middle fingers into the air. “You know, something you wouldn’t know anything about since your little boo-boo on Saturday.”
I rolled my eyes and paid more attention to the head trainer coming back with both arms filled with wraps.
Playing catch with the roll of tape, Joey moved over to my side as the trainer began the process of taping the ice to my shoulder. “So how’s your noodle arm going?”
“You mean the arm that beat yours back in the summer? Feeling much better. Hopefully I’ll be good to go on Saturday.”
“Oh now, we wouldn’t want the next great Buckeye QB to miss a start. Oh heavens no!”
“You know what,” I asked, sitting up while the tape was being wrapped around my shoulder. “I don’t get you, man. You have all the talent, all the ability in the world, and yet you’re happy as a clam to just be on the team.”
“And… you’re point?”
“My point is, why are you so damn happy to not be suiting up every Saturday?”
“Oh Kap.” Joey shook his head and patted me on the head like a father would to a naïve child. “Stupid, stupid Kap. You see, I’m not like you. I mean, yeah it kind of sucks I’m not on the actual roster, but it’s not all about that for me. As long as I’ve got free room and board, all the hot ass I can get, and all my friends from high school at the same school, I’m good.”
I sat there, with the trainer now bandaging up my shoulder, amazed that someone like this could be so… lazy. “Are… are you serious? You know you’ll get cut after a few years if you don’t show the coaches anything.”
“Hey, as long as I keep my nose clean and show the coaches enough where they don’t cut me, I’ll be fine.”
“Alright Nick,” said the trainer, scooting his chair away from the table. “You’re all good to go. If you feel any discomfort tonight, just take a couple of Advil and we'll deal with it tomorrow morning.”
I got up off the table, grabbed my winter coat and duffle bag, and headed for the door. Before I left, I turned back to Lewis. “Joey, you have to be one of the most apathetic athletes I’ve ever met. I mean, I’ve read stories of pros checking out once they’ve gotten their big pay day, but I’ve never heard of it happening in college.” I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You are a very… special person. And I hope you get everything you deserve in life.”
“Welcome back to Buckeye Breakdown on WBNS 97.1, The Fan. And happy Wednesday, live from the practice fields of The Ohio State University. With Danny Pull, I’m Jordan Walker, presenting you with non-stop Buckeye talk on the number one destination for Ohio sports. It’s a cold one out today, Danny, you feeling alright?”
“I can tell you one thing, Jordan, I definitely wish today’s practice was indoors. It’s freezing outside!”
“Well bundle up, this is only the beginning. The whole Midwest is supposed to get hit with another snow storm, starting on Friday afternoon and not stopping until just before the early afternoon kickoff on Sunday. That means our Buckeyes could be playing in blizzard-like conditions on Saturday when they travel to West Lafayette to take on the four-and-five Purdue Boilermakers.”
“And some good news for Buckeye fans; coach Tressel has announced that senior running back Dan Herron, who left the game against Northwestern with a back injury, will be active for this Saturday.”
“But still no word on whether freshman QB Nick Kapatos will be playing. Remember he took a big hit to his throwing shoulder, and hasn’t dressed for practice all week until today. And he wasn’t able to practice every drill with the first team, but it’s a good sight to see him at least out there today.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see him play against the Boilermakers, but we need him taking the snaps. No offense to Joe Bauserman, but the offense looked awful with him taking the snaps.”
“No doubt about it, friend. When Kapatos went down, it was like the whole offense came to a screeching halt. If the defense doesn’t respect the pass, then they’ll stack the box eight in the box against the run and shut it down again.”
“And what resulted was an abysmal passing effort from the senior; sixteen completions on thirty attempts for two-hundred eight yards and two interceptions, coupled with two sacks. It wasn’t until coach Tressel finally yanked Bauserman for Kenny Guiton late in the fourth did the offense finally show some signs of life.”
“Which begs the question, Danny boy… why in the world did Tressel wait so long to pull Bauserman?”
“Well the score didn’t really get too far away from the Buckeyes until the fourth quarter, when Northwestern scored off of two straight possessions. It was actually eleven-seven going into the final quarter, and you can thank the defense for that.”
“And the defense is going to have to play at that level again on Saturday; Purdue is coming into the game on a two-game winning streak, and has scored thirty points in both victories.”
“I think Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock has nothing to worry about. For most of the game, he held Heisman Trophy candidate Dan Persa under control for three quarters and most of the fourth before allowing two straight touchdowns to put the Buckeyes behind.”
“But the defense can only play well for so long before the offense has to start contributing, and that’s where, I thought, they lost the game.”
“Hopefully Kapatos’ return to practice today, albeit in only a helmet, signifies he’ll be good to go on Saturday. Because they need him taking the snaps, and they need him badly.”
“No doubt about that, but we’re also getting some news on the recruiting front. Word has it that despite the loss, top twenty-eleven recruit Jakari Mullins enjoyed his visit to Columbus. He’s still not ready to make his decision yet, but Ohio State has moved into his top three.”
“I’ve seen just about every highlight video of this kid, and I think he’d be a great addition to the Buckeye recruiting class. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a big one, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in quality.”
“That’s right, Danny. Several of the top prospects at their position have given their verbal to the Buckeyes, with most of them coming from the O-Line position.”
“It’s never a bad thing to invest in the boys up front, especially when you consider we really don’t have a proven replacement for when left tackle Mike Adams leaves.”
“I don’t necessarily agree with that statement, Dan. I like what I’ve seen from freshman Greg Moody working with the twos. He’s got good mobility, good footwork, and he’ll have a full offseason of working with the offense. It’s a better option than moving a right tackle over to the left, or starting a true freshman. We got lucky with St-Croix sliding into the left guard spot after all three seniors graduated, but you shouldn’t expect a freshman to start from day one and have immediate success. Not at a position like left tackle.”
“Hey, we’ve still got a couple of months left before any of this stuff matters. Let’s bring this back up after National Signing Day, fair?”
“Sounds fair to me. And we’re going to take a break from The Ohio State practice facility. You’re listening to Buckeye Breakdown on WBNS 97.1 The Fan, your one-stop destination for Ohio sports.”
…
With every passing day, I could feel my shoulder returning back to normal. It was a slow process, and it wasn’t going to feel like new by the time Saturday rolled around, but it hopefully it would recover enough to the point that I could throw the ball without wincing every time. I couldn’t throw it as far as I could – that would come back after another week or two – but the accuracy was still there.
I wasn’t allowed to go full pads yet – just shells today – but I was at least allowed to participate in the team drills and scrimmages.
It was after another therapy session that I was called back into coach Tressel’s office. This had to have been about whether I was starting on Saturday. While walking towards his office, I began rotating my shoulder to see if it still hurt. I guess I was nervous.
My shoulder wasn’t close to being fully healed – it was at maybe eighty, eighty-five percent health – but that was good enough for me to play. If it was good enough for coach, though, was the big question. Would he want to risk me getting hurt again in a winnable game with us still in the hunt for a BCS bowl-berth? I mean, he kept me out of the second half in last week’s game against the number one team in the country, so why would he risk it against a team with a losing record?
Only time would tell.
“So, Nicholas,” asked coach, pausing the film he was watching as I entered his office. “How’s your arm feeling?”
“Pretty good. I can definitely feel it getting stronger and more healed every day.”
“Good, good. You think you can take another hit to that area?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good, because I don’t want you out there if you’re too scared to take the hit.”
“So... does this mean I’m starting on Saturday?”
“It appears so.” I had to intensely focus on not smiling I was so happy to hear the news. “But I’m not going to have you sling it all day on Saturday and wear your arm out. Unless the run isn’t working or we’re down big, don’t expect to throw it a lot.”
“Whatever you say, I’ll do, sir.”
“Good.” Tressel shook my hand and turned back to the television. “Have a safe night tonight. You know, get a good night of sleep, don’t do anything stupid, all that stuff.”
I chuckled, and quickly left the office. I felt almost as giddy and excited as I did when coach first told me I was his starter. I knew that as long as I was careful with my arm, and didn’t do anything to mess it up any further, I would get the nod. What little film from Saturday with me playing, plus my performance in every game prior to Northwestern, backed that assumption up.
All that was left to do was to prove coach right by having a strong bounce-back game.
The snow had been gently falling on this quiet November night for some time, as I strolled out of the Woody Hayes Complex I saw that a lot of it was starting to stick. I took a deep breath, with the cold air stinging my lungs, and exhaled with a smile. I knew I would’ve been playing on Saturday, but it still put a smile on my face to hear from the coach that it was official. My shoulder wasn’t fully healed, we both knew that, but it was still good to know that he trusted me to know my limits and take myself out if I felt any discomfort. One wrong hit or motion and I could be lost for the season.
I couldn’t keep this news to myself, so I figured I would give the family a call. I slipped on my OSU winter hat as I waited for someone to pick up. Finally, the phone stopped ringing and I heard a very familiar voice on the other side. “Hello?”
“Hey Mom.”
“Hey, my Nicky boy! How’s everything going?”
“Pretty good, pretty good. It’s snowing right now, and I’m on my way back to the room.”
“Oh I hope you’re dressed warm. No need to get sick this late in the year.”
“Trust me, I’ve got a couple of layers on. Hey, I just wanted to let you that coach gave me the green light to start on Saturday.”
“Wow, that’s great! Are you sure you’ll be alright, though? I saw that hit you took last week and it looked pretty bad.”
“It was just a sprain, and I’m feeling fine.”
“Are you really sure? I mean, I don’t think anyone would think any less of you if you didn’t want to play.”
“Mom, I’m feeling fine. Trust me, everything will be OK. If I feel like I can’t do it, I told coach I’d take myself out.”
“Nick, be serious. Would you really take yourself out of a game?”
“Yeah.”
“Nick, I know you. I know you’ll do whatever it takes to get the win. Even if it means putting yourself in harm’s way. So please don’t lie to me about this. The team doctor told me if you get hit there again, you could separate the shoulder and be out until next year. Do you want that to happen?”
“Mom, you’re worrying over nothing.”
“I know I sound like a broken record, but I don’t care. It’s my job to care about you. I wouldn’t be a very good mother if I didn’t. Now, promise me that you’ll do what’s best for you, OK?”
I sighed, and rubbed my hands together to get some warmth into them as I reached the parking lot. “I promise.”
“Good. That’s all I wanted to hear.”
Before I could say anything, I heard someone shout something from far away. I turned around, and saw a barrage of snowballs rain down from the sky. I braced myself, but was still pelted with a good number of snowballs.
“Fuckin’ got you, man,” shouted Dominic, laughing his ass off. “Fuckin’ GOT you!” Behind him was Josh and Shannon, each bent over laughing like hyenas, with Cedric wearing the thickest winter jacket I’ve ever seen.
“Oh you guys are dead! Fucking dead!” I shouted back.
“Nick, what’s that? Who are you talking to?”
“Oh, just some of the guys on the team starting a snowball fight. I’ll call you tomorrow before we leave for West Lafayette. Love you.”
I put my phone away and turned back towards the group, who came out from behind a van with wide smiles. “Thanks guys, really appreciate that.”
“Man, it was all this fool’s idea,” said a shivering Cedric, pointing to Dominic. “Let’s get the fuck inside before I freeze my dick off or something!”
“Sweet hat, you goober,” I said, pointing at the bright orange, ear-flapped hat Cedric was wearing. “Bet you wish you went to USC right now, huh?”
“Fuck off, it’s the only one my redneck roommate would let me borrow. And play for that douchebag Lane Kiffin? I’d rather go to fuckin’ Russia or some shit than play for him. But sure as hell I wouldn’t mind livin’ back in Cali.”
“Aw, what’s the matter?” I grabbed a wad of snow and started rolling it together. “Don’t like playing in the snow?”
Cedric started backing away. “Don’t you do it, Kap! Don’t you do it!” The other three made their own snowballs and raised the back. “I swear to God, don’t y’all fuckin’ do it!”
“You guys ready to introduce our boy Cedric to what we in the colder states like to call a snowball fight,” asked Shannon, as we closed in on the Californian.
At that instant, all four of us unleashed our snowballs on the linebacker, sending him behind a nearby tree for cover. We ganged up on him and hurled a barrage of snowballs as the snow continued to fall.
“Y’all are a bunch of assholes,” shouted Cedric, before taking a quartet of snowballs to his chest as he peeked around the tree.
After a few minutes of ganging up on Cedric, we started turning against each other and what began as a four-on-one fight turned into a five-man free-for-all snowball war.
As snowballs collided with friends, and laughter cut through the frigid Ohio air, it felt as if we were normal. No need to worry about defensive packages, no having to worry about what gap to hit on what play, no need to remember who you had to block or what route you had to run out of the formation. Tonight, we were your average college students having fun in the snow.
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
That's pretty disappointing to hear from Lewis..
It also didn't make sense.
Lewis is going to say that shit to Kap in front of the trainer? We all know the trainer would be running to Tressell to tell him what he heard. That whole sequence just seemed illogical to me.
simms2bavaro
No Longer a Noob
- Jan 3, 2006
- 7,463
- 646
Disappointing isn't accurate. That was more bizarre than anything. Hantlers is right - that doesn't make sense. Without going into detail about why...basically, Lewis was a 5 star recruit who committed to the defending national champ. You don't attain 5 star status without limitless ambition and work ethic out the ass, and you didn't give up that much of your childhood/adolescence because you wanted to watch Big 10 games from up close for four years. Even if he resigned himself to the fact that he'd never beat out Kap, you'd think he would transfer.
My suspicion is that it's a front. He's nowhere near as OK with his situation as he's claiming.
My suspicion is that it's a front. He's nowhere near as OK with his situation as he's claiming.
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“And welcome to another presentation of Big Ten football on the Big Ten Network. We’re coming from a blustery, snowy afternoon from West Lafayette, Indiana, where the four-and-five Purdue Boilermakers play host to the seven-and-two, ninth ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.”
“The snow has been falling on-and-off all day here on the Purdue campus, and it should be interesting to see how the inclement weather affects the offenses of both teams.”
“Speaking of offenses, freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos has been given the OK to start, but it remains to be seen how much Coach Jim Tressel wants him to throw today.”
“He was held out of padded drills all week, but from the looks of how he’s been throwing during the pregame warm-ups, everything looks just fine with his throwing motion.”
“How he looks during pregame warm-ups doesn’t mean a thing. The only thing that matters is how he looks when he’s under pressure from this Boilermaker defense.”
“And what should we expect from Robert Marve today?”
“He’s coming off an injury of his own, a sprained ankle, and he looks to improve Purdue’s winning streak to three and move themselves one step closer to bowl eligibility. Marve needs to get the ball to his big targets often. Use the freshman receiver Cortland Reese and the sophomore tight end Gabe Holmes on the outside to get some size against this Buckeye secondary, and use their shorter receivers Ross and Edison on the inside against the linebackers.”
…
“After a fourteen yard gain by the senior Ralph Bolden, it’s first down at their own forty-five for the Boilermakers. Marve drops back to pass… throws it deep down the right side… and he’s got a man! That’s the freshman Cortland Reese out of Heritage High School with the twenty-four yard reception on first down!”
The capacity-crowd roared as the young Purdue player was pushed out of bounds after a nice over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline.
It was hard to deny that I was a little nervous watching the defense continue to give up first down after first down on the opening drive. Seeing the defense give up these kinds of plays to an offense like Purdue’s was definitely out of the ordinary. If they kept playing like this and put the team in a big hole early, I would have to throw more. Not that I was against slinging the ball, I just didn’t want the chances of hurting myself to go up with each drop back.
“Reese, their big recruit out of Monroeville, Indiana, displaying great route running on the corner route to get behind the secondary.”
“And by ‘big’, we mean that in both size and player ranking. The forty-fifth wide receiver recruit from last year’s class, Reese is an incredible six-four, two-hundred seventeen pounds with big hands and a solid four-five-five forty. He’s got the size and speed to make a name for himself in not just West Lafayette, but in the Big Ten Conference. Perhaps even the NFL whenever he makes that decision.”
…
“Third and goal from the Buckeye seven, Purdue trying to put the first points on the board.”
“Here’s where Ohio State’s defense shines, inside the ten, back against the wall, playing hard-nosed football!”
“Marve rolls right… he’s under pressure, and throws it out of the back of the end zone! Great pressure from Dorian Bell on the blitz to force the throw away, and on comes the Purdue field goal unit to try and tack on three points.”
…
“And following the return by Posey, on comes the Ohio State offense. And under center today will be Nick Kapatos, returning to the field since being knocked out of the first quarter against Northwestern with a sprained shoulder.”
“I spoke with coach Tressel before the game, and he hasn’t set a hard limit on how much he wants Kapatos to throw. He told me it all depends on how the rest of the game plays out; if they get behind, don’t be surprised to see more passing plays called. And if they get a good lead, expect more touches for Dan Herron and Jaamal Berry.”
“Before he went down, he was looking good against the Wildcats; five of eight for fifty-one yards, and he led them on a scoring drive early in the game. Who knows what could’ve happened had the young man not been knocked out with that shoulder injury?”
Deep breaths, that’s all I could hear walking from the huddle to my position under center. I couldn’t hear what the defense was saying, the crowd noise, I couldn’t even hear my cadence. I was wrapped up in getting the first play over with.
“Kapatos takes the snap, hands it… no, play-action! He’s looking deep downfield, but checks it down over the middle for a gain of six. The sophomore Corey Brown with the reception, and that makes it second and four.”
I was back, and it felt good.
…
“Third and two, Ohio State comes out with four receivers spread in the shotgun. Kapatos takes the snap, and he hands it off at the last second to Herron, and he’s got a hole up the middle! Herron’s dragged down at the thirty-nine yard line for a gain of eight, and that keeps the Buckeyes on the field.”
“Great play call from Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes coaching staff. Purdue stacked the field with six defensive backs, so they simply hand it off up the middle through a gaping hole, and let the senior Herron do the rest.”
“Ohio State is in the shotgun again, this time with three receivers and the fullback Zach Boren on the field. Kapatos takes the snap… pump fakes… has to check it down again to Boren, and he loses the football! Boren fumbles the ball, and it’s scooped up by the Boilermakers!”
“Credit the star defensive tackle Kawann Short with the forced fumble in the backfield, and senior linebacker Joe Holland on the recovery in the backfield at the Buckeye forty-one yard line!”
Zach smacked his helmet in frustration as he ran off the field to get an earful from the coaching staff. I let the snow melt against my bare skin on the sideline as I removed my helmet and rested on the bench. It definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to start the day, and I hoped the defense could use the momentum they got from the goal-line stand to get us the ball back.
…
“Marve drops back, pump fakes left… steps up, and lobs one for the end zone… and it’s caught! Caught for a touchdown! Antavian Edison with the catch in the end zone for the score, and Purdue is an extra point away from leading ten-nothing with over six minutes to go in the opening quarter!”
“Cornerback Travis Howard let Edison go, as he was expecting help over the middle from Orhian Johnson. But the safety bit on the pump fake, making it look like Edison was running an inside corner, when Edison then made the cut up-field for the wide open score.”
The crowd celebrated what they hoped would be the first of many scores on our defense. And from the way we looked on our first two defensive series of the game, it would appear as though that would happen today. Coach Heacock was all over the defense as they came off the field, gathering them on a bench at the end of the sideline and absolutely letting them have it. I could see the older coach’s face turn a bright red and spittle flying from his mouth as he swore and shouted at the defense to get their act together.
It wouldn’t do much good for the offense to score points if the defense couldn’t get the opposing offense off the field, and they knew that. The defense was in a funk right now, and they had to pull themselves out of it if they wanted to keep this game from getting ugly.
…
“Third and inches for the Buckeyes, from their own thirty-two. Five thirty-six remaining in the first quarter, and they need to help out their defense and stay on the field.”
“Kapatos on the Pistol formation, two receivers out to his left. Kapatos takes the snap, drops back… steps up, and fires to his left, and it’s complete to DeVier Posey before being tackled along the sideline! A gain of nineteen for the Buckeyes on the pretty pass from the freshman over the defender to the senior Posey.”
“That was an absolute bullet from Kapatos. The corner was right there in perfect position, but it didn’t look like he saw it time. That’s what the Buckeyes were missing last weekend against the Wildcats; senior Joe Bauserman just never had the kind of velocity and accuracy to make a successful throw like that.”
…
“Another third and short for the Buckeyes, this time from the Purdue thirty-four. They come out with four receivers and the tight end Stoneburner in the shotgun, empty backfield for Kapatos to work with. Kapatos takes the snap, pump fakes… then turns up field, and he slides before taking a hit. A short gain of two, but it’s good enough for another first down.”
…
“Second and long after the loss of three on the run with Berry, three minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Kapatos fakes the handoff, rolls to his right… he throws it on the run, and it’s caught by the tight end Stoneburner! He’s dragged down at the thirteen yard line for a gain of seventeen, and Kapatos hasn’t missed a pass on these last two drives, going four for four and throwing forty-three yards.”
I was feeling it. The pain was gone, the rust was shaken off, and the defense was on their toes. If we wanted to get the momentum back on our side, we had to finish off the drive with seven points. A field goal here wasn’t acceptable.
…
“Kapatos steps up, slings it right… and it’s caught for another first down! Jake Stoneburner with a gain of seventeen on his first reception of the afternoon, and it moves the chains again.”
…
“Third and goal from the three yard line, Purdue brings out their dime package to counter the five receivers Ohio State has on the field. Kapatos takes the snap, fakes a pass to the left, and jogs it up the middle for the touchdown! A great fake screen from the freshman QB, his second rushing touchdown of the season and it pulls the Buckeyes to within three!”
“Another great play-call from the Buckeye offense by spreading the field and forcing the defense to drop seven guys into coverage, leaving the whole middle of the field wide open for Kapatos to run in for a touchdown.”
It was great to hear the fight song after a touchdown drive, especially on the road after a long drive.
I took a glance over my shoulder at the Purdue sideline, and their head coach had the most confused look on his face, with his arms up in the air in a ‘how the hell did that happen’ manner. I snickered all the way back to the sideline as the field goal unit went out to make this a three-point game.
…
“Marve drops back… scrambles to his left and is brought down for a big sack on the play! Nathan Williams with the stop in the backfield for a loss of seven on third down, and that brings out the punting unit for the Boilermakers.”
…
“Third and six, ball at their own forty-five yard line for the Buckeyes. Twenty seconds before the end of the first quarter, and Purdue still leads ten-seven. Kapatos takes a three step drop, fires over the middle, and it’s caught. DeVier Posey with the reception, and he’s got a first down and then some before being dragged down from behind after a gain of seventeen, and another Buckeye first down!”
…
“After both teams switched sides, Ohio State starts with the ball at the opposing thirty-eight yard line. Four receivers on the field, Ohio State in the single-back formation. Kapatos takes the snap, fakes a pitch to the left, drops back to pass… he’s flushed out of the pocket, scrambles to his right… steps up and launches one towards the end zone… and it’s caught! Caught by Posey for a touchdown! A beautiful pass to the end zone by the freshman from West Islip, New York to his favorite target all season, and that gives the Buckeyes the lead on the first play of the quarter!”
“An excellent wheel route by the senior Posey, and the play-action froze the secondary long enough for Posey to get behind and let Kapatos bomb one for six.”
I ran over to DeVier in the end zone for a brief celebration, where we shared a light head-butt before jogging off the field to the Best Damn Band in the Land’s playing of our fight song.
“That’s how you do, Kap! That’s how you do!”
“Fuck yeah that’s how I do,” I responded, giving DeVier another head-butt.
Two possessions, two scores, and I felt like I was back on top of the world. Even as the winds swirled and the snow started to pick up, it didn’t matter. As long as we were winning and I was contributing, it didn’t matter what kind of weather I was playing in.
…
“Third and ten from the twenty-seven yard line for the Boilermakers, over nine minutes remaining in the second quarter. Marve takes the snap… rolling to his right, Marve hits the running back out of the backfield, and he turns up-field. Spinning out of a tackle, he’s taken down at the forty yard line for a thirteen yard gain, and a big first down pickup for the Boilermakers!”
“Ralph Bolden with some nifty moves out of the backfield to find space to run, and great downfield blocking by the receivers to give the junior that space.”
…
“Another third down for Purdue, this one from eight yards away. Marve drops back… slings it over the middle, and it’s caught by O.J. Ross. But he’s brought down as soon as he caught it for a gain of five, and that brings up fourth down.”
“Great tackle by the middle linebacker Sabino to keep the shifty Ross from gaining any more yards and to bring up the punting unit.”
…
“From the four yard line, it’s first down. Kapatos takes the snap, drops back… no, hand-off up the middle, and Herron has a big hole! He’s past the first down marker, and tackled by the safety at the eighteen yard line! What a run by the senior Herron for a first down, his longest run of the afternoon, and it gets the Buckeyes out of the shadow of their own end zone.”
“Third and three, the Buckeyes looking to make it three straight scoring drives. Kapatos takes the snap, flings it to Posey on the screen, and he’s gobbled up deep behind the line for a loss of four on the play!”
“That was the sophomore Ricardo Allen on the stop behind the line, and that stops the Buckeyes right in their tracks with six-twenty to go in the half.”
…
“Third and four, and the crowd is on their feet for this one!”
The capacity-crowd of over sixty-two thousand fans thundered as we came to the line. It was so deafeningly-loud that I could barely concentrate on the 4-3 defense in front of me. The linebackers shifted to the weak side, where the receivers were overloaded and where the screen pass was going. I charged to the line and called out a blocking shift.
“Shift Indigo, Indigo! Shift Indigo”
The linemen relayed the audible to each other, and I shouted the same audible call – a flip of the play – to Herron. Herron, recognizing the flip, shifted over to my right.
"Red fifty-seven, red fifty-seven... set... hut, hut!"
“Kapatos takes the snap… drops back… is under pressure, but he hits Herron on the screen, and he’s got blockers in front! He’s past the first down marker, and still going! He’s at the thirty-five… the forty, and brought down at the forty-two for a gain of twenty-seven for the senior running back!”
“A great audible by Kapatos; he sees the weak-side blitz coming, and has Dan Herron come over to the other side, and essentially flips the play to the strong side. Such a great pre-snap read by only a freshman, and an even better run-after-the-catch by Herron.”
…
“Kapatos drops back… looking… he steps up, and checks it down over the middle to the tight end Josh Oversonn, and he’s got room to run. He side-steps a tackler, and is across the first down marker. He breaks another tackle, but is taken down by a trio of Boilermaker defenders for another Buckeye first down!”
“A gain of twenty for the freshman tight end out of Beaverton, Oregon, and that was quite the display of athleticism for a player of his size.”
“I tell you, Ohio State is stacked across the board with young talent that came from probably one of the best recruiting classes to ever sign with the Buckeyes. They’ve got two freshmen starting in Kapatos and left guard Dominic St-Croix, a bunch of players playing on special teams and back-up roles behind established veterans, and several more from the top recruiting class in the country being redshirted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go to at least a couple more National Championships by the time this class graduates.”
“The future is definitely bright in Columbus.”
…
“Third and about nine from the twenty-seven yard line. With just over two minutes to go, Ohio State leading fourteen-ten. Kapatos drops back, looks… forced to scramble to his left… lobs one towards the sideline… and it’s inter- no, dropped! Incomplete pass, and coach Tressel is sending the freshman Shannon McCormick onto the field to try a forty-six yard field goal.”
“And that was Ricardo Allen on the coverage. He played the ball perfectly, and it hung up there just enough for him to make a play on it, but the ball bounced out of his hands and harmlessly to the snowy turf. That was the first really bad throw by Kapatos today, and it almost cost him and this offense big time.”
“McCormick is back, ready for the kick. The snap is down, and the kick… is… no good! He pushes it to the left, and Purdue dodges a bullet with under two minutes to go in the half.”
“He had enough distance on it, and the hold was good, but McCormick simply missed.”
…
“Marve drops back… throws it deep over the middle, and he’s got a receiver! Ralph Bolden in the slot, and he’s brought down after a thirty-one yard pickup."
…
“Marve takes a three step drop, looks and throws over the middle, and it’s… caught by a Boilermaker receiver! Antavian Edison has tons of room ahead of him! He’s at the fifteen… the ten… and finally brought down at the eight yard line! What a catch-and-run by the junior receiver.”
“Donnie Evege almost makes the diving interception, but he’s a half-second too late, and Edison makes the catch with no one else around him. I like the gamble by the cornerback, but it definitely didn’t pay off for Ohio State.”
Like a finely-tuned machine, the Purdue offense continued their march downfield towards our red zone. The defense looked off today, even though they seemed to lock it down after giving up ten straight points on two possessions. They weren’t forcing turnovers, nor were they getting much pressure on the quarterback Marve.
I remembered from the scouting report that there wasn’t a single great lineman on the Boilermaker offensive line, and yet they were looking like All-Americans for only giving up one sack and keeping their former-Hurricane quarterback upright.
…
“Marve fakes the hand-off, rolls to his right… he’s looking, looking… wants to take off, but he sees the linebacker coming, and lobs one into the end zone, and it’s caught by the tight end for six!”
“Marve drew Sabino in with the fake cut, and all he had to do was float it over the middle linebacker’s outstretched arms and it into the waiting hands of Gabe Holmes.”
“And head coach Jim Tressel is fuming along the sideline.”
I had never seen coach Tressel show so much emotion in one game as I had today. He grabbed Sabino and let into him about his performance on the drive, especially on the last play. He was fooled by a less-than-mobile quarterback into thinking that he would scramble, leaving the tight end he was supposed to be covering all alone in the end zone.
And coach had every right to be mad at the linebacker. Every film we saw on Marve showed that he doesn’t try to cut up-field for a scramble, instead throwing it away if he doesn’t see any openings. Part of it was how he played, the other part was probably not wanting to tear his ACL again and miss the remainder of the season.
And that’s what made Etienne’s gaffe so bad; everyone knew he wouldn’t tuck it and run, but he chased him anyway and gave the lead back to a team who was playing with a purpose today. If we lost every remaining game on our schedule, we’d still get a bowl bid – a shitty, lower-tiered bowl, but a bowl appearance nonetheless. Purdue, though, needed this game. And another out of their next three games just to secure bowl eligibility.
We were playing a dangerous team, and we had to realize that before it was too late.
…
“Kapatos drops back, and fires to the right. It’s caught by a receiver, and pushed out of bounds after a gain of seventeen. Sophomore James Jackson on the reception, his first of the season, and it gives Ohio State a first down.”
…
“Kapatos pump fakes… pump fakes again… looks deep over the middle, and he’s found Jackson again! A gain of nineteen this time, and the Buckeyes continue to move the chains with less than a minute to go in the half.”
…
“Third down, ball placed just at the twenty-nine yard line, seventeen seconds left before halftime.”
“Ohio State needs to go deep on this one. I don’t think they’ll try for another field goal from beyond forty-yards, not in this weather.”
“Or with their freshman kicker missing his last kick.”
“It definitely changes things when it’s touchdown or bust.”
“Three receivers and the tight end Oversonn spreading the field, Zach Boren in to block in the backfield.”
“Not even trying to disguise their intentions on this play; this is a passing down all the way.”
“Kapatos takes the snap, takes a five-step drop… steps up, and throws a dart over the middle, and he’s got a receiver! Josh Oversonn makes another reception, and he’s looking for more. Shakes off a defender, he’s at the fifteen… the ten… and brought down from behind at the seven yard line! A gain of twenty-two for Oversonn, and Ohio State calls their second timeout with ten seconds remaining.”
“That should give them at least one, maybe two more plays to get it in the end zone before they have to think about settling for a short field goal.”
…
“Red fifty-two… red fifty-two set… set, hut!”
“Kapatos takes the snap, drops back to pass… he steps up, and is hit as he throws… and it’s intercepted! Carlton Williams with the interception, and he’s out to the twenty before being taken down by Posey from behind. An interception on the last play of the half for the Buckeyes , and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
“While they’ll get the ball back after the break, it kills any momentum they were building towards halftime. Rather than at least score some points, they now go into the half with nothing to show for their long drive.”
“And credit Kawann Short with the hit on Kapatos. He already has a forced fumble, plus two-and-a-half tackles for loss, and now adding on a QB hit that forced a turnover, he’s been dominating the freshman St-Croix all quarter.”
“St-Croix was holding his ground for most of the first quarter, but now the more experienced Short is starting to have his way with the first-year guard. Expect the coaches to scheme ways to give St-Croix help in the next half.”
Picking myself off the snowy-frozen field, I wiped away the snow covering my visor and jogged back the sideline. My once pristine-white uniform was now a muddy brown, courtesy of the Purdue defense and our linemen’s inabilities to consistently stop them. Mostly the DT Short, who had been wreaking havoc all day. Dominic was unable to guard him alone, and shifting Mike Adams or Corey Linsley for help would only free up the players they were defending.
Jogging into the locker room after Marve knelt on the ball, I felt awful. We should've gotten points on that drive, but instead I pissed it away by trying to play hero. I knew I was going to get a stern lecture on not trying to do doo much from Tressel and the other coaches for that one.
“And as both teams come out of the locker room, what improvements do each team need to make if they want to come out victorious in the second half?”
“Well, for Ohio State, they have to get their running game going. Dan Herron and Jaamal Berry have combined to rush for only forty-three yards on twenty carries. That’s not going to get it done against this Boilermaker front seven. It forces Ohio State to have to air it out more, which is dangerous considering the Boilermakers have been getting to the quarterback often in the second quarter.”
“Especially junior defensive tackle Kawann Short, who was responsible to the forced fumble early in the first quarter that led to a Purdue touchdown, and for forcing an interception to end Ohio State’s scoring chances in the second.”
“Ohio State has to do something to help out the freshman left guard Dominic St-Croix; Short has been manhandling him all afternoon, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. If Ohio State wants their freshman quarterback to come away from this game intact, they need to figure out a way to solve their ground game and their protection problems.”
The snow that was falling was getting thicker, the intensity of the winds were picking up, and the cold was getting fiercer. This was perfect football weather, where it’s just you and ten other guys against the eleven guys across from you and whatever Mother Nature decided to throw at you that day.
“And what about Purdue? What do they need to do to keep control of their lead?”
“Well, they need to keep up the pressure on Kapatos and force him and this offense into making poor decisions that lead to turnovers and three-and-outs. And on the offensive side of the ball, they need to keep attacking the middle of the field with quick passes that yield high yards-after-the-catch. If they can do all those things, I can’t see why they don’t pull off the upset at home.”
…
“Second and eight, Kapatos takes the snap, fakes a hand-off… he’s under pressure and brought down for a sack on the play. Kawann Short again on the play, this time with a three yard loss, and Ohio State still hasn’t found a way to stop the junior from East Chicago, Indiana.”
“Short blew through St-Croix right off the snap, before the center Linsley could shift over for the double team, and he brought down Kapatos for his sixth sack of the year.”
“Fucking block him, Dom,” I shouted to Dominic, tucking my shoulder pad back into my jersey. “Double him, triple him, fucking do something! If you want Joe playing, just tell me and I’ll let coach know.”
Dominic silently glared at me, face red from either the cold or anger, and walked back to the huddle.
It was a side of me that I hated showing; it was my ultra-competitiveness rearing its ugly head, and it always led to me shouting at my own guys. The running game wasn’t doing dick today, so it meant that it was up to me and my arm to get the job done. But I couldn’t do that without time to make my reads.
…
“Kapatos rolls to his right, throws it to the sideline, but it’s behind Posey for another incompletion. It brings out the punting unit, and the struggles continue for Kapatos in the second half.”
“He started out the first half on fire, going fourteen of twenty-two for one-hundred sixty-one yards and a pair of scoring drives, but he threw a bad interception to end the first half when the Buckeyes were in the red zone.”
“And he’s been pressured all afternoon by this surprisingly relentless Boilermaker pass rush, resulting in one sack and several misfires on easy throws.”
“You have to wonder if the Purdue defense is starting to get to the young quarterback, especially with the non-existent threat from the Buckeye rushing attack.”
…
“Marve drops back… pump fakes… looks over the middle… and drops it into the hands of a wide-open Cortland Reese for the touchdown! And that gives the Boilermakers fourteen unanswered points and a ten point lead, pending the successful point-after attempt.”
“Reese threw a great double-move at the nickeback Donnie Evege, and cut back inside to turn the deep slant into a post route when he saw the safety helping with the outside. The strong safety was nowhere to be found, and that’s why the middle of the field was so open for Reese to make his decision.”
“Defensive breakdowns have been uncharacteristically high today, and you have to wonder if Ohio State was overlooking this game for next week’s home finale against Iowa.”
“It’s definitely a possibility, considering how low this Purdue offense was ranked coming into today’s game in terms of points scored and passing yards, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Purdue that came into this game with more intensity and energy than the guys lining up across from them.”
…
Both teams would trade possessions throughout the third quarter, as the defense finally made some stops, while we couldn’t pick up any third downs. It was maddening how inefficient we were when we had to convert a third down. Either a back-breaking penalty would force us to convert from a longer distance, a pass would be dropped, or some other boneheaded play would result in the punting unit jogging onto the field while we sat in amazement at another shriveled up offensive series.
…
“Ten seconds left in the third, and Ohio State looking to keep this drive alive before the final quarter. Kapatos takes the snap, drops back to pass… he doesn’t see anyone open, so he turns up field with a lot of room ahead of him. He’s at the forty… the forty-five… past midfield… the forty… and brought down inside the Purdue thirty-five for a big third down conversion! A gain of twenty-seven for the freshman, and that brings the third quarter to a close.”
“Great field vision by Kapatos on that run; he felt the pocket collapsing around him, and he didn’t see any open receivers, so he took off and found a wide-open middle of the field. He has to learn to slide, though; he can’t take those hits like that and expect to be completely healthy at the end of every game.”
…
“Kapatos looks, throws it to the left side of the field… and he’s got a man! Brent McCarthy with the eighteen yard reception on second down, and it puts Ohio State back into the red zone.”
“And Ohio State hurries back to the line, trying to catch the defense as they make subs.”
Find the mismatch… find the mismatch… there it is!
“Check Ranger two-four, two-four! Ranger two-four! Set… set hut!”
“Kapatos takes the snap… steps up, and fires a bullet over the middle, and it’s caught for the touchdown! A great catch for James Jackson, his sixth of the contest, and this one gives him his first score of the season with nine forty-five to go in the game!”
“They haven’t been able to cover Jackson all day, and it was only a matter of time before they found the redshirt sophomore in the end zone. Jackson was matched up against a linebacker, and Kapatos was eyeing him all the way for the easy score.”
“Not over yet, boys,” I shouted on the sidelines to the rest of the team. “It’s not over yet! Give it everything you got out there! Every play, every drive, every second you’re on the field, lay it all out there and good things will happen!”
…
“Third and six, ball on the Purdue twenty-four yard line with seven minutes to play. Purdue clinging to a three-point lead as they spread the field with four receivers from the shotgun. Marve takes the snap… and it’s a draw up the middle. Bolden is through the line and he’s got a first down and a whole lot more! He’s at the forty… past midfield… at the forty… high-steps out of a tackle at the thirty-five… and he’s got no one in front of him! The junior is going to take this one all the way for the seventy-six yard touchdown!”
“A great run by the junior Bolden to give the Boilermakers the nine-point lead. The defense completely bit on the draw play, and Bolden blows by the middle linebacker Sabino before turning on the jets and outrunning the entire Buckeye defense. Give credit to the cornerback Brown who at least tried to make the tackle, but Bolden wasn’t going to be denied on his longest run of the afternoon.”
…
“Third and ten, Ohio State looking to answer right back with a scoring drive of their own. Kapatos takes the snap, rolls to his right… plants and lets one fly deep… and it’s caught for a big gain before being pushed out! Brent McCarthy with the twenty-five yard reception, that’ll move the chains on this late fourth-quarter drive for the Buckeyes.”
…
“Looking, looking… Kapatos steps up and lobs one deep to the left side… and the receiver makes the catch! DeVier Posey with his fifth reception of the game, this one for thirty-three yards, and what a beauty of a catch it was with the corner draped all over him!”
…
“Ohio State looking to make it a one-score game with four and a half minutes left in the final quarter. Four receivers and the tight end Stoneburner spread out in the shotgun, six DB’s on the field for Purdue. Kapatos takes the snap… has to scramble to his right…”
Once again, the DT Short bullied his was past Dominic and was looking for another sack. I ran away as fast as I could from the lineman, hoping someone would get open.
Just when I thought of throwing it away, I saw Jake make his quick curl and I thought I had enough time before I was chased down to get rid of it.
What I didn’t see, though, was the linebacker cutting in front of him.
“…Kapatos throws on the run, and it’s intercepted! The linebacker Chris Carlino stepped in front of the pass, and he’s got room to run!”
The linebacker, all two-hundred something pounds of him, was sprinting in my direction with the ball. He made a cut outside and I lost my footing in the snow. Stumbling forward, I made a diving attempt at the Purdue linebacker. But without any solid ground to plant on, my dive was nowhere near far enough to catch him. I slammed my open palm into the snow, watching the linebacker run all the way to our end zone.
“Carlino’s at the thirty-five… the forty… the forty-five… past midfield… no one’s around him at the thirty… he holds the ball high into the air as he dives into the end zone for a touchdown! A seventy-seven yard pick-six, and that just might be the final nail in the coffin for the Buckeyes!”
“That’s the worst time for a young man like Kapatos to make a rookie mistake. He was staring down the tight end Stoneburner the whole time, and I don’t think he even saw Carlino slide in front of the tight end.”
...
“Kapatos drops back, steps up, lobs it over the middle… and it’s caught by McCarthy! Twenty-three yards, and Kapatos has crossed the four-hundred yard mark with that completion.”
“And they’re going with the no-huddle again.”
“Kapatos takes the snap… the pocket collapses… he gets it off over the middle, and it’s caught for a touchdown by James Jackson!”
“Looks like the offense is staying out on the field to try and make this a nine-point game.”
“Kapatos takes the snap, rolls to his right… he plants and lobs it to the back of the end zone… incomplete, just over the hands of Josh Oversonn!”
“That’s a throw you have to make. He has his man open in the back of the end zone, and he just sails it on him.”
…
“Under a minute to go, Ohio State looking to stage a comeback. Kapatos drops back and is immediately under pressure. He tries to scramble away, but is hit as he throws and it’s picked off! Chris Carlino with his second pick of the day, and that does it in West Lafayette.”
“And Kapatos is coming off the field, holding the shoulder he injured last week against Northwestern. That’s not a good sight to see if you’re Jim Tressel.”
My shoulder didn’t hurt as bad as it did when I first injured it, but it still hurt like hell. I didn’t know if I simply re-aggrivated the injury or hurt it even worse, so I just went straight to the trainers and let them figure it out.
…
“Marve takes the knee, and the upset in Indiana is complete! The now five-and-five Purdue Boilermakers have knocked off the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, thirty-eight to twenty-seven, behind the three touchdown effort of senior Robert Marve and four turnovers by this Purdue defense.”
“Heck of a win for this team, heck of a win. And if you’re Ohio State, your dreams of a conference championship have officially gone up in smoke.”
25-48, 431 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT, sacked 2 times;
8 rushing attempts, 38 yards, 1 TD
“The snow has been falling on-and-off all day here on the Purdue campus, and it should be interesting to see how the inclement weather affects the offenses of both teams.”
“Speaking of offenses, freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos has been given the OK to start, but it remains to be seen how much Coach Jim Tressel wants him to throw today.”
“He was held out of padded drills all week, but from the looks of how he’s been throwing during the pregame warm-ups, everything looks just fine with his throwing motion.”
“How he looks during pregame warm-ups doesn’t mean a thing. The only thing that matters is how he looks when he’s under pressure from this Boilermaker defense.”
“And what should we expect from Robert Marve today?”
“He’s coming off an injury of his own, a sprained ankle, and he looks to improve Purdue’s winning streak to three and move themselves one step closer to bowl eligibility. Marve needs to get the ball to his big targets often. Use the freshman receiver Cortland Reese and the sophomore tight end Gabe Holmes on the outside to get some size against this Buckeye secondary, and use their shorter receivers Ross and Edison on the inside against the linebackers.”
…
“After a fourteen yard gain by the senior Ralph Bolden, it’s first down at their own forty-five for the Boilermakers. Marve drops back to pass… throws it deep down the right side… and he’s got a man! That’s the freshman Cortland Reese out of Heritage High School with the twenty-four yard reception on first down!”
The capacity-crowd roared as the young Purdue player was pushed out of bounds after a nice over-the-shoulder catch along the sideline.
It was hard to deny that I was a little nervous watching the defense continue to give up first down after first down on the opening drive. Seeing the defense give up these kinds of plays to an offense like Purdue’s was definitely out of the ordinary. If they kept playing like this and put the team in a big hole early, I would have to throw more. Not that I was against slinging the ball, I just didn’t want the chances of hurting myself to go up with each drop back.
“Reese, their big recruit out of Monroeville, Indiana, displaying great route running on the corner route to get behind the secondary.”
“And by ‘big’, we mean that in both size and player ranking. The forty-fifth wide receiver recruit from last year’s class, Reese is an incredible six-four, two-hundred seventeen pounds with big hands and a solid four-five-five forty. He’s got the size and speed to make a name for himself in not just West Lafayette, but in the Big Ten Conference. Perhaps even the NFL whenever he makes that decision.”
…
“Third and goal from the Buckeye seven, Purdue trying to put the first points on the board.”
“Here’s where Ohio State’s defense shines, inside the ten, back against the wall, playing hard-nosed football!”
“Marve rolls right… he’s under pressure, and throws it out of the back of the end zone! Great pressure from Dorian Bell on the blitz to force the throw away, and on comes the Purdue field goal unit to try and tack on three points.”
…
“And following the return by Posey, on comes the Ohio State offense. And under center today will be Nick Kapatos, returning to the field since being knocked out of the first quarter against Northwestern with a sprained shoulder.”
“I spoke with coach Tressel before the game, and he hasn’t set a hard limit on how much he wants Kapatos to throw. He told me it all depends on how the rest of the game plays out; if they get behind, don’t be surprised to see more passing plays called. And if they get a good lead, expect more touches for Dan Herron and Jaamal Berry.”
“Before he went down, he was looking good against the Wildcats; five of eight for fifty-one yards, and he led them on a scoring drive early in the game. Who knows what could’ve happened had the young man not been knocked out with that shoulder injury?”
Deep breaths, that’s all I could hear walking from the huddle to my position under center. I couldn’t hear what the defense was saying, the crowd noise, I couldn’t even hear my cadence. I was wrapped up in getting the first play over with.
“Kapatos takes the snap, hands it… no, play-action! He’s looking deep downfield, but checks it down over the middle for a gain of six. The sophomore Corey Brown with the reception, and that makes it second and four.”
I was back, and it felt good.
…
“Third and two, Ohio State comes out with four receivers spread in the shotgun. Kapatos takes the snap, and he hands it off at the last second to Herron, and he’s got a hole up the middle! Herron’s dragged down at the thirty-nine yard line for a gain of eight, and that keeps the Buckeyes on the field.”
“Great play call from Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes coaching staff. Purdue stacked the field with six defensive backs, so they simply hand it off up the middle through a gaping hole, and let the senior Herron do the rest.”
“Ohio State is in the shotgun again, this time with three receivers and the fullback Zach Boren on the field. Kapatos takes the snap… pump fakes… has to check it down again to Boren, and he loses the football! Boren fumbles the ball, and it’s scooped up by the Boilermakers!”
“Credit the star defensive tackle Kawann Short with the forced fumble in the backfield, and senior linebacker Joe Holland on the recovery in the backfield at the Buckeye forty-one yard line!”
Zach smacked his helmet in frustration as he ran off the field to get an earful from the coaching staff. I let the snow melt against my bare skin on the sideline as I removed my helmet and rested on the bench. It definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to start the day, and I hoped the defense could use the momentum they got from the goal-line stand to get us the ball back.
…
“Marve drops back, pump fakes left… steps up, and lobs one for the end zone… and it’s caught! Caught for a touchdown! Antavian Edison with the catch in the end zone for the score, and Purdue is an extra point away from leading ten-nothing with over six minutes to go in the opening quarter!”
“Cornerback Travis Howard let Edison go, as he was expecting help over the middle from Orhian Johnson. But the safety bit on the pump fake, making it look like Edison was running an inside corner, when Edison then made the cut up-field for the wide open score.”
The crowd celebrated what they hoped would be the first of many scores on our defense. And from the way we looked on our first two defensive series of the game, it would appear as though that would happen today. Coach Heacock was all over the defense as they came off the field, gathering them on a bench at the end of the sideline and absolutely letting them have it. I could see the older coach’s face turn a bright red and spittle flying from his mouth as he swore and shouted at the defense to get their act together.
It wouldn’t do much good for the offense to score points if the defense couldn’t get the opposing offense off the field, and they knew that. The defense was in a funk right now, and they had to pull themselves out of it if they wanted to keep this game from getting ugly.
…
“Third and inches for the Buckeyes, from their own thirty-two. Five thirty-six remaining in the first quarter, and they need to help out their defense and stay on the field.”
“Kapatos on the Pistol formation, two receivers out to his left. Kapatos takes the snap, drops back… steps up, and fires to his left, and it’s complete to DeVier Posey before being tackled along the sideline! A gain of nineteen for the Buckeyes on the pretty pass from the freshman over the defender to the senior Posey.”
“That was an absolute bullet from Kapatos. The corner was right there in perfect position, but it didn’t look like he saw it time. That’s what the Buckeyes were missing last weekend against the Wildcats; senior Joe Bauserman just never had the kind of velocity and accuracy to make a successful throw like that.”
…
“Another third and short for the Buckeyes, this time from the Purdue thirty-four. They come out with four receivers and the tight end Stoneburner in the shotgun, empty backfield for Kapatos to work with. Kapatos takes the snap, pump fakes… then turns up field, and he slides before taking a hit. A short gain of two, but it’s good enough for another first down.”
…
“Second and long after the loss of three on the run with Berry, three minutes remaining in the opening quarter. Kapatos fakes the handoff, rolls to his right… he throws it on the run, and it’s caught by the tight end Stoneburner! He’s dragged down at the thirteen yard line for a gain of seventeen, and Kapatos hasn’t missed a pass on these last two drives, going four for four and throwing forty-three yards.”
I was feeling it. The pain was gone, the rust was shaken off, and the defense was on their toes. If we wanted to get the momentum back on our side, we had to finish off the drive with seven points. A field goal here wasn’t acceptable.
…
“Kapatos steps up, slings it right… and it’s caught for another first down! Jake Stoneburner with a gain of seventeen on his first reception of the afternoon, and it moves the chains again.”
…
“Third and goal from the three yard line, Purdue brings out their dime package to counter the five receivers Ohio State has on the field. Kapatos takes the snap, fakes a pass to the left, and jogs it up the middle for the touchdown! A great fake screen from the freshman QB, his second rushing touchdown of the season and it pulls the Buckeyes to within three!”
“Another great play-call from the Buckeye offense by spreading the field and forcing the defense to drop seven guys into coverage, leaving the whole middle of the field wide open for Kapatos to run in for a touchdown.”
It was great to hear the fight song after a touchdown drive, especially on the road after a long drive.
I took a glance over my shoulder at the Purdue sideline, and their head coach had the most confused look on his face, with his arms up in the air in a ‘how the hell did that happen’ manner. I snickered all the way back to the sideline as the field goal unit went out to make this a three-point game.
…
“Marve drops back… scrambles to his left and is brought down for a big sack on the play! Nathan Williams with the stop in the backfield for a loss of seven on third down, and that brings out the punting unit for the Boilermakers.”
…
“Third and six, ball at their own forty-five yard line for the Buckeyes. Twenty seconds before the end of the first quarter, and Purdue still leads ten-seven. Kapatos takes a three step drop, fires over the middle, and it’s caught. DeVier Posey with the reception, and he’s got a first down and then some before being dragged down from behind after a gain of seventeen, and another Buckeye first down!”
…
“After both teams switched sides, Ohio State starts with the ball at the opposing thirty-eight yard line. Four receivers on the field, Ohio State in the single-back formation. Kapatos takes the snap, fakes a pitch to the left, drops back to pass… he’s flushed out of the pocket, scrambles to his right… steps up and launches one towards the end zone… and it’s caught! Caught by Posey for a touchdown! A beautiful pass to the end zone by the freshman from West Islip, New York to his favorite target all season, and that gives the Buckeyes the lead on the first play of the quarter!”
“An excellent wheel route by the senior Posey, and the play-action froze the secondary long enough for Posey to get behind and let Kapatos bomb one for six.”
I ran over to DeVier in the end zone for a brief celebration, where we shared a light head-butt before jogging off the field to the Best Damn Band in the Land’s playing of our fight song.
“That’s how you do, Kap! That’s how you do!”
“Fuck yeah that’s how I do,” I responded, giving DeVier another head-butt.
Two possessions, two scores, and I felt like I was back on top of the world. Even as the winds swirled and the snow started to pick up, it didn’t matter. As long as we were winning and I was contributing, it didn’t matter what kind of weather I was playing in.
…
“Third and ten from the twenty-seven yard line for the Boilermakers, over nine minutes remaining in the second quarter. Marve takes the snap… rolling to his right, Marve hits the running back out of the backfield, and he turns up-field. Spinning out of a tackle, he’s taken down at the forty yard line for a thirteen yard gain, and a big first down pickup for the Boilermakers!”
“Ralph Bolden with some nifty moves out of the backfield to find space to run, and great downfield blocking by the receivers to give the junior that space.”
…
“Another third down for Purdue, this one from eight yards away. Marve drops back… slings it over the middle, and it’s caught by O.J. Ross. But he’s brought down as soon as he caught it for a gain of five, and that brings up fourth down.”
“Great tackle by the middle linebacker Sabino to keep the shifty Ross from gaining any more yards and to bring up the punting unit.”
…
“From the four yard line, it’s first down. Kapatos takes the snap, drops back… no, hand-off up the middle, and Herron has a big hole! He’s past the first down marker, and tackled by the safety at the eighteen yard line! What a run by the senior Herron for a first down, his longest run of the afternoon, and it gets the Buckeyes out of the shadow of their own end zone.”
“Third and three, the Buckeyes looking to make it three straight scoring drives. Kapatos takes the snap, flings it to Posey on the screen, and he’s gobbled up deep behind the line for a loss of four on the play!”
“That was the sophomore Ricardo Allen on the stop behind the line, and that stops the Buckeyes right in their tracks with six-twenty to go in the half.”
…
“Third and four, and the crowd is on their feet for this one!”
The capacity-crowd of over sixty-two thousand fans thundered as we came to the line. It was so deafeningly-loud that I could barely concentrate on the 4-3 defense in front of me. The linebackers shifted to the weak side, where the receivers were overloaded and where the screen pass was going. I charged to the line and called out a blocking shift.
“Shift Indigo, Indigo! Shift Indigo”
The linemen relayed the audible to each other, and I shouted the same audible call – a flip of the play – to Herron. Herron, recognizing the flip, shifted over to my right.
"Red fifty-seven, red fifty-seven... set... hut, hut!"
“Kapatos takes the snap… drops back… is under pressure, but he hits Herron on the screen, and he’s got blockers in front! He’s past the first down marker, and still going! He’s at the thirty-five… the forty, and brought down at the forty-two for a gain of twenty-seven for the senior running back!”
“A great audible by Kapatos; he sees the weak-side blitz coming, and has Dan Herron come over to the other side, and essentially flips the play to the strong side. Such a great pre-snap read by only a freshman, and an even better run-after-the-catch by Herron.”
…
“Kapatos drops back… looking… he steps up, and checks it down over the middle to the tight end Josh Oversonn, and he’s got room to run. He side-steps a tackler, and is across the first down marker. He breaks another tackle, but is taken down by a trio of Boilermaker defenders for another Buckeye first down!”
“A gain of twenty for the freshman tight end out of Beaverton, Oregon, and that was quite the display of athleticism for a player of his size.”
“I tell you, Ohio State is stacked across the board with young talent that came from probably one of the best recruiting classes to ever sign with the Buckeyes. They’ve got two freshmen starting in Kapatos and left guard Dominic St-Croix, a bunch of players playing on special teams and back-up roles behind established veterans, and several more from the top recruiting class in the country being redshirted. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go to at least a couple more National Championships by the time this class graduates.”
“The future is definitely bright in Columbus.”
…
“Third and about nine from the twenty-seven yard line. With just over two minutes to go, Ohio State leading fourteen-ten. Kapatos drops back, looks… forced to scramble to his left… lobs one towards the sideline… and it’s inter- no, dropped! Incomplete pass, and coach Tressel is sending the freshman Shannon McCormick onto the field to try a forty-six yard field goal.”
“And that was Ricardo Allen on the coverage. He played the ball perfectly, and it hung up there just enough for him to make a play on it, but the ball bounced out of his hands and harmlessly to the snowy turf. That was the first really bad throw by Kapatos today, and it almost cost him and this offense big time.”
“McCormick is back, ready for the kick. The snap is down, and the kick… is… no good! He pushes it to the left, and Purdue dodges a bullet with under two minutes to go in the half.”
“He had enough distance on it, and the hold was good, but McCormick simply missed.”
…
“Marve drops back… throws it deep over the middle, and he’s got a receiver! Ralph Bolden in the slot, and he’s brought down after a thirty-one yard pickup."
…
“Marve takes a three step drop, looks and throws over the middle, and it’s… caught by a Boilermaker receiver! Antavian Edison has tons of room ahead of him! He’s at the fifteen… the ten… and finally brought down at the eight yard line! What a catch-and-run by the junior receiver.”
“Donnie Evege almost makes the diving interception, but he’s a half-second too late, and Edison makes the catch with no one else around him. I like the gamble by the cornerback, but it definitely didn’t pay off for Ohio State.”
Like a finely-tuned machine, the Purdue offense continued their march downfield towards our red zone. The defense looked off today, even though they seemed to lock it down after giving up ten straight points on two possessions. They weren’t forcing turnovers, nor were they getting much pressure on the quarterback Marve.
I remembered from the scouting report that there wasn’t a single great lineman on the Boilermaker offensive line, and yet they were looking like All-Americans for only giving up one sack and keeping their former-Hurricane quarterback upright.
…
“Marve fakes the hand-off, rolls to his right… he’s looking, looking… wants to take off, but he sees the linebacker coming, and lobs one into the end zone, and it’s caught by the tight end for six!”
“Marve drew Sabino in with the fake cut, and all he had to do was float it over the middle linebacker’s outstretched arms and it into the waiting hands of Gabe Holmes.”
“And head coach Jim Tressel is fuming along the sideline.”
I had never seen coach Tressel show so much emotion in one game as I had today. He grabbed Sabino and let into him about his performance on the drive, especially on the last play. He was fooled by a less-than-mobile quarterback into thinking that he would scramble, leaving the tight end he was supposed to be covering all alone in the end zone.
And coach had every right to be mad at the linebacker. Every film we saw on Marve showed that he doesn’t try to cut up-field for a scramble, instead throwing it away if he doesn’t see any openings. Part of it was how he played, the other part was probably not wanting to tear his ACL again and miss the remainder of the season.
And that’s what made Etienne’s gaffe so bad; everyone knew he wouldn’t tuck it and run, but he chased him anyway and gave the lead back to a team who was playing with a purpose today. If we lost every remaining game on our schedule, we’d still get a bowl bid – a shitty, lower-tiered bowl, but a bowl appearance nonetheless. Purdue, though, needed this game. And another out of their next three games just to secure bowl eligibility.
We were playing a dangerous team, and we had to realize that before it was too late.
…
“Kapatos drops back, and fires to the right. It’s caught by a receiver, and pushed out of bounds after a gain of seventeen. Sophomore James Jackson on the reception, his first of the season, and it gives Ohio State a first down.”
…
“Kapatos pump fakes… pump fakes again… looks deep over the middle, and he’s found Jackson again! A gain of nineteen this time, and the Buckeyes continue to move the chains with less than a minute to go in the half.”
…
“Third down, ball placed just at the twenty-nine yard line, seventeen seconds left before halftime.”
“Ohio State needs to go deep on this one. I don’t think they’ll try for another field goal from beyond forty-yards, not in this weather.”
“Or with their freshman kicker missing his last kick.”
“It definitely changes things when it’s touchdown or bust.”
“Three receivers and the tight end Oversonn spreading the field, Zach Boren in to block in the backfield.”
“Not even trying to disguise their intentions on this play; this is a passing down all the way.”
“Kapatos takes the snap, takes a five-step drop… steps up, and throws a dart over the middle, and he’s got a receiver! Josh Oversonn makes another reception, and he’s looking for more. Shakes off a defender, he’s at the fifteen… the ten… and brought down from behind at the seven yard line! A gain of twenty-two for Oversonn, and Ohio State calls their second timeout with ten seconds remaining.”
“That should give them at least one, maybe two more plays to get it in the end zone before they have to think about settling for a short field goal.”
…
“Red fifty-two… red fifty-two set… set, hut!”
“Kapatos takes the snap, drops back to pass… he steps up, and is hit as he throws… and it’s intercepted! Carlton Williams with the interception, and he’s out to the twenty before being taken down by Posey from behind. An interception on the last play of the half for the Buckeyes , and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.”
“While they’ll get the ball back after the break, it kills any momentum they were building towards halftime. Rather than at least score some points, they now go into the half with nothing to show for their long drive.”
“And credit Kawann Short with the hit on Kapatos. He already has a forced fumble, plus two-and-a-half tackles for loss, and now adding on a QB hit that forced a turnover, he’s been dominating the freshman St-Croix all quarter.”
“St-Croix was holding his ground for most of the first quarter, but now the more experienced Short is starting to have his way with the first-year guard. Expect the coaches to scheme ways to give St-Croix help in the next half.”
Picking myself off the snowy-frozen field, I wiped away the snow covering my visor and jogged back the sideline. My once pristine-white uniform was now a muddy brown, courtesy of the Purdue defense and our linemen’s inabilities to consistently stop them. Mostly the DT Short, who had been wreaking havoc all day. Dominic was unable to guard him alone, and shifting Mike Adams or Corey Linsley for help would only free up the players they were defending.
Jogging into the locker room after Marve knelt on the ball, I felt awful. We should've gotten points on that drive, but instead I pissed it away by trying to play hero. I knew I was going to get a stern lecture on not trying to do doo much from Tressel and the other coaches for that one.
“And as both teams come out of the locker room, what improvements do each team need to make if they want to come out victorious in the second half?”
“Well, for Ohio State, they have to get their running game going. Dan Herron and Jaamal Berry have combined to rush for only forty-three yards on twenty carries. That’s not going to get it done against this Boilermaker front seven. It forces Ohio State to have to air it out more, which is dangerous considering the Boilermakers have been getting to the quarterback often in the second quarter.”
“Especially junior defensive tackle Kawann Short, who was responsible to the forced fumble early in the first quarter that led to a Purdue touchdown, and for forcing an interception to end Ohio State’s scoring chances in the second.”
“Ohio State has to do something to help out the freshman left guard Dominic St-Croix; Short has been manhandling him all afternoon, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. If Ohio State wants their freshman quarterback to come away from this game intact, they need to figure out a way to solve their ground game and their protection problems.”
The snow that was falling was getting thicker, the intensity of the winds were picking up, and the cold was getting fiercer. This was perfect football weather, where it’s just you and ten other guys against the eleven guys across from you and whatever Mother Nature decided to throw at you that day.
“And what about Purdue? What do they need to do to keep control of their lead?”
“Well, they need to keep up the pressure on Kapatos and force him and this offense into making poor decisions that lead to turnovers and three-and-outs. And on the offensive side of the ball, they need to keep attacking the middle of the field with quick passes that yield high yards-after-the-catch. If they can do all those things, I can’t see why they don’t pull off the upset at home.”
…
“Second and eight, Kapatos takes the snap, fakes a hand-off… he’s under pressure and brought down for a sack on the play. Kawann Short again on the play, this time with a three yard loss, and Ohio State still hasn’t found a way to stop the junior from East Chicago, Indiana.”
“Short blew through St-Croix right off the snap, before the center Linsley could shift over for the double team, and he brought down Kapatos for his sixth sack of the year.”
“Fucking block him, Dom,” I shouted to Dominic, tucking my shoulder pad back into my jersey. “Double him, triple him, fucking do something! If you want Joe playing, just tell me and I’ll let coach know.”
Dominic silently glared at me, face red from either the cold or anger, and walked back to the huddle.
It was a side of me that I hated showing; it was my ultra-competitiveness rearing its ugly head, and it always led to me shouting at my own guys. The running game wasn’t doing dick today, so it meant that it was up to me and my arm to get the job done. But I couldn’t do that without time to make my reads.
…
“Kapatos rolls to his right, throws it to the sideline, but it’s behind Posey for another incompletion. It brings out the punting unit, and the struggles continue for Kapatos in the second half.”
“He started out the first half on fire, going fourteen of twenty-two for one-hundred sixty-one yards and a pair of scoring drives, but he threw a bad interception to end the first half when the Buckeyes were in the red zone.”
“And he’s been pressured all afternoon by this surprisingly relentless Boilermaker pass rush, resulting in one sack and several misfires on easy throws.”
“You have to wonder if the Purdue defense is starting to get to the young quarterback, especially with the non-existent threat from the Buckeye rushing attack.”
…
“Marve drops back… pump fakes… looks over the middle… and drops it into the hands of a wide-open Cortland Reese for the touchdown! And that gives the Boilermakers fourteen unanswered points and a ten point lead, pending the successful point-after attempt.”
“Reese threw a great double-move at the nickeback Donnie Evege, and cut back inside to turn the deep slant into a post route when he saw the safety helping with the outside. The strong safety was nowhere to be found, and that’s why the middle of the field was so open for Reese to make his decision.”
“Defensive breakdowns have been uncharacteristically high today, and you have to wonder if Ohio State was overlooking this game for next week’s home finale against Iowa.”
“It’s definitely a possibility, considering how low this Purdue offense was ranked coming into today’s game in terms of points scored and passing yards, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Purdue that came into this game with more intensity and energy than the guys lining up across from them.”
…
Both teams would trade possessions throughout the third quarter, as the defense finally made some stops, while we couldn’t pick up any third downs. It was maddening how inefficient we were when we had to convert a third down. Either a back-breaking penalty would force us to convert from a longer distance, a pass would be dropped, or some other boneheaded play would result in the punting unit jogging onto the field while we sat in amazement at another shriveled up offensive series.
…
“Ten seconds left in the third, and Ohio State looking to keep this drive alive before the final quarter. Kapatos takes the snap, drops back to pass… he doesn’t see anyone open, so he turns up field with a lot of room ahead of him. He’s at the forty… the forty-five… past midfield… the forty… and brought down inside the Purdue thirty-five for a big third down conversion! A gain of twenty-seven for the freshman, and that brings the third quarter to a close.”
“Great field vision by Kapatos on that run; he felt the pocket collapsing around him, and he didn’t see any open receivers, so he took off and found a wide-open middle of the field. He has to learn to slide, though; he can’t take those hits like that and expect to be completely healthy at the end of every game.”
…
“Kapatos looks, throws it to the left side of the field… and he’s got a man! Brent McCarthy with the eighteen yard reception on second down, and it puts Ohio State back into the red zone.”
“And Ohio State hurries back to the line, trying to catch the defense as they make subs.”
Find the mismatch… find the mismatch… there it is!
“Check Ranger two-four, two-four! Ranger two-four! Set… set hut!”
“Kapatos takes the snap… steps up, and fires a bullet over the middle, and it’s caught for the touchdown! A great catch for James Jackson, his sixth of the contest, and this one gives him his first score of the season with nine forty-five to go in the game!”
“They haven’t been able to cover Jackson all day, and it was only a matter of time before they found the redshirt sophomore in the end zone. Jackson was matched up against a linebacker, and Kapatos was eyeing him all the way for the easy score.”
“Not over yet, boys,” I shouted on the sidelines to the rest of the team. “It’s not over yet! Give it everything you got out there! Every play, every drive, every second you’re on the field, lay it all out there and good things will happen!”
…
“Third and six, ball on the Purdue twenty-four yard line with seven minutes to play. Purdue clinging to a three-point lead as they spread the field with four receivers from the shotgun. Marve takes the snap… and it’s a draw up the middle. Bolden is through the line and he’s got a first down and a whole lot more! He’s at the forty… past midfield… at the forty… high-steps out of a tackle at the thirty-five… and he’s got no one in front of him! The junior is going to take this one all the way for the seventy-six yard touchdown!”
“A great run by the junior Bolden to give the Boilermakers the nine-point lead. The defense completely bit on the draw play, and Bolden blows by the middle linebacker Sabino before turning on the jets and outrunning the entire Buckeye defense. Give credit to the cornerback Brown who at least tried to make the tackle, but Bolden wasn’t going to be denied on his longest run of the afternoon.”
…
“Third and ten, Ohio State looking to answer right back with a scoring drive of their own. Kapatos takes the snap, rolls to his right… plants and lets one fly deep… and it’s caught for a big gain before being pushed out! Brent McCarthy with the twenty-five yard reception, that’ll move the chains on this late fourth-quarter drive for the Buckeyes.”
…
“Looking, looking… Kapatos steps up and lobs one deep to the left side… and the receiver makes the catch! DeVier Posey with his fifth reception of the game, this one for thirty-three yards, and what a beauty of a catch it was with the corner draped all over him!”
…
“Ohio State looking to make it a one-score game with four and a half minutes left in the final quarter. Four receivers and the tight end Stoneburner spread out in the shotgun, six DB’s on the field for Purdue. Kapatos takes the snap… has to scramble to his right…”
Once again, the DT Short bullied his was past Dominic and was looking for another sack. I ran away as fast as I could from the lineman, hoping someone would get open.
Just when I thought of throwing it away, I saw Jake make his quick curl and I thought I had enough time before I was chased down to get rid of it.
What I didn’t see, though, was the linebacker cutting in front of him.
“…Kapatos throws on the run, and it’s intercepted! The linebacker Chris Carlino stepped in front of the pass, and he’s got room to run!”
The linebacker, all two-hundred something pounds of him, was sprinting in my direction with the ball. He made a cut outside and I lost my footing in the snow. Stumbling forward, I made a diving attempt at the Purdue linebacker. But without any solid ground to plant on, my dive was nowhere near far enough to catch him. I slammed my open palm into the snow, watching the linebacker run all the way to our end zone.
“Carlino’s at the thirty-five… the forty… the forty-five… past midfield… no one’s around him at the thirty… he holds the ball high into the air as he dives into the end zone for a touchdown! A seventy-seven yard pick-six, and that just might be the final nail in the coffin for the Buckeyes!”
“That’s the worst time for a young man like Kapatos to make a rookie mistake. He was staring down the tight end Stoneburner the whole time, and I don’t think he even saw Carlino slide in front of the tight end.”
...
“Kapatos drops back, steps up, lobs it over the middle… and it’s caught by McCarthy! Twenty-three yards, and Kapatos has crossed the four-hundred yard mark with that completion.”
“And they’re going with the no-huddle again.”
“Kapatos takes the snap… the pocket collapses… he gets it off over the middle, and it’s caught for a touchdown by James Jackson!”
“Looks like the offense is staying out on the field to try and make this a nine-point game.”
“Kapatos takes the snap, rolls to his right… he plants and lobs it to the back of the end zone… incomplete, just over the hands of Josh Oversonn!”
“That’s a throw you have to make. He has his man open in the back of the end zone, and he just sails it on him.”
…
“Under a minute to go, Ohio State looking to stage a comeback. Kapatos drops back and is immediately under pressure. He tries to scramble away, but is hit as he throws and it’s picked off! Chris Carlino with his second pick of the day, and that does it in West Lafayette.”
“And Kapatos is coming off the field, holding the shoulder he injured last week against Northwestern. That’s not a good sight to see if you’re Jim Tressel.”
My shoulder didn’t hurt as bad as it did when I first injured it, but it still hurt like hell. I didn’t know if I simply re-aggrivated the injury or hurt it even worse, so I just went straight to the trainers and let them figure it out.
…
“Marve takes the knee, and the upset in Indiana is complete! The now five-and-five Purdue Boilermakers have knocked off the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, thirty-eight to twenty-seven, behind the three touchdown effort of senior Robert Marve and four turnovers by this Purdue defense.”
“Heck of a win for this team, heck of a win. And if you’re Ohio State, your dreams of a conference championship have officially gone up in smoke.”
25-48, 431 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT, sacked 2 times;
8 rushing attempts, 38 yards, 1 TD
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Pretty surprised at the recent development. I expect them to beat Michigan, but four losses or so for the defending champs could lead some to question why Tressel went with a true freshman (even if Bauserman is terrible and Guiton is an unknown. Fans are dumb).
The flight back to Columbus was quite possibly the most agonizingly long trip I’ve ever experienced. Aside from the hum of the engines from outside, and the creaking of someone adjusting their seats, it was an entirely silent ride back.
While I usually enjoyed quite rides back home, this one was unbearable. Every single poor throw I made, every turnover we gave away, and every defensive mistake was playing on a loop that entire time in my head.
I kept trying to rationalize every mistake we made over the course of the game, especially mine. Dev had to have slipped while running his route on the pick at the end of the first half, Dom and the rest of the offensive line couldn’t give me the time to set my feet, if I didn’t have to heave it at the end of the game just to get us in a position for a last-second miracle, and maybe if we could run the ball, I wouldn’t have had to throw it so often…
No, enough of that. Those were my mistakes, and mine alone. I was the one making the decisions out there, waiting too long or staring down my receiver too much. Keeping myself blameless wasn’t going to improve the win column, and it certainly wasn’t going to help me in the long run.
Aside from a quick visit to the trainer’s room to get my shoulder iced and wrapped, I was the first one out of the facilities. I didn’t want to see anyone, listen to anyone, or certainly speak to anyone. I just wanted it to be Monday so I could get back to work and put the loss behind me.
The next day’s rankings were released, and sure enough we dropped in the polls… hard. Our loss, coupled with no real upsets on the weekend, caused us to fall from eighth and on the fringe of a BCS bowl berth to twenty-third, just another loss away from dropping out of the rankings entirely. The combined loss and slip in the rankings caused plenty of uproar and overreactions from the fans and media alike.
“This is, without question, one of the most disappointing seasons a defending national champion could ever have in the history of college football,” Mark May harped from his chair on the College Football Live studio in Bristol. “This team brought back so much talent across the board, looking to become the first team to repeat since the 1994-95 Nebraska Cornhuskers, and to have them almost out of the rankings entirely is unbelievable. In the last two games, and most of this season for that matter, there’s been a startling show of inconsistent play.”
The former Pitt linebacker continued. “From the loss against Northwestern, where they couldn’t buy a touchdown, to when their defense forgot to show up against Purdue, and going back even further to their loss against Miami, there has been no consistency for this team when they come up against teams that can actually hang with them. And it all rests squarely on the shoulders of the head coach. It’s his job to come up with the game plans, his job to prepare his players, his job to make adjustments when the game plan isn’t working, and he hasn’t done that!”
Co-host Rece Davis held his arm out, interrupting his colleague to get him to calm down. “Now I don’t know how this season’s going to turn out for Jim Tressel and his team. They still have a Iowa team that’s been struggling as well at home next week, before they head up to Ann Arbor to face second-ranked Michigan, who has been running roughshod through whatever opponent stands in front of them. And they have seven wins, so there’s no question we’ll be seeing the Buckeyes during bowl season. But I’ll ask you, Jesse, who’s to blame for Ohio State’s late-season disappointments?”
Jesse Palmer, former NFL signal caller and star of The Bachelor, now voiced his opinion. “Rece, Mark has a point that the coaching staff should shoulder a portion of the blame, but it also goes back to the players. You could have the perfect game plan, practice it non-stop from Monday through Friday, and it’ll all fall apart because of poor execution. That’s what I’m seeing from these players that worries me. There were so many defensive miscues against Purdue as the game wore on, and the offense became one-dimensional late in the game when they were playing catch-up. Especially with a freshman quarterback playing hurt, that’s something you never want to have happen.”
I sighed, knowing exactly where they were taking the topic.
“So Mark, let me ask you, do you think coach Tressel made a mistake in starting Nick Kapatos just a week after getting knocked out of the game against Northwestern with a shoulder injury?”
May’s eyes widened and his normally-expressive face nearly leapt out of the screen.
“Rece, I don’t even think he should’ve been starting all season! We saw what he could do against the cupcakes and poorer teams in the conference, but he’s struggled against the better teams he’s faced. I don’t understand why we aren’t asking why he isn’t the cause of yesterday’s loss.”
“Come on, Mark,” said Palmer, rolling his eyes. “You can’t be serious? I’ll give you the Miami game– that was Kapatos’ first road game. But to say he’s the one who should take all the blame is ludicrous!”
“Did the defense throw three interceptions, with one returned for the deciding touchdown? Did the defense get sacked twice and hurried more? Did the defense only complete fifty-two percent of their passes?”
I stared blankly at the TV screen as the talking heads continued to debate whose fault it was for our recent decline. It was either that, or I could continue to avoid my Facebook page – which had blown up with threats and lewd remarks following Saturday’s loss – and any other sports-related website on the slow Sunday afternoon. The Sunday Night Football game was over before halftime, and nothing could get me through a baseball game without making me want to put a bullet in my head – playoffs or not.
And going outside wasn’t an option, as half the walkways and roads were still covered with snow and it was absolutely freezing. That only left watching this as my only option… or I could stare at a wall until I felt tired.
Sighing and resigning to loneliness of the room, I simply shrugged and continued watching Jesse Palmer make his case for placing the blame for our struggles.
“No, but I’ll tell you what the defense did do; they gave up over five-hundred yards of total offense and thirty-eight points to a sub .500 team led by Robert Marve. Nick Kapatos wasn’t completely blameless for the loss, but neither was their defense. It was an all-around bad showing by the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
The door creaked open, and Josh came in and let his backpack fall onto the floor. He had bags under his eyes, and his hair was a mess; he had been in the library all afternoon for a big midterm in his American Sign Language class.
“How’s the library,” I asked, muting the television.
“Packed,” Josh said with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes. “You wouldn’t believe how many people were there. What’ve you been up to all day?”
I shrugged. “Not much. Banged out a little homework, but mostly I’ve been sitting on my ass and watching TV.”
Josh saw that I was watching College Football Live and grabbed the remote out of my hand, turning off his television. “I was watching that.”
“You’ve gotta stop torturing yourself over yesterday’s game.”
“I threw three picks against a team we should’ve crushed, one that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and I definitely fucked my shoulder up again. How exactly am I supposed to handle it?”
“The whole team played like shit yesterday, not just you. You can’t put a loss like that just on yourself.”
“Every single game we lost this year that I played from start to finish, I played like shit. I’m the reason why we’re not playing for a National Championship again. I’m the reason why we’re on a two-game losing streak and one more loss away from being left out of the rankings.”
Josh pulled chair up next to mine and looked me dead in the eye. We were probably only a foot away from each other. “Look, you’re my friend, so I’m being honest when I tell you that you need to quit being suck a fucking baby over this. So you threw a few picks, big fucking deal. Did you honestly think you’d throw nothing but touchdowns every night and never lose a game?”
I was slightly taken aback by Josh’s advice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Josh swear before, let alone so much in one conversation. But he was right; I had to start being more realistic about how I would perform in games. I was bound to have a few shitty performances this season, and probably a few more by the time I was finished playing here.
“You’ve got a point.” I rubbed my exhausted eyes, ready to tap out and go to bed. “I guess I got caught up in all the hype and shit.”
“Success can do that to anyone, especially a guy in your position.”
It was late, and I was ready to call it a night. I was starting to realize that every time I tasted a little bit of success, I let it go to my head and expected nothing short of perfection. The perfection part I understood – it was the curse of being a perfectionist – but why I let success affect me so easily baffled me. I always thought I was pretty level-headed and made sure to remember to be grateful for the position I was in. And yet every single time something great happened for me, my expectations for myself heightened and I would always let myself down.
I’d have to remind myself at some point after the season ended to schedule an appointment with the team psychiatrist or something, because there had to be a reason behind this.
I re-sprained my shoulder on the hit I took on my last interception, and the doctors said I was lucky I didn’t do any more damage throwing forty-eight times and being hit who knows how many times.
Just like last week, I was held out of the first couple of practices of the week as a precaution, and just like last week, I was finally allowed participate in light throwing drills on Wednesday before going forward with a full practice before the game against Iowa.
Unlike last week, though, it felt a little off during drills. I don’t know what it was, but there wasn’t as much oomph behind my passes as usual. Everything came out wobbling, and I couldn’t throw past ten yards without any real pain. And even more alarming was that no matter how much stretching I did, my shoulder wouldn’t loosen up.
My shoulder felt a little better Thursday, but not by a lot. I was able to throw slightly farther, but not as far enough to make any real difference. The balls were still coming out wobbly and flat, and most passes were easily intercepted in the scrimmage. It got so bad that I was eventually replaced by Bauserman for the ones and sent to the bench.
It was a frustrating turn of events that really started against Indiana. From doing almost nothing right against the Hoosiers just a few Saturdays ago to not being able to complete any of my throws against the second-string defense and everything in between was humbling, to say the least. I’ve never had everything football-related go so far downhill in such a short period of time before.
I was in the training room getting my shoulder looked at when an assistant walked in and told me coach wanted to see me. With my throwing shoulder rendered immobile by the ice and wrapping, I calmly made my way to coach Tressel’s office. Little did I know what was about to happen.
I knocked on the door, poking my head inside to see Tressel deeply focused on the desktop monitor on his desk. He was holding his remote, and rewinding and playing what must’ve been a clip of Iowa’s game film over and over again. After all these years of coaching top-level collegiate programs and achieving all kinds of success, it was this kind of dedication to the craft that I admired and strived to duplicate.
Standing beside him, though, was the team doctor. He was looking over something in a manila folder, probably someone’s medical file, and whispering something into coach’s ear. Whatever it was, it made the coach’s usually stoic demeanor crack; his burrow frowned ever so slightly, barely noticeable to the untrained eye.
“Coach,” I said, my head still just peeking through the door. “You wanted to see me?”
Coach Tressel looked up from the monitor, pressing a button on the remote before setting that down.
“Nicholas. Please come in.” I walked over to the lone chair on the opposite side of his desk and sat down. “I’m sure you’re familiar with our team physician, Doctor Salvatore McMichael?”
I turned to the middle-aged physician, the same man who urged coach to keep me out of the second half against Northwestern, and made a small grimace. I knew it was in my best interest that I didn’t play that second half, but I couldn’t get over how he went out of the way to guarantee something like a season-ending injury.
I politely nodded, and him the same, and I turned back to coach. “So what’s up?”
“Actually, I’d rather talk about how you’re doing. How’s the shoulder?”
I shrugged, acting as calm and collected as normal. “It’s fine. A little sore and tight here and there, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Well, Dr. McMichael believes otherwise.” The doctor pulled out a document from the folder and handed it to me.
It was the results from my latest x-ray, given the time-stamped date on the upper left-hand corner, but that was about as much of it I could understand. I blankly stared at the scan before handing it back.
“I’m not sure I understand what I’m looking at here.”
The doctor cleared his throat and held the x-ray in his free hand. “No offense, but I assumed you wouldn’t. You see, because you suffered a sprain to the same area as before, your shoulder is taking longer to heal. Which is why, based on the practice film I’ve been reviewing, your throws have been more erratic than before.”
The doctor took a sigh and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Which is why I’ve recommended to your coach that you not play in this Saturday’s game.”
“It’s not worth risking you injure yourself even worse this Saturday when we have Michigan coming up that could determine where we play in December or January.”
A slacked jaw and stunned silence was all I could do.
I wanted to protest, every fiber of my being was screaming at me to protest, to say something to convince coach otherwise… but I couldn’t muster a single word. It wouldn’t do any good if I were to make a huge stink and protest anyway. I could tell their minds were set and no amount of complaining would change anything.
I also had to admit to myself that I would do more harm than good if I were to play. If my shoulder wasn’t better by Saturday, there was no way I would be good enough to play a live game with opposing players actually allowed to tackle me at full force.
It was the weirdest feeling of my life: I was pissed off that someone made this decision, but at the same time resigned to the fact that it’s the right call.
“Are you alright with this, Nicholas?”
I shrugged and sighed. “Honestly, I’m pretty upset by all this. But it’s not like arguing with you and the good doctor over here will change either of your minds. I understand that if I was going to play on Saturday, I wouldn’t be anywhere near one-hundred percent and would probably cost us another win.”
“I’m surprised how well you’re taking this. It’s very mature of you.”
I shrugged again, flashing an honest smile. “Believe me, I’m pretty damn pissed that I won’t get the chance to play this weekend, but I know it’s for the best of the team that I sit on the bench and help out any way I can. Whether it’s helping call plays, being the water-boy, or whatever; you ask it, and I’ll do it.”
As I went to shake their hands, every part of me was screaming to do something – anything – to make an argument. I knew it would futile and foolish, but that ultra-competitive side of me was begging to make a stand; to do anything possible to show the coach and doctor that I was able to willing to play.
I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it before anything dumb could come out of it.
Tressel tilted his head and showed a confused look. “You looked like you were about to say something. What’s on your mind?”
Damn, I was hoping he hadn’t seen that.
“It’s nothing, coach. Just something really stupid that would’ve probably put me in your dog house.”
I quickly left his office before I could do anything stupid, and made the long walk back to the locker room to get my things and leave.
The anger and frustration was still bubbling inside, rising and rising after I didn’t at least object to the decision. I resisted the urge to pick up a loose object and fling it through a window long enough to where I was outside the Woody Hayes Complex. I locked myself in my Explorer, and spent the next couple of minutes screaming and swearing at the top of my lungs. It was about all I could do without physically hurting myself any more than I already was, and it actually felt nice to blow some steam like that.
“This is SportsCenter host Linda Cohn at the top of the hour, and breaking news out of Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has announced that freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos will not be active this Saturday against Iowa due to a shoulder injury he suffered late in the game against Purdue. According to sources, the freshman was held out of practice for most of the week before returning to light drills on Wednesday. Coach Tressel stated that his injury wasn’t healing as well as they hoped it would, and that he believed it was in his player’s best interest if he did not play this Saturday. We’re joined live in-studio by ESPN college football analyst and former NFL GM Matt Millen.”
Cohn turned to Millen, the former college and NFL linebacker. “Matt, do you agree with coach Tressel’s decision to sit his starting quarterback against Iowa in the midst of a late-season losing streak?”
“Linda, I do agree with Jim Tressel in this instance. You can’t risk losing your young quarterback for the season, not after re-injuring the same shoulder that already forced him out of a game. He’s got a pretty good back-up in Joe Bauserman, two very talented running backs in Dan Herron and Jaamal Berry, and a very good defense. Regardless of the losing streak they’re in, I believe Jim Tressel and this team can right the ship and get them to a victory against Iowa this weekend.”
“Do Jim Tressel and his coaching staff change their game plan at all against Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes, who are coming into this game needing a win to become bowl eligible?”
“Um… I think you have to. When Bauserman last played against Northwestern, the opposing defense knew Ohio State couldn’t throw the ball with the same effectiveness and stacked the box against the run. The offense needs to strike first, get the ball to their playmakers, and not have their defense on the field for the majority of the game. If they can do all that, there’s no way they can lose this game.”
“If you recall prior to the Spring Game, coach Tressel stated that this job was Bauserman’s to lose, and then we all know what happened from there. Can the Buckeyes trust Bauserman as the starter after he couldn’t beat out a freshman for the position?”
“As bad as he looked in relief against Northwestern, I don’t see why they can’t. He’s been in the system for years, he’s incredibly familiar with these players and the playbook, and he should be able to manage the game enough to not put all the pressure on the defense and the run game.”
“Matt, what about Iowa? They started the season 3-1 before losing four straight and are on the verge of missing out on a bowl berth. Can they win this game against a team they haven’t beaten since 2004?”
“Any given Sunday, Linda. On any given Sunday, the supposedly inferior team can rise up and take down the favorite. Heck, it happened last week at Purdue. James Vandenberg will be returning after spraining his ankle against Penn State a few weeks ago, and he should help this offense right itself. This should be a close game, but I still see Ohio State winning it.”
While I usually enjoyed quite rides back home, this one was unbearable. Every single poor throw I made, every turnover we gave away, and every defensive mistake was playing on a loop that entire time in my head.
I kept trying to rationalize every mistake we made over the course of the game, especially mine. Dev had to have slipped while running his route on the pick at the end of the first half, Dom and the rest of the offensive line couldn’t give me the time to set my feet, if I didn’t have to heave it at the end of the game just to get us in a position for a last-second miracle, and maybe if we could run the ball, I wouldn’t have had to throw it so often…
No, enough of that. Those were my mistakes, and mine alone. I was the one making the decisions out there, waiting too long or staring down my receiver too much. Keeping myself blameless wasn’t going to improve the win column, and it certainly wasn’t going to help me in the long run.
Aside from a quick visit to the trainer’s room to get my shoulder iced and wrapped, I was the first one out of the facilities. I didn’t want to see anyone, listen to anyone, or certainly speak to anyone. I just wanted it to be Monday so I could get back to work and put the loss behind me.
The next day’s rankings were released, and sure enough we dropped in the polls… hard. Our loss, coupled with no real upsets on the weekend, caused us to fall from eighth and on the fringe of a BCS bowl berth to twenty-third, just another loss away from dropping out of the rankings entirely. The combined loss and slip in the rankings caused plenty of uproar and overreactions from the fans and media alike.
“This is, without question, one of the most disappointing seasons a defending national champion could ever have in the history of college football,” Mark May harped from his chair on the College Football Live studio in Bristol. “This team brought back so much talent across the board, looking to become the first team to repeat since the 1994-95 Nebraska Cornhuskers, and to have them almost out of the rankings entirely is unbelievable. In the last two games, and most of this season for that matter, there’s been a startling show of inconsistent play.”
The former Pitt linebacker continued. “From the loss against Northwestern, where they couldn’t buy a touchdown, to when their defense forgot to show up against Purdue, and going back even further to their loss against Miami, there has been no consistency for this team when they come up against teams that can actually hang with them. And it all rests squarely on the shoulders of the head coach. It’s his job to come up with the game plans, his job to prepare his players, his job to make adjustments when the game plan isn’t working, and he hasn’t done that!”
Co-host Rece Davis held his arm out, interrupting his colleague to get him to calm down. “Now I don’t know how this season’s going to turn out for Jim Tressel and his team. They still have a Iowa team that’s been struggling as well at home next week, before they head up to Ann Arbor to face second-ranked Michigan, who has been running roughshod through whatever opponent stands in front of them. And they have seven wins, so there’s no question we’ll be seeing the Buckeyes during bowl season. But I’ll ask you, Jesse, who’s to blame for Ohio State’s late-season disappointments?”
Jesse Palmer, former NFL signal caller and star of The Bachelor, now voiced his opinion. “Rece, Mark has a point that the coaching staff should shoulder a portion of the blame, but it also goes back to the players. You could have the perfect game plan, practice it non-stop from Monday through Friday, and it’ll all fall apart because of poor execution. That’s what I’m seeing from these players that worries me. There were so many defensive miscues against Purdue as the game wore on, and the offense became one-dimensional late in the game when they were playing catch-up. Especially with a freshman quarterback playing hurt, that’s something you never want to have happen.”
I sighed, knowing exactly where they were taking the topic.
“So Mark, let me ask you, do you think coach Tressel made a mistake in starting Nick Kapatos just a week after getting knocked out of the game against Northwestern with a shoulder injury?”
May’s eyes widened and his normally-expressive face nearly leapt out of the screen.
“Rece, I don’t even think he should’ve been starting all season! We saw what he could do against the cupcakes and poorer teams in the conference, but he’s struggled against the better teams he’s faced. I don’t understand why we aren’t asking why he isn’t the cause of yesterday’s loss.”
“Come on, Mark,” said Palmer, rolling his eyes. “You can’t be serious? I’ll give you the Miami game– that was Kapatos’ first road game. But to say he’s the one who should take all the blame is ludicrous!”
“Did the defense throw three interceptions, with one returned for the deciding touchdown? Did the defense get sacked twice and hurried more? Did the defense only complete fifty-two percent of their passes?”
I stared blankly at the TV screen as the talking heads continued to debate whose fault it was for our recent decline. It was either that, or I could continue to avoid my Facebook page – which had blown up with threats and lewd remarks following Saturday’s loss – and any other sports-related website on the slow Sunday afternoon. The Sunday Night Football game was over before halftime, and nothing could get me through a baseball game without making me want to put a bullet in my head – playoffs or not.
And going outside wasn’t an option, as half the walkways and roads were still covered with snow and it was absolutely freezing. That only left watching this as my only option… or I could stare at a wall until I felt tired.
Sighing and resigning to loneliness of the room, I simply shrugged and continued watching Jesse Palmer make his case for placing the blame for our struggles.
“No, but I’ll tell you what the defense did do; they gave up over five-hundred yards of total offense and thirty-eight points to a sub .500 team led by Robert Marve. Nick Kapatos wasn’t completely blameless for the loss, but neither was their defense. It was an all-around bad showing by the Ohio State Buckeyes.”
The door creaked open, and Josh came in and let his backpack fall onto the floor. He had bags under his eyes, and his hair was a mess; he had been in the library all afternoon for a big midterm in his American Sign Language class.
“How’s the library,” I asked, muting the television.
“Packed,” Josh said with a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes. “You wouldn’t believe how many people were there. What’ve you been up to all day?”
I shrugged. “Not much. Banged out a little homework, but mostly I’ve been sitting on my ass and watching TV.”
Josh saw that I was watching College Football Live and grabbed the remote out of my hand, turning off his television. “I was watching that.”
“You’ve gotta stop torturing yourself over yesterday’s game.”
“I threw three picks against a team we should’ve crushed, one that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and I definitely fucked my shoulder up again. How exactly am I supposed to handle it?”
“The whole team played like shit yesterday, not just you. You can’t put a loss like that just on yourself.”
“Every single game we lost this year that I played from start to finish, I played like shit. I’m the reason why we’re not playing for a National Championship again. I’m the reason why we’re on a two-game losing streak and one more loss away from being left out of the rankings.”
Josh pulled chair up next to mine and looked me dead in the eye. We were probably only a foot away from each other. “Look, you’re my friend, so I’m being honest when I tell you that you need to quit being suck a fucking baby over this. So you threw a few picks, big fucking deal. Did you honestly think you’d throw nothing but touchdowns every night and never lose a game?”
I was slightly taken aback by Josh’s advice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Josh swear before, let alone so much in one conversation. But he was right; I had to start being more realistic about how I would perform in games. I was bound to have a few shitty performances this season, and probably a few more by the time I was finished playing here.
“You’ve got a point.” I rubbed my exhausted eyes, ready to tap out and go to bed. “I guess I got caught up in all the hype and shit.”
“Success can do that to anyone, especially a guy in your position.”
It was late, and I was ready to call it a night. I was starting to realize that every time I tasted a little bit of success, I let it go to my head and expected nothing short of perfection. The perfection part I understood – it was the curse of being a perfectionist – but why I let success affect me so easily baffled me. I always thought I was pretty level-headed and made sure to remember to be grateful for the position I was in. And yet every single time something great happened for me, my expectations for myself heightened and I would always let myself down.
I’d have to remind myself at some point after the season ended to schedule an appointment with the team psychiatrist or something, because there had to be a reason behind this.
I re-sprained my shoulder on the hit I took on my last interception, and the doctors said I was lucky I didn’t do any more damage throwing forty-eight times and being hit who knows how many times.
Just like last week, I was held out of the first couple of practices of the week as a precaution, and just like last week, I was finally allowed participate in light throwing drills on Wednesday before going forward with a full practice before the game against Iowa.
Unlike last week, though, it felt a little off during drills. I don’t know what it was, but there wasn’t as much oomph behind my passes as usual. Everything came out wobbling, and I couldn’t throw past ten yards without any real pain. And even more alarming was that no matter how much stretching I did, my shoulder wouldn’t loosen up.
My shoulder felt a little better Thursday, but not by a lot. I was able to throw slightly farther, but not as far enough to make any real difference. The balls were still coming out wobbly and flat, and most passes were easily intercepted in the scrimmage. It got so bad that I was eventually replaced by Bauserman for the ones and sent to the bench.
It was a frustrating turn of events that really started against Indiana. From doing almost nothing right against the Hoosiers just a few Saturdays ago to not being able to complete any of my throws against the second-string defense and everything in between was humbling, to say the least. I’ve never had everything football-related go so far downhill in such a short period of time before.
I was in the training room getting my shoulder looked at when an assistant walked in and told me coach wanted to see me. With my throwing shoulder rendered immobile by the ice and wrapping, I calmly made my way to coach Tressel’s office. Little did I know what was about to happen.
I knocked on the door, poking my head inside to see Tressel deeply focused on the desktop monitor on his desk. He was holding his remote, and rewinding and playing what must’ve been a clip of Iowa’s game film over and over again. After all these years of coaching top-level collegiate programs and achieving all kinds of success, it was this kind of dedication to the craft that I admired and strived to duplicate.
Standing beside him, though, was the team doctor. He was looking over something in a manila folder, probably someone’s medical file, and whispering something into coach’s ear. Whatever it was, it made the coach’s usually stoic demeanor crack; his burrow frowned ever so slightly, barely noticeable to the untrained eye.
“Coach,” I said, my head still just peeking through the door. “You wanted to see me?”
Coach Tressel looked up from the monitor, pressing a button on the remote before setting that down.
“Nicholas. Please come in.” I walked over to the lone chair on the opposite side of his desk and sat down. “I’m sure you’re familiar with our team physician, Doctor Salvatore McMichael?”
I turned to the middle-aged physician, the same man who urged coach to keep me out of the second half against Northwestern, and made a small grimace. I knew it was in my best interest that I didn’t play that second half, but I couldn’t get over how he went out of the way to guarantee something like a season-ending injury.
I politely nodded, and him the same, and I turned back to coach. “So what’s up?”
“Actually, I’d rather talk about how you’re doing. How’s the shoulder?”
I shrugged, acting as calm and collected as normal. “It’s fine. A little sore and tight here and there, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
“Well, Dr. McMichael believes otherwise.” The doctor pulled out a document from the folder and handed it to me.
It was the results from my latest x-ray, given the time-stamped date on the upper left-hand corner, but that was about as much of it I could understand. I blankly stared at the scan before handing it back.
“I’m not sure I understand what I’m looking at here.”
The doctor cleared his throat and held the x-ray in his free hand. “No offense, but I assumed you wouldn’t. You see, because you suffered a sprain to the same area as before, your shoulder is taking longer to heal. Which is why, based on the practice film I’ve been reviewing, your throws have been more erratic than before.”
The doctor took a sigh and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Which is why I’ve recommended to your coach that you not play in this Saturday’s game.”
“It’s not worth risking you injure yourself even worse this Saturday when we have Michigan coming up that could determine where we play in December or January.”
A slacked jaw and stunned silence was all I could do.
I wanted to protest, every fiber of my being was screaming at me to protest, to say something to convince coach otherwise… but I couldn’t muster a single word. It wouldn’t do any good if I were to make a huge stink and protest anyway. I could tell their minds were set and no amount of complaining would change anything.
I also had to admit to myself that I would do more harm than good if I were to play. If my shoulder wasn’t better by Saturday, there was no way I would be good enough to play a live game with opposing players actually allowed to tackle me at full force.
It was the weirdest feeling of my life: I was pissed off that someone made this decision, but at the same time resigned to the fact that it’s the right call.
“Are you alright with this, Nicholas?”
I shrugged and sighed. “Honestly, I’m pretty upset by all this. But it’s not like arguing with you and the good doctor over here will change either of your minds. I understand that if I was going to play on Saturday, I wouldn’t be anywhere near one-hundred percent and would probably cost us another win.”
“I’m surprised how well you’re taking this. It’s very mature of you.”
I shrugged again, flashing an honest smile. “Believe me, I’m pretty damn pissed that I won’t get the chance to play this weekend, but I know it’s for the best of the team that I sit on the bench and help out any way I can. Whether it’s helping call plays, being the water-boy, or whatever; you ask it, and I’ll do it.”
As I went to shake their hands, every part of me was screaming to do something – anything – to make an argument. I knew it would futile and foolish, but that ultra-competitive side of me was begging to make a stand; to do anything possible to show the coach and doctor that I was able to willing to play.
I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it before anything dumb could come out of it.
Tressel tilted his head and showed a confused look. “You looked like you were about to say something. What’s on your mind?”
Damn, I was hoping he hadn’t seen that.
“It’s nothing, coach. Just something really stupid that would’ve probably put me in your dog house.”
I quickly left his office before I could do anything stupid, and made the long walk back to the locker room to get my things and leave.
The anger and frustration was still bubbling inside, rising and rising after I didn’t at least object to the decision. I resisted the urge to pick up a loose object and fling it through a window long enough to where I was outside the Woody Hayes Complex. I locked myself in my Explorer, and spent the next couple of minutes screaming and swearing at the top of my lungs. It was about all I could do without physically hurting myself any more than I already was, and it actually felt nice to blow some steam like that.
“This is SportsCenter host Linda Cohn at the top of the hour, and breaking news out of Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has announced that freshman quarterback Nick Kapatos will not be active this Saturday against Iowa due to a shoulder injury he suffered late in the game against Purdue. According to sources, the freshman was held out of practice for most of the week before returning to light drills on Wednesday. Coach Tressel stated that his injury wasn’t healing as well as they hoped it would, and that he believed it was in his player’s best interest if he did not play this Saturday. We’re joined live in-studio by ESPN college football analyst and former NFL GM Matt Millen.”
Cohn turned to Millen, the former college and NFL linebacker. “Matt, do you agree with coach Tressel’s decision to sit his starting quarterback against Iowa in the midst of a late-season losing streak?”
“Linda, I do agree with Jim Tressel in this instance. You can’t risk losing your young quarterback for the season, not after re-injuring the same shoulder that already forced him out of a game. He’s got a pretty good back-up in Joe Bauserman, two very talented running backs in Dan Herron and Jaamal Berry, and a very good defense. Regardless of the losing streak they’re in, I believe Jim Tressel and this team can right the ship and get them to a victory against Iowa this weekend.”
“Do Jim Tressel and his coaching staff change their game plan at all against Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes, who are coming into this game needing a win to become bowl eligible?”
“Um… I think you have to. When Bauserman last played against Northwestern, the opposing defense knew Ohio State couldn’t throw the ball with the same effectiveness and stacked the box against the run. The offense needs to strike first, get the ball to their playmakers, and not have their defense on the field for the majority of the game. If they can do all that, there’s no way they can lose this game.”
“If you recall prior to the Spring Game, coach Tressel stated that this job was Bauserman’s to lose, and then we all know what happened from there. Can the Buckeyes trust Bauserman as the starter after he couldn’t beat out a freshman for the position?”
“As bad as he looked in relief against Northwestern, I don’t see why they can’t. He’s been in the system for years, he’s incredibly familiar with these players and the playbook, and he should be able to manage the game enough to not put all the pressure on the defense and the run game.”
“Matt, what about Iowa? They started the season 3-1 before losing four straight and are on the verge of missing out on a bowl berth. Can they win this game against a team they haven’t beaten since 2004?”
“Any given Sunday, Linda. On any given Sunday, the supposedly inferior team can rise up and take down the favorite. Heck, it happened last week at Purdue. James Vandenberg will be returning after spraining his ankle against Penn State a few weeks ago, and he should help this offense right itself. This should be a close game, but I still see Ohio State winning it.”
DaaaaaBears
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- May 30, 2006
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I see the shoulder injury lingering for a while. But maybe Bauserman plays so bad again that Kap relieves him in the second half.
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen as we welcome you to another presentation of Big Ten football on the Big Ten Network. The season is winding down, and teams are now looking at where they’ll be playing come December and January. With Derek Rackley, this is Evan Collins from Ohio Stadium, with Hugh Leo down on the sidelines. From frigid Columbus, Ohio, we’ve got the four-and-five Iowa Hawkeyes and the twenty-third ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, who hold a seven-and-three record on the season.”
Standing around on the sidelines, not wearing my pads, not warming up in drills before taking part in a must-win conference game, felt very foreign to me. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself, so I wandered around the field observing all the other positions warm up before making my way back to the quarterback drills. It was a neat way of seeing how the other positions worked, as how I never got the chance to see it first hand for a period of time, but it felt awful to not be preparing for today’s game with the others.
I might as well have been watching the game from back in my dorm, because it would be the exact same feeling.
“How do you think Iowa’s defense will react to Buckeyes quarterback Joe Bauserman under center, as opposed to freshman Nick Kapatos?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more blitzes and stacked fronts from the Hawkeye defense to prevent big runs from senior Dan Herron and sophomore Jaamal Berry. Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa defense are going to force this Buckeye offense to beat them through the air, which they haven’t been able to do when Bauserman has been on the field with the first team. It’s going to put more pressure on this ground game, which has been inconsistent through much of the season, to keep the offense moving and let the defense catch their breath.”
“I think Buckeyes Head Coach Jim Tressel is really going to miss Kapatos out there today. Not just for his arm, but for his legs. He’s shown time and time again this season to extend plays with his mobility, something Bauserman lacks.”
“He’s not the fastest quarterback in the country, but Kapatos has that ability to sense where the pressure is coming from and move accordingly, giving him time to find that open man or tuck it and run for positive yards.”
Bauserman let rip a dart to James Jackson, who deftly caught it and turned up-field before the rep ended and the next receiver stepped up.
“There you go, Joe,” I said, clapping him on the helmet. “Just like playing pitch and catch.”
He gave me a short nod as he took the simulated snap and dropped back for another pass.
The last game Joe played against starters was pretty horrific, to put it politely. He missed guys who were wide open, made bad decisions, and played a big hand in the loss.
I wasn’t sure if it was his confidence, his level of ability, or a combination of both. And since I couldn’t give him the talent, I figured I could at the very least keep his spirits up with encouragement.
…
“First down for Ohio State after the touchback, and here comes the redshirt senior Joe Bauserman out to lead the offense in his first start in place of the injured freshman Nick Kapatos.”
“He hasn’t played too bad this year in relief time, throwing for two touchdowns against two interceptions, so they’ll need the running game to step up today and take some of the pressure off Bauserman.”
It was a straight-forward gameplan today; keep the ball out of Basuerman’s hands for as much as possible and pound the rock with Herron and Berry. If the defense could keep this from being another shootout, I couldn’t see why we shouldn’t win this.
“Bauserman takes the snap, hands if off to Herron and it’s on the ground! The left guard St-Croix falls on the football, and Ohio State dodges an early bullet on first down!”
“Bauserman never got a clean handle on the snap, and he kind of pitches it to Herron when it should’ve been right in his gut.”
I hung my head and sighed. If that play was going to be an indication of things to come, this was going to be a rough day.
…
“Herron on a sweep outside… he’s pushed out just at the marker, and that’s a first down!”
…
“Herron again up the middle, and it’s a gain of seven as he drags defenders to the forty yard-line.”
…
“Bauserman drops back, looks deep… checks it down to Boren but he’s brought down a few yards shy of the first down marker to bring out the punting unit.”
…
“After the punt was downed at the fifteen, here comes the Iowa Hawkeyes and James Vandenberg. He’s looking to snap Iowa’s losing streak to Ohio State and get them to a bowl bid this season after going 1-4 after a 3-1 start to the season.”
I was never impressed by Vandenberg whenever I saw him play on film. If there was a word to describe him, it would be ‘streaky’. One play he would throw a beautiful downfield pass to a double-covered receiver, and the next he would miss a wide open receiver six or seven yards in front of him.
Their receivers and tight end were decent, and their offensive line was always going to have a couple of NFL prospects, but their sophomore running back Marcus Coker was our defense’s main worry this week.
Last year’s Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year, Coker’s been the most consistent player on the Hawkeye offense, averaging 95.3 yards per game and having scored nine touchdowns over the year. If we couldn’t stop him completely, the defense had to at least limit the damage he would cause.
“Vandenberg pitches to the sophomore Coker, and he’s around the corner with no one around him! He’s pushed out of bounds past the first down marker at the thirty yard-line after a gain of fifteen.”
Shit.
…
“Another run up the middle for Coker, this one a gain of six, and he continues to move the ball against this Buckeye defense.”
“You know, Evan, I don’t think they’ve ever recovered from giving up thirty-eight points against Purdue a week ago. Heck, I don’t think they’ve recovered from giving up two late touchdowns against Northwestern. If they want to win this game, they need to tighten up along the front seven and force Vandenberg to beat them with his arm.”
…
“Vandenberg hands off, no it’s a play-action! He steps up, trying to scramble, but he’s brought down for a sack on third down by the linebacker Dorian Bell! That’s a loss of five on the sack, the first of the game for either team, and that drops Iowa out of field goal range to force the punt.”
I was one of the first ones to congratulate the redshirt sophomore linebacker as he ran off the field, smacking him on the helmet and giving him a light chest bump. If I wasn’t going to have an active part in today’s game, I was going to whatever it took to keep this team fired up on the sidelines.
…
“Herron on a run up the middle, and he breaks a tackle! Dragging defenders across the first down marker until he’s taken down at the thirty-three yard-line! Hard running from the Buckeye senior as he picks up thirteen yards and a Buckeye first down.”
…
“Bauserman drops back, steps and throws it to Posey on a screen. Posey dances out of a tackle and has room! He’s past the first down marker and jukes out of another tackle! Past midfield…”
As soon as I saw DeVier get into the open field, I knew it was over. Only the best athletes in the world could keep up with the shifty receiver once he got into space, and Iowa certainly didn’t have them.
I confidently raised my arms in the air, running down the sideline as Posey continued to sprint down the field towards the endzone.
“He’s at the thirty… the twenty… the ten… touchdown Buckeyes! A seventy-seven yard run by the senior receiver from La Salle High School, and Ohio State jumps out to an early one-touchdown lead.”
“That play was all Posey on that one; he uses his agility and elusiveness to get into the open space, spinning and juking out of tackles, and then hits the afterburners with no one around him.”
Looking back at Posey maneuver his way into daylight on the Jumboscreen was like watching an old highlight reel of Dante Hall, the former special teams sensation for the Kansas City Chiefs in the early 2000s. I remember watching Hall do things will a ball that I thought could only be done in a game of Madden, and seeing Posey escape from danger brought me right back to those days.
…
“A slow first quarter coming to a close as Iowa sets up for a third and long from their own nineteen yard line.”
“Evan, neither team has been able to sustain any time-consuming drives so far, with both offenses going for a combined three-of-nine on third down.”
“Five seconds to go and this looks to be the last play of the quarter. Vandenberg takes the snap… it’s a draw to Coker, and he’s got running room! He’s at the twenty-five, the thirty... and brought down at the thirty-nine yard-line for another nice run from the Hawkeye sophomore to move the chains!”
“A gutsy playcall by head coach Kirk Ferentz on third and long to give the ball to his playmaker running back, but it totally fooled this defense with the four receivers spread from the shotgun.”
…
“Another run for Coker, but this one only goes for a few inches.”
“Heck of a job by the defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins with the shoe-string tackle on Marcus Coker. If he misses that, the sophomore probably has another six or seven yards of daylight before being taken down.”
“Jim Bollman’s defense has struggled at times against the run today, and it’s not even the end of the first half! Thirty-three yards on just eight carries for the sophomore back, and if the Buckeye defense can’t think of a way to contain Coker, he could easily surpass the one-hundred yard mark before this game is over.”
…
“Another third and one, this time just shy of midfield, 7:17 to go in the quarter. The senior Vandenberg under center in the I-Formation, three receivers keeping tight along the offensive line.”
“Watch the pass,” I shouted to the defense, trying to make myself heard over the roar of the packed house at Ohio Stadium. “Watch the pass!”
The defense was stacking the box against the run, putting eight guys up towards the line while only leaving three DBs in press coverage.
“The fuck you talkin bout, Kap,” Cedric asked.
“God dammit, watch the fucking pass!” I turned from the action on the field to Cedric, giving me a sideways look. “It’s play-action all the way. How do you not see that?”
Cedric studied the offense, watching one of their receivers being sent in motion to the outside. But he simply shook his head.
“Man, I don’t see it. How you know they gonna pass?”
“Because that’s exactly what play I’d run.”
“Vandenberg takes the snap, fakes the handoff, drops back deep! He’s looking for the home run down the left side…”
The receiver got a good burst off the line and pulled a nice swim move on Corey Brown. By the time Vandenberg pulled the handoff away from Coker, the receiver already had a step on the corner. It was only difference between six points and an incompletion was downfield accuracy from the quarterback.
“Vandenberg lobs one down the field towards the endzone… and he’s got a man in stride for the touchdown! A pinpoint accurate throw from James Vandenberg to the redshirt freshman Kevonte Martin-Manley for six!”
“What an absolute dime from the junior Vandenberg. They sold the play-action beautifully on this play, and Martin-Manley got an excellent burst off the line and beat the press coverage. All Vandenberg had to do was drop the ball into Martin-Manley’s hands and watch him score.”
“Shit man,” said Cedric, watching the opposition celebrate their tying touchdown. “You like a god damn savant or something.”
“Yeah, it’s too bad I’m stuck on the offense.”
While seeing Martin-Manley beat the second-best corner on our team for a touchdown wasn’t devastating – it was bound to happen at some point in the game today – it definitely put a little concern in the back of everyone’s minds.
After getting shredded to bits by Robert Marve last week, and Dan Persa having his way with the secondary in the fourth quarter two weeks ago, it was starting to look like the defense was going to fall apart and force the team to rely on the offense. And while Herron was looking like he was going to take control today, I doubted Bauserman could carry the load when the defense forced him to beat them with his arm.
…
“Bauserman takes the snap, drops back to pass. He sidesteps to avoid the blitz, but he backs right into the waiting arms of an Iowa defenseman for the sack! That was Lebron Daniel on the sack, a loss of five, and the redshirt senior practically fell into his lap on that one.”
“This was really a no-win scenario for Joe Bauserman. Either he takes the sack from the blitzing linebacker, or he takes the sack from the defensive end. His receivers weren’t anywhere close to being open, and he doesn’t have the legs or escape-ability to make something happen to get out of the pocket.”
“Not a good day for Bauserman with a shade under five minutes to go before halftime. He’s passed for ninety-two yards, but a good majority of those yards came on DeVier Posey’s seventy-seven yard touchdown scamper early in the first quarter. Since then, nothing has been going right for Ohio State in the air.”
“It’s a good thing Herron’s been able to move the ball on the ground, or else Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes would be in trouble.”
…
“On comes the senior Eric Guthrie for the punt, DeVier Posey back waiting for the return. Just under three minutes to go before halftime, both teams tied at seven. Guthrie takes the snap, and sends a booming punt downfield. The senior Posey takes the ball at his own twenty-one and heads upfield. He’s got blockers, and he’s into open space!”
“Uh oh, here we go again!”
“He’s at the thirty… the forty… past midfield, he could take it all the way! At the forty…the thirty… and pushed out of bounds by the punter at the Iowa twenty-nine yard line! A fifty yard return from DeVier Posey, and that gives Ohio State outstanding field position late in the first half!”
…
“First down for the Buckeyes, and they’re out in the shotgun with two tight ends on the field, the freshman Josh Oversonn placed in the slot. Bauserman takes the snap, and hands it off to Herron on a sweep to the left. He’s around the edge and has room to run…”
The second Herron made it around the edge of the line, I knew he was going all the way. The receivers were in perfect blocking positions, Dominic got off the line quickly and was pulling ahead of Herron, and Josh was clearing the way before either of them made it five yards past the LOS.
All that was left was the inevitable…
“Herron’s got the first down and is looking for more! He’s at the fifteen… the ten… and into the endzone for a touchdown! His tenth of the season, and Ohio State responds with a quick score before halftime!”
“Excellent downfield blocking by the Buckeyes on this play, especially from the freshmen Oversonn and St-Croix. I swear, the guard must’ve bowled over at least two defenders on that run, and Oversonn made the key block on the safety to allow Herron to cut outside for the score. Picture perfect execution by the Buckeyes offense, Derek!”
In reality the defense should’ve seen something was up when Josh was lined up as a slot receiver. He was a good pass catcher, but he wasn’t a dynamic enough threat to be placed in the slot. Not yet, anyway. But either the defensive coordinator was an idiot and didn’t think that way, or he legitimately thought Josh was going to be used as a receiver. Regardless, Josh has continued to make contributions late in the season.
And Dom continued to surprise me with his athleticism off the line. He was still making the occasional freshman mistake here and there, though they’ve gone down a lot as the season went on, but his overall performance had been improving towards the end of the year. Mike Adams was far and away the best lineman on the team, probably in the nation, but Dom was ready to take his place as the top lineman in the country if he continued to develop.
And then there was Dan Herron, our workhorse running back who was on his way to another big day if he kept running like he did in this half. Even though I was the one under center, Dan was the clear-cut leader in the huddle, something I was more than willing to admit. I tried my best to lead by example, but for the time being I was more than happy to follow rather than lead.
...
“Iowa looking to continue their impressive drive late in the second quarter and tie the game with under a minute remaining. Vandenberg drops back… scrambles around and dumps it off to Coker, who takes it five yards before being dropped by a trio of Buckeye defenders. But it’s enough for an Iowa first down.”
…
“Vandenberg rolls out to his right, chased by a duo of Buckeye defenders. Vandenberg throws on the run and hits his receiver along the sideline! It’s the tight end Brad Herman with the catch of seven.”
…
“Another run from Coker to the right side, and he’s brought down after a gain of seven and another first down.”
“Iowa’s moving the ball with ease and taking time off the clock doing it.”
…
“Third and five from Ohio State’s side of the fifty, under two minutes to go before halftime. Once again in the shotgun, Vandenberg takes the snap… fakes the handoff… looks over the middle and it’s caught for a first down! Martin-Manley with another reception, his third of the afternoon, for twelve yards and the Hawkeyes are continuing to move the ball with ease on this drive.”
…
“Second and eight from Ohio State’s twenty-two. Forty-seven seconds remain and Iowa has two timeouts at their disposal. Three receivers on the field, Vandenberg in the shotgun.”
I was waving a towel wildly to get the already-screaming crowd to yell even louder. The defense needed to make a stop here, even if it meant only giving up three points. A turnover right here would be ideal, but only surrendering a field goal would be acceptable.
“Vandenberg takes the snap, drops back. He’s under pressure, but he throws it to the endzone… intercepted! The Buckeyes come away with a turnover with just over forty seconds left in the first half!”
“That was Travis Howard with the interception in the endzone, and credit the defensive front seven with getting the pressure on Vandenberg to force the bad throw. It was underthrown, and Vandenberg continues his up-and-down season, throwing his fifteenth pick on the twenty-eleven campaign.”
…
The offensive coaching staff, especially coach Tressel, was furious during halftime. Drives weren’t being finished, points were left on the board from those unfinished drives, and we the guys out there weren’t clicking.
It wasn’t all Bauserman’s fault, although his 4-10 passing statistic wasn’t anything to cause blame to be shifted from him. If you took away the touchdown pass to Posey, he had only thrown for twenty yards, an amount I could easily surpass in one series. I was surprised Tressel kept with the redshirt senior instead of going to Guiton, but I had to trust in coach that he was making the right decision.
But like I said, it wasn’t all Joe’s fault. The receivers weren’t getting open, and the offensive line wasn’t consistently creating running lanes for Herron. Penalties were also killing us, negating at least five big plays on third downs.
Aside from giving up some gains from the running back Coker and the one touchdown pass midway through the previous quarter, the defense had regained their form from earlier in the year. They were flying all over the place, making the necessary tackles and causing havoc in the backfield for the Iowa quarterback.
“Coming out of halftime, neither offense has been able to get the ball moving with any sense of consistency. Seven minutes into the third quarter and there have been only two successful third down conversions between both teams.”
“Whatever these coaches told their players in the locker room hasn’t translated onto the field in the slightest, but Ohio State still clings to their seven-point lead early in the third quarter.”
“Buckeyes in the shotgun on third down, Bauserman takes the snap, steps back to pass… throws an out to the right sideline and it’s intercepted! The cornerback Micah Hyde snatches the ball out of the air and is brought down at the Ohio State twenty-seven!”
“A horrible read by Joe Bauserman; he tries to get it to his senior receiver, but Posey was just blanketed. The only way he could’ve gotten that ball to the senior out of Cincinnati, Ohio was if it was a frozen-rope of a pass, and it clearly never got a good release out of Bauserman’s hands.”
Tressel gave Joe an icy stare, and the redshirt senior walked over to the huddle like a dog with a tail between its legs. He had all the time in the world to go through his reads, there was no extra pressure from the opposing defense, and Iowa didn’t switch up their coverage scheme; it was simply a poorly thrown ball that never should’ve been considered in the first place.
“As the Hawkeye offense comes onto the field, you have to be questioning Jim Tressel’s decision to not only name Bauserman the starter for today’s game, but for deactivating the normal starter Kapatos. He looks perfectly fine standing there on the sidelines in his street clothes!”
“Coach Tressel and the OSU training staff obviously know something we don’t about Kapatos’ health, but I agree that he shouldn’t have been deactivated today. It leaves the Buckeyes with one disappointing starter and an unknown commodity sitting on the bench, and it puts them in a tough spot to over-rely on their backs Herron and Berry.”
…
“Vandenberg stuffs the ball in Coker’s gut for a dive up the middle, and Coker dances to the outside! He’s at the twenty… the ten… and high-steps it into the endzone for a touchdown! A nice display of running from last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and the Hawkeyes are one point away from tying this game at fourteen.”
…
“Herron dances around, tries to find the corner, but can only come away with a few yards before being dropped at the twenty-three. Not much running room for the senior from Warren, Ohio, so he’s lucky he could get what he could.”
…
“An end-around to DeVier Posey, and he’s got the corner! He’s at the first down maker and dragged down at the thirty-four for a gain of eleven on second down.”
…
“Another dive up the middle, this time to Jamaal Berry, and he’s brought down after a five yard gain.”
“Slowly but surely, Ohio State is moving the ball with success on the ground and winding that clock down.”
…
“Another third and short for the Buckeyes, looking for their fifth first down of the drive.”
“And they’ve done it all on the ground on this drive. They’ve run eight run plays to just two passing plays, so clearly Jim Tressel and his offensive staff have liked what they’ve seen from the ground attack midway through the first half.”
“Bauserman takes the snap from the shotgun, backpedals and dumps it off to Berry on a screen pass. Berry’s out in the open field, and he’s brought from behind… and he loses the football!”
“And for the second time this quarter, Ohio State gives up the football on their side of the fifty. What a terrible turn of events for the twenty-third ranked Buckeyes late in the third quarter.”
It was a frustrating continuation of giving the ball away at inopportune times, dating all the way back to the Northwestern game. I couldn’t tell if it was poor ball-handling techniques, something mental or something else.
With our defense coming onto the field again to defend against the suddenly-hot Hawkeye offense, the only thing I knew was that these turnover problems needed to stop if we wanted to win this game.
…
“Coker bounces to the outside, and he’s ridden out of bounds after a four yard gain on first down from Ohio State’s side of the fifty.”
…
“Coker looks to get around the edge, cuts back inside, and is taken down after a gain of three. Good gang tackling by the linebackers Sabino and Bell on the play.”
…
“The Buckeye faithful, coming to life here late in the third quarter, urging their defense for a stop on third and three. Vandenberg takes the snap, fakes the pitch, tries to avoid the pressure and he’s brought down for a sack on third down! John Simon on the quarterback sack, his seventh of the season, and it drops the Hawkeye quarterback five yards behind the line of scrimmage to force a fourth and long.”
“A great job quickly getting off the line by the junior captain, easily getting avoiding the double team by the center and right guard and dropping Vandenberg with ease.”
“Say what you will about their offense’s struggles today, but you can’t deny that Ohio State’s defense has more than picked up the slack today.”
“If you call giving up seventy-three yards and a score on the ground picking up the slack, then sure.”
“Hey, compared to what they gave up against Purdue last week, I’d consider this an improvement. At least they haven’t let Vandenberg carve them up like Purdue’s Robert Marve did.”
“Vandenberg takes the snap, hands off to Coker up the middle, and he’s met and the line and loses the football! Etienne Sabino with the pop, but an Iowa lineman falls on the football four yards back. Almost a turnover for the Buckeyes, but they fall just short.”
“Sabino’s forced fumble, only his second of the season, drops the Hawkeyes out of field goal range and forces the punt, but I bet they would’ve loved to get the football right here at midfield.”
…
“Herron taking the handoff and he’s around the edge. Taken down by the safety at the fifteen for a gain of five on first down.”
…
“Another handoff to Herron, and he dances out of a tackle before being tripped up from behind. A gain of six for a first down, and Herron is having a fantastic day thus far. The senior is closing in on one-hundred yards on twenty-three carries.”
…
“Jaamal Berry in to spell Herron, and he bursts up the middle for a six yard gain on first down!”
“OSU is carving up this defense on the ground, running for a combined one-hundred twenty-seven yards on thirty-three carries.”
…
“A pitch to Herron, and he’s around the corner. He’s got the first down and is pushed out of bounds after a nine yard gain.”
…
“Herron up the middle, and he falls forward for a three yard gain, but that gives the senior running back one-hundred yards on the afternoon.”
…
“Bauserman with the play-action, he looks deep… but checks it down to his tight end Stoneburner and he’s brought down by a trio of Hawkeye defenders at the forty-three yard-line for a gain of four on second down.”
…
“Bauserman back to pass again… he dumps it off to Berry on a screen and the ball is knocked free! A Hawkeye defender falls on the fumble, and it’s Iowa ball on the Ohio State side of the field.!”
“You could hear the collective groan from the Ohio State sideline and the crowd all the way from up here.”
“Very little has gone right for the home team today, and you’ve got to be wondering if they can pull themselves out of this funk if you’re a Buckeye fan.”
…
With the offense unable to have any sustained success, it was on the defense to keep Iowa from scoring any more points. They were easily keeping their passing offense in check, and Coker was finding less and less running lanes to run through.
…
“Bauserman drops back, rolls to his left… tries to fit it to Posey and its swatted away by the safety, incomplete and that brings up forth down late in the third quarter. Derek, Joe Bauserman is having an absolutely dreadful afternoon. He’s only completed six of fifteen passes for one-hundred yards for one touchdown early in the opening quarter, but he’s also been sacked twice today and threw an awful interception earlier in the third quarter. Why has Tressel stuck with the redshirt senior this far into the game?”
“Because he hasn’t done a whole lot to warrant a change at the position. He hasn’t put the team in a compromising position, nor has he made any game-changing mistakes. As long as the running game keeps humming along, and as long as they don’t get in a position where they have to rely on Bauserman to win this game, why not keep him in?”
“Ben Buchanan sends back another punt, his seventh of the afternoon, and it’s fielded by Marvin McNutt at the twenty-five yard-line. He finds a crease, and he’s got blockers in front of him…”
“He’s got room to run!”
“Past midfield, at the forty… the thirty… stiff-arms the punter Buchanan and he cuts away from the sideline! High-steps it from the ten and he flips into the endzone for the touchdown! A seventy-five yard punt return for the senior receiver out of Hazelwood Central High, and that gives Iowa a six point lead with under a minute to go in the third quarter!”
…
“We start the fourth quarter with Ohio State at midfield as they try to draw even with the visiting Hawkeyes on third and long. Bauserman fakes a handoff, drops back… tries to get the pass away and he’s picked off! Tyler Neilson with the takeaway, and the senior’s brought down before he can cross the fifty yard-line!”
“Bauserman tried to do too much on this play. He should’ve kept the ball and just taken the sack rather than try to pass it off to Herron.”
“And the bad day for Bauserman continues. There’s no way Jim Tressel leaves him in after this turnover. If he does, I’d be shocked.”
An Iowa field goal was all that came out of the ensuing drive off the turnover and to almost no one’s surprise (on the sideline, at least), Joe stayed in the game. It would take a lot for coach Tressel to pull someone out of the game, and we were only ten points behind with an entire quarter to go.
The teams continued to trade punts throughout the fourth quarter, neither offense able to do much against the two defenses. And whenever something got started on offense, either a boneheaded play or penalty would kill whatever momentum was built up.
“Buckeyes trailing twenty-four to fourteen, just under eleven minutes to go with the ball inside their own thirty yard-line. Trying to get a sense of an offense started, they come out in the shotgun, four receivers spread with Herron in the backfield.”
“Given Bauserman’s struggles, even in the face of a third and long with less than ten minutes to play, they have to run it. This defense hasn’t been able to stop Herron and Berry, with the two combining for over one-hundred seventy-five yards on the ground.”
“It’s a direct snap to Herron, and he explodes up the middle! He spins out a tackle, dances out of another and he’s past midfield! Brought down at the forty-five for a gain of twenty-five, and that’s a huge gain on third down for the senior back!”
…
“Another pitch to Herron and he’s around the corner! Dragging defenders across the thirty-five for a ten yard gain and another first down. That puts Herron over one-hundred thirty yards on the afternoon, closing in on his season high of one thirty-three set during the opening game of the season against Akron.”
…
“Third and seven, nine-forty-six left in the final quarter of play, and Ohio State is spreading the field with four receivers and second tight end Oversonn set up along the field. Bauserman drops back, it’s a throw across the middle and he’s got a man! Josh Oversonn with the catch in traffic and he’s brought down after a gain of eight for a big first down!”
…
“Bauserman drops back, is immediately under pressure… tries to scramble out of it, but he’s taken down and the ball pops free! It’s kicked around before an Iowa lineman recovers the football! What an awful way for this drive to end for the Buckeyes, and Iowa looks to wind down this clock with the ball at their own twenty-one yard line with nine thirty-three remaining in the game.”
The boos, which had been growing with the lack of offensive scores for most of the second half, were reaching fever pitch after the last turnover. It felt like the fans were going to storm the field and drag the scapegoat Bauserman away to be hanged.
Joe came over to the sideline, staring at the turf ahead of him and took a seat at the far end of the bench as I walked over and gave him an encouraging pat on the helmet. It was all I could think of doing for someone having an awful game at the most awful time.
As Iowa moved the ball out of the shadow of their side of the field, I saw Guiton starting to warm up. I breathed a sigh of relief as the redshirt sophomore began to make the passes on the sideline. It was a long time coming that Guiton got his chance to play, as Bauserman was proving completely incompetent against the starters. And with Guiton, he brought an extra dimension of mobility and elusiveness that Bauserman lacked.
“Trent Mossbrucker on to try another field goal, this time from twenty-six yards to put them up by two scores. The snap is good, the hold is down… and the kick splits the uprights. We’ll take a break from Ohio Stadium with the Iowa Hawkeyes leading the Ohio State Buckeyes, twenty-seven to fourteen.”
…
“Following the touchback, the Buckeyes come out onto the field with under seven minutes remaining. And Kenny Guiton is coming out with the starters, replacing the ineffective Joe Bauserman to the approval of the Buckeye faithful.”
“Not a lot of action this season for the young quarterback, but we’ll see what he can do against this Hawkeye defense.”
“First down from the twenty, Guiton takes the snap, fakes the handoff to Herron, and he takes off around the right side… he jukes a defender as he crosses the first down marker and slides at the thirty-two for a gain of twelve. How about that for your first play of the game?”
…
“Guiton rolling left, throws on the run and he connects with Posey for a gain of seven along the sideline.”
…
“Another completion to Posey, and he’s brought down after a gain of fifteen.”
…
“Herron’s up the middle on a draw, and he’s loose! Past midfield, at the forty… the thirty… and he’s taken down from behind at the twenty-eight into Iowa territory!”
…
“Third down, three minutes to go in the game, Ohio State is bringing five receivers onto the field.”
“Watch for the blitz from Iowa, they haven’t been bringing a lot of pressure on this drive.”
“Guiton takes the snap, the blitz is on from Iowa… Guiton tries to get away and he’s brought down for another sack by the Hawkeye defense! Lebron Daniel with his second sack of the afternoon, and Tressel calls his first timeout as the field goal unit comes onto the field with two fifty-five to go in the game.”
Shannon booted his first field goal of the game, a twenty-seven yarder, to pull us to within a touchdown. For not practicing much this week against the starting scout team, Kenny looked good for his one drive. He was mobile, relatively accurate and kept the defense on their toes.
After Iowa’s kick return to their own thirty, starting strong-side linebacker Andrew Sweat came out limping, pointing to his knee as he was tended to by the training staff.
While the senior was being looked at, Cedric was called over by the linebackers coach, given a quick pep talk and sprinted out to the field to fill in.
“And on comes the freshman Cedric Summers in to replace Andrew Sweat. Summers has seen time mostly in mop up duties and on special teams, so we’ll see what the linebacker from Lakeside, California.”
“It’s a handoff to the right for Coker, and he stiff-arms Summers as he’s sprinting upfield! He’s at the forty, the forty-five and dragged down by the safety Johnson at midfield for a gain of twenty on first down!”
“And Ohio State burns their second timeout with two forty-three to go. And Summers was bulldozed on that fantastic run by Coker.”
Summers mulled around the defensive huddle, still shaking his head after being stiff-armed by the sophomore Coker. He took a good angle to the run, leveled his shoulders, but the runner got a good move on him. Rather than look him over and say nothing, I stormed over to Summers.
“Hey, Cedric, put that play out of your head. He made a good play on you, now you gotta move on!”
“Easy for you to say, Kap. You’re not the one who got rocked.”
I grabbed the Californian’s facemask and brought it close so that we were eye-to-eye. I wouldn’t say there was fear in his eyes, but he certainly didn’t expect me to get in his face like this.
“I’ve been getting rocked all season, and you haven’t seen me complain once. You need to sack the fuck up, put the play out of your head and fuck their shit up. You got me?!”
Something clicked inside him; whether it was me grabbing his facemask or what I said, there was now a fire in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before.
“I got you, Kap,” Cedric shouted, obviously fired up. ”I got you!”
“Then fucking show it! Show it to me, to the coaches, to fucking everyone that you’ve forgotten about it! Fuck ‘em up out there, fuck ‘em up!”
The timeout ended and Cedric sprinted onto the field like a new man.
“First down run to the right again, and Coker is blasted at the line by Summers for no gain on the play!”
…
“Vandenberg looks deep… throws deep… incomplete! Overthrows McNutt and its third down.”
…
“Another throw from Vandenberg, and this one is caught by Martin-Manley for a gain of twelve for a first down, one minute to go in the game!”
…
“A pitch to the left side, and Coker’s out across the twenty for a first down! He’s knocked out of bounds with forty seconds to go and Iowa calls a timeout as Coker is slow to get up.”
…
“Thirty-seconds left to play, second and four… Vandenberg tries to get the handoff but he’s brought down before he can by Cedric Summers before Ohio State calls their second timeout with twenty-eight seconds to go in the game!”
“What an absolutely incredible break on the snap from Summers as he exploded through the gap and prevents the handoff deep in the backfield.”
Summers came over to the sideline, wide-eyed and big smiled after leveling Vandenberg in the backfield. He sprinted over to me first, crowd roaring as we chest bumped and jawed at each other. I couldn’t hear what either of us said as the crowd of 100,000 strong were on their feet.
“And now here it is, third and eight with under thirty to go in the game. Quite the tough call for Kirk Ferentz; do you go for the first down through the air and put the game out of reach? Or do you run the ball, force Ohio State to burn their final timeout and kick the winning field goal?”
“Iowa spreading the field with four receivers and Coker in the backfield, Ohio State stacking the box with seven defenders expecting the run. Vandenberg takes the snap… steps back to pass…”
I was shouting pass with every bit of air I could, hoping the defense could hear it as the Hawkeye QB looked to his right on a screen.
I saw a blur of red streak past the wall of blockers and in front of the receiver, and I knew it was over…
“Vandenberg looks to the screen… and it’s INTERCEPTED! OHIO STATE TAKES IT AWAY AND HE’S OFF TO THE RACES!”
Overjoyed, I sprinted the entire length of the sideline, arm held high and wildly waving a towel I had been waving all game.
“Donnie Evege across the fifty… at the forty… the thirty… the twenty… jogs into the endzone for a Buckeye touchdown! Incredible, absolutely incredible!”
“You’ve said it all, Eric, what a great read on the play by the senior nickelback, and he never takes his eyes off the ball as he snatches it away from Marvin McNutt and sprints seventy-nine yards for the score!”
To everyone’s surprise, mine included, Tressel sent the offense onto the field for the two-point conversion. In a way it made sense – our offense was hit-and-miss all afternoon, and there was no way to tell how our defense would stack in overtime. But I was sweating through all three layers of clothing as the offense set up.
“Guiton under center, three tight ends on the field. Guiton takes the snap, fakes the hand off and rolls to his left… he lobs it to the back of the endzone… and it’s caught! Oversonn with the catch in the corner to give Ohio State the one-point lead!”
“Somebody get me some oxygen, I can’t take it anymore!”
The stadium exploded, cheering and shouting even louder as Josh held the ball high and jogged off the field. Even though victory was all but certain, my heart was still racing. I had never been apart of something so sudden and exhilarating in my entire life. I felt like my heart was going to explode from the stress.
Iowa’s next drive went nowhere, ending with a game-clinching sack-fumble by Fellows to seal the deal.
“Guiton kneels on the ball, and this one is all over in Columbus. An incredible ending to a hard-fought game, and Ohio State takes it twenty-five to twenty-four to improve to eight-and-three on the season! Wow, what an absolutely heart-stopping ending to a great contest!”
Standing around on the sidelines, not wearing my pads, not warming up in drills before taking part in a must-win conference game, felt very foreign to me. I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself, so I wandered around the field observing all the other positions warm up before making my way back to the quarterback drills. It was a neat way of seeing how the other positions worked, as how I never got the chance to see it first hand for a period of time, but it felt awful to not be preparing for today’s game with the others.
I might as well have been watching the game from back in my dorm, because it would be the exact same feeling.
“How do you think Iowa’s defense will react to Buckeyes quarterback Joe Bauserman under center, as opposed to freshman Nick Kapatos?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more blitzes and stacked fronts from the Hawkeye defense to prevent big runs from senior Dan Herron and sophomore Jaamal Berry. Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa defense are going to force this Buckeye offense to beat them through the air, which they haven’t been able to do when Bauserman has been on the field with the first team. It’s going to put more pressure on this ground game, which has been inconsistent through much of the season, to keep the offense moving and let the defense catch their breath.”
“I think Buckeyes Head Coach Jim Tressel is really going to miss Kapatos out there today. Not just for his arm, but for his legs. He’s shown time and time again this season to extend plays with his mobility, something Bauserman lacks.”
“He’s not the fastest quarterback in the country, but Kapatos has that ability to sense where the pressure is coming from and move accordingly, giving him time to find that open man or tuck it and run for positive yards.”
Bauserman let rip a dart to James Jackson, who deftly caught it and turned up-field before the rep ended and the next receiver stepped up.
“There you go, Joe,” I said, clapping him on the helmet. “Just like playing pitch and catch.”
He gave me a short nod as he took the simulated snap and dropped back for another pass.
The last game Joe played against starters was pretty horrific, to put it politely. He missed guys who were wide open, made bad decisions, and played a big hand in the loss.
I wasn’t sure if it was his confidence, his level of ability, or a combination of both. And since I couldn’t give him the talent, I figured I could at the very least keep his spirits up with encouragement.
…
“First down for Ohio State after the touchback, and here comes the redshirt senior Joe Bauserman out to lead the offense in his first start in place of the injured freshman Nick Kapatos.”
“He hasn’t played too bad this year in relief time, throwing for two touchdowns against two interceptions, so they’ll need the running game to step up today and take some of the pressure off Bauserman.”
It was a straight-forward gameplan today; keep the ball out of Basuerman’s hands for as much as possible and pound the rock with Herron and Berry. If the defense could keep this from being another shootout, I couldn’t see why we shouldn’t win this.
“Bauserman takes the snap, hands if off to Herron and it’s on the ground! The left guard St-Croix falls on the football, and Ohio State dodges an early bullet on first down!”
“Bauserman never got a clean handle on the snap, and he kind of pitches it to Herron when it should’ve been right in his gut.”
I hung my head and sighed. If that play was going to be an indication of things to come, this was going to be a rough day.
…
“Herron on a sweep outside… he’s pushed out just at the marker, and that’s a first down!”
…
“Herron again up the middle, and it’s a gain of seven as he drags defenders to the forty yard-line.”
…
“Bauserman drops back, looks deep… checks it down to Boren but he’s brought down a few yards shy of the first down marker to bring out the punting unit.”
…
“After the punt was downed at the fifteen, here comes the Iowa Hawkeyes and James Vandenberg. He’s looking to snap Iowa’s losing streak to Ohio State and get them to a bowl bid this season after going 1-4 after a 3-1 start to the season.”
I was never impressed by Vandenberg whenever I saw him play on film. If there was a word to describe him, it would be ‘streaky’. One play he would throw a beautiful downfield pass to a double-covered receiver, and the next he would miss a wide open receiver six or seven yards in front of him.
Their receivers and tight end were decent, and their offensive line was always going to have a couple of NFL prospects, but their sophomore running back Marcus Coker was our defense’s main worry this week.
Last year’s Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year, Coker’s been the most consistent player on the Hawkeye offense, averaging 95.3 yards per game and having scored nine touchdowns over the year. If we couldn’t stop him completely, the defense had to at least limit the damage he would cause.
“Vandenberg pitches to the sophomore Coker, and he’s around the corner with no one around him! He’s pushed out of bounds past the first down marker at the thirty yard-line after a gain of fifteen.”
Shit.
…
“Another run up the middle for Coker, this one a gain of six, and he continues to move the ball against this Buckeye defense.”
“You know, Evan, I don’t think they’ve ever recovered from giving up thirty-eight points against Purdue a week ago. Heck, I don’t think they’ve recovered from giving up two late touchdowns against Northwestern. If they want to win this game, they need to tighten up along the front seven and force Vandenberg to beat them with his arm.”
…
“Vandenberg hands off, no it’s a play-action! He steps up, trying to scramble, but he’s brought down for a sack on third down by the linebacker Dorian Bell! That’s a loss of five on the sack, the first of the game for either team, and that drops Iowa out of field goal range to force the punt.”
I was one of the first ones to congratulate the redshirt sophomore linebacker as he ran off the field, smacking him on the helmet and giving him a light chest bump. If I wasn’t going to have an active part in today’s game, I was going to whatever it took to keep this team fired up on the sidelines.
…
“Herron on a run up the middle, and he breaks a tackle! Dragging defenders across the first down marker until he’s taken down at the thirty-three yard-line! Hard running from the Buckeye senior as he picks up thirteen yards and a Buckeye first down.”
…
“Bauserman drops back, steps and throws it to Posey on a screen. Posey dances out of a tackle and has room! He’s past the first down marker and jukes out of another tackle! Past midfield…”
As soon as I saw DeVier get into the open field, I knew it was over. Only the best athletes in the world could keep up with the shifty receiver once he got into space, and Iowa certainly didn’t have them.
I confidently raised my arms in the air, running down the sideline as Posey continued to sprint down the field towards the endzone.
“He’s at the thirty… the twenty… the ten… touchdown Buckeyes! A seventy-seven yard run by the senior receiver from La Salle High School, and Ohio State jumps out to an early one-touchdown lead.”
“That play was all Posey on that one; he uses his agility and elusiveness to get into the open space, spinning and juking out of tackles, and then hits the afterburners with no one around him.”
Looking back at Posey maneuver his way into daylight on the Jumboscreen was like watching an old highlight reel of Dante Hall, the former special teams sensation for the Kansas City Chiefs in the early 2000s. I remember watching Hall do things will a ball that I thought could only be done in a game of Madden, and seeing Posey escape from danger brought me right back to those days.
…
“A slow first quarter coming to a close as Iowa sets up for a third and long from their own nineteen yard line.”
“Evan, neither team has been able to sustain any time-consuming drives so far, with both offenses going for a combined three-of-nine on third down.”
“Five seconds to go and this looks to be the last play of the quarter. Vandenberg takes the snap… it’s a draw to Coker, and he’s got running room! He’s at the twenty-five, the thirty... and brought down at the thirty-nine yard-line for another nice run from the Hawkeye sophomore to move the chains!”
“A gutsy playcall by head coach Kirk Ferentz on third and long to give the ball to his playmaker running back, but it totally fooled this defense with the four receivers spread from the shotgun.”
…
“Another run for Coker, but this one only goes for a few inches.”
“Heck of a job by the defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins with the shoe-string tackle on Marcus Coker. If he misses that, the sophomore probably has another six or seven yards of daylight before being taken down.”
“Jim Bollman’s defense has struggled at times against the run today, and it’s not even the end of the first half! Thirty-three yards on just eight carries for the sophomore back, and if the Buckeye defense can’t think of a way to contain Coker, he could easily surpass the one-hundred yard mark before this game is over.”
…
“Another third and one, this time just shy of midfield, 7:17 to go in the quarter. The senior Vandenberg under center in the I-Formation, three receivers keeping tight along the offensive line.”
“Watch the pass,” I shouted to the defense, trying to make myself heard over the roar of the packed house at Ohio Stadium. “Watch the pass!”
The defense was stacking the box against the run, putting eight guys up towards the line while only leaving three DBs in press coverage.
“The fuck you talkin bout, Kap,” Cedric asked.
“God dammit, watch the fucking pass!” I turned from the action on the field to Cedric, giving me a sideways look. “It’s play-action all the way. How do you not see that?”
Cedric studied the offense, watching one of their receivers being sent in motion to the outside. But he simply shook his head.
“Man, I don’t see it. How you know they gonna pass?”
“Because that’s exactly what play I’d run.”
“Vandenberg takes the snap, fakes the handoff, drops back deep! He’s looking for the home run down the left side…”
The receiver got a good burst off the line and pulled a nice swim move on Corey Brown. By the time Vandenberg pulled the handoff away from Coker, the receiver already had a step on the corner. It was only difference between six points and an incompletion was downfield accuracy from the quarterback.
“Vandenberg lobs one down the field towards the endzone… and he’s got a man in stride for the touchdown! A pinpoint accurate throw from James Vandenberg to the redshirt freshman Kevonte Martin-Manley for six!”
“What an absolute dime from the junior Vandenberg. They sold the play-action beautifully on this play, and Martin-Manley got an excellent burst off the line and beat the press coverage. All Vandenberg had to do was drop the ball into Martin-Manley’s hands and watch him score.”
“Shit man,” said Cedric, watching the opposition celebrate their tying touchdown. “You like a god damn savant or something.”
“Yeah, it’s too bad I’m stuck on the offense.”
While seeing Martin-Manley beat the second-best corner on our team for a touchdown wasn’t devastating – it was bound to happen at some point in the game today – it definitely put a little concern in the back of everyone’s minds.
After getting shredded to bits by Robert Marve last week, and Dan Persa having his way with the secondary in the fourth quarter two weeks ago, it was starting to look like the defense was going to fall apart and force the team to rely on the offense. And while Herron was looking like he was going to take control today, I doubted Bauserman could carry the load when the defense forced him to beat them with his arm.
…
“Bauserman takes the snap, drops back to pass. He sidesteps to avoid the blitz, but he backs right into the waiting arms of an Iowa defenseman for the sack! That was Lebron Daniel on the sack, a loss of five, and the redshirt senior practically fell into his lap on that one.”
“This was really a no-win scenario for Joe Bauserman. Either he takes the sack from the blitzing linebacker, or he takes the sack from the defensive end. His receivers weren’t anywhere close to being open, and he doesn’t have the legs or escape-ability to make something happen to get out of the pocket.”
“Not a good day for Bauserman with a shade under five minutes to go before halftime. He’s passed for ninety-two yards, but a good majority of those yards came on DeVier Posey’s seventy-seven yard touchdown scamper early in the first quarter. Since then, nothing has been going right for Ohio State in the air.”
“It’s a good thing Herron’s been able to move the ball on the ground, or else Jim Tressel’s Buckeyes would be in trouble.”
…
“On comes the senior Eric Guthrie for the punt, DeVier Posey back waiting for the return. Just under three minutes to go before halftime, both teams tied at seven. Guthrie takes the snap, and sends a booming punt downfield. The senior Posey takes the ball at his own twenty-one and heads upfield. He’s got blockers, and he’s into open space!”
“Uh oh, here we go again!”
“He’s at the thirty… the forty… past midfield, he could take it all the way! At the forty…the thirty… and pushed out of bounds by the punter at the Iowa twenty-nine yard line! A fifty yard return from DeVier Posey, and that gives Ohio State outstanding field position late in the first half!”
…
“First down for the Buckeyes, and they’re out in the shotgun with two tight ends on the field, the freshman Josh Oversonn placed in the slot. Bauserman takes the snap, and hands it off to Herron on a sweep to the left. He’s around the edge and has room to run…”
The second Herron made it around the edge of the line, I knew he was going all the way. The receivers were in perfect blocking positions, Dominic got off the line quickly and was pulling ahead of Herron, and Josh was clearing the way before either of them made it five yards past the LOS.
All that was left was the inevitable…
“Herron’s got the first down and is looking for more! He’s at the fifteen… the ten… and into the endzone for a touchdown! His tenth of the season, and Ohio State responds with a quick score before halftime!”
“Excellent downfield blocking by the Buckeyes on this play, especially from the freshmen Oversonn and St-Croix. I swear, the guard must’ve bowled over at least two defenders on that run, and Oversonn made the key block on the safety to allow Herron to cut outside for the score. Picture perfect execution by the Buckeyes offense, Derek!”
In reality the defense should’ve seen something was up when Josh was lined up as a slot receiver. He was a good pass catcher, but he wasn’t a dynamic enough threat to be placed in the slot. Not yet, anyway. But either the defensive coordinator was an idiot and didn’t think that way, or he legitimately thought Josh was going to be used as a receiver. Regardless, Josh has continued to make contributions late in the season.
And Dom continued to surprise me with his athleticism off the line. He was still making the occasional freshman mistake here and there, though they’ve gone down a lot as the season went on, but his overall performance had been improving towards the end of the year. Mike Adams was far and away the best lineman on the team, probably in the nation, but Dom was ready to take his place as the top lineman in the country if he continued to develop.
And then there was Dan Herron, our workhorse running back who was on his way to another big day if he kept running like he did in this half. Even though I was the one under center, Dan was the clear-cut leader in the huddle, something I was more than willing to admit. I tried my best to lead by example, but for the time being I was more than happy to follow rather than lead.
...
“Iowa looking to continue their impressive drive late in the second quarter and tie the game with under a minute remaining. Vandenberg drops back… scrambles around and dumps it off to Coker, who takes it five yards before being dropped by a trio of Buckeye defenders. But it’s enough for an Iowa first down.”
…
“Vandenberg rolls out to his right, chased by a duo of Buckeye defenders. Vandenberg throws on the run and hits his receiver along the sideline! It’s the tight end Brad Herman with the catch of seven.”
…
“Another run from Coker to the right side, and he’s brought down after a gain of seven and another first down.”
“Iowa’s moving the ball with ease and taking time off the clock doing it.”
…
“Third and five from Ohio State’s side of the fifty, under two minutes to go before halftime. Once again in the shotgun, Vandenberg takes the snap… fakes the handoff… looks over the middle and it’s caught for a first down! Martin-Manley with another reception, his third of the afternoon, for twelve yards and the Hawkeyes are continuing to move the ball with ease on this drive.”
…
“Second and eight from Ohio State’s twenty-two. Forty-seven seconds remain and Iowa has two timeouts at their disposal. Three receivers on the field, Vandenberg in the shotgun.”
I was waving a towel wildly to get the already-screaming crowd to yell even louder. The defense needed to make a stop here, even if it meant only giving up three points. A turnover right here would be ideal, but only surrendering a field goal would be acceptable.
“Vandenberg takes the snap, drops back. He’s under pressure, but he throws it to the endzone… intercepted! The Buckeyes come away with a turnover with just over forty seconds left in the first half!”
“That was Travis Howard with the interception in the endzone, and credit the defensive front seven with getting the pressure on Vandenberg to force the bad throw. It was underthrown, and Vandenberg continues his up-and-down season, throwing his fifteenth pick on the twenty-eleven campaign.”
…
The offensive coaching staff, especially coach Tressel, was furious during halftime. Drives weren’t being finished, points were left on the board from those unfinished drives, and we the guys out there weren’t clicking.
It wasn’t all Bauserman’s fault, although his 4-10 passing statistic wasn’t anything to cause blame to be shifted from him. If you took away the touchdown pass to Posey, he had only thrown for twenty yards, an amount I could easily surpass in one series. I was surprised Tressel kept with the redshirt senior instead of going to Guiton, but I had to trust in coach that he was making the right decision.
But like I said, it wasn’t all Joe’s fault. The receivers weren’t getting open, and the offensive line wasn’t consistently creating running lanes for Herron. Penalties were also killing us, negating at least five big plays on third downs.
Aside from giving up some gains from the running back Coker and the one touchdown pass midway through the previous quarter, the defense had regained their form from earlier in the year. They were flying all over the place, making the necessary tackles and causing havoc in the backfield for the Iowa quarterback.
“Coming out of halftime, neither offense has been able to get the ball moving with any sense of consistency. Seven minutes into the third quarter and there have been only two successful third down conversions between both teams.”
“Whatever these coaches told their players in the locker room hasn’t translated onto the field in the slightest, but Ohio State still clings to their seven-point lead early in the third quarter.”
“Buckeyes in the shotgun on third down, Bauserman takes the snap, steps back to pass… throws an out to the right sideline and it’s intercepted! The cornerback Micah Hyde snatches the ball out of the air and is brought down at the Ohio State twenty-seven!”
“A horrible read by Joe Bauserman; he tries to get it to his senior receiver, but Posey was just blanketed. The only way he could’ve gotten that ball to the senior out of Cincinnati, Ohio was if it was a frozen-rope of a pass, and it clearly never got a good release out of Bauserman’s hands.”
Tressel gave Joe an icy stare, and the redshirt senior walked over to the huddle like a dog with a tail between its legs. He had all the time in the world to go through his reads, there was no extra pressure from the opposing defense, and Iowa didn’t switch up their coverage scheme; it was simply a poorly thrown ball that never should’ve been considered in the first place.
“As the Hawkeye offense comes onto the field, you have to be questioning Jim Tressel’s decision to not only name Bauserman the starter for today’s game, but for deactivating the normal starter Kapatos. He looks perfectly fine standing there on the sidelines in his street clothes!”
“Coach Tressel and the OSU training staff obviously know something we don’t about Kapatos’ health, but I agree that he shouldn’t have been deactivated today. It leaves the Buckeyes with one disappointing starter and an unknown commodity sitting on the bench, and it puts them in a tough spot to over-rely on their backs Herron and Berry.”
…
“Vandenberg stuffs the ball in Coker’s gut for a dive up the middle, and Coker dances to the outside! He’s at the twenty… the ten… and high-steps it into the endzone for a touchdown! A nice display of running from last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and the Hawkeyes are one point away from tying this game at fourteen.”
…
“Herron dances around, tries to find the corner, but can only come away with a few yards before being dropped at the twenty-three. Not much running room for the senior from Warren, Ohio, so he’s lucky he could get what he could.”
…
“An end-around to DeVier Posey, and he’s got the corner! He’s at the first down maker and dragged down at the thirty-four for a gain of eleven on second down.”
…
“Another dive up the middle, this time to Jamaal Berry, and he’s brought down after a five yard gain.”
“Slowly but surely, Ohio State is moving the ball with success on the ground and winding that clock down.”
…
“Another third and short for the Buckeyes, looking for their fifth first down of the drive.”
“And they’ve done it all on the ground on this drive. They’ve run eight run plays to just two passing plays, so clearly Jim Tressel and his offensive staff have liked what they’ve seen from the ground attack midway through the first half.”
“Bauserman takes the snap from the shotgun, backpedals and dumps it off to Berry on a screen pass. Berry’s out in the open field, and he’s brought from behind… and he loses the football!”
“And for the second time this quarter, Ohio State gives up the football on their side of the fifty. What a terrible turn of events for the twenty-third ranked Buckeyes late in the third quarter.”
It was a frustrating continuation of giving the ball away at inopportune times, dating all the way back to the Northwestern game. I couldn’t tell if it was poor ball-handling techniques, something mental or something else.
With our defense coming onto the field again to defend against the suddenly-hot Hawkeye offense, the only thing I knew was that these turnover problems needed to stop if we wanted to win this game.
…
“Coker bounces to the outside, and he’s ridden out of bounds after a four yard gain on first down from Ohio State’s side of the fifty.”
…
“Coker looks to get around the edge, cuts back inside, and is taken down after a gain of three. Good gang tackling by the linebackers Sabino and Bell on the play.”
…
“The Buckeye faithful, coming to life here late in the third quarter, urging their defense for a stop on third and three. Vandenberg takes the snap, fakes the pitch, tries to avoid the pressure and he’s brought down for a sack on third down! John Simon on the quarterback sack, his seventh of the season, and it drops the Hawkeye quarterback five yards behind the line of scrimmage to force a fourth and long.”
“A great job quickly getting off the line by the junior captain, easily getting avoiding the double team by the center and right guard and dropping Vandenberg with ease.”
“Say what you will about their offense’s struggles today, but you can’t deny that Ohio State’s defense has more than picked up the slack today.”
“If you call giving up seventy-three yards and a score on the ground picking up the slack, then sure.”
“Hey, compared to what they gave up against Purdue last week, I’d consider this an improvement. At least they haven’t let Vandenberg carve them up like Purdue’s Robert Marve did.”
“Vandenberg takes the snap, hands off to Coker up the middle, and he’s met and the line and loses the football! Etienne Sabino with the pop, but an Iowa lineman falls on the football four yards back. Almost a turnover for the Buckeyes, but they fall just short.”
“Sabino’s forced fumble, only his second of the season, drops the Hawkeyes out of field goal range and forces the punt, but I bet they would’ve loved to get the football right here at midfield.”
…
“Herron taking the handoff and he’s around the edge. Taken down by the safety at the fifteen for a gain of five on first down.”
…
“Another handoff to Herron, and he dances out of a tackle before being tripped up from behind. A gain of six for a first down, and Herron is having a fantastic day thus far. The senior is closing in on one-hundred yards on twenty-three carries.”
…
“Jaamal Berry in to spell Herron, and he bursts up the middle for a six yard gain on first down!”
“OSU is carving up this defense on the ground, running for a combined one-hundred twenty-seven yards on thirty-three carries.”
…
“A pitch to Herron, and he’s around the corner. He’s got the first down and is pushed out of bounds after a nine yard gain.”
…
“Herron up the middle, and he falls forward for a three yard gain, but that gives the senior running back one-hundred yards on the afternoon.”
…
“Bauserman with the play-action, he looks deep… but checks it down to his tight end Stoneburner and he’s brought down by a trio of Hawkeye defenders at the forty-three yard-line for a gain of four on second down.”
…
“Bauserman back to pass again… he dumps it off to Berry on a screen and the ball is knocked free! A Hawkeye defender falls on the fumble, and it’s Iowa ball on the Ohio State side of the field.!”
“You could hear the collective groan from the Ohio State sideline and the crowd all the way from up here.”
“Very little has gone right for the home team today, and you’ve got to be wondering if they can pull themselves out of this funk if you’re a Buckeye fan.”
…
With the offense unable to have any sustained success, it was on the defense to keep Iowa from scoring any more points. They were easily keeping their passing offense in check, and Coker was finding less and less running lanes to run through.
…
“Bauserman drops back, rolls to his left… tries to fit it to Posey and its swatted away by the safety, incomplete and that brings up forth down late in the third quarter. Derek, Joe Bauserman is having an absolutely dreadful afternoon. He’s only completed six of fifteen passes for one-hundred yards for one touchdown early in the opening quarter, but he’s also been sacked twice today and threw an awful interception earlier in the third quarter. Why has Tressel stuck with the redshirt senior this far into the game?”
“Because he hasn’t done a whole lot to warrant a change at the position. He hasn’t put the team in a compromising position, nor has he made any game-changing mistakes. As long as the running game keeps humming along, and as long as they don’t get in a position where they have to rely on Bauserman to win this game, why not keep him in?”
“Ben Buchanan sends back another punt, his seventh of the afternoon, and it’s fielded by Marvin McNutt at the twenty-five yard-line. He finds a crease, and he’s got blockers in front of him…”
“He’s got room to run!”
“Past midfield, at the forty… the thirty… stiff-arms the punter Buchanan and he cuts away from the sideline! High-steps it from the ten and he flips into the endzone for the touchdown! A seventy-five yard punt return for the senior receiver out of Hazelwood Central High, and that gives Iowa a six point lead with under a minute to go in the third quarter!”
…
“We start the fourth quarter with Ohio State at midfield as they try to draw even with the visiting Hawkeyes on third and long. Bauserman fakes a handoff, drops back… tries to get the pass away and he’s picked off! Tyler Neilson with the takeaway, and the senior’s brought down before he can cross the fifty yard-line!”
“Bauserman tried to do too much on this play. He should’ve kept the ball and just taken the sack rather than try to pass it off to Herron.”
“And the bad day for Bauserman continues. There’s no way Jim Tressel leaves him in after this turnover. If he does, I’d be shocked.”
An Iowa field goal was all that came out of the ensuing drive off the turnover and to almost no one’s surprise (on the sideline, at least), Joe stayed in the game. It would take a lot for coach Tressel to pull someone out of the game, and we were only ten points behind with an entire quarter to go.
The teams continued to trade punts throughout the fourth quarter, neither offense able to do much against the two defenses. And whenever something got started on offense, either a boneheaded play or penalty would kill whatever momentum was built up.
“Buckeyes trailing twenty-four to fourteen, just under eleven minutes to go with the ball inside their own thirty yard-line. Trying to get a sense of an offense started, they come out in the shotgun, four receivers spread with Herron in the backfield.”
“Given Bauserman’s struggles, even in the face of a third and long with less than ten minutes to play, they have to run it. This defense hasn’t been able to stop Herron and Berry, with the two combining for over one-hundred seventy-five yards on the ground.”
“It’s a direct snap to Herron, and he explodes up the middle! He spins out a tackle, dances out of another and he’s past midfield! Brought down at the forty-five for a gain of twenty-five, and that’s a huge gain on third down for the senior back!”
…
“Another pitch to Herron and he’s around the corner! Dragging defenders across the thirty-five for a ten yard gain and another first down. That puts Herron over one-hundred thirty yards on the afternoon, closing in on his season high of one thirty-three set during the opening game of the season against Akron.”
…
“Third and seven, nine-forty-six left in the final quarter of play, and Ohio State is spreading the field with four receivers and second tight end Oversonn set up along the field. Bauserman drops back, it’s a throw across the middle and he’s got a man! Josh Oversonn with the catch in traffic and he’s brought down after a gain of eight for a big first down!”
…
“Bauserman drops back, is immediately under pressure… tries to scramble out of it, but he’s taken down and the ball pops free! It’s kicked around before an Iowa lineman recovers the football! What an awful way for this drive to end for the Buckeyes, and Iowa looks to wind down this clock with the ball at their own twenty-one yard line with nine thirty-three remaining in the game.”
The boos, which had been growing with the lack of offensive scores for most of the second half, were reaching fever pitch after the last turnover. It felt like the fans were going to storm the field and drag the scapegoat Bauserman away to be hanged.
Joe came over to the sideline, staring at the turf ahead of him and took a seat at the far end of the bench as I walked over and gave him an encouraging pat on the helmet. It was all I could think of doing for someone having an awful game at the most awful time.
As Iowa moved the ball out of the shadow of their side of the field, I saw Guiton starting to warm up. I breathed a sigh of relief as the redshirt sophomore began to make the passes on the sideline. It was a long time coming that Guiton got his chance to play, as Bauserman was proving completely incompetent against the starters. And with Guiton, he brought an extra dimension of mobility and elusiveness that Bauserman lacked.
“Trent Mossbrucker on to try another field goal, this time from twenty-six yards to put them up by two scores. The snap is good, the hold is down… and the kick splits the uprights. We’ll take a break from Ohio Stadium with the Iowa Hawkeyes leading the Ohio State Buckeyes, twenty-seven to fourteen.”
…
“Following the touchback, the Buckeyes come out onto the field with under seven minutes remaining. And Kenny Guiton is coming out with the starters, replacing the ineffective Joe Bauserman to the approval of the Buckeye faithful.”
“Not a lot of action this season for the young quarterback, but we’ll see what he can do against this Hawkeye defense.”
“First down from the twenty, Guiton takes the snap, fakes the handoff to Herron, and he takes off around the right side… he jukes a defender as he crosses the first down marker and slides at the thirty-two for a gain of twelve. How about that for your first play of the game?”
…
“Guiton rolling left, throws on the run and he connects with Posey for a gain of seven along the sideline.”
…
“Another completion to Posey, and he’s brought down after a gain of fifteen.”
…
“Herron’s up the middle on a draw, and he’s loose! Past midfield, at the forty… the thirty… and he’s taken down from behind at the twenty-eight into Iowa territory!”
…
“Third down, three minutes to go in the game, Ohio State is bringing five receivers onto the field.”
“Watch for the blitz from Iowa, they haven’t been bringing a lot of pressure on this drive.”
“Guiton takes the snap, the blitz is on from Iowa… Guiton tries to get away and he’s brought down for another sack by the Hawkeye defense! Lebron Daniel with his second sack of the afternoon, and Tressel calls his first timeout as the field goal unit comes onto the field with two fifty-five to go in the game.”
Shannon booted his first field goal of the game, a twenty-seven yarder, to pull us to within a touchdown. For not practicing much this week against the starting scout team, Kenny looked good for his one drive. He was mobile, relatively accurate and kept the defense on their toes.
After Iowa’s kick return to their own thirty, starting strong-side linebacker Andrew Sweat came out limping, pointing to his knee as he was tended to by the training staff.
While the senior was being looked at, Cedric was called over by the linebackers coach, given a quick pep talk and sprinted out to the field to fill in.
“And on comes the freshman Cedric Summers in to replace Andrew Sweat. Summers has seen time mostly in mop up duties and on special teams, so we’ll see what the linebacker from Lakeside, California.”
“It’s a handoff to the right for Coker, and he stiff-arms Summers as he’s sprinting upfield! He’s at the forty, the forty-five and dragged down by the safety Johnson at midfield for a gain of twenty on first down!”
“And Ohio State burns their second timeout with two forty-three to go. And Summers was bulldozed on that fantastic run by Coker.”
Summers mulled around the defensive huddle, still shaking his head after being stiff-armed by the sophomore Coker. He took a good angle to the run, leveled his shoulders, but the runner got a good move on him. Rather than look him over and say nothing, I stormed over to Summers.
“Hey, Cedric, put that play out of your head. He made a good play on you, now you gotta move on!”
“Easy for you to say, Kap. You’re not the one who got rocked.”
I grabbed the Californian’s facemask and brought it close so that we were eye-to-eye. I wouldn’t say there was fear in his eyes, but he certainly didn’t expect me to get in his face like this.
“I’ve been getting rocked all season, and you haven’t seen me complain once. You need to sack the fuck up, put the play out of your head and fuck their shit up. You got me?!”
Something clicked inside him; whether it was me grabbing his facemask or what I said, there was now a fire in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before.
“I got you, Kap,” Cedric shouted, obviously fired up. ”I got you!”
“Then fucking show it! Show it to me, to the coaches, to fucking everyone that you’ve forgotten about it! Fuck ‘em up out there, fuck ‘em up!”
The timeout ended and Cedric sprinted onto the field like a new man.
“First down run to the right again, and Coker is blasted at the line by Summers for no gain on the play!”
…
“Vandenberg looks deep… throws deep… incomplete! Overthrows McNutt and its third down.”
…
“Another throw from Vandenberg, and this one is caught by Martin-Manley for a gain of twelve for a first down, one minute to go in the game!”
…
“A pitch to the left side, and Coker’s out across the twenty for a first down! He’s knocked out of bounds with forty seconds to go and Iowa calls a timeout as Coker is slow to get up.”
…
“Thirty-seconds left to play, second and four… Vandenberg tries to get the handoff but he’s brought down before he can by Cedric Summers before Ohio State calls their second timeout with twenty-eight seconds to go in the game!”
“What an absolutely incredible break on the snap from Summers as he exploded through the gap and prevents the handoff deep in the backfield.”
Summers came over to the sideline, wide-eyed and big smiled after leveling Vandenberg in the backfield. He sprinted over to me first, crowd roaring as we chest bumped and jawed at each other. I couldn’t hear what either of us said as the crowd of 100,000 strong were on their feet.
“And now here it is, third and eight with under thirty to go in the game. Quite the tough call for Kirk Ferentz; do you go for the first down through the air and put the game out of reach? Or do you run the ball, force Ohio State to burn their final timeout and kick the winning field goal?”
“Iowa spreading the field with four receivers and Coker in the backfield, Ohio State stacking the box with seven defenders expecting the run. Vandenberg takes the snap… steps back to pass…”
I was shouting pass with every bit of air I could, hoping the defense could hear it as the Hawkeye QB looked to his right on a screen.
I saw a blur of red streak past the wall of blockers and in front of the receiver, and I knew it was over…
“Vandenberg looks to the screen… and it’s INTERCEPTED! OHIO STATE TAKES IT AWAY AND HE’S OFF TO THE RACES!”
Overjoyed, I sprinted the entire length of the sideline, arm held high and wildly waving a towel I had been waving all game.
“Donnie Evege across the fifty… at the forty… the thirty… the twenty… jogs into the endzone for a Buckeye touchdown! Incredible, absolutely incredible!”
“You’ve said it all, Eric, what a great read on the play by the senior nickelback, and he never takes his eyes off the ball as he snatches it away from Marvin McNutt and sprints seventy-nine yards for the score!”
To everyone’s surprise, mine included, Tressel sent the offense onto the field for the two-point conversion. In a way it made sense – our offense was hit-and-miss all afternoon, and there was no way to tell how our defense would stack in overtime. But I was sweating through all three layers of clothing as the offense set up.
“Guiton under center, three tight ends on the field. Guiton takes the snap, fakes the hand off and rolls to his left… he lobs it to the back of the endzone… and it’s caught! Oversonn with the catch in the corner to give Ohio State the one-point lead!”
“Somebody get me some oxygen, I can’t take it anymore!”
The stadium exploded, cheering and shouting even louder as Josh held the ball high and jogged off the field. Even though victory was all but certain, my heart was still racing. I had never been apart of something so sudden and exhilarating in my entire life. I felt like my heart was going to explode from the stress.
Iowa’s next drive went nowhere, ending with a game-clinching sack-fumble by Fellows to seal the deal.
“Guiton kneels on the ball, and this one is all over in Columbus. An incredible ending to a hard-fought game, and Ohio State takes it twenty-five to twenty-four to improve to eight-and-three on the season! Wow, what an absolutely heart-stopping ending to a great contest!”
Last edited:
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Nightmare season averted. Gotta assume Kap will suit up for The Game.
I'd like to apologize to everyone for not getting these updates in sooner. I've taken on a few other writing projects as of late, along with the workload in the office starting to increase as the winter seasons are underway and the spring seasons drawing closer. I'll do my best to get newer update finished and on here as soon as possible from now on.
“Third down, Iowa looking for a first down with four receivers on the field…”
As the night’s festivities continued, I found myself more interested in listening to the local radio call of the final score rather than the drunken ramblings of a college coed.
“Ohio State needs a stop here or its over… Vandenberg takes the snap, throws it left on a screen and IT’S PICKED OFF! DONNIE EVEGE PICKS IT OFF AND HE’S OFF TO THE RACES!”
“OH MY GOD!”
“PAST MIDFIELD… NO ONE’S GONNA STOP HIM AS EVEGE TAKES IT THE DISTANCE FOR A PICK-SIX TO BRING OHIO STATE TO WITHIN AN EXTRA-POINT TO TIE THE GAME!”
“OH MY GOD!”
“DONNIE EVEGE WITH THE PLAY OF HIS LIFE WITH UNDER THIRTY SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME!”
I chuckled as the broadcasters lost their voices and their minds over Evege’s interception return for a touchdown. Having seen the highlights earlier in the evening, it was just as great a read-and-react play in highlight-form as it was in real life.
“Buckeyes forgoing the extra-point and going for the win! Goal-line formation, three tight ends and two backs with Guiton under center.”
“Watch for a play-action pass here.”
“Guiton takes the snap, rolling left. He lobs it to the endzone… and it’s CAUGHT! CAUGHT FOR THE TWO-POINT CONVERSION! OH MY GOD, OHIO STATE’S GONNA WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME!”
“JOSH OVERSONN WITH THE OVER-THE-SHOULDER, GAME-WINNING CATCH! WHAT A CATCH, WHAT A GAME, WHAT A WIN!”
“Hey, didn’t you hear what I said?”
I hit pause on the YouTube video and picked my head up to see a decent-looking girl with dirty-blonde locks, a very revealing top and a face that screamed ‘needy’.
“What was that,” I said, taking another sip of warm-ish beer.
“I asked if you heard what I said,” asked the girl, annoyance increasing with every second I didn’t answer her question.
I shrugged and gulped the dregs of my cup. It was enough of a sign for her to leave in a huff to somewhere else to get whatever attention she was seeking.
From a worn-leather couch in a living room, I watched as people danced, grinded and drank their way into a good time. Meanwhile, I was sitting on my ass in no mood to get up any time soon. I wasn’t in enough of a mood to get up and mingle, nor was I feeling like getting blackout drunk tonight. It was a weird in-between of emotions that I wasn’t used to experiencing, especially after an exhilarating win like today’s was.
“Hey Kap,” said an enthused Cedric, crashing into the spot where the annoyed blonde was previously sitting. “Why you sittin’ over here with that look on your face when there’s hotties all over the place waitin’ you to make a move?”
I shrugged once again, swirling around whatever was left mf my beer in the red plastic cup. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just not into it tonight.”
Cedric looked at me as if I had two heads speaking in tongues.
“The fuck did you just say?”
“I said–“
Cedric interrupted. “I know what you said, I’m just havin’ a hard time believin’ that you could say somethin’ so stupid.”
Cedric continued, his gaze never leaving my eyes. “You’re the god damn quarterback of the Ohio State fuckin’ Buckeyes football team! You get pick of the litter when it comes to the hunnies at this place! But here you are, sittin’ over here with your thumb up your ass whinin’ about not bein’ into it.”
I took a long exhale and got up to refill my cup from the keg in the kitchen, with Cedric following close behind. “Hey, I get that you’re bummed you did nothin’ today but watch us win, but you’re actin’ like someone died or something’. We won, which is always cause for celebratin’.”
“I get what you’re saying, man,” I replied, tapping the keg and pouring the amber liquid into my cup. “And you’re right, I’m pissed that I didn’t do anything today to help the team win except play cheerleader. I just don’t understand why everyone’s acting like we won the damn championship game. It’s fucking Iowa; we were expected to beat them. And without any last-minute pick-sixes or two-point conversions.”
“A win’s a win, Kap. You should know that,” Cedric replied. “Shouldn’t matter if you contributed or not.”
My cup was finally filled, and I slowly made my way through the busy hallway connecting the kitchen to the living room.
The Californian continued. “Look, I ain’t askin’ you to go ham and get blackout drunk or nothin’. I’m just sayin’ stop bein’ such a fuckin’ mope and socialize a little bit.”
“I think I can do that,” I responded, feigning enthusiasm.
“That’s my boy! Now, I gotta go see a lady about some after-party activities.” Cedric winked, lightly elbowed me in the rib, and headed for another part of the house.
I wasn’t always going to see eye-to-eye on Cedric with everything, but this was one thing we could agree on. I was acting selfish because I didn’t help beat a very beatable team, and it made me come across as egotistical for only wanting to celebrate the tough wins.
But the truth was that people were going to celebrate a win no matter who it was against; whether it was against the number one team in the country or some podunk FSC school, people were going to party.
I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least try to socialize with the people here before heading back to the Baker dorms.
I moved through the crowd of people, somewhat aware of over half the female partygoers giving me quick glances. The alcohol was starting to have an effect on my mind, making me a little more apprehensive to jump in a group of dancing strangers than normal.
I was thinking of simply bailing and getting ready to leave when I saw a group of girls standing by the music set-up and set my sights on them.
Neither of them were drop-dead knockouts, but they were all pretty attractive and were worth going after. I wasn’t expecting to land all of them, but if I could pull one away from the group and chat her up, something fun might come of it.
I could see them whispering something to each other as I came walking over, probably debating who I was coming over to talk to.
“Ladies,” I casually started, trying to sound as warm and inviting as possible. “Are you all enjoying yourselves tonight?”
“Sure are,” said an excited dark-skinned brunette. “It would be a lot better if we had some more drinks.”
I small talked with the group for a little bit, in-between a few more drinks and some dancing, but I had had enough. I was buzzed – bordering close on drunk – and could tell they were buzzed as well, they seemed young and easy, and my libido was taking over. One of these girls would do, it didn’t matter which one.
I maneuvered the dark-skinned girl – the most attractive of the group – and decided it was time to go to work.
“I’m ready to get outta here. You think your friends would mind if we went back to my place?”
It took her a few seconds to process what I just said, but a shocked and flustered look jumped on her face.
“Sh... shouldn’t I tell my friends where I’m going?”
“Just shoot ‘em a text. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
I put my arm around her slender waist as she pulled out her smart phone and texted her friends where we would be for (hopefully) the rest of the night.
Earlier in the evening, I had to fight myself to come out and party with the guys. But not long after returning to the dorm, I would spend the rest of the night running this girl ragged.
Life has a funny way of turning out sometimes.
…
With the weekend’s festivities now over, all eyes were set on our Saturday showdown with the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines. I never really understood how the rivalry began and why it was so heated. I spent whatever time I had outside rehab, film and school work to bone up on the history of the rivalry.
It was hard to believe that this rivalry was started after the Toledo War during the late-1800s. I mean, there was an actual armed conflict between the state of Ohio and the Michigan Territory that led to shots being fired… you couldn’t make this kind of stuff up.
It was even harder to believe that Ohio State wouldn’t win their first game of the series until 1919. I was shocked that Michigan football was so dominant for most of the early parts of this rivalry, up until the hiring of legendary head coach Woody Hayes turned the tide and brought Ohio State their own national championship.
Michigan’s hiring of Bo Schembechler after the 1968 season shifted things back in Michigan’s favor, beginning what was known as “The Ten Year War.” The games between the two teams from 1969-1978 were some of the fiercest of the rivalry, with Michigan holding a 5-4-1 edge over Hayes and Ohio State. It was also one of the most prominent period for both teams, with a combined six conference titles shared between the two schools and several appearances in the Rose Bowl and other noteworthy bowl games.
After Hayes’ dismissal following an on-field altercation in the 1978 Gator Bowl and the firing of Earle Bruce in 1987 for a poor season record, there was another period of dominance by the Wolverines, going 10-2-1 from 1988-2000, with previous Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr assuming the title of head coach in 1995 and bringing the Wolverines their first national title since the 1940s.
It wasn’t until coach Tressel’s arrival in Columbus in 2001 that the Buckeyes began turning the tables and going on an 8-1 record against Michigan and bringing two national championships home, including the epic in 2006 where the teams were ranked first and second in the BCS poll.
A lot of people believed Oklahoma-Texas was one of the best college football rivalries, and even more believed that honor belonged to Alabama-Auburn. Even though I was pretty new to this rivalry, I knew Ohio State-Michigan was the king of the college football rivalries just based on the history and the people involved.
While I understood the meaning of the rivalry to the people of Ohio and Michigan, I never grew up in an area with that much disdain. The closest rivalry I had been involved with was between East Islip High School and West Islip High School, but that was tame compared to the college rivalries, and the closest collegiate rivalry I had a personal stake in was Adelphi-New York Tech and Adelphi-C.W. Post, but that was DII lacrosse; Division I FBS football was a whole other animal compared to that.
I felt like an outsider infiltrating some super-secret organization, no matter how much of the history I studied. All the students I talked to gave me vague and not very helpful answers why they hated Michigan the way they do, and the other freshman were just as lost as I was.
So at the suggestion of the coaching staff, I went to one of the senior captains to get some help explaining the animosity between the two schools and states.
So that’s what I was doing standing in front of left tackle Mike Adams’ apartment door on a frigid Tuesday night, rather than sitting in my warm room watching TV or breaking down the Michigan defense.
As I waited for Mike to open the door, hand shoved as far and tightly into my coat pockets as possible, I remembered that this was probably the first time meeting with Mike outside of football. We never had the same free time in-between classes and film study, we never hung out with the same group and we almost never spoke to each other unless in the huddle or the weight room.
His house was your typical college apartment, with no markings or signs on the outside of the door to bring attention to itself.
Before long I heard the doorknob rattle and Mike was standing in the doorway.
“What’s good, man,” Mike asked, extending an open hand for a handshake high-five. I reciprocated the gesture, and he welcomed me inside.
The interior was your standard college living room; a few plants here and there, mostly cheap-looking furniture, and several movie posters and rapper posters were hung around. There was a thin haze of smoke lingering in the room, and an unknown-to-me rap song was playing throughout the house, with a steady beat and lyrics.
I bobbed my head to the beat as I walked over to an empty chair.
“You heard this song before?”
I shook my head. “Nah, it’s a good beat though. Who is this?”
“Dre Serons,” replied Adams, falling into a worn and beaten leather couch. “Local kid, goes by C-Bus. He’s gonna be big someday.”
“I’m not much into the underground rap thing, but this isn’t too bad.”
“What kinda music you into, then? Nothing too white, I hope.”
I chuckled. “Do The Black Keys and Blink-182 count as ‘too white’?”
“As long as you didn’t say Dave Matthews. You said that, I’d kick your ass outta here so fast…” Mike’s voice trailed off as he took a drink of clear liquid from a short glass before placing it back on his dark-wood end-table. “So you like any rap, or you just straight up rock and shit?”
“I like some rap. A little Eminem, some Jay-Z, some Chiddy Bang. Honestly, if you play almost anything I’ll like it… except country. I think I’ve got a pretty broad taste for music, but if you play any country around me then I’ll have to smack the shit outta you.”
Mike nodded his head. “Not too bad. I can respect a guy who can listen to most anything.” The lineman swirled the liquid in his glass around before offering some to me. I took one whiff and knew it was vodka. I politely declined, leading Mike to down the remains in one gulp before heading back into the kitchen area to fix himself another drink.
“So coach Tress said you wanted to talk to me about something,” Mike said, digging through his fridge for more vodka.
“Well, we’ve got Michigan coming up. And I’ve been trying my hardest to learn more about the rivalry, since I’m not from around here. The coaches suggested I speak with some of the senior captains, and you’re the first one I went to.”
“I get ya, I get ya.” He pulled himself out of the freezer and headed back to the living room with two glasses in his hand. One with his clear vodka drink, the other with an amber drink.
The Ohio-native handed me the glass with amber liquid, but I politely declined.
“No thanks man, I’m driving.”
Mike shoved the drink back in my hand, standing over me. “One drink won’t kill you, fresh.” He slapped me hard on the back and went back over to his couch.
I don’t think he meant to make it sound like a threat, but that didn’t make his words any less frightening. The man had a good ninety-plus pounds on me and was used to throwing guys around on the field.
Not exactly the right time to start a confrontation, especially when I came here just for answers.
I smiled and raised my glass to my host, and took a small sip of the liquid. Cinnamon was the first taste to come to mind, and with a sharp kick to come with the liquid as the alcohol touched my tongue. I quickly swallowed the drink, the liquid burning my throat on the way down.
“Hmm…” I said, smacking my lips together as I formulated an opinion. “Not bad.”
“Cinnamon Fireball whiskey,” Mike replied. “Someone brought it here a few weeks ago and it’s been in my fridge ever since.” Mike took another sip of his vodka before sitting up straight.
“So, I’m assuming you know stuff like the basic history of the rivalry, right?”
“Yeah, I know how it all started and most of the history up until recently. What I don’t understand is why it’s become such a big deal. But…”
“But you don’t know why it’s stayed such a big rivalry and what it means to the players, I get it.”
“Yes, exactly.” I took another sip of my drink and placed it down as Mike let out a long sigh.
“Well, it means a lot to us because more often than not it determines who wins the conference title. I mean, not only that, but there’s a lot of regional significance to it, too.”
“How so?”
“Well, most of the time guys who go to either Michigan or Ohio State were recruited by the other school. So if some guy from Berea committed to Michigan instead of OSU, then the people here take it as this great insult that they went to ‘That School Up North’ instead of the school in their home state.”
I started to lean in more as Mike got more and more into the details. “There’s a lot of trash talk goin’ on during the game. A lot more than durg your average game. But most of the time it ain’t even their players that get under your skin; some of those guys are pretty straight. But their fans…” Mike’s voice trailed off again as he sighed and shook his head. “Their fuckin’ fans are so god damn arrogant and relentless.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “Come on, not all of their fans are like that. There are people like that in every fan base. Hell, I’ve met a few of those people on campus throughout the year.”
“I’ll give you that,” Mike said. “But it’s a whole different story when you play Michigan.”
Mike continued. “They find some of the worst shit you ever did and fuckin’ attack you nonstop. Last year, this one dude found out some shit about my family, and every day put some of the worst shit imaginable on my Twitter page.”
Mike shook his head and took a big gulp of his drink.
“I swear, man. This rivalry brings out the worst in people. If there’s any advice I can give you, it’s to stay off shit like Facebook and Twitter the week of the Michigan game. Their fans will hunt you down and write some of the most horrible shit they can think of.”
As we sat silently in the living room, dull rap music playing in the background, I was thankful I had nothing too bad happen to me in my past. Aside from being a scrawny shit throughout most of middle school and high school, there wasn’t a lot of baggage they could bring up related to me.
I was, however, worried for what they would say about my family. My father having cancer back in September was brought up a few times for a week, so that was something fans could use as ammunition. It would be a low blow that some more delusional and ‘die-hard’ fans would use against me, but I’m sure most fans wouldn’t stoop to such depths.
A chuckle from Adams cut through the silence and brought me out of my thoughts.
“Didn’t mean to freak you out, fresh. It’s not all doom and gloom with this game.” Mike pulled out his keys and tossed them to me. “You see those little gold charms on the keychain?”
I flipped through the keys on his chain until I saw three miniature pieces of gold-shaped football pants all linked next to each other.
“Damn,” I exclaimed, holding them up close to examine them better. “These are cool!”
“I know, right,” said Mike, smiling at my child-like amazement. “You get one of those every time you beat Michigan. Flip it over and they say the year and what the score of the game was.”
I turned the tiny gold charm over and saw the engraving right on the backside of the pants:
2011
Ohio State- 37
Michigan- 7
“Man, I hope I get as many of these as you have by the time I’m finished here.” I tossed the keys back to Mike, who deftly plucked the keys from the air and placed them on his table.
“You play your cards right, fresh, you just might.”
I shifted uneasily in my chair. “If I get to play this weekend, I’ll do my best to get you another gold charm.”
“Nah, man,” Mike responded. “Just worry about how you’ll play. That’s all you can control, really.”
We talked for a little more about how we thought the season went, where we thought he would go in the Draft, some old stories about past football conquests. By the time I had left, it was well past midnight.
I think my time with Mike was well served, and hopefully I would be in a situation one day that I could pass on what Mike told me to some freshman.
It was yet another frigid November afternoon, and Jim Tressel’s mind was laser-focused on how he was going to game-plan for Michigan this coming Saturday.
As the Ohio-native rewound last week’s Michigan-Northwestern film for the umpteenth time, a million questions were swirling around in his head. How would he stop Denard Robinson and the potent ground attack? How could he get his defense in a position to force turnovers?
But most importantly, what was he going to do at quarterback? With his usual starter Kapatos still questionable with a shoulder injury, Tressel was down to two quarterback options. And to be frank, neither were very tempting.
He could go with either Joe Bauserman, his redshirt senior who knew the playbook inside and out, but who also fell flat on his face in multiple relief appearances and the first start of his disappointing career. There was also Kenny Guiton, a dual-threat quarterback who played great in several relief appearances. But it could be Bauserman all over again if he were to play an unproven Guiton in one of the loudest and most intimidating college stadiums in America. There was also the option of removing the redshirt designation from freshman Joey Lewis, but if Jim had to go with that option then he was truly up the creek.
He watched again as Michigan’s offense set up in the spread-shotgun formation, five receivers spread across the field with the junior Robinson alone in the backfield. Northwestern’s defense, ranked in the Top 15 in terms of yards and points allowed, had also spread the secondary trying match-up with the receivers opposite them.
Redshirt sophomore receiver Jeremy Gallon, a speedster out of Apopka High School in central Florida, came in motion to the left as Robinson hiked the ball.
Denard, a former four-star recruit from Deerfield Beach, Florida, received the snap and placed the ball in Gallon’s gut… before waiting until the last second to tuck it away and explode through a hole along the right edge of the line. The track star quickly pulled away from the Wildcat defenders as he entered the open field and turned on the jets, running untouched into the endzone for a sixty-six yard touchdown.
As Tressel rewound the tape again, he noticed there was something different about this year’s team. While their offense torched opposing defenses and set new school and conference records, and their defense forced turnover after turnover, there was something else, something you couldn’t measure with stats. They played with a great passion and fire, something lacking in previous years under Rich Rodriguez.
Had they finally turned it around? Were they rallying around their previously lame duck head coach, playing to save his job?
A knock on the door interrupted Tressel’s line of thought. It was the team physician, Dr. Haas. Tressel waved him in as he shut off the monitor and turned on his desk lamp.
“Jerry,” Tressel said in an inviting tone. “Come on in, have a seat.” Haas pulled up the seat across from the head coach. “So what do I owe this visit?”
The physician pulled a file out of his briefcase and pulled numerous medical documents.
“I’ve got some good news on your quarterback.”
Jim’s ears perked up at the prospect of the news. Depending on what the good doctor told him, Tressel’s dilemma over who would be the starting quarterback would either wash away or turn into a major concern.
“Good or bad?”
A rare smile appeared on Haas’ normally straight face. “Good. Very good.”
The physician presented the latest progress report he had taken on Kapatos to Tressel.
“While it hasn’t fully healed, it appears his shoulder has recovered enough to the point that he shouldn’t be experiencing a high level of pain in his throwing motion. I’m going to give you the OK to let him begin throwing drills this week.”
Jim looked over the file as he listened to the doctor. It was good to his starting quarterback was cleared to practice, but there was still a concern nagging him.
“Is he good to go this weekend?”
The doctor shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
Jim sighed and reclined in his seat, staring at photos of past players and memorable moments in his long coaching career from Youngstown State and Ohio State.
He would have to be cautious with this one; it wasn’t some upperclassman he was thinking about here. It was a freshman quarterback, and it would destroy the head coach if he rushed him back before he was fully healed and derailed his potential career.
This was different, though. It wasn’t like playing Purdue or Iowa; this was Michigan. It was the game everyone in the states of Ohio and Michigan circled on their calendar, no matter how bad their team was doing that year. It was always the last regular season game of the year, it was hyped up by both schools all year, and in some cases it was the chance to claim or spoil the Big Ten title right on your most hated rivals’ field.
He had a lot to think about between now and Saturday. And with this new development weighing on his mind, he was going to be sleeping a lot less this week.
As the night’s festivities continued, I found myself more interested in listening to the local radio call of the final score rather than the drunken ramblings of a college coed.
“Ohio State needs a stop here or its over… Vandenberg takes the snap, throws it left on a screen and IT’S PICKED OFF! DONNIE EVEGE PICKS IT OFF AND HE’S OFF TO THE RACES!”
“OH MY GOD!”
“PAST MIDFIELD… NO ONE’S GONNA STOP HIM AS EVEGE TAKES IT THE DISTANCE FOR A PICK-SIX TO BRING OHIO STATE TO WITHIN AN EXTRA-POINT TO TIE THE GAME!”
“OH MY GOD!”
“DONNIE EVEGE WITH THE PLAY OF HIS LIFE WITH UNDER THIRTY SECONDS LEFT IN THE GAME!”
I chuckled as the broadcasters lost their voices and their minds over Evege’s interception return for a touchdown. Having seen the highlights earlier in the evening, it was just as great a read-and-react play in highlight-form as it was in real life.
“Buckeyes forgoing the extra-point and going for the win! Goal-line formation, three tight ends and two backs with Guiton under center.”
“Watch for a play-action pass here.”
“Guiton takes the snap, rolling left. He lobs it to the endzone… and it’s CAUGHT! CAUGHT FOR THE TWO-POINT CONVERSION! OH MY GOD, OHIO STATE’S GONNA WIN THE FOOTBALL GAME!”
“JOSH OVERSONN WITH THE OVER-THE-SHOULDER, GAME-WINNING CATCH! WHAT A CATCH, WHAT A GAME, WHAT A WIN!”
“Hey, didn’t you hear what I said?”
I hit pause on the YouTube video and picked my head up to see a decent-looking girl with dirty-blonde locks, a very revealing top and a face that screamed ‘needy’.
“What was that,” I said, taking another sip of warm-ish beer.
“I asked if you heard what I said,” asked the girl, annoyance increasing with every second I didn’t answer her question.
I shrugged and gulped the dregs of my cup. It was enough of a sign for her to leave in a huff to somewhere else to get whatever attention she was seeking.
From a worn-leather couch in a living room, I watched as people danced, grinded and drank their way into a good time. Meanwhile, I was sitting on my ass in no mood to get up any time soon. I wasn’t in enough of a mood to get up and mingle, nor was I feeling like getting blackout drunk tonight. It was a weird in-between of emotions that I wasn’t used to experiencing, especially after an exhilarating win like today’s was.
“Hey Kap,” said an enthused Cedric, crashing into the spot where the annoyed blonde was previously sitting. “Why you sittin’ over here with that look on your face when there’s hotties all over the place waitin’ you to make a move?”
I shrugged once again, swirling around whatever was left mf my beer in the red plastic cup. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just not into it tonight.”
Cedric looked at me as if I had two heads speaking in tongues.
“The fuck did you just say?”
“I said–“
Cedric interrupted. “I know what you said, I’m just havin’ a hard time believin’ that you could say somethin’ so stupid.”
Cedric continued, his gaze never leaving my eyes. “You’re the god damn quarterback of the Ohio State fuckin’ Buckeyes football team! You get pick of the litter when it comes to the hunnies at this place! But here you are, sittin’ over here with your thumb up your ass whinin’ about not bein’ into it.”
I took a long exhale and got up to refill my cup from the keg in the kitchen, with Cedric following close behind. “Hey, I get that you’re bummed you did nothin’ today but watch us win, but you’re actin’ like someone died or something’. We won, which is always cause for celebratin’.”
“I get what you’re saying, man,” I replied, tapping the keg and pouring the amber liquid into my cup. “And you’re right, I’m pissed that I didn’t do anything today to help the team win except play cheerleader. I just don’t understand why everyone’s acting like we won the damn championship game. It’s fucking Iowa; we were expected to beat them. And without any last-minute pick-sixes or two-point conversions.”
“A win’s a win, Kap. You should know that,” Cedric replied. “Shouldn’t matter if you contributed or not.”
My cup was finally filled, and I slowly made my way through the busy hallway connecting the kitchen to the living room.
The Californian continued. “Look, I ain’t askin’ you to go ham and get blackout drunk or nothin’. I’m just sayin’ stop bein’ such a fuckin’ mope and socialize a little bit.”
“I think I can do that,” I responded, feigning enthusiasm.
“That’s my boy! Now, I gotta go see a lady about some after-party activities.” Cedric winked, lightly elbowed me in the rib, and headed for another part of the house.
I wasn’t always going to see eye-to-eye on Cedric with everything, but this was one thing we could agree on. I was acting selfish because I didn’t help beat a very beatable team, and it made me come across as egotistical for only wanting to celebrate the tough wins.
But the truth was that people were going to celebrate a win no matter who it was against; whether it was against the number one team in the country or some podunk FSC school, people were going to party.
I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least try to socialize with the people here before heading back to the Baker dorms.
I moved through the crowd of people, somewhat aware of over half the female partygoers giving me quick glances. The alcohol was starting to have an effect on my mind, making me a little more apprehensive to jump in a group of dancing strangers than normal.
I was thinking of simply bailing and getting ready to leave when I saw a group of girls standing by the music set-up and set my sights on them.
Neither of them were drop-dead knockouts, but they were all pretty attractive and were worth going after. I wasn’t expecting to land all of them, but if I could pull one away from the group and chat her up, something fun might come of it.
I could see them whispering something to each other as I came walking over, probably debating who I was coming over to talk to.
“Ladies,” I casually started, trying to sound as warm and inviting as possible. “Are you all enjoying yourselves tonight?”
“Sure are,” said an excited dark-skinned brunette. “It would be a lot better if we had some more drinks.”
I small talked with the group for a little bit, in-between a few more drinks and some dancing, but I had had enough. I was buzzed – bordering close on drunk – and could tell they were buzzed as well, they seemed young and easy, and my libido was taking over. One of these girls would do, it didn’t matter which one.
I maneuvered the dark-skinned girl – the most attractive of the group – and decided it was time to go to work.
“I’m ready to get outta here. You think your friends would mind if we went back to my place?”
It took her a few seconds to process what I just said, but a shocked and flustered look jumped on her face.
“Sh... shouldn’t I tell my friends where I’m going?”
“Just shoot ‘em a text. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
I put my arm around her slender waist as she pulled out her smart phone and texted her friends where we would be for (hopefully) the rest of the night.
Earlier in the evening, I had to fight myself to come out and party with the guys. But not long after returning to the dorm, I would spend the rest of the night running this girl ragged.
Life has a funny way of turning out sometimes.
…
With the weekend’s festivities now over, all eyes were set on our Saturday showdown with the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines. I never really understood how the rivalry began and why it was so heated. I spent whatever time I had outside rehab, film and school work to bone up on the history of the rivalry.
It was hard to believe that this rivalry was started after the Toledo War during the late-1800s. I mean, there was an actual armed conflict between the state of Ohio and the Michigan Territory that led to shots being fired… you couldn’t make this kind of stuff up.
It was even harder to believe that Ohio State wouldn’t win their first game of the series until 1919. I was shocked that Michigan football was so dominant for most of the early parts of this rivalry, up until the hiring of legendary head coach Woody Hayes turned the tide and brought Ohio State their own national championship.
Michigan’s hiring of Bo Schembechler after the 1968 season shifted things back in Michigan’s favor, beginning what was known as “The Ten Year War.” The games between the two teams from 1969-1978 were some of the fiercest of the rivalry, with Michigan holding a 5-4-1 edge over Hayes and Ohio State. It was also one of the most prominent period for both teams, with a combined six conference titles shared between the two schools and several appearances in the Rose Bowl and other noteworthy bowl games.
After Hayes’ dismissal following an on-field altercation in the 1978 Gator Bowl and the firing of Earle Bruce in 1987 for a poor season record, there was another period of dominance by the Wolverines, going 10-2-1 from 1988-2000, with previous Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr assuming the title of head coach in 1995 and bringing the Wolverines their first national title since the 1940s.
It wasn’t until coach Tressel’s arrival in Columbus in 2001 that the Buckeyes began turning the tables and going on an 8-1 record against Michigan and bringing two national championships home, including the epic in 2006 where the teams were ranked first and second in the BCS poll.
A lot of people believed Oklahoma-Texas was one of the best college football rivalries, and even more believed that honor belonged to Alabama-Auburn. Even though I was pretty new to this rivalry, I knew Ohio State-Michigan was the king of the college football rivalries just based on the history and the people involved.
While I understood the meaning of the rivalry to the people of Ohio and Michigan, I never grew up in an area with that much disdain. The closest rivalry I had been involved with was between East Islip High School and West Islip High School, but that was tame compared to the college rivalries, and the closest collegiate rivalry I had a personal stake in was Adelphi-New York Tech and Adelphi-C.W. Post, but that was DII lacrosse; Division I FBS football was a whole other animal compared to that.
I felt like an outsider infiltrating some super-secret organization, no matter how much of the history I studied. All the students I talked to gave me vague and not very helpful answers why they hated Michigan the way they do, and the other freshman were just as lost as I was.
So at the suggestion of the coaching staff, I went to one of the senior captains to get some help explaining the animosity between the two schools and states.
So that’s what I was doing standing in front of left tackle Mike Adams’ apartment door on a frigid Tuesday night, rather than sitting in my warm room watching TV or breaking down the Michigan defense.
As I waited for Mike to open the door, hand shoved as far and tightly into my coat pockets as possible, I remembered that this was probably the first time meeting with Mike outside of football. We never had the same free time in-between classes and film study, we never hung out with the same group and we almost never spoke to each other unless in the huddle or the weight room.
His house was your typical college apartment, with no markings or signs on the outside of the door to bring attention to itself.
Before long I heard the doorknob rattle and Mike was standing in the doorway.
“What’s good, man,” Mike asked, extending an open hand for a handshake high-five. I reciprocated the gesture, and he welcomed me inside.
The interior was your standard college living room; a few plants here and there, mostly cheap-looking furniture, and several movie posters and rapper posters were hung around. There was a thin haze of smoke lingering in the room, and an unknown-to-me rap song was playing throughout the house, with a steady beat and lyrics.
I bobbed my head to the beat as I walked over to an empty chair.
“You heard this song before?”
I shook my head. “Nah, it’s a good beat though. Who is this?”
“Dre Serons,” replied Adams, falling into a worn and beaten leather couch. “Local kid, goes by C-Bus. He’s gonna be big someday.”
“I’m not much into the underground rap thing, but this isn’t too bad.”
“What kinda music you into, then? Nothing too white, I hope.”
I chuckled. “Do The Black Keys and Blink-182 count as ‘too white’?”
“As long as you didn’t say Dave Matthews. You said that, I’d kick your ass outta here so fast…” Mike’s voice trailed off as he took a drink of clear liquid from a short glass before placing it back on his dark-wood end-table. “So you like any rap, or you just straight up rock and shit?”
“I like some rap. A little Eminem, some Jay-Z, some Chiddy Bang. Honestly, if you play almost anything I’ll like it… except country. I think I’ve got a pretty broad taste for music, but if you play any country around me then I’ll have to smack the shit outta you.”
Mike nodded his head. “Not too bad. I can respect a guy who can listen to most anything.” The lineman swirled the liquid in his glass around before offering some to me. I took one whiff and knew it was vodka. I politely declined, leading Mike to down the remains in one gulp before heading back into the kitchen area to fix himself another drink.
“So coach Tress said you wanted to talk to me about something,” Mike said, digging through his fridge for more vodka.
“Well, we’ve got Michigan coming up. And I’ve been trying my hardest to learn more about the rivalry, since I’m not from around here. The coaches suggested I speak with some of the senior captains, and you’re the first one I went to.”
“I get ya, I get ya.” He pulled himself out of the freezer and headed back to the living room with two glasses in his hand. One with his clear vodka drink, the other with an amber drink.
The Ohio-native handed me the glass with amber liquid, but I politely declined.
“No thanks man, I’m driving.”
Mike shoved the drink back in my hand, standing over me. “One drink won’t kill you, fresh.” He slapped me hard on the back and went back over to his couch.
I don’t think he meant to make it sound like a threat, but that didn’t make his words any less frightening. The man had a good ninety-plus pounds on me and was used to throwing guys around on the field.
Not exactly the right time to start a confrontation, especially when I came here just for answers.
I smiled and raised my glass to my host, and took a small sip of the liquid. Cinnamon was the first taste to come to mind, and with a sharp kick to come with the liquid as the alcohol touched my tongue. I quickly swallowed the drink, the liquid burning my throat on the way down.
“Hmm…” I said, smacking my lips together as I formulated an opinion. “Not bad.”
“Cinnamon Fireball whiskey,” Mike replied. “Someone brought it here a few weeks ago and it’s been in my fridge ever since.” Mike took another sip of his vodka before sitting up straight.
“So, I’m assuming you know stuff like the basic history of the rivalry, right?”
“Yeah, I know how it all started and most of the history up until recently. What I don’t understand is why it’s become such a big deal. But…”
“But you don’t know why it’s stayed such a big rivalry and what it means to the players, I get it.”
“Yes, exactly.” I took another sip of my drink and placed it down as Mike let out a long sigh.
“Well, it means a lot to us because more often than not it determines who wins the conference title. I mean, not only that, but there’s a lot of regional significance to it, too.”
“How so?”
“Well, most of the time guys who go to either Michigan or Ohio State were recruited by the other school. So if some guy from Berea committed to Michigan instead of OSU, then the people here take it as this great insult that they went to ‘That School Up North’ instead of the school in their home state.”
I started to lean in more as Mike got more and more into the details. “There’s a lot of trash talk goin’ on during the game. A lot more than durg your average game. But most of the time it ain’t even their players that get under your skin; some of those guys are pretty straight. But their fans…” Mike’s voice trailed off again as he sighed and shook his head. “Their fuckin’ fans are so god damn arrogant and relentless.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “Come on, not all of their fans are like that. There are people like that in every fan base. Hell, I’ve met a few of those people on campus throughout the year.”
“I’ll give you that,” Mike said. “But it’s a whole different story when you play Michigan.”
Mike continued. “They find some of the worst shit you ever did and fuckin’ attack you nonstop. Last year, this one dude found out some shit about my family, and every day put some of the worst shit imaginable on my Twitter page.”
Mike shook his head and took a big gulp of his drink.
“I swear, man. This rivalry brings out the worst in people. If there’s any advice I can give you, it’s to stay off shit like Facebook and Twitter the week of the Michigan game. Their fans will hunt you down and write some of the most horrible shit they can think of.”
As we sat silently in the living room, dull rap music playing in the background, I was thankful I had nothing too bad happen to me in my past. Aside from being a scrawny shit throughout most of middle school and high school, there wasn’t a lot of baggage they could bring up related to me.
I was, however, worried for what they would say about my family. My father having cancer back in September was brought up a few times for a week, so that was something fans could use as ammunition. It would be a low blow that some more delusional and ‘die-hard’ fans would use against me, but I’m sure most fans wouldn’t stoop to such depths.
A chuckle from Adams cut through the silence and brought me out of my thoughts.
“Didn’t mean to freak you out, fresh. It’s not all doom and gloom with this game.” Mike pulled out his keys and tossed them to me. “You see those little gold charms on the keychain?”
I flipped through the keys on his chain until I saw three miniature pieces of gold-shaped football pants all linked next to each other.
“Damn,” I exclaimed, holding them up close to examine them better. “These are cool!”
“I know, right,” said Mike, smiling at my child-like amazement. “You get one of those every time you beat Michigan. Flip it over and they say the year and what the score of the game was.”
I turned the tiny gold charm over and saw the engraving right on the backside of the pants:
2011
Ohio State- 37
Michigan- 7
“Man, I hope I get as many of these as you have by the time I’m finished here.” I tossed the keys back to Mike, who deftly plucked the keys from the air and placed them on his table.
“You play your cards right, fresh, you just might.”
I shifted uneasily in my chair. “If I get to play this weekend, I’ll do my best to get you another gold charm.”
“Nah, man,” Mike responded. “Just worry about how you’ll play. That’s all you can control, really.”
We talked for a little more about how we thought the season went, where we thought he would go in the Draft, some old stories about past football conquests. By the time I had left, it was well past midnight.
I think my time with Mike was well served, and hopefully I would be in a situation one day that I could pass on what Mike told me to some freshman.
It was yet another frigid November afternoon, and Jim Tressel’s mind was laser-focused on how he was going to game-plan for Michigan this coming Saturday.
As the Ohio-native rewound last week’s Michigan-Northwestern film for the umpteenth time, a million questions were swirling around in his head. How would he stop Denard Robinson and the potent ground attack? How could he get his defense in a position to force turnovers?
But most importantly, what was he going to do at quarterback? With his usual starter Kapatos still questionable with a shoulder injury, Tressel was down to two quarterback options. And to be frank, neither were very tempting.
He could go with either Joe Bauserman, his redshirt senior who knew the playbook inside and out, but who also fell flat on his face in multiple relief appearances and the first start of his disappointing career. There was also Kenny Guiton, a dual-threat quarterback who played great in several relief appearances. But it could be Bauserman all over again if he were to play an unproven Guiton in one of the loudest and most intimidating college stadiums in America. There was also the option of removing the redshirt designation from freshman Joey Lewis, but if Jim had to go with that option then he was truly up the creek.
He watched again as Michigan’s offense set up in the spread-shotgun formation, five receivers spread across the field with the junior Robinson alone in the backfield. Northwestern’s defense, ranked in the Top 15 in terms of yards and points allowed, had also spread the secondary trying match-up with the receivers opposite them.
Redshirt sophomore receiver Jeremy Gallon, a speedster out of Apopka High School in central Florida, came in motion to the left as Robinson hiked the ball.
Denard, a former four-star recruit from Deerfield Beach, Florida, received the snap and placed the ball in Gallon’s gut… before waiting until the last second to tuck it away and explode through a hole along the right edge of the line. The track star quickly pulled away from the Wildcat defenders as he entered the open field and turned on the jets, running untouched into the endzone for a sixty-six yard touchdown.
As Tressel rewound the tape again, he noticed there was something different about this year’s team. While their offense torched opposing defenses and set new school and conference records, and their defense forced turnover after turnover, there was something else, something you couldn’t measure with stats. They played with a great passion and fire, something lacking in previous years under Rich Rodriguez.
Had they finally turned it around? Were they rallying around their previously lame duck head coach, playing to save his job?
A knock on the door interrupted Tressel’s line of thought. It was the team physician, Dr. Haas. Tressel waved him in as he shut off the monitor and turned on his desk lamp.
“Jerry,” Tressel said in an inviting tone. “Come on in, have a seat.” Haas pulled up the seat across from the head coach. “So what do I owe this visit?”
The physician pulled a file out of his briefcase and pulled numerous medical documents.
“I’ve got some good news on your quarterback.”
Jim’s ears perked up at the prospect of the news. Depending on what the good doctor told him, Tressel’s dilemma over who would be the starting quarterback would either wash away or turn into a major concern.
“Good or bad?”
A rare smile appeared on Haas’ normally straight face. “Good. Very good.”
The physician presented the latest progress report he had taken on Kapatos to Tressel.
“While it hasn’t fully healed, it appears his shoulder has recovered enough to the point that he shouldn’t be experiencing a high level of pain in his throwing motion. I’m going to give you the OK to let him begin throwing drills this week.”
Jim looked over the file as he listened to the doctor. It was good to his starting quarterback was cleared to practice, but there was still a concern nagging him.
“Is he good to go this weekend?”
The doctor shrugged. “It’s up to you.”
Jim sighed and reclined in his seat, staring at photos of past players and memorable moments in his long coaching career from Youngstown State and Ohio State.
He would have to be cautious with this one; it wasn’t some upperclassman he was thinking about here. It was a freshman quarterback, and it would destroy the head coach if he rushed him back before he was fully healed and derailed his potential career.
This was different, though. It wasn’t like playing Purdue or Iowa; this was Michigan. It was the game everyone in the states of Ohio and Michigan circled on their calendar, no matter how bad their team was doing that year. It was always the last regular season game of the year, it was hyped up by both schools all year, and in some cases it was the chance to claim or spoil the Big Ten title right on your most hated rivals’ field.
He had a lot to think about between now and Saturday. And with this new development weighing on his mind, he was going to be sleeping a lot less this week.
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Did you mean 37-7 as the score of the 2010 season?
And I think it's safe to say that Kap starts this week.
And I think it's safe to say that Kap starts this week.
Oh wow, I didn't even notice that until just now. Good catch.
Just a quick heads up, it might take a while for the next update to come through. It's officially the spring season and starting Sunday there will be a combined 21 home games for men's and women's lacrosse between now and April/May (including 17 between February and April), not counting the other sports I have to work.
I'll do my best to get to this when I find the time, and I certainly haven't given up on this, but it might be a while before there's another update.
I'll do my best to get to this when I find the time, and I certainly haven't given up on this, but it might be a while before there's another update.
Well, here it is. After a couple months of inactivity, I finally got around to typing one of these up. With nothing going on this summer except for the usual shenanigans, I should be able to pump out more than one update every three months.
The most important thing about college life was finding a routine, no matter what it was. Anything to break through the monotony of day-to-day life as a college student. Some had after-school clubs, others had jobs, others dove head-first into their studies, and others drank and experimented with drugs.
I was lucky enough that my routine revolved around athletics. Lifting and film in the morning, class in the afternoon, film and practice in the evening, visit with the trainers immediately afterword, dinner, homework, bed. Rinse and repeat for five days straight, replace all of that on Saturday with a day-long football game and the events that happen later that evening and then rest on Sunday.
The past week of being unable to play or even throw a ball killed me and disrupted the routine I had created for myself. It was like someone took something that made me who I was. I still attended practice and film sessions, but being unable to participate ate at me.
When I was given the green light to start throwing, I went at it full steam. I wasn’t slacking on a single rep. I needed to show the coaches that I was good to go and not leave a shred of doubt that I could compete at full strength.
The first day of throwing was admittedly a little rough – some easy misses and a few underthrows – but that was mostly due to shaking the rust off more than holding anything back. Day two was much better; I was much more accurate and my arm was stronger, but it still didn’t feel like I was back to normal. I didn’t expect my arm to be back to 100%, but it was slowly getting closer and closer to where I felt little discomfort every time I reared back.
Day three – the first day of drills against the scout defense – was probably one of the better days of practice I’ve had all season. It was the first time since I originally sprained my shoulder that I felt no unbearable pain when throwing, and I took advantage of it. I was hitting every single receiver with precise passes of every variety. Intermediate routes, underneath routes, deep passes, check-downs; you name it, I was making those passes.
And I think the coaches saw it too, because I noticed they were calling slightly more pass plays than normal. Maybe it was because Michigan’s run defense was one of the best in the country, maybe because our running game wasn’t that good against Iowa last week, maybe because they wanted to truly test my arm. Either way, I went out and showed everyone at practice that I was good to go come noon on Saturday.
When Thursday came rolling around, I was called into coach Tressel’s office with Guiton for a meeting before our morning film session. I had a feeling it was to discuss the starter for the big game against Michigan, and I assumed Kenny felt the exact same way.
The Texan had just as good a week of practice I did, both with the starters and as the stand-in for Heisman candidate Denard Robinson with the scout team. He clearly used his performance in the fourth quarter against Iowa as a confidence booster, and he unquestionably earned a shot at his first start over Bauserman, who was demoted to third QB after his clunker last weekend.
As confident as I was that I would be named the starter, there was a tiny shred of doubt that coach Tressel would pull a fast one and tab Guiton as the starter against Michigan. He had the fresher arm and was more dynamic as a runner than I could ever dream to be. But as great a runner as he was, I felt I had him beat as a passer and with my experience as the starter.
Hopefully coach saw it the same way I did.
Had Guiton started at the beginning of last game and played phenomenal, or even pretty good, I’m sure coach would’ve gone with the hot hand and started Guiton. But since he only played the last couple minutes of the fourth quarter, the position was wide open.
We silently entered into Tressel’s office and headed for the two empty chairs in front of his desk. Tressel’s neutral face, devoid of any discernible emotion, hid whatever decision he had already made. The Youngstown-native was always very good at hiding his emotions outside of game situations, making sure to never show his full hand when dealing with reporters, the administration or other players.
We took our seats and Tressel turned to face us. “Gentlemen, I’ll be brief. I’ve got a hell of a decision to make and not a lot of time to make it.”
“I’ve watched the both of you this past half week not just on the practice field, but in the film room and the weight room and I have to say… I’ve been very impressed with the effort you two have put in this week. You’ve made this decision a whole lot tougher for myself and the rest of the coaches by your attitudes and your approach to the upcoming game, and you should both be commended for that.”
I glanced over at Guiton, who just happened to be looking in my direction at the same time. We were both squirming on the inside; with every important moment in life, it’s always the waiting that makes the anxiety skyrocket.
“Unfortunately, I can only start one of you on Saturday,” Tressel said with
Coach turned to me with a smile. “Nicholas, I’ve been amazed with how quickly you’ve rehabbed to simply get back on the field, and even more impressed by how you’ve improved after coming back from a week of inactivity. It’s an example to present and future members of this program of the hard work and dedication necessary to thrive as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. And the fact that you’ve been the starter all season-long and have put us in the position we are now cannot be overlooked.”
I felt a flutter in my heart and a quick smile appear upon hearing the glowing praise from coach. He wasn’t the kind of guy to give out compliments like that, so it felt really nice to hear them
“And Kenneth, you’ve done such a great job preparing us for Denard this week. You’ve been improving all season long, and you’ve made the most out of your playing time when called upon. If there’s anyone else on this team who deserves to start after the amount of time they’ve put in on the field and in the film room, it would be you.”
I was ready to burst out of my skin from the anxiety, and I’m sure Guiton was feeling the exact same way. If Tressel was doing this intentionally – and I sincerely believed that he was – then he was a master at building suspense.
Maybe he still hadn’t fully made up his mind and was just making his decision now. Maybe he was making sure he had made the right decision. Maybe he was making us stew in our own nervousness for his own personal enjoyment. Either way, those were the most agonizingly-long ten seconds of my life.
“But,” coach started, finally breaking the silence. “As much as I believe in having a more dynamic and athletic quarterback taking the snaps, I also believe in going with what got you to this position…”
This was it. The sweat that was just starting to form around my hairline was now threatening to form into fat beads and fall all the way down my face.
“So, with that in mind… Nicholas will be our starter on Saturday.”
And with that, a gigantic weight was lifted off my shoulders. I made sure to hold my excitement until I was out of the athletic building and far away from Guiton, who I’m sure felt defeated over the decision.
“I’m going to try and limit your reps on Saturday,” Tressel said to me. “So unless we can’t get our running game going or we’re down late, don’t expect to be throwing it as much against these guys. Is that understood?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good,” Tressel said. “Then I’ll see the both of you bright and early for our film session tomorrow.”
With that, he shook both our hands and returned to whatever work he was doing. Guiton and I went our separate ways, and I made sure he was no longer in the same hallway before I pumped my fist in joy. I knew that if I worked hard enough and if I practiced hard enough, everything would work out for me in the end.
I felt bad for Kenny that all the hard work he put in wasn’t enough to give him the nod, but that feeling only lasted for a brief moment. It was my position to take back, and I earned it.
…
Waiting outside the doors to the court floor brought me back to high school. In the Schottenstein Center, home of the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the men’s ice hockey team, over 20,000 crazed Buckeye fans were waiting for their team to come running out to the field for the Friday evening pep-rally on the eve of the all-important Michigan game.
I got a good look at the crowd and festivities before being ushered into the tunnels of The Schott, and I was amazed at the standing-room only crowd for the event. No matter how far back we were in the Arena, we could still hear the faint roar of the crowd. And now that we were only feet from the court, the crowd noise was tremendous. It honestly felt like I was backstage at a rock concert.
Out of what I assumed were nerves, I began biting the skin off my lips and rolling my injured shoulder. I was running my hand over the piece of paper folded up in my pocket; I was to give a speech to the fans near the end of the rally asking them to support us in what has been a disappointing season based on the expectations we and the media gave ourselves.
While I normally felt fine about speaking in public, there was a difference between speaking to a class of maybe thirty and an arena filled to the rafters with 20,000 fans. But before I could take a drink of water to clear my throat or think of something to ease the nerves, the event manager was ushering and herding us all to run out of the curtain and onto the court with the marching band reaching the crescendo of our fight song.
I could’ve sworn I heard several ‘Fuck Michigan’ chants break out through the packed house before the Emcee of the event – an apparent senior in charge of the Student Spirit Club – came out to keep the crowd riled up.
“Alright, alright, alright,” the energetic man said. “How are we all doing tonight?” The crowd soon responded with a wave of cheers and applause. “That’s what I like to hear from my Buckeye fans! Now, someone told me there’s a big game on Saturday or something against that team from up north…”
While some laughed, the cheers from the majority of the standing-room only crowd grew louder and louder, threatening to blow the roof off of the Schottenstein Center as the noise reached its peak. I could barely hear myself think with the trapped noise blaring in my ears; how the hell did basketball players do this for a living?
After the Emcee got everyone psyched up, some of the seniors and other upperclassmen came up to the stage to talk about their favorite memories of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. I always knew it in the back of my head, but it was still shocking to hear that none of these seniors had lost to Michigan in their entire collegiate careers. They hadn’t reminded me of it all week leading up to now, but I knew they were counting on me to play a big part in ending their careers with an unblemished mark against their hated rivals.
Coach Tressel was the next to speak, giving an impassioned yet bland speech about how hard the players have worked this season and that this wouldn’t be an easy win. Good old Tressel, the only man capable of boring an entire crowd of feisty college students to sleep.
When the Emcee was given the mic as the event drew to its close.
“Alright, alright, alright, we’re down to our last act of the night. And boy is it a special one. He’s your starting QB for this weekend’s game, and he’s been your go-to guy all season long. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, give it up for number ten… Nick Kapatos!”
The crowd wildly cheered, probably surprised as I was that their freshman quarterback was giving a speech to them. I walked up to the mic, my casual appearance masking my surprise and apprehension at the thought of giving an impromptu speech.
Here's where those public speaking classes paid off.
“Man, this is pretty crazy,” I said, shifting on my feet. “I didn’t really prepare for this, so I’m just gonna wing it…” Scant laughter littered the crowd, but for the most part they remained silent. I cleared my throat before starting.
“I just want to first thank coach Tressel and the rest of the coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to start all season. Without them helping me get to where I am today, I’d probably be riding the pine from day one.”
A smattering of applause followed. “I’d also like to thank the rest of the team for not making things too hard on me this year.” “And now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the game on Saturday.”
The crowd roared back to life after hearing about Michigan, something that made me reflexively laugh. I composed myself before bringing the mic back up to continue my
“I know I’m gonna see a lot of you in the stands to add some better colors to that crowd, so expect some big things from your favorite team tomorrow. Who knows, maybe we’ll even beat ‘em?” The crowd’s cheers roared to a fever pitch before I knew what I had implied. “Now I’m not guaranteeing anything. I’m just saying don’t be surprised if we do end up beating them. Because they might be the top team in the country, but I know the boys standing behind me would love nothing more than to end their run right there on their own damn field!”
I pumped my fist in their air to the loud approval of the fans, and gave a quick high-five to my fellow classmate as I handed him the mic and jogged back to the rest of the team.
The rally concluded with everyone performing spirited singing of Carmen Ohio and the school’s fight song before it was all over. I got to shake some hands and take some pictures with a few lucky fans before being corralled by the assistants and directed back to the team’s bus to head back to campus.
I laid in bed for most of the night, not even bothering to roll over and look at the clock. As my eyelids felt heavy and I slowly drifted off, images of tearing apart Michigan’s defense and dancing on their ‘M’ logo at midfield in triumph put a smile on my face as I finally fell asleep.
“You are looking live at a sold out Big House on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It’s the 107th edition of The Game; Number one Michigan and number twenty-two Ohio State, live on ABC. Hello once again, for Kirk Herbstreit I’m Brent Musberger, and Herbie we’ve got two teams at very distinct ends of the spectrum coming into today’s game…”
I thought Penn State had a wild crowd to play in front of, but Michigan blew that assumption clean out of the water. 110,000-plus rowdy fans ready to scream their heads off for the number one team in the country in probably their most important game of the season; a win here guaranteed a spot in the BCS National Championship in New Orleans, while they would still be playing in the Rose Bowl out in Pasadena if they lost today. It wasn’t called The Big House for nothing; it felt and sounded like all of Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas was crammed into the stadium, just waiting to let loose during the game.
For us, there was no way we would be playing in a BCS game. We were playing in a second-tier January bowl no matter what happened after today, so we were simply playing for pride and bragging rights
“Looking to lead their undefeated, 11-0 Wolverines to their first National Championship game in the BCS era is Heisman Trophy favorite Denard Robinson. He’s thrown for twenty-one hundred yards and twenty touchdowns, ran for twelve-hundred and ten touchdowns, and he is electric, Herbie!”
“You said it, Brent. Robinson is the engine that makes the Rich Rodriguez offense go. He can gash you through the middle, cut it outside, or drop back and hit one of their shifty receivers in Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree and Jeremy Gallon. If you’re a defensive coach, you have to center your game-plan around stopping number sixteen.”
It felt odd watching Robinson warm up with the other Michigan skill position players. I haven’t seen him throw a ball once halfway through their pregame warm-ups.
It wasn’t until there was maybe ten minutes left until the pregame routines that I finally saw him throw, and there was nothing there that wowed me; he had some good velocity on his throws, but not every pass was accurate. And some of the balls came wobbling out of his hand when he let them fly. If he were in any other system, I guarantee that he would be playing another position.
All week when they weren’t talking about what this win would mean for the Wolverines, the ESPN personnel would discuss how much of a polar difference there was between the quarterbacks. Robinson – the new breed of spread-option quarterbacks with the wheels of an Olympic sprinter – vs. Kapatos – the new kid on the block who resembled something of a
But he had to have been doing something right if he was a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy with Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and was the current leader of the Walter Camp Award shortlist. Not only that, but the speedy quarterback from Florida had his Michigan squad – a team that only won seven games last year not counting their bowl upset over Georgia – on the cusp on their first appearance in a National Championship game since 1997 and their first BCS National Championship game in school history.
“And standing in Michigan’s way of an undefeated season and spot in the National Championship are their hated rivals from Columbus, with first year quarterback Nick Kapatos returning to the field after missing last week’s game against Iowa with a shoulder injury.”
“Ohio State’s coming into this game trying to shake off the recent funk they’ve been in, Brent. They’ve lost two of their last three, including a devastating upset at the hands of Purdue that almost knocked them out of the Top 25 entirely. And Kapatos is coming off a three-interception game against those Boilermakers before being sat out against the Hawkeyes last week. He’s looked good in warm-ups, but I’m sure all that will change once he faces Greg Robinson’s blitz-happy 3-3-5 front.”
“Despite only being a freshman, Kapatos has had a solid year for your Buckeyes, leading them to a ranking as high as third in the country before being knocked out of their game against Northwestern.”
“Twenty-two hundred yards and twenty touchdowns through the air, he has definitely surprised people this season as a first-year starter. But he and the rest of his offense will have their hands full with the tenth-ranked pass defense in the country.”
Watching the team captains go out for the opening coin toss out of the corner of my eye while was getting some last minute stretching and massaging done on my arm, I got a sudden jolt of nerves when the mammoth crowd of Michigan fans cheered at once, signaling their team won the coin toss.
Playing in what was arguably the largest and loudest stadium I had ever been to at this point of my life, it was kind of hard to not lose myself and gawk at the number of people here to watch a football game. I was as much a Buckeye homer as there was, and even I was impressed with the Big House.
As the captains for both teams went out for the coin toss, the Michigan fans seated behind our bench finally decided to let their feelings about me known.
“Hey FLID,” a fan shouted. “Hey FLID, I’m fucking talking to you!”
Soon enough, the fan’s friends joined in on the insults.
“You think you’re such hot shit, you fucking pussy?”
“I know you can hear us, you Buckeye ******!”
“You’ve got nothing, you limp-dick piece of shit! Get the fuck out of our stadium for Buckeye FLID!”
“What’s a FLID,” Josh asked, obviously unfamiliar with the insult.
“Fucking Long Island Douchebag,” I explained. “It’s the go-to insult for people from Long Island.” Josh’s face twisted as he tried to understand the insult. “Yeah, it’s fucking stupid.”
“Look at us when we’re talking to you, you cocksucking ****** FLID! You’re nothing! Go back to Columbus you fucking pussy!”
I shook my head and picked up a football for a quick throw around with Josh. It was going to take a lot more than a few shitty insults to rattle me today.
“The kick is up and we are underway here at Ann Arbor…”
The most important thing about college life was finding a routine, no matter what it was. Anything to break through the monotony of day-to-day life as a college student. Some had after-school clubs, others had jobs, others dove head-first into their studies, and others drank and experimented with drugs.
I was lucky enough that my routine revolved around athletics. Lifting and film in the morning, class in the afternoon, film and practice in the evening, visit with the trainers immediately afterword, dinner, homework, bed. Rinse and repeat for five days straight, replace all of that on Saturday with a day-long football game and the events that happen later that evening and then rest on Sunday.
The past week of being unable to play or even throw a ball killed me and disrupted the routine I had created for myself. It was like someone took something that made me who I was. I still attended practice and film sessions, but being unable to participate ate at me.
When I was given the green light to start throwing, I went at it full steam. I wasn’t slacking on a single rep. I needed to show the coaches that I was good to go and not leave a shred of doubt that I could compete at full strength.
The first day of throwing was admittedly a little rough – some easy misses and a few underthrows – but that was mostly due to shaking the rust off more than holding anything back. Day two was much better; I was much more accurate and my arm was stronger, but it still didn’t feel like I was back to normal. I didn’t expect my arm to be back to 100%, but it was slowly getting closer and closer to where I felt little discomfort every time I reared back.
Day three – the first day of drills against the scout defense – was probably one of the better days of practice I’ve had all season. It was the first time since I originally sprained my shoulder that I felt no unbearable pain when throwing, and I took advantage of it. I was hitting every single receiver with precise passes of every variety. Intermediate routes, underneath routes, deep passes, check-downs; you name it, I was making those passes.
And I think the coaches saw it too, because I noticed they were calling slightly more pass plays than normal. Maybe it was because Michigan’s run defense was one of the best in the country, maybe because our running game wasn’t that good against Iowa last week, maybe because they wanted to truly test my arm. Either way, I went out and showed everyone at practice that I was good to go come noon on Saturday.
When Thursday came rolling around, I was called into coach Tressel’s office with Guiton for a meeting before our morning film session. I had a feeling it was to discuss the starter for the big game against Michigan, and I assumed Kenny felt the exact same way.
The Texan had just as good a week of practice I did, both with the starters and as the stand-in for Heisman candidate Denard Robinson with the scout team. He clearly used his performance in the fourth quarter against Iowa as a confidence booster, and he unquestionably earned a shot at his first start over Bauserman, who was demoted to third QB after his clunker last weekend.
As confident as I was that I would be named the starter, there was a tiny shred of doubt that coach Tressel would pull a fast one and tab Guiton as the starter against Michigan. He had the fresher arm and was more dynamic as a runner than I could ever dream to be. But as great a runner as he was, I felt I had him beat as a passer and with my experience as the starter.
Hopefully coach saw it the same way I did.
Had Guiton started at the beginning of last game and played phenomenal, or even pretty good, I’m sure coach would’ve gone with the hot hand and started Guiton. But since he only played the last couple minutes of the fourth quarter, the position was wide open.
We silently entered into Tressel’s office and headed for the two empty chairs in front of his desk. Tressel’s neutral face, devoid of any discernible emotion, hid whatever decision he had already made. The Youngstown-native was always very good at hiding his emotions outside of game situations, making sure to never show his full hand when dealing with reporters, the administration or other players.
We took our seats and Tressel turned to face us. “Gentlemen, I’ll be brief. I’ve got a hell of a decision to make and not a lot of time to make it.”
“I’ve watched the both of you this past half week not just on the practice field, but in the film room and the weight room and I have to say… I’ve been very impressed with the effort you two have put in this week. You’ve made this decision a whole lot tougher for myself and the rest of the coaches by your attitudes and your approach to the upcoming game, and you should both be commended for that.”
I glanced over at Guiton, who just happened to be looking in my direction at the same time. We were both squirming on the inside; with every important moment in life, it’s always the waiting that makes the anxiety skyrocket.
“Unfortunately, I can only start one of you on Saturday,” Tressel said with
Coach turned to me with a smile. “Nicholas, I’ve been amazed with how quickly you’ve rehabbed to simply get back on the field, and even more impressed by how you’ve improved after coming back from a week of inactivity. It’s an example to present and future members of this program of the hard work and dedication necessary to thrive as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. And the fact that you’ve been the starter all season-long and have put us in the position we are now cannot be overlooked.”
I felt a flutter in my heart and a quick smile appear upon hearing the glowing praise from coach. He wasn’t the kind of guy to give out compliments like that, so it felt really nice to hear them
“And Kenneth, you’ve done such a great job preparing us for Denard this week. You’ve been improving all season long, and you’ve made the most out of your playing time when called upon. If there’s anyone else on this team who deserves to start after the amount of time they’ve put in on the field and in the film room, it would be you.”
I was ready to burst out of my skin from the anxiety, and I’m sure Guiton was feeling the exact same way. If Tressel was doing this intentionally – and I sincerely believed that he was – then he was a master at building suspense.
Maybe he still hadn’t fully made up his mind and was just making his decision now. Maybe he was making sure he had made the right decision. Maybe he was making us stew in our own nervousness for his own personal enjoyment. Either way, those were the most agonizingly-long ten seconds of my life.
“But,” coach started, finally breaking the silence. “As much as I believe in having a more dynamic and athletic quarterback taking the snaps, I also believe in going with what got you to this position…”
This was it. The sweat that was just starting to form around my hairline was now threatening to form into fat beads and fall all the way down my face.
“So, with that in mind… Nicholas will be our starter on Saturday.”
And with that, a gigantic weight was lifted off my shoulders. I made sure to hold my excitement until I was out of the athletic building and far away from Guiton, who I’m sure felt defeated over the decision.
“I’m going to try and limit your reps on Saturday,” Tressel said to me. “So unless we can’t get our running game going or we’re down late, don’t expect to be throwing it as much against these guys. Is that understood?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good,” Tressel said. “Then I’ll see the both of you bright and early for our film session tomorrow.”
With that, he shook both our hands and returned to whatever work he was doing. Guiton and I went our separate ways, and I made sure he was no longer in the same hallway before I pumped my fist in joy. I knew that if I worked hard enough and if I practiced hard enough, everything would work out for me in the end.
I felt bad for Kenny that all the hard work he put in wasn’t enough to give him the nod, but that feeling only lasted for a brief moment. It was my position to take back, and I earned it.
…
Waiting outside the doors to the court floor brought me back to high school. In the Schottenstein Center, home of the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the men’s ice hockey team, over 20,000 crazed Buckeye fans were waiting for their team to come running out to the field for the Friday evening pep-rally on the eve of the all-important Michigan game.
I got a good look at the crowd and festivities before being ushered into the tunnels of The Schott, and I was amazed at the standing-room only crowd for the event. No matter how far back we were in the Arena, we could still hear the faint roar of the crowd. And now that we were only feet from the court, the crowd noise was tremendous. It honestly felt like I was backstage at a rock concert.
Out of what I assumed were nerves, I began biting the skin off my lips and rolling my injured shoulder. I was running my hand over the piece of paper folded up in my pocket; I was to give a speech to the fans near the end of the rally asking them to support us in what has been a disappointing season based on the expectations we and the media gave ourselves.
While I normally felt fine about speaking in public, there was a difference between speaking to a class of maybe thirty and an arena filled to the rafters with 20,000 fans. But before I could take a drink of water to clear my throat or think of something to ease the nerves, the event manager was ushering and herding us all to run out of the curtain and onto the court with the marching band reaching the crescendo of our fight song.
I could’ve sworn I heard several ‘Fuck Michigan’ chants break out through the packed house before the Emcee of the event – an apparent senior in charge of the Student Spirit Club – came out to keep the crowd riled up.
“Alright, alright, alright,” the energetic man said. “How are we all doing tonight?” The crowd soon responded with a wave of cheers and applause. “That’s what I like to hear from my Buckeye fans! Now, someone told me there’s a big game on Saturday or something against that team from up north…”
While some laughed, the cheers from the majority of the standing-room only crowd grew louder and louder, threatening to blow the roof off of the Schottenstein Center as the noise reached its peak. I could barely hear myself think with the trapped noise blaring in my ears; how the hell did basketball players do this for a living?
After the Emcee got everyone psyched up, some of the seniors and other upperclassmen came up to the stage to talk about their favorite memories of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry. I always knew it in the back of my head, but it was still shocking to hear that none of these seniors had lost to Michigan in their entire collegiate careers. They hadn’t reminded me of it all week leading up to now, but I knew they were counting on me to play a big part in ending their careers with an unblemished mark against their hated rivals.
Coach Tressel was the next to speak, giving an impassioned yet bland speech about how hard the players have worked this season and that this wouldn’t be an easy win. Good old Tressel, the only man capable of boring an entire crowd of feisty college students to sleep.
When the Emcee was given the mic as the event drew to its close.
“Alright, alright, alright, we’re down to our last act of the night. And boy is it a special one. He’s your starting QB for this weekend’s game, and he’s been your go-to guy all season long. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, give it up for number ten… Nick Kapatos!”
The crowd wildly cheered, probably surprised as I was that their freshman quarterback was giving a speech to them. I walked up to the mic, my casual appearance masking my surprise and apprehension at the thought of giving an impromptu speech.
Here's where those public speaking classes paid off.
“Man, this is pretty crazy,” I said, shifting on my feet. “I didn’t really prepare for this, so I’m just gonna wing it…” Scant laughter littered the crowd, but for the most part they remained silent. I cleared my throat before starting.
“I just want to first thank coach Tressel and the rest of the coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to start all season. Without them helping me get to where I am today, I’d probably be riding the pine from day one.”
A smattering of applause followed. “I’d also like to thank the rest of the team for not making things too hard on me this year.” “And now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about the game on Saturday.”
The crowd roared back to life after hearing about Michigan, something that made me reflexively laugh. I composed myself before bringing the mic back up to continue my
“I know I’m gonna see a lot of you in the stands to add some better colors to that crowd, so expect some big things from your favorite team tomorrow. Who knows, maybe we’ll even beat ‘em?” The crowd’s cheers roared to a fever pitch before I knew what I had implied. “Now I’m not guaranteeing anything. I’m just saying don’t be surprised if we do end up beating them. Because they might be the top team in the country, but I know the boys standing behind me would love nothing more than to end their run right there on their own damn field!”
I pumped my fist in their air to the loud approval of the fans, and gave a quick high-five to my fellow classmate as I handed him the mic and jogged back to the rest of the team.
The rally concluded with everyone performing spirited singing of Carmen Ohio and the school’s fight song before it was all over. I got to shake some hands and take some pictures with a few lucky fans before being corralled by the assistants and directed back to the team’s bus to head back to campus.
I laid in bed for most of the night, not even bothering to roll over and look at the clock. As my eyelids felt heavy and I slowly drifted off, images of tearing apart Michigan’s defense and dancing on their ‘M’ logo at midfield in triumph put a smile on my face as I finally fell asleep.
“You are looking live at a sold out Big House on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It’s the 107th edition of The Game; Number one Michigan and number twenty-two Ohio State, live on ABC. Hello once again, for Kirk Herbstreit I’m Brent Musberger, and Herbie we’ve got two teams at very distinct ends of the spectrum coming into today’s game…”
I thought Penn State had a wild crowd to play in front of, but Michigan blew that assumption clean out of the water. 110,000-plus rowdy fans ready to scream their heads off for the number one team in the country in probably their most important game of the season; a win here guaranteed a spot in the BCS National Championship in New Orleans, while they would still be playing in the Rose Bowl out in Pasadena if they lost today. It wasn’t called The Big House for nothing; it felt and sounded like all of Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas was crammed into the stadium, just waiting to let loose during the game.
For us, there was no way we would be playing in a BCS game. We were playing in a second-tier January bowl no matter what happened after today, so we were simply playing for pride and bragging rights
“Looking to lead their undefeated, 11-0 Wolverines to their first National Championship game in the BCS era is Heisman Trophy favorite Denard Robinson. He’s thrown for twenty-one hundred yards and twenty touchdowns, ran for twelve-hundred and ten touchdowns, and he is electric, Herbie!”
“You said it, Brent. Robinson is the engine that makes the Rich Rodriguez offense go. He can gash you through the middle, cut it outside, or drop back and hit one of their shifty receivers in Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree and Jeremy Gallon. If you’re a defensive coach, you have to center your game-plan around stopping number sixteen.”
It felt odd watching Robinson warm up with the other Michigan skill position players. I haven’t seen him throw a ball once halfway through their pregame warm-ups.
It wasn’t until there was maybe ten minutes left until the pregame routines that I finally saw him throw, and there was nothing there that wowed me; he had some good velocity on his throws, but not every pass was accurate. And some of the balls came wobbling out of his hand when he let them fly. If he were in any other system, I guarantee that he would be playing another position.
All week when they weren’t talking about what this win would mean for the Wolverines, the ESPN personnel would discuss how much of a polar difference there was between the quarterbacks. Robinson – the new breed of spread-option quarterbacks with the wheels of an Olympic sprinter – vs. Kapatos – the new kid on the block who resembled something of a
But he had to have been doing something right if he was a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy with Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III and was the current leader of the Walter Camp Award shortlist. Not only that, but the speedy quarterback from Florida had his Michigan squad – a team that only won seven games last year not counting their bowl upset over Georgia – on the cusp on their first appearance in a National Championship game since 1997 and their first BCS National Championship game in school history.
“And standing in Michigan’s way of an undefeated season and spot in the National Championship are their hated rivals from Columbus, with first year quarterback Nick Kapatos returning to the field after missing last week’s game against Iowa with a shoulder injury.”
“Ohio State’s coming into this game trying to shake off the recent funk they’ve been in, Brent. They’ve lost two of their last three, including a devastating upset at the hands of Purdue that almost knocked them out of the Top 25 entirely. And Kapatos is coming off a three-interception game against those Boilermakers before being sat out against the Hawkeyes last week. He’s looked good in warm-ups, but I’m sure all that will change once he faces Greg Robinson’s blitz-happy 3-3-5 front.”
“Despite only being a freshman, Kapatos has had a solid year for your Buckeyes, leading them to a ranking as high as third in the country before being knocked out of their game against Northwestern.”
“Twenty-two hundred yards and twenty touchdowns through the air, he has definitely surprised people this season as a first-year starter. But he and the rest of his offense will have their hands full with the tenth-ranked pass defense in the country.”
Watching the team captains go out for the opening coin toss out of the corner of my eye while was getting some last minute stretching and massaging done on my arm, I got a sudden jolt of nerves when the mammoth crowd of Michigan fans cheered at once, signaling their team won the coin toss.
Playing in what was arguably the largest and loudest stadium I had ever been to at this point of my life, it was kind of hard to not lose myself and gawk at the number of people here to watch a football game. I was as much a Buckeye homer as there was, and even I was impressed with the Big House.
As the captains for both teams went out for the coin toss, the Michigan fans seated behind our bench finally decided to let their feelings about me known.
“Hey FLID,” a fan shouted. “Hey FLID, I’m fucking talking to you!”
Soon enough, the fan’s friends joined in on the insults.
“You think you’re such hot shit, you fucking pussy?”
“I know you can hear us, you Buckeye ******!”
“You’ve got nothing, you limp-dick piece of shit! Get the fuck out of our stadium for Buckeye FLID!”
“What’s a FLID,” Josh asked, obviously unfamiliar with the insult.
“Fucking Long Island Douchebag,” I explained. “It’s the go-to insult for people from Long Island.” Josh’s face twisted as he tried to understand the insult. “Yeah, it’s fucking stupid.”
“Look at us when we’re talking to you, you cocksucking ****** FLID! You’re nothing! Go back to Columbus you fucking pussy!”
I shook my head and picked up a football for a quick throw around with Josh. It was going to take a lot more than a few shitty insults to rattle me today.
“The kick is up and we are underway here at Ann Arbor…”
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Good to see you writing again, Kap. Notice a few paragraphs were incomplete, though.
“Michigan starts with the ball at their own twenty following the touchback and out comes the high-flying Wolverine offense led by Heisman candidate Denard ‘Shoelace’ Robinson. Robinson has been incredible this season, throwing for twenty touchdowns and running for ten as Michigan is one win away from a perfect season. Herbie what does Ohio State have to do to stop Robinson?”
“What this Buckeye defense needs to do is keep Robinson contained behind the line of scrimmage, make him beat you with his arm, and prevent him from running by any means necessary. He still needs work on his passing to become a more effective quarterback, but he has some of the best legs out of any athlete in Division I football today.”
Robinson took the shotgun snap and immediately rolled to his left, patiently waiting for his receivers to make their cuts and get separation.
“Robinson stops, fires a fastball and hits his man in stride! Junior Hemingway with a first down and he’s brought down after a gain of 18.”
“And they hurry back to the line in their no-huddle offense, Robinson receiving the plays from the sideline…”
While our coaches rapidly subbed in and subbed out players on the defense, the Michigan offense calmly called out plays from the sideline and quickly set up. But as calm as they were, they were about to be rattled by a redshirt linebacker.
“Robinson sets up to pass… sees no one so he rolls right… looks over the middle and it’s intercepted! Dorian Bell with the pick at the 39 yard line and that gives Ohio State fantastic field position for their first drive of the afternoon!”
“He tried to hit Hemmingway again on a deep in, but Robinson misread the coverage and threw it right to the linebacker playing the zone.”
…
The second the offense took the field, a tidal wave of boos and jeers rained down upon us. I thought the reception we received from pre-game was bad, but this was on a whole other level. The sound was almost deafening, forcing me to shout the play out in the huddle.
“And out comes the Buckeye offense led by freshman Nick Kapatos, returning for his first game since sitting out last week’s thrilling 25-24 victory over Iowa after suffering a shoulder sprain against Purdue. The Buckeyes are averaging 35.7 points a game this season, good second in the conference behind Michigan…”
The Michigan linemen position across from me glared at me with hate in their eyes, ready to knock my head off and send me back to the injured list.
“RED 88… RED 88… SET, HUT!”
“Kapatos drops back to pass, rolling left… he lets it go and he hits his man with room ahead of him! Brought down at the 13 yard line and the Buckeyes are already within striking distance with under nine minutes to go in the first quarter!”
…
“Third and nine after the two yard gain by Herron, Kapatos takes the snap and pitches it to Herron. Herron has nowhere to go and the ball pops free! And Michigan comes away with the football! Mike Martin with the forced fumble, Raymond Force with the recovery – his second of the year – and the Michigan defense comes away with a great stop inside the redzone!”
Up until this week I totally forgot Force committed to Michigan, and I was even more surprised when doing a little research that he had gotten playing time throughout the season in their deep rotation of linebackers. I hadn’t seen him play since getting a first-hand look against him in the Long Island Championship almost a year ago, so hopefully he wasn’t still bitter about me beating him or laying that huge block on him.
As we jogged off the field, I took a quick look back and saw him staring back and pointing directly to me and saying something I couldn’t hear from their sideline.
Shit.
…
“Robinson drops back – no, it’s a handoff! Michael Shaw up the middle, and he dances around before he’s brought down after a gain of eight.”
…
“Robinson sits back, looks deep and hits Martavious Odoms along the sideline! A gain of 30 as the Wolverines cross midfield and into Buckeye territory.”
…
“Robinson dances out of a sack and he tucks it and runs. He crosses the first down marker and steps out of bounds for a pick-up of 11.”
…
“Robinson floats one to the sideline and it’s corralled by Hemingway for a gain of eight at the Ohio State 37.”
…
A great stop on third down by Sabino and Bell forced Michigan to settle for a field goal, which I was OK with considering how much they’ve scored per game coming into today. With another chorus of boos focused on us, we marched onto the field to see if we could respond in any way.
…
“Herron blasts through a gaping hole up the middle, and is taken down by a group of Wolverine defenders after a gain of eight on first down.”
…
“Kapatos sets up, looks right, lobs one downfield and fits it over the shoulder of Posey for a gain of nineteen! What a beautiful pass from the freshman, and it looks like no rust has accumulated on his arm.”
…
“Posey on the reverse, and he’s knocked out of bounds after a gain of five.”
…
“Kapatos drops back – no, draw to Herron! He’s up the middle and brought down past the first down after a gain of nine!”
…
“Kapatos drops back, forced out of the pocket by the oncoming rush… tries to cut up-field but is forced out of bounds after only a gain of two on second down.”
…
“Third and eight, 3:46 on the clock here in the first in Ann Arbor. Kapatos takes the snap and sets up for play-action… tries to scramble away from the pressure and he’s hammered behind the line for a sack! A loss of six on third down, and that forces the punting unit onto the field after the sack by Raymond Force and Jonas Moutin!”
I should’ve seen Force – who was put in the Sam position – coming off the edge after blowing past Stoneburner, but I had Posey wide-open deep down the field. As if getting hit by that freight train of a human being, I was also hit from behind by the other linebacker Moutin. I was essentially sandwiched by the two linebackers, Force hitting me right in the gut and Moutin right in my back.
“Think I forgot about last year,” Force angrily spat as he stood over me. “You think I forgot about the ring that should’ve been mine? You’d better get comfortable down there, because I’m gonna put you in the fucking ground all damn day!”
He sprinted off the field with the rest of the defense before I could make any kind of remark, instead picking myself off the field turf and jogging over to the sideline.
“What the hell was that about,” Dom asked as Josh went on with the rest of the punt unit.
“I beat number 56 in the high school championship game around this time last year. Guy’s still pissed about it.”
“And you’ll have to see him at least two more times.”
I grimaced at the thought of having Force line up across from me for the next two to three seasons. I can still remember the damage he did to me and the rest of the West Islip team in the championship game, and all the bruises that covered my body the next day.
Watching Denard lead his team down the field after the punt just made me feel worse.
…
“Another completion for Robinson, this time hitting Roy Roundtree for a gain of 21 as Michigan’s offense continues to move on this reeling Buckeye defense.”
...
“Robinson escapes another sack attempt and he flings it to the sideline where the tight end Koger is there for the seven yard reception on third and five. This Robinson is something else when he gets under pressure.”
…
As Robinson continued to dance around and find his targets, it felt like all this energy was building up on the field. They were gaining some substantial amounts of yards, but the defense hadn’t been burned on anything deep and were doing a fairly decent job of keeping the lightning-quick QB behind the LOS.
Sure enough, that worry was justified.
“It’s a high snap but Robinson comes down with it. Immediately under pressure… slips out of one sack… then another… and he takes off up-field! No one’s around him! At the 25… the 20… the 10… touchdown Michigan! Oh my goodness, add another clip to the highlight reel as the Wolverines go up by ten on the legs of the quarterback they call Shoelace!”
The reactions on the opposite sidelines couldn’t be any more different. On the Ohio State bench, there was a stunned silence and sense of doom as Robinson pulled a Houdini-act getting out of two sacks before scrambling 33-yards for the score, and the Michigan side was absolutely fired up after watching their electrifying Heisman candidate make yet another insane play to up their lead to ten.
With the first quarter coming to a close, something needed to happen on both sides of the ball, or else this was going to be a long, painful afternoon.
…
“First possession of the second quarter for the Buckeyes at their own 24 yard line, trailing 10-0. Kapatos hands it off and Herron has a hole along the left side. Bounces off a tackler, and he falls forward at the forty after a gain of 16!’
…
“Kapatos rolls right, and just gets it off to the tight end Oversonn before getting planted by the linebacker Craig Roh! What a catch along the sideline by the freshman and it’s a gain of nine.”
…
“Hand off up the middle and its Zach Boren who picks up the three yards and the first down.”
…
“Kapatos steps up in the pocket, looks deep but checks it down over the middle and he’s got Stoneburner across the first down marker for a pick-up of 11 on third down.”
…
“Third and long, the Buckeyes showing five receivers and an empty backfield… Kapatos takes the snap, has to throw it on the run and it’s caught! What a catch in stride by James Jackson, and the sophomore picks up several more yards before being brought down inside the Michigan ten for a 32-yard gain!”
“A nice throw by the freshman under pressure from the Michigan pass rush and he just gets it off before taking a punishing hit from the linebacker Force. That’s great composure and poise from the young signal caller.”
“Miss me, bitch,” Force uttered before picking himself off of me. “Be back real soon.”
“I’ll be waiting, sweetheart,” I replied, making sure I said it loud enough for him to hear, before hurrying back to the huddle.
“This isn’t the first time Kapatos and Force have faced each other, Herbie. They’ve squared off against one another twice before; once in the Long Island Championship, with Kapatos coming out on top, and again on the same team in the Long Island-New York City All-Star Game in the summer.”
“Force has played in every game this season, making 50 tackles, ten for loss and three sacks as a rotational linebacker. Coach Robinson has been putting the former Garden City High School star all over the field this season, and the young man has made some waves in just his first year on the roster. And we’ve seen and heard all the press Kapatos has gotten since he took over the starting roll back in August, so it should be exciting to see these two great competitors go after each other for the next three – possibly four – seasons.”
…
Sitting pretty right on the Michigan six, the crowd’s intensity went up to 11; I could barely hear myself think with the amount of people screaming at the top of their lungs, and if I were in the shotgun I’m sure I’d have trouble getting the snap off.
Thank God I was under center for this.
“RED 68… RED 68… SET… HUT!”
“Kapatos takes the snap, rolls left and fires to the corner and it’s… caught for a touchdown! Corey Brown on the six-yard reception and Ohio State is now only an extra-point away from making this a three-point game with six minutes remaining in the first half.”
“The young freshman, absolutely unfazed by the crowd intensity deep inside the Michigan redzone, throws an absolutely beautiful pass right where it had to be. A heck of a throw on the run for the young man out of West Islip, New York.”
…
“Robinson takes the snap, option left… fakes the pitch and he’s got room to run! Past the first down and plenty of turf ahead of him! Past the 40 and he’s pushed out of bounds after a scamper for 26 yards on first down.”
…
“Robinson slings it over the middle and he’s got Odoms. Brought down at the Buckeye 42, and Robinson has Michigan driving again.”
…
“Robinson under pressure, slips out of a sack… looks to scramble – no, he launches a deep ball… and it’s caught by Odoms again! The senior picks up 33 yards on the heave and brings it right at the Buckeye 12!”
…
I watched with disappointment and shame as the defense gave up another Robinson touchdown – this one a pass to Roy Roundtree – to go back up by ten. It appeared that the funk they were in against Purdue and for parts of the Iowa game had returned at the worst possible time, which put more pressure on myself and the rest of the offense to keep up with the Wolverine scoring machine.
Not that I didn’t like the challenge; I just wished they could make at least one stop on defense. It seemed like everything the defense did right against Iowa the week before went right out the window against the much faster and better Michigan offense. It felt like I was watching a repeat of the Purdue game, only Michigan had a significantly better quarterback and the Big House was a much more intimidating place to play in than Ross-Ade Stadium. In fact, we hadn't had this bad a game since back in September against Miami when I shit the bed in the second half. And with the way both side of the ball were producing, the feelings of déjà vu were starting to creep in.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay on the field after crossing the 50, so we had to punt with 4:31 left on the clock and plenty of time for Michigan to drive and score.
…
“Third and nine, Michigan looking to keep the drive alive. Robinson takes the snap and immediately rolls out to his right. Hit as he throws but it’s complete along the sideline… and the officials confirm it right in front of the Buckeye sideline! That’s the sophomore Jeremy Gallon with the toe-tapping catch for a gain of 11 and another first down for the Wolverines.”
…
“Fitzgerald Toussaint gets the call and he cuts outside for a gain of six.”
…
“Robinson slings it to the left and it’s pulled down by the tight end Koger for a pick-up of seven and another Wolverine first down as they march into Buckeye territory.”
“The Ohio State defense needs to lock down their assignment s and start making plays or else this one is going to get out of hand quick.”
…
Sure enough, another long pass and catch from Robinson to one of his receivers put Michigan back in our redzone with plenty of time left on the clock. I shouted and cheered on the defense, but my voice fell on deaf ears as the defense once again conceded points.
“Robinson hands it off to Smith on the sweep, and he’s got the edge. Meets the linebacker at the goal-line… and falls over him for the score! Vincent Smith with his eighth touchdown run of the season, and Michigan is a PAT away from pulling ahead by three scores.”
“The outside linebacker Andrew Sweat had good form on the tackle, but he was just run over by the smaller Smith. This is turning into a laugher with another half of football still to play.”
I bet the defensive staff was steaming up in the coaches’ booth because their defense was being run over by the opposition. It seemed like there was nothing they could do without giving up some form of yardage. How Jim Heacock was going to make the adjustments to at least make
As Posey knelt on the ball in the endzone for the touchback, I strapped on my helmet and once again ignored the chorus of boos, trying to do something to get this team back in the game.
…
“Third and seven, ball at Ohio State’s 23 yard-line, clock winding down to under two-minutes. Kapatos takes the snap, and drops back from the shotgun…”
As soon as I received the snap, the pressure was immediately on from the Michigan front six. I hadn’t even finished my three-step drop before I saw Force sprint through the ‘B’ gap with a look in his eyes that screamed ‘I’m going to rip your head off’.
In an instant, I planted and sprinted as fast as I could around the left side of the line. I just barely escaped running into Mike Adams and Craig Roh before breaking past the LOS.
“Kapatos scrambles out of the pocket, has to juke away from the outstretched arms of the lineman Roh and he’s looking for the first down on the ground.”
Seeing that the safeties had broken off their assignments as soon as they saw me cross the LOS, I prepared to get as much as I could before sliding. But that was before I felt a vice-like grip try to bring me down from behind.
“He’s wrapped up by Force just a few yards away from the first down marker. Doesn’t look like he’s going to get this one…”
With the aggressive linebacker pulling against me with all his strength, all I could do was keep my legs pumping. I took a quick glance to my left and saw that the first down indicator was practically right in front of me. Moving my legs with a fury, I could feel myself making small gains as the safeties joined together to form a wall to prevent me from moving any forward.
“Kovacs and Woolfolk collide with Kapatos but he keeps falling forward and stretches the ball out. It looks like the refs are sending out the chain gang for an official measurement…”
I could hear Force utter a string of obscenities at me as he pushed off and picked himself off the Michigan turf. Everyone kept pointing either first down or that my second and third efforts weren’t enough to keep us on the field as the zebras set up for their measurement.
“And Ohio State just barely gets the first down by the nose of the football! What an effort by the freshman quarterback to keep his legs moving long enough to get the first down.”
“How you like that shit, Force,” I said to the GCHS product as we both jogged back to our respective huddles.
…
“Kapatos stands in the pocket, and throws in on to Stoneburner on a drag and the junior picks up five before being brought down by the Michigan defense.”
…
“It’s a screen to Herron, and he follows his blockers before stepping out of bounds for a seven-yard scamper.”
…
“Kapatos rolls left and hits Chris Fields along the sideline for a gain of nine, a nice throw from the quarterback on that one.”
…
“Kapatos wants it all, going deep… and it’s batted out of the hands of DeVier Posey by the safety Jordan Kovacs! What a great defensive play by the junior strong safety on third down.”
I slapped my hands together as we came off the field with 47 seconds left in the half. I thought I had the safety beat deep, but I must’ve put too much air under the pass because he easily covered ground and batted it away.
Another big play from Robinson got Michigan back in the redzone, but the defense held their ground for once and forced a field goal which their kicker shanked right. Going into the locker room down by 21, there was a lot for us we had to improve on if we wanted to have a chance of making a comeback.
…
“Second down, Kapatos drops back and he just barely gets the ball away before being planted by the Michigan defense. Force again was the first one in the backfield on the blitz, and Ohio State’s offensive woes appear to have carried over from the first half.”
“This Michigan defense has come in today absolutely fired up; they aren’t taking the opportunity to appear in the National Championship for granted.”
Defensive captain Jonas Moutin went to give me a hand to help me up, and I could tell Force would’ve rather me stay on their turf. A surprising pat on the helmet later and we were both back in our respective huddles.
I guess not everyone from Michigan is an asshole.
…
“Kapatos rolls back, escaping the pressure. He steps up and throws it downfield… and he’s got a man! James Jackson along the sideline for a gain of 24 on third and long!”
…
“Kapatos throws left for Posey, and he’s got the first down on an 11-yard reception on the curl route.”
…
“Kapatos pump fakes, takes a five-step drop and hits Posey again, this time over the middle for a nine-yard gain. And Ohio State’s offense has come to life with eight minutes left in the third quarter, marching down the field on their first possession of the half.”
…
“Kapatos drops back, but he hands it off to Herron! He’s got a seam up the middle, and is brought down by the Michigan defense after a gain of nine.”
…
“He’s under pressure again, but Kapatos gets it off underneath to Posey on a screen and the senior has room to run. He’s past the first down marker and looking for more! At the 15… the 10… brought down at the Michigan five for a gain of 20.”
“And surprise, surprise, look who’s in the Ohio State backfield… its Raymond Force again after leveling Kapatos just after he got the throw off. The Ohio State coaching staff still has no idea how to stop this linebacker from getting to the quarterback, and if this keeps up Kapatos might not be able to survive this game.”
“Only a matter of time,” Force said, refusing to help me up like their senior captain did. “Only a matter of time before I send you outta here in a body bag.”
“I’m still standing, aren’t I,” I asked him back, wiping myself of the field turf rubber beads as I picked myself up. “You must’ve been slacking in the weight room because that one barely hurt at all.”
Force got back in my face – close enough that our facemasks were centimeters away from each other – as we gave one another a mean glare. We had to be pulled away by our respective teammates before anything could happen.
“It doesn’t seem like these two have forgotten the last time they played each other in the Long Island Championship game, and the bad blood between them will only get worse over the years with the infusion of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry to add fuel to that fire.”
“You know how signs at the zoo say not to feed the bears,” Dom remarked on the way to the huddle. “Well, you’re feeding the bear. And he’s gonna fucking maul you if you don’t be careful.”
“Maybe if you and the rest of the line could block him I wouldn’t have to worry about that.”
…
“Third and six, ball at the one. All the tight ends on the field, Ohio State looking to make this a two-touchdown affair. Kapatos takes the snap, fakes the handoff and rolls left… he’s under pressure and brought down behind the line for the second time today. Craig Roh on the sack for a loss of two, and Tressel send out the field goal unit for the 20-yard chip-shot.”
…
After our defense finally forced a Michigan three-and-out, it was our turn again deep in our side of the field to build off our momentum and make this a much closer game.
“Counter to the right side, and Herron has a corner. Jukes one defender, he sprints past the first down marker and looks for more! At the 35… the 40… tripped up at the 43 for a gain of 23 by the senior tailback.”
…
“Kapatos takes a deep drop-back, shuffles to his right… wants it all deep downfield over the middle… but it’s intercepted! Jordan Kovacs with the pick on a rare underthrow from Kapatos, and he’s got room to return it. Brought down at the Michigan 43 for a huge swing of momentum at the most inopportune time for the Buckeyes.”
“DeVier Posey had his man absolutely beat on the fly route, but Kapatos simply underthrew it and Kovacs made the great adjustment for the ball. Unfortunate turn of events for the young quarterback.”
With the Michigan band loudly playing their fight song after the turnover, I could only jog back to the sideline and review my recent turnover. Tressel pulled me aside and said something that I hoped was reassuring that I could barely hear over the blare of the instruments and the jeers of the fans situated behind the bench.
“Sweet pass, FLID,” that one from before fan remarked. “Almost good enough to get you on our scout team.”
I ignored the cat calls and insults, only focusing on the discussion with the coaches and the other quarterbacks as we went over the previous play. There were only the pictures from the series and the words of the coaches and teammates to focus on right now as Michigan went right back to work with plenty of time remaining in the quarter.
…
“Robinson dodges a would-be tackler, keeps looking… sees nothing and he tucks it and scrambles up-field… he’s past the first down marker and knocked out of bounds at the Buckeye 38 after a gain of nine!”
“Robinson has had his way with the Buckeye defense today, running for well over 60 yards in only nine carries to go with his 218 yards on 18 completions. His only blemish on the afternoon was an interception early in the first quarter, but he seems to have put that completely out of his mind as he’s single-handedly destroyed this Ohio State defensive unit.”
I couldn’t help but watch in amazement as Robinson – who looked more like a running back than a quarterback at first glance – single-handedly destroyed our defense with his legs and arm. With every one of his completed passes or escaped sacks-turned big gains, a pit in my gut grew larger and larger.
It was like watching a train-wreck; you wanted to look away, but morbid curiosity forced you to keep watching.
“Robinson pitches it to Vincent Smith, and the sophomore scampers to the outside before being dropped after a gain of five.”
…
“Another run up the gut, this time with Michael Shaw, and the junior bursts ahead for a pick-up of six and a Wolverine first down.”
…
“Option to the left, and Robinson pitches it to Shaw, who takes it to the outside before being dragged down after a gain of seven.”
…
“Robinson looks, sets his feet and fires over the middle and it’s completed! Hemingway shakes off a tackler and is off to the races! 30… 20… he walks into the endzone for the touchdown! My goodness, what a performance here by this Michigan offense!”
“And what an absolutely poor showing by the Ohio State defense. I know their offense hasn’t been as good since their loss to Northwestern, but their defense has been just as bad. They gave up almost 500 yards of total offense and 40 points against Purdue and they’ve looked just as bad against an unquestionably-better Wolverine offense. Something needs to change quickly if Ohio State wants a shot of at least making this an interesting game.”
…
After Michigan nailed a 42-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, Ohio State took the ball at their own nine after a botched return by Herron, but Michigan has prevented any kind of positive gains for the Buckeye to start the final 15 minutes of action. The offense came out listless to start the final quarter, gaining minimal yardage on first and second down. The run-game was practically non-existent to put it politely (only 53 yards entering the fourth), the blocking was inconsistent against the Michigan defense, and for the last couple of drives it seemed like the team had given up.
I sure as hell wasn’t ready to roll over and die just because we were down 24 against the big bad Wolverines. And I knew that no one else on this team – no matter what the score was – would give up. Not now, not ever.
“Kapatos rolls right, tries to escape from the pressure and he gets it off right as he’s hit, and it’s complete to the tight end Josh Oversonn! The freshman only picks up three before he’s wrapped up by the linebacker Force…”
As tough and fierce an athlete as Force was, there was no one on the Michigan roster or anyone watching this game that knew what kind of player Josh was. I’d seen it every day in practice and inter-squad scrimmages, and the kid had the heart of a lion and the strength of a professional weightlifter. There was no way he was going down unless you brought superior numbers, and even then it was going to be a challenge.
“Oversonn sheds the tackler, and he’s got room to run! Past the first down marker, and he’s wrapped up at the 25… but he stays on his feet! He’s dragging the defenders until he finally falls at the 30 yard line! A fantastic gain of 21 for the young man out of Southridge High in Beaverton, Oregon.”
“What a powerful run-after-the-catch by the freshman tight end. Force had him all wrapped up short of the first down, but Oversonn simply shrugged off the defender and kept moving up-field. Such a great showcase of toughness from the first year tight end.”
Josh was never the kind of guy to celebrate a catch in a game, so like he did all year the big freshman simply handed the ball to the official and calmly jogged back to the huddle.
While I’m sure he realized how bad it would look to celebrate a first down when your team trailed big late, it dawned on me that he never celebrated a big catch. It was like he was cut from the cloth of more traditional and respected players of NFL past, before all the showboating and ‘look at me’ of today’s football.
It made me respect him more with just how selfless he was on the field.
…
“Kapatos drops back, steps up and hits DeVier Posey along the left side on an out-route for a gain of six on second down.”
…
“Kapatos sheds off a sack and rifles one over the middle for his receiver Corey Brown. The sophomore is brought down after a gain of 14 and another Buckeye first down as they cross into Michigan territory.”
…
“Ball just at the Michigan 40, 9:39 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Kapatos takes the shotgun snap, drops back to pass… he sees an opening and wants it all deep down the right side… and it’s caught in the endzone for the touchdown! Number two on the day for Kapatos, this one to DeVier Posey, and that makes this an 18-point game.”
“Nick Kapatos drops an absolute dime over the Wolverine defender into the waiting arms of Posey near the back of the endzone. As bad as Ohio State has looked today, you have to give credit to Kapatos for at least trying everything he can to keep his team in this game.”
“And it looks like Ohio State is keeping their offense on the field, electing to go for two instead of the PAT. It’s the shotgun formation, four receivers on the field with Herron in the backfield with Kapatos.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to run it here…”
“He takes the snap… fakes the handoff to Herron and bursts off to the left side. He’s got the edge… no! Tripped up at the line by Craig Roh, and the Buckeyes fail to convert the two points, leaving the score 34-16 in favor of the top-ranked Wolverines.”
“What an incredible effort by the defensive end Roh. Mike Adams has him on his back, but Roh has the awareness to know exactly where the quarterback is and reach his arm out at the right moment to trip him up and end the play before they could convert.”
That was a shitty play. God damn that was a shitty play! I probably could’ve – and should’ve – audibled out of that read option and tried for something that would’ve let me pass it to one of our receivers. I don’t know why I didn’t, so that play is as much on me as it is the coaches.
…
“Robinson sets up in the pocket, all day to throw… he reels it back and launches one over the middle… caught by Gallon and brought down at the Buckeye 43 after a gain of 30 on the long pass play. That gives him 285 on the afternoon, closing in on his fifth 300-yard game of the season.”
…
“Robinson breaks outside the pocket but is taken down only after a gain of four, his shortest gain of the afternoon. But it moves them closer to the first down marker and that much deeper into Ohio State’s side of the field as time continues to wind down.
…
For whatever reason – possibly the running up of the score in every meeting with them in the Rich Rodriguez regime – Michigan kept their foot on the gas pedal as they marched down the field. Their passes were accurate, running lanes were wide open, and blocking was sound. The crowd felt different, too. In previous seasons around this time, they were wondering if their team would score. This season, though, they were wondering how the offense was going to score.
“Robinson sprints right and he’s got Vincent Smith on the option. Robinson takes a punishing hit but he just gets it away… Smith has a full field ahead of him! Skates by a defender and he dives across the goal-line for the score! His first of the day, third on the ground for the Wolverines, and Michigan extends their already commanding lead to 35.”
…
“Kapatos starts scrambling to his right, immediately changes direction as he senses the pocket collapsing from that side. He sees a man over the middle and rifles it to his tight end Stoneburner. The junior dives up-field and the ball is ruled at the at the 31 for a gain of eight and another first down late in the fourth quarter.”
…
“Shotgun draw up the middle and Herron bursts through the hole before being dragged down. A gain of ten on the play, and that’s back-to-back first downs on this drive late in the fourth quarter.”
…
“Kapatos drops in the pocket, scanning the field as Michigan sends a four-man rush plus the linebacker. The linebacker Force is through and Kapatos just gets it off deep… and it’s intercepted by the cornerback Cameron Desu! A freshman from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Desu comes down with his third INT of the season with 3:26 to go in the ballgame.”
“Force is right there once again to pressure Kapatos, and the freshman quarterback was better off just taking the sack on first down. That’s something you really shouldn’t expect to see this late in the season from a quarterback who’s made 11 starts this season.”
For the second time today, I had to endure the long, disappointed walk back to the sideline after committing a turnover. It was the absolute worst feeling in the world – to solidify your team’s defeat this late in the game against an opponent you disliked playing against on their home turf.
It wouldn’t take long for Michigan and their Heisman contender to capitalize on the mistake.
…
“Robinson takes the snap, looks like he wants to pass– no, he takes off up the middle…”
I knew what was going to happen. There was always a slight hope that the defense would prevent it from happening, but I knew what was next. All that was left was to suck it up and watch that dynamic QB add another clip to his growing Heisman reel.
“Oh my, what a move by Robinson to split the defenders! He’s in open field and he turns on the jets! No one’s gonna catch him as he crosses midfield! At the 40… the 30… good-bye Robinson and touchdown Michigan! 63 yards in the blink of an eye from Shoelace Robinson to put the final dagger in the hearts of the Buckeyes with just over three minutes to go in the ball-game.”
Even I had to be impressed by the junior’s run. The way he dodged and weaved through our defense was like he was skiing a downhill slalom. It wasn’t fair that someone with that kind of speed was placed in the backfield throwing passes and reading defensive formations.
“Wow,” Dom uttered after watching the junior Heisman hopeful come off the field to the blare of the Michigan band.
No matter how much I didn’t want to agree, I had to be impressed by the athleticism on display from Robinson. It was a level I would never be able to achieve at any point in my lifetime no matter how hard I worked or tried to improve.
“Yep,” I quietly responded, subtly nodding my head. “Wow indeed.”
…
We were able to score another garbage-time touchdown run from Dan Herron and two-point conversion while I crossed the 300-yard mark on the drive, but none of it mattered in the end when Robinson knelt on the ball to preserve the blow-out win and send their team to the National Championship. Some in the crowd managed to get past security and rush the field to celebrate with their favorite team while we could only watch as our hated rivals danced and smiled to the sounds of their victory song.
As I followed the rest of the team into the tunnel leading to the locker room, that same fan from before was waiting just over the ledge to add insult to injury by taunting me some more.
“Hey FLID,” the drunkard said, going back to his favorite insult. Like I had done all game, I ignored the heckler as I headed inside. But this only seemed to make him angrier. “That’s how a real quarterback plays. Not like some Long Island, Ohio State f**got like you! Go back to that trash state you fucking bum!”
I was instantly doused in two cups of soda from the jackass above, who I finally turned around to acknowledge. He was glaring at me through glassy eyes while his friends stood next to him and simultaneously backed away and laughed, knowing what could potentially unfold in front of them. My eyes burned with rage and the voices were all drowned out as the man sneered at me from the railing above.
All the pent-up frustrations from my performance today and the outcome from today’s game, plus the cat calls and taunts being thrown my way all afternoon, came to a head as I turned and headed right for where that scumbag was standing. I could see his demeanor stiffen and the color in his face pale as he saw a six-five, 200-something pound athlete with a laser-focused stare heading his way.
I made it to as close as I could to the railing underneath the man’s position until I felt a big arm wrap around me, preventing me from going any farther. As I was turned around before I could make any more moves, I saw it was big Mike Adams who put his arm around me and physically directed me back to the visitor’s locker room. I wanted so badly to find a way around Mike and get up into the stands to, but I knew that would only cause more problems than it would solve. If I even made a motion to try and enter the stands, I would’ve been suspended by the NCAA in a heartbeat and maybe even kicked off the team by Coach Tressel. And that didn’t even include the firestorm brought down on the program by the media, regardless of who started the confrontation.
In the end, the satisfaction of confronting the jerk wasn’t worth the consequences. With there nothing else for me to do, I threw my sticker-covered helmet at the cement tunnel wall and headed straight for the locker room. The helmet cracked and the clear protective visor went flying as it disconnected from the facemask.
Even though I didn’t confront the asshole who poured soda on me and heckled me all afternoon, somewhere high up in Michigan Stadium there was an ESPN camera crew documenting the whole fiasco unfolding in the visitor’s tunnel. And by the time they came back from commercial and saw the footage, it was already all over the internet.
21-40, 347 passing yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, sacked 2 times
4 rushing attempts, 9 yards
“What this Buckeye defense needs to do is keep Robinson contained behind the line of scrimmage, make him beat you with his arm, and prevent him from running by any means necessary. He still needs work on his passing to become a more effective quarterback, but he has some of the best legs out of any athlete in Division I football today.”
Robinson took the shotgun snap and immediately rolled to his left, patiently waiting for his receivers to make their cuts and get separation.
“Robinson stops, fires a fastball and hits his man in stride! Junior Hemingway with a first down and he’s brought down after a gain of 18.”
“And they hurry back to the line in their no-huddle offense, Robinson receiving the plays from the sideline…”
While our coaches rapidly subbed in and subbed out players on the defense, the Michigan offense calmly called out plays from the sideline and quickly set up. But as calm as they were, they were about to be rattled by a redshirt linebacker.
“Robinson sets up to pass… sees no one so he rolls right… looks over the middle and it’s intercepted! Dorian Bell with the pick at the 39 yard line and that gives Ohio State fantastic field position for their first drive of the afternoon!”
“He tried to hit Hemmingway again on a deep in, but Robinson misread the coverage and threw it right to the linebacker playing the zone.”
…
The second the offense took the field, a tidal wave of boos and jeers rained down upon us. I thought the reception we received from pre-game was bad, but this was on a whole other level. The sound was almost deafening, forcing me to shout the play out in the huddle.
“And out comes the Buckeye offense led by freshman Nick Kapatos, returning for his first game since sitting out last week’s thrilling 25-24 victory over Iowa after suffering a shoulder sprain against Purdue. The Buckeyes are averaging 35.7 points a game this season, good second in the conference behind Michigan…”
The Michigan linemen position across from me glared at me with hate in their eyes, ready to knock my head off and send me back to the injured list.
“RED 88… RED 88… SET, HUT!”
“Kapatos drops back to pass, rolling left… he lets it go and he hits his man with room ahead of him! Brought down at the 13 yard line and the Buckeyes are already within striking distance with under nine minutes to go in the first quarter!”
…
“Third and nine after the two yard gain by Herron, Kapatos takes the snap and pitches it to Herron. Herron has nowhere to go and the ball pops free! And Michigan comes away with the football! Mike Martin with the forced fumble, Raymond Force with the recovery – his second of the year – and the Michigan defense comes away with a great stop inside the redzone!”
Up until this week I totally forgot Force committed to Michigan, and I was even more surprised when doing a little research that he had gotten playing time throughout the season in their deep rotation of linebackers. I hadn’t seen him play since getting a first-hand look against him in the Long Island Championship almost a year ago, so hopefully he wasn’t still bitter about me beating him or laying that huge block on him.
As we jogged off the field, I took a quick look back and saw him staring back and pointing directly to me and saying something I couldn’t hear from their sideline.
Shit.
…
“Robinson drops back – no, it’s a handoff! Michael Shaw up the middle, and he dances around before he’s brought down after a gain of eight.”
…
“Robinson sits back, looks deep and hits Martavious Odoms along the sideline! A gain of 30 as the Wolverines cross midfield and into Buckeye territory.”
…
“Robinson dances out of a sack and he tucks it and runs. He crosses the first down marker and steps out of bounds for a pick-up of 11.”
…
“Robinson floats one to the sideline and it’s corralled by Hemingway for a gain of eight at the Ohio State 37.”
…
A great stop on third down by Sabino and Bell forced Michigan to settle for a field goal, which I was OK with considering how much they’ve scored per game coming into today. With another chorus of boos focused on us, we marched onto the field to see if we could respond in any way.
…
“Herron blasts through a gaping hole up the middle, and is taken down by a group of Wolverine defenders after a gain of eight on first down.”
…
“Kapatos sets up, looks right, lobs one downfield and fits it over the shoulder of Posey for a gain of nineteen! What a beautiful pass from the freshman, and it looks like no rust has accumulated on his arm.”
…
“Posey on the reverse, and he’s knocked out of bounds after a gain of five.”
…
“Kapatos drops back – no, draw to Herron! He’s up the middle and brought down past the first down after a gain of nine!”
…
“Kapatos drops back, forced out of the pocket by the oncoming rush… tries to cut up-field but is forced out of bounds after only a gain of two on second down.”
…
“Third and eight, 3:46 on the clock here in the first in Ann Arbor. Kapatos takes the snap and sets up for play-action… tries to scramble away from the pressure and he’s hammered behind the line for a sack! A loss of six on third down, and that forces the punting unit onto the field after the sack by Raymond Force and Jonas Moutin!”
I should’ve seen Force – who was put in the Sam position – coming off the edge after blowing past Stoneburner, but I had Posey wide-open deep down the field. As if getting hit by that freight train of a human being, I was also hit from behind by the other linebacker Moutin. I was essentially sandwiched by the two linebackers, Force hitting me right in the gut and Moutin right in my back.
“Think I forgot about last year,” Force angrily spat as he stood over me. “You think I forgot about the ring that should’ve been mine? You’d better get comfortable down there, because I’m gonna put you in the fucking ground all damn day!”
He sprinted off the field with the rest of the defense before I could make any kind of remark, instead picking myself off the field turf and jogging over to the sideline.
“What the hell was that about,” Dom asked as Josh went on with the rest of the punt unit.
“I beat number 56 in the high school championship game around this time last year. Guy’s still pissed about it.”
“And you’ll have to see him at least two more times.”
I grimaced at the thought of having Force line up across from me for the next two to three seasons. I can still remember the damage he did to me and the rest of the West Islip team in the championship game, and all the bruises that covered my body the next day.
Watching Denard lead his team down the field after the punt just made me feel worse.
…
“Another completion for Robinson, this time hitting Roy Roundtree for a gain of 21 as Michigan’s offense continues to move on this reeling Buckeye defense.”
...
“Robinson escapes another sack attempt and he flings it to the sideline where the tight end Koger is there for the seven yard reception on third and five. This Robinson is something else when he gets under pressure.”
…
As Robinson continued to dance around and find his targets, it felt like all this energy was building up on the field. They were gaining some substantial amounts of yards, but the defense hadn’t been burned on anything deep and were doing a fairly decent job of keeping the lightning-quick QB behind the LOS.
Sure enough, that worry was justified.
“It’s a high snap but Robinson comes down with it. Immediately under pressure… slips out of one sack… then another… and he takes off up-field! No one’s around him! At the 25… the 20… the 10… touchdown Michigan! Oh my goodness, add another clip to the highlight reel as the Wolverines go up by ten on the legs of the quarterback they call Shoelace!”
The reactions on the opposite sidelines couldn’t be any more different. On the Ohio State bench, there was a stunned silence and sense of doom as Robinson pulled a Houdini-act getting out of two sacks before scrambling 33-yards for the score, and the Michigan side was absolutely fired up after watching their electrifying Heisman candidate make yet another insane play to up their lead to ten.
With the first quarter coming to a close, something needed to happen on both sides of the ball, or else this was going to be a long, painful afternoon.
…
“First possession of the second quarter for the Buckeyes at their own 24 yard line, trailing 10-0. Kapatos hands it off and Herron has a hole along the left side. Bounces off a tackler, and he falls forward at the forty after a gain of 16!’
…
“Kapatos rolls right, and just gets it off to the tight end Oversonn before getting planted by the linebacker Craig Roh! What a catch along the sideline by the freshman and it’s a gain of nine.”
…
“Hand off up the middle and its Zach Boren who picks up the three yards and the first down.”
…
“Kapatos steps up in the pocket, looks deep but checks it down over the middle and he’s got Stoneburner across the first down marker for a pick-up of 11 on third down.”
…
“Third and long, the Buckeyes showing five receivers and an empty backfield… Kapatos takes the snap, has to throw it on the run and it’s caught! What a catch in stride by James Jackson, and the sophomore picks up several more yards before being brought down inside the Michigan ten for a 32-yard gain!”
“A nice throw by the freshman under pressure from the Michigan pass rush and he just gets it off before taking a punishing hit from the linebacker Force. That’s great composure and poise from the young signal caller.”
“Miss me, bitch,” Force uttered before picking himself off of me. “Be back real soon.”
“I’ll be waiting, sweetheart,” I replied, making sure I said it loud enough for him to hear, before hurrying back to the huddle.
“This isn’t the first time Kapatos and Force have faced each other, Herbie. They’ve squared off against one another twice before; once in the Long Island Championship, with Kapatos coming out on top, and again on the same team in the Long Island-New York City All-Star Game in the summer.”
“Force has played in every game this season, making 50 tackles, ten for loss and three sacks as a rotational linebacker. Coach Robinson has been putting the former Garden City High School star all over the field this season, and the young man has made some waves in just his first year on the roster. And we’ve seen and heard all the press Kapatos has gotten since he took over the starting roll back in August, so it should be exciting to see these two great competitors go after each other for the next three – possibly four – seasons.”
…
Sitting pretty right on the Michigan six, the crowd’s intensity went up to 11; I could barely hear myself think with the amount of people screaming at the top of their lungs, and if I were in the shotgun I’m sure I’d have trouble getting the snap off.
Thank God I was under center for this.
“RED 68… RED 68… SET… HUT!”
“Kapatos takes the snap, rolls left and fires to the corner and it’s… caught for a touchdown! Corey Brown on the six-yard reception and Ohio State is now only an extra-point away from making this a three-point game with six minutes remaining in the first half.”
“The young freshman, absolutely unfazed by the crowd intensity deep inside the Michigan redzone, throws an absolutely beautiful pass right where it had to be. A heck of a throw on the run for the young man out of West Islip, New York.”
…
“Robinson takes the snap, option left… fakes the pitch and he’s got room to run! Past the first down and plenty of turf ahead of him! Past the 40 and he’s pushed out of bounds after a scamper for 26 yards on first down.”
…
“Robinson slings it over the middle and he’s got Odoms. Brought down at the Buckeye 42, and Robinson has Michigan driving again.”
…
“Robinson under pressure, slips out of a sack… looks to scramble – no, he launches a deep ball… and it’s caught by Odoms again! The senior picks up 33 yards on the heave and brings it right at the Buckeye 12!”
…
I watched with disappointment and shame as the defense gave up another Robinson touchdown – this one a pass to Roy Roundtree – to go back up by ten. It appeared that the funk they were in against Purdue and for parts of the Iowa game had returned at the worst possible time, which put more pressure on myself and the rest of the offense to keep up with the Wolverine scoring machine.
Not that I didn’t like the challenge; I just wished they could make at least one stop on defense. It seemed like everything the defense did right against Iowa the week before went right out the window against the much faster and better Michigan offense. It felt like I was watching a repeat of the Purdue game, only Michigan had a significantly better quarterback and the Big House was a much more intimidating place to play in than Ross-Ade Stadium. In fact, we hadn't had this bad a game since back in September against Miami when I shit the bed in the second half. And with the way both side of the ball were producing, the feelings of déjà vu were starting to creep in.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay on the field after crossing the 50, so we had to punt with 4:31 left on the clock and plenty of time for Michigan to drive and score.
…
“Third and nine, Michigan looking to keep the drive alive. Robinson takes the snap and immediately rolls out to his right. Hit as he throws but it’s complete along the sideline… and the officials confirm it right in front of the Buckeye sideline! That’s the sophomore Jeremy Gallon with the toe-tapping catch for a gain of 11 and another first down for the Wolverines.”
…
“Fitzgerald Toussaint gets the call and he cuts outside for a gain of six.”
…
“Robinson slings it to the left and it’s pulled down by the tight end Koger for a pick-up of seven and another Wolverine first down as they march into Buckeye territory.”
“The Ohio State defense needs to lock down their assignment s and start making plays or else this one is going to get out of hand quick.”
…
Sure enough, another long pass and catch from Robinson to one of his receivers put Michigan back in our redzone with plenty of time left on the clock. I shouted and cheered on the defense, but my voice fell on deaf ears as the defense once again conceded points.
“Robinson hands it off to Smith on the sweep, and he’s got the edge. Meets the linebacker at the goal-line… and falls over him for the score! Vincent Smith with his eighth touchdown run of the season, and Michigan is a PAT away from pulling ahead by three scores.”
“The outside linebacker Andrew Sweat had good form on the tackle, but he was just run over by the smaller Smith. This is turning into a laugher with another half of football still to play.”
I bet the defensive staff was steaming up in the coaches’ booth because their defense was being run over by the opposition. It seemed like there was nothing they could do without giving up some form of yardage. How Jim Heacock was going to make the adjustments to at least make
As Posey knelt on the ball in the endzone for the touchback, I strapped on my helmet and once again ignored the chorus of boos, trying to do something to get this team back in the game.
…
“Third and seven, ball at Ohio State’s 23 yard-line, clock winding down to under two-minutes. Kapatos takes the snap, and drops back from the shotgun…”
As soon as I received the snap, the pressure was immediately on from the Michigan front six. I hadn’t even finished my three-step drop before I saw Force sprint through the ‘B’ gap with a look in his eyes that screamed ‘I’m going to rip your head off’.
In an instant, I planted and sprinted as fast as I could around the left side of the line. I just barely escaped running into Mike Adams and Craig Roh before breaking past the LOS.
“Kapatos scrambles out of the pocket, has to juke away from the outstretched arms of the lineman Roh and he’s looking for the first down on the ground.”
Seeing that the safeties had broken off their assignments as soon as they saw me cross the LOS, I prepared to get as much as I could before sliding. But that was before I felt a vice-like grip try to bring me down from behind.
“He’s wrapped up by Force just a few yards away from the first down marker. Doesn’t look like he’s going to get this one…”
With the aggressive linebacker pulling against me with all his strength, all I could do was keep my legs pumping. I took a quick glance to my left and saw that the first down indicator was practically right in front of me. Moving my legs with a fury, I could feel myself making small gains as the safeties joined together to form a wall to prevent me from moving any forward.
“Kovacs and Woolfolk collide with Kapatos but he keeps falling forward and stretches the ball out. It looks like the refs are sending out the chain gang for an official measurement…”
I could hear Force utter a string of obscenities at me as he pushed off and picked himself off the Michigan turf. Everyone kept pointing either first down or that my second and third efforts weren’t enough to keep us on the field as the zebras set up for their measurement.
“And Ohio State just barely gets the first down by the nose of the football! What an effort by the freshman quarterback to keep his legs moving long enough to get the first down.”
“How you like that shit, Force,” I said to the GCHS product as we both jogged back to our respective huddles.
…
“Kapatos stands in the pocket, and throws in on to Stoneburner on a drag and the junior picks up five before being brought down by the Michigan defense.”
…
“It’s a screen to Herron, and he follows his blockers before stepping out of bounds for a seven-yard scamper.”
…
“Kapatos rolls left and hits Chris Fields along the sideline for a gain of nine, a nice throw from the quarterback on that one.”
…
“Kapatos wants it all, going deep… and it’s batted out of the hands of DeVier Posey by the safety Jordan Kovacs! What a great defensive play by the junior strong safety on third down.”
I slapped my hands together as we came off the field with 47 seconds left in the half. I thought I had the safety beat deep, but I must’ve put too much air under the pass because he easily covered ground and batted it away.
Another big play from Robinson got Michigan back in the redzone, but the defense held their ground for once and forced a field goal which their kicker shanked right. Going into the locker room down by 21, there was a lot for us we had to improve on if we wanted to have a chance of making a comeback.
…
“Second down, Kapatos drops back and he just barely gets the ball away before being planted by the Michigan defense. Force again was the first one in the backfield on the blitz, and Ohio State’s offensive woes appear to have carried over from the first half.”
“This Michigan defense has come in today absolutely fired up; they aren’t taking the opportunity to appear in the National Championship for granted.”
Defensive captain Jonas Moutin went to give me a hand to help me up, and I could tell Force would’ve rather me stay on their turf. A surprising pat on the helmet later and we were both back in our respective huddles.
I guess not everyone from Michigan is an asshole.
…
“Kapatos rolls back, escaping the pressure. He steps up and throws it downfield… and he’s got a man! James Jackson along the sideline for a gain of 24 on third and long!”
…
“Kapatos throws left for Posey, and he’s got the first down on an 11-yard reception on the curl route.”
…
“Kapatos pump fakes, takes a five-step drop and hits Posey again, this time over the middle for a nine-yard gain. And Ohio State’s offense has come to life with eight minutes left in the third quarter, marching down the field on their first possession of the half.”
…
“Kapatos drops back, but he hands it off to Herron! He’s got a seam up the middle, and is brought down by the Michigan defense after a gain of nine.”
…
“He’s under pressure again, but Kapatos gets it off underneath to Posey on a screen and the senior has room to run. He’s past the first down marker and looking for more! At the 15… the 10… brought down at the Michigan five for a gain of 20.”
“And surprise, surprise, look who’s in the Ohio State backfield… its Raymond Force again after leveling Kapatos just after he got the throw off. The Ohio State coaching staff still has no idea how to stop this linebacker from getting to the quarterback, and if this keeps up Kapatos might not be able to survive this game.”
“Only a matter of time,” Force said, refusing to help me up like their senior captain did. “Only a matter of time before I send you outta here in a body bag.”
“I’m still standing, aren’t I,” I asked him back, wiping myself of the field turf rubber beads as I picked myself up. “You must’ve been slacking in the weight room because that one barely hurt at all.”
Force got back in my face – close enough that our facemasks were centimeters away from each other – as we gave one another a mean glare. We had to be pulled away by our respective teammates before anything could happen.
“It doesn’t seem like these two have forgotten the last time they played each other in the Long Island Championship game, and the bad blood between them will only get worse over the years with the infusion of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry to add fuel to that fire.”
“You know how signs at the zoo say not to feed the bears,” Dom remarked on the way to the huddle. “Well, you’re feeding the bear. And he’s gonna fucking maul you if you don’t be careful.”
“Maybe if you and the rest of the line could block him I wouldn’t have to worry about that.”
…
“Third and six, ball at the one. All the tight ends on the field, Ohio State looking to make this a two-touchdown affair. Kapatos takes the snap, fakes the handoff and rolls left… he’s under pressure and brought down behind the line for the second time today. Craig Roh on the sack for a loss of two, and Tressel send out the field goal unit for the 20-yard chip-shot.”
…
After our defense finally forced a Michigan three-and-out, it was our turn again deep in our side of the field to build off our momentum and make this a much closer game.
“Counter to the right side, and Herron has a corner. Jukes one defender, he sprints past the first down marker and looks for more! At the 35… the 40… tripped up at the 43 for a gain of 23 by the senior tailback.”
…
“Kapatos takes a deep drop-back, shuffles to his right… wants it all deep downfield over the middle… but it’s intercepted! Jordan Kovacs with the pick on a rare underthrow from Kapatos, and he’s got room to return it. Brought down at the Michigan 43 for a huge swing of momentum at the most inopportune time for the Buckeyes.”
“DeVier Posey had his man absolutely beat on the fly route, but Kapatos simply underthrew it and Kovacs made the great adjustment for the ball. Unfortunate turn of events for the young quarterback.”
With the Michigan band loudly playing their fight song after the turnover, I could only jog back to the sideline and review my recent turnover. Tressel pulled me aside and said something that I hoped was reassuring that I could barely hear over the blare of the instruments and the jeers of the fans situated behind the bench.
“Sweet pass, FLID,” that one from before fan remarked. “Almost good enough to get you on our scout team.”
I ignored the cat calls and insults, only focusing on the discussion with the coaches and the other quarterbacks as we went over the previous play. There were only the pictures from the series and the words of the coaches and teammates to focus on right now as Michigan went right back to work with plenty of time remaining in the quarter.
…
“Robinson dodges a would-be tackler, keeps looking… sees nothing and he tucks it and scrambles up-field… he’s past the first down marker and knocked out of bounds at the Buckeye 38 after a gain of nine!”
“Robinson has had his way with the Buckeye defense today, running for well over 60 yards in only nine carries to go with his 218 yards on 18 completions. His only blemish on the afternoon was an interception early in the first quarter, but he seems to have put that completely out of his mind as he’s single-handedly destroyed this Ohio State defensive unit.”
I couldn’t help but watch in amazement as Robinson – who looked more like a running back than a quarterback at first glance – single-handedly destroyed our defense with his legs and arm. With every one of his completed passes or escaped sacks-turned big gains, a pit in my gut grew larger and larger.
It was like watching a train-wreck; you wanted to look away, but morbid curiosity forced you to keep watching.
“Robinson pitches it to Vincent Smith, and the sophomore scampers to the outside before being dropped after a gain of five.”
…
“Another run up the gut, this time with Michael Shaw, and the junior bursts ahead for a pick-up of six and a Wolverine first down.”
…
“Option to the left, and Robinson pitches it to Shaw, who takes it to the outside before being dragged down after a gain of seven.”
…
“Robinson looks, sets his feet and fires over the middle and it’s completed! Hemingway shakes off a tackler and is off to the races! 30… 20… he walks into the endzone for the touchdown! My goodness, what a performance here by this Michigan offense!”
“And what an absolutely poor showing by the Ohio State defense. I know their offense hasn’t been as good since their loss to Northwestern, but their defense has been just as bad. They gave up almost 500 yards of total offense and 40 points against Purdue and they’ve looked just as bad against an unquestionably-better Wolverine offense. Something needs to change quickly if Ohio State wants a shot of at least making this an interesting game.”
…
After Michigan nailed a 42-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, Ohio State took the ball at their own nine after a botched return by Herron, but Michigan has prevented any kind of positive gains for the Buckeye to start the final 15 minutes of action. The offense came out listless to start the final quarter, gaining minimal yardage on first and second down. The run-game was practically non-existent to put it politely (only 53 yards entering the fourth), the blocking was inconsistent against the Michigan defense, and for the last couple of drives it seemed like the team had given up.
I sure as hell wasn’t ready to roll over and die just because we were down 24 against the big bad Wolverines. And I knew that no one else on this team – no matter what the score was – would give up. Not now, not ever.
“Kapatos rolls right, tries to escape from the pressure and he gets it off right as he’s hit, and it’s complete to the tight end Josh Oversonn! The freshman only picks up three before he’s wrapped up by the linebacker Force…”
As tough and fierce an athlete as Force was, there was no one on the Michigan roster or anyone watching this game that knew what kind of player Josh was. I’d seen it every day in practice and inter-squad scrimmages, and the kid had the heart of a lion and the strength of a professional weightlifter. There was no way he was going down unless you brought superior numbers, and even then it was going to be a challenge.
“Oversonn sheds the tackler, and he’s got room to run! Past the first down marker, and he’s wrapped up at the 25… but he stays on his feet! He’s dragging the defenders until he finally falls at the 30 yard line! A fantastic gain of 21 for the young man out of Southridge High in Beaverton, Oregon.”
“What a powerful run-after-the-catch by the freshman tight end. Force had him all wrapped up short of the first down, but Oversonn simply shrugged off the defender and kept moving up-field. Such a great showcase of toughness from the first year tight end.”
Josh was never the kind of guy to celebrate a catch in a game, so like he did all year the big freshman simply handed the ball to the official and calmly jogged back to the huddle.
While I’m sure he realized how bad it would look to celebrate a first down when your team trailed big late, it dawned on me that he never celebrated a big catch. It was like he was cut from the cloth of more traditional and respected players of NFL past, before all the showboating and ‘look at me’ of today’s football.
It made me respect him more with just how selfless he was on the field.
…
“Kapatos drops back, steps up and hits DeVier Posey along the left side on an out-route for a gain of six on second down.”
…
“Kapatos sheds off a sack and rifles one over the middle for his receiver Corey Brown. The sophomore is brought down after a gain of 14 and another Buckeye first down as they cross into Michigan territory.”
…
“Ball just at the Michigan 40, 9:39 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Kapatos takes the shotgun snap, drops back to pass… he sees an opening and wants it all deep down the right side… and it’s caught in the endzone for the touchdown! Number two on the day for Kapatos, this one to DeVier Posey, and that makes this an 18-point game.”
“Nick Kapatos drops an absolute dime over the Wolverine defender into the waiting arms of Posey near the back of the endzone. As bad as Ohio State has looked today, you have to give credit to Kapatos for at least trying everything he can to keep his team in this game.”
“And it looks like Ohio State is keeping their offense on the field, electing to go for two instead of the PAT. It’s the shotgun formation, four receivers on the field with Herron in the backfield with Kapatos.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to run it here…”
“He takes the snap… fakes the handoff to Herron and bursts off to the left side. He’s got the edge… no! Tripped up at the line by Craig Roh, and the Buckeyes fail to convert the two points, leaving the score 34-16 in favor of the top-ranked Wolverines.”
“What an incredible effort by the defensive end Roh. Mike Adams has him on his back, but Roh has the awareness to know exactly where the quarterback is and reach his arm out at the right moment to trip him up and end the play before they could convert.”
That was a shitty play. God damn that was a shitty play! I probably could’ve – and should’ve – audibled out of that read option and tried for something that would’ve let me pass it to one of our receivers. I don’t know why I didn’t, so that play is as much on me as it is the coaches.
…
“Robinson sets up in the pocket, all day to throw… he reels it back and launches one over the middle… caught by Gallon and brought down at the Buckeye 43 after a gain of 30 on the long pass play. That gives him 285 on the afternoon, closing in on his fifth 300-yard game of the season.”
…
“Robinson breaks outside the pocket but is taken down only after a gain of four, his shortest gain of the afternoon. But it moves them closer to the first down marker and that much deeper into Ohio State’s side of the field as time continues to wind down.
…
For whatever reason – possibly the running up of the score in every meeting with them in the Rich Rodriguez regime – Michigan kept their foot on the gas pedal as they marched down the field. Their passes were accurate, running lanes were wide open, and blocking was sound. The crowd felt different, too. In previous seasons around this time, they were wondering if their team would score. This season, though, they were wondering how the offense was going to score.
“Robinson sprints right and he’s got Vincent Smith on the option. Robinson takes a punishing hit but he just gets it away… Smith has a full field ahead of him! Skates by a defender and he dives across the goal-line for the score! His first of the day, third on the ground for the Wolverines, and Michigan extends their already commanding lead to 35.”
…
“Kapatos starts scrambling to his right, immediately changes direction as he senses the pocket collapsing from that side. He sees a man over the middle and rifles it to his tight end Stoneburner. The junior dives up-field and the ball is ruled at the at the 31 for a gain of eight and another first down late in the fourth quarter.”
…
“Shotgun draw up the middle and Herron bursts through the hole before being dragged down. A gain of ten on the play, and that’s back-to-back first downs on this drive late in the fourth quarter.”
…
“Kapatos drops in the pocket, scanning the field as Michigan sends a four-man rush plus the linebacker. The linebacker Force is through and Kapatos just gets it off deep… and it’s intercepted by the cornerback Cameron Desu! A freshman from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Desu comes down with his third INT of the season with 3:26 to go in the ballgame.”
“Force is right there once again to pressure Kapatos, and the freshman quarterback was better off just taking the sack on first down. That’s something you really shouldn’t expect to see this late in the season from a quarterback who’s made 11 starts this season.”
For the second time today, I had to endure the long, disappointed walk back to the sideline after committing a turnover. It was the absolute worst feeling in the world – to solidify your team’s defeat this late in the game against an opponent you disliked playing against on their home turf.
It wouldn’t take long for Michigan and their Heisman contender to capitalize on the mistake.
…
“Robinson takes the snap, looks like he wants to pass– no, he takes off up the middle…”
I knew what was going to happen. There was always a slight hope that the defense would prevent it from happening, but I knew what was next. All that was left was to suck it up and watch that dynamic QB add another clip to his growing Heisman reel.
“Oh my, what a move by Robinson to split the defenders! He’s in open field and he turns on the jets! No one’s gonna catch him as he crosses midfield! At the 40… the 30… good-bye Robinson and touchdown Michigan! 63 yards in the blink of an eye from Shoelace Robinson to put the final dagger in the hearts of the Buckeyes with just over three minutes to go in the ball-game.”
Even I had to be impressed by the junior’s run. The way he dodged and weaved through our defense was like he was skiing a downhill slalom. It wasn’t fair that someone with that kind of speed was placed in the backfield throwing passes and reading defensive formations.
“Wow,” Dom uttered after watching the junior Heisman hopeful come off the field to the blare of the Michigan band.
No matter how much I didn’t want to agree, I had to be impressed by the athleticism on display from Robinson. It was a level I would never be able to achieve at any point in my lifetime no matter how hard I worked or tried to improve.
“Yep,” I quietly responded, subtly nodding my head. “Wow indeed.”
…
We were able to score another garbage-time touchdown run from Dan Herron and two-point conversion while I crossed the 300-yard mark on the drive, but none of it mattered in the end when Robinson knelt on the ball to preserve the blow-out win and send their team to the National Championship. Some in the crowd managed to get past security and rush the field to celebrate with their favorite team while we could only watch as our hated rivals danced and smiled to the sounds of their victory song.
As I followed the rest of the team into the tunnel leading to the locker room, that same fan from before was waiting just over the ledge to add insult to injury by taunting me some more.
“Hey FLID,” the drunkard said, going back to his favorite insult. Like I had done all game, I ignored the heckler as I headed inside. But this only seemed to make him angrier. “That’s how a real quarterback plays. Not like some Long Island, Ohio State f**got like you! Go back to that trash state you fucking bum!”
I was instantly doused in two cups of soda from the jackass above, who I finally turned around to acknowledge. He was glaring at me through glassy eyes while his friends stood next to him and simultaneously backed away and laughed, knowing what could potentially unfold in front of them. My eyes burned with rage and the voices were all drowned out as the man sneered at me from the railing above.
All the pent-up frustrations from my performance today and the outcome from today’s game, plus the cat calls and taunts being thrown my way all afternoon, came to a head as I turned and headed right for where that scumbag was standing. I could see his demeanor stiffen and the color in his face pale as he saw a six-five, 200-something pound athlete with a laser-focused stare heading his way.
I made it to as close as I could to the railing underneath the man’s position until I felt a big arm wrap around me, preventing me from going any farther. As I was turned around before I could make any more moves, I saw it was big Mike Adams who put his arm around me and physically directed me back to the visitor’s locker room. I wanted so badly to find a way around Mike and get up into the stands to, but I knew that would only cause more problems than it would solve. If I even made a motion to try and enter the stands, I would’ve been suspended by the NCAA in a heartbeat and maybe even kicked off the team by Coach Tressel. And that didn’t even include the firestorm brought down on the program by the media, regardless of who started the confrontation.
In the end, the satisfaction of confronting the jerk wasn’t worth the consequences. With there nothing else for me to do, I threw my sticker-covered helmet at the cement tunnel wall and headed straight for the locker room. The helmet cracked and the clear protective visor went flying as it disconnected from the facemask.
Even though I didn’t confront the asshole who poured soda on me and heckled me all afternoon, somewhere high up in Michigan Stadium there was an ESPN camera crew documenting the whole fiasco unfolding in the visitor’s tunnel. And by the time they came back from commercial and saw the footage, it was already all over the internet.
21-40, 347 passing yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, sacked 2 times
4 rushing attempts, 9 yards
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Love the dynamic you've instilled with Kap and Force. You've set up something great for the next few seasons.
Weird to read now about Denard being so dominant, but I remember him being a total beast on those NCAA sims.
Weird to read now about Denard being so dominant, but I remember him being a total beast on those NCAA sims.
Just realized today that the previous update I made was #100. I wanted to thank everyone for reading this thing for the past two years (as of yesterday). It's been tough at times to get everything I want for a certain update to come across well enough on the screen as it does in my head.
Anyone care to comment on how they think this has gone? Where it's heading? How Kap does in the rest of his time at OSU?
Anyone care to comment on how they think this has gone? Where it's heading? How Kap does in the rest of his time at OSU?
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Hot-headed. Short-fused. Immature.
Those were just some of the words used to describe me from various members of the media and other football fans that had an axe to grind against Ohio State when they saw that one part of the highlight package from the Michigan loss. While it seemed that most people mentioned the fact that I was blatantly instigated by the Michigan fan – I actually received a formal apology over the phone from the Michigan Dean of Students and Athletic Director – and didn’t make any threatening moves against him, that didn’t stop the louder and more visible media personnel from going on and on about how I should’ve simply not acted and how I’ve tarnished Ohio State football and the NCAA.
“He should be absolutely ashamed of his behavior in that tunnel,” professional troll Skip Bayless proclaimed on an ESPN Radio segment. “He’s the starting quarterback of THE Ohio State Buckeyes, and he’s getting into it with a drunk fan after their game, are you kidding me? How could Jim Tressel, one of the most professional coaches in all of college football, stand for this and not punish the young man? I don’t care if he was provoked or instigated, he needs to be taught a lesson and suspended immediately by either the University, the coaches, the conference or even the NCAA!”
“I understand that he was provoked by the drunk fan,” Bill Plaschke, sports writer for the Los Angeles Times, stated in his Sunday column. “I understand that it was immediately following a loss to their hated rival Michigan and emotions are running high. I can even understand if the university, Big Ten Conference or the NCAA doesn’t suspend him because he was instigated by the fan. But he has to know better. That’s something you 100%, without question cannot do in this day and age after the Malice at the Palace just seven years ago.”
I was a nervous wreck all Sunday as I waited for a decision to come down. For every possible waking second, all I could think of was how I let my emotions get the better of me and heading back to confront that fucking idiot. It wasn’t like I was going to jump in the stands and knock his head off, all I was going to do was shout at the guy and tell him to say that stuff to my face instead of behind my back. Never in a million years would I ever even consider attacking a fan because he heckled me. That’s not how I was raised, and that’s definitely not the kind of person I am.
I didn’t even care that the loss dropped us out of the Top 25 altogether, all that mattered was clearing my name and righting wrongs. So through the Ohio State sports information office and the media coordinators, I was able to get around the freshman media ban by having the school release an apologetic press release penned by me.
“I sincerely apologize for my actions on November 19 following our team’s loss to the University of Michigan. I let my emotions following our loss get the better of me, and the fan who I approached had been mercilessly heckling me non-stop from the opening kickoff. However, that does not and absolutely should not excuse my actions on Saturday, as it was I who had acted negatively. It was immature, irrational, and above all else humiliating. I’ve embarrassed myself, my teammates, my coaches, my University, but worst of all I’ve embarrassed my family, who have raised me to be better than this. I promise that I will do my absolute best to control myself and my emotions for the remainder of my time as a member of the Ohio State football program.”
“To my coaches and teammates who have received nothing but calls from the media about what I had done and not their performances, I apologize. For the University that I happily call my home, the University that I have brought shame and embarrassment upon with my actions, I apologize. And to the fan that I confronted down in the tunnel with no clear intention other than to avoid conflict, I sincerely apologize.”
Everything I said that was written down and included was from the heart… although the Public Relations people probably used better words and phrases than I could ever think of in certain parts of the release. Still, it wasn’t an attempt to win back fans, nor was it a PR attempt by the school to make myself look better. I was truly, 100% apologetic.
Tressel told me the second we got back from Michigan that he wasn’t going to suspend me; he saw how I felt immediately after I realized what I had done, and he listened to me plead for forgiveness on the bus-ride back from Ann Arbor. I’d still have to run stadiums after every practice for the week as punishment, but it was one hundred times better than being kept out of another game.
But just because Tressel wasn’t going to suspend me didn’t mean the athletic department wouldn’t. They took potential violations of the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct such as this very seriously. Guys had been suspended for a lot less than almost entering the stands to confront a fan, so my stomach was in knots as I outside the Athletic Director’s office with Tressel beside me.
“Whatever Gene and the compliance director say today,” Tressel said to me, placing an assuring hand on my shoulder. “You take it with class and dignity. I don’t want to see you hang your head or jump for joy. You save it for when your back in your room, is that understood?”
I nodded my head, wearing a confident smile despite never being more nervous and afraid in my entire life. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, I opened the door and calmly entered the Athletic Director’s office.
The office was long and large, perfectly fitting for a man of Gene Smith’s power. There were countless framed pictures of various athletic achievements hung on the two side walls of his office while a panoramic photo of Ohio Stadium. Plaques and awards were placed on end tables littered around the office, while the powerful man sat behind a large oak table covered in papers.
Smith was sitting in a big chair behind his desk, and standing next to him was Doug Archie, Associate Athletic Director of Compliance. The middle-aged dark-skinned man was wearing a relaxed look as he stood beside his boss.
“Please, have a seat,” Smith said to us, motioning to the fancy chairs in front of his desk. I took my seat, heart racing a million miles an hour. “Gentlemen, I’m sure you’ve met Doug, our head of compliance, so I’ll get right to it.”
“Mr. Kapatos, what you did on Saturday in Ann Arbor was an embarrassment to not only this athletic department, but this fine institution. I’ve received more emails and phone calls asking for your dismissal from the football team than I’d ever like to have. I mean, just what did you think was going to happen if you even got into the stands?”
I felt like I was a child being scolded by my father for a foolish act. My face burned red from the embarrassment, but I had to compose myself for the sake of pride and clarity.
“Honestly, sir,” I started, having to clear my suddenly dry throat. “I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. The guy was heckling me all game, the stuff he was saying just got worse and worse as the game went on. As we were heading into the tunnel right after the loss, he made a comment about my father and dumped a drink on me, and I guess the emotions of the moment got the better of me.”
The two looked ahead with no expressions. A slight twitch of the eyelid or a sniffling of the nose was all I got from them, but I had to keep telling my side of the story to at least give reason why I shouldn’t be suspended or worse.
“What I did was wrong, very wrong, and I don’t think I can apologize enough for my actions. I know I embarrassed myself and the University, and if I could do it over again I would definitely do my best to brush him off and keep walking down the tunnel. And I understand that you take zero-tolerance for something like this very seriously, but I think having me removed or suspended for this one incident is wrong.”
That got their attention. The long-time AD leaned closer in his chair while the compliance officer crossed his arms and shifted on his feet. I had to choose my next words very carefully if I wanted my argument to come across clearly.
“And what makes you say that,” Mr. Archie asked.
“Because it’s my first offense. I’ve been a model student-athlete for this University on the field and in the classroom. I’ve never cheated on an exam, I’ve never beaten anyone up or stolen anything from anyone, and I’ve never done anything to put the University or the program in a bad light until now. So to punish me so severely after one lapse in judgment that did absolutely zero harm to anyone when guys on programs all over the country have done much worse things and barely got slaps on the wrist is absurd.”
I watched as Smith and Archie stand there, looking at each other as I relaxed in my seat as best I could.
“As right as you are that this is the first time we’ve had to discuss something like this you, it goes without saying that your first offense is very serious and can’t be taken lightly.”
“Come on Gene,” Tressel said, objecting finally to the ridiculousness of the situation. “He’s done nothing wrong up to this point, and to boot him off the team now is absurd. He’s apologized to me more times than I can count, and we released the letter he wrote himself yesterday to the press. What more do you want him to say or do, beg for forgiveness?”
“This isn’t about what he’s said and hasn’t said, Jim. It’s about an image. If we don’t do anything about this, then we give off the perception that the players can do whatever they want without any thought of punishment.”
“Are you saying I don’t discipline my own players anymore? That I have to get you involved whenever one of them slips up? Believe me, I think I can discipline my guys just fine without you hounding me every time someone gets attention for something other than athletics or academia.”
The tone of the already tense meeting was beginning to boil over as the two men in power started trading barbs. It was incredibly uncomfortable being in the same room as these two as they went back and forth, and I could only imagine how the compliance director was feeling on the other side.
I was getting the feeling that Gene would love for nothing more than to see me suspended. I think he thought that removal from the program this late in the year was extreme, but forcing me to sit out the last game of the year was the perfect deterrent for myself and future athletes from doing anything stupid that would bring any kind of negativity towards the program.
“I’ve looked over our Student-Athlete Code of Conduct policy for the past two days, along with the policies of the NCAA and Big Ten to see if he indeed did violate anything.”
The man couldn’t have picked a worse time to make a dramatic pause; he must’ve wanted me to stew in anticipation for a little longer before revealing his findings.
“And I came across something in our own handbook under the Standards of Conduct…” He pulled out one of the Ohio State Student-Athlete Handbooks that we were all given on our first day of classes and skimmed the book until he found the page he was looking for before adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat. “Article 15 of the Standards of Conduct states that should a student-athlete partake in behavior or conduct that is inconsistent with the Statement of Purpose or that otherwise reflects negatively on you, your team and/or teammates, your coaches, the Department of Athletics or the University. And failure to abide by this will result in the loss of privileges and other sanctions as deemed appropriate by the advisement of the Department of Athletics.”
He closed the book and placed it on the desk before turning to me. “While I believe you met everything that was presented in Article 15 and brought negative attention to yourself, this program and the University, you’ve also clearly shown plenty of remorse over your actions. Your coach seems to think you’ve more than learned from this, and from the letter you wrote, it definitely seems to me that you’ve been more than willing to take responsibility for your actions. If it were up to me, I’d let you go without any punishment.”
I was about to thank the man when he put his hand up, stopping me from leaving my seat.
“But of course, the decision isn’t up to me. I can only do the research, this one’s up to you, Gene.”
The rock that resided in my stomach for much of the meeting had now grown into a boulder when that little bit of information was revealed. Unlike Doug, who seemed to be more forgiving of what happened, the AD looked completely unmoved by my defense and Tressel’s valid points.
I began to think the worse. This man, this administrator, was going to remove me from the team just two days after one of my most humiliating losses ever. It would be the final, bold-faced stamp on what had been an all-around awful weekend. Other than getting kicked out of school, there was probably no other way things could get much worse.
“Well,” the administrator began, taking a sigh and rubbing his eyes. “Normally when a student-athlete does something similar to this or worse, it’s my job to follow our Code of Conduct to the letter and suspend the student-athlete until a proper punishment can be levied.”
And here it comes…
“But, I have do have to take into account your behavior prior to and after the incident. And you have handled yourself very maturely since your equally immature act, something I honestly didn’t expect from someone your age. I suppose I can let this one go.”
I had to double take for a second to make sure I heard what I thought I heard. I had asked him to repeat himself, and when he said those magical words, I felt a great sense of relief; it was like having Superman save you from being trapped under an overturned truck.
I did everything in my power to suppress the ear-to-ear smile that was forming while I could hear Tressel give a relieved sigh. I tapped my foot and anxiously cracked my knuckles; I simply couldn’t contain my excitement any longer.
“But you are on a very fine line, Mr. Kapatos. If I hear of one more altercation involving you, you’re done. Is that understood?”
“Very clearly, sir.”
“Good. You two are free to go.”
…
All the classes and practices had started to merge into one continuous string of monotonous activity, with the games every Saturday as the only break from the norm. But even those were another form of monotony; the only difference was getting hit by a guy from another school and actually competing for real.
So it was nice to have a long holiday weekend to look forward to some much needed R&R. At the beginning of the year, I’d originally agreed to come home on the first flight for Thanksgiving, but feelings changed and a thought occurred somewhere around the beginning of November.
From some of the news I’d picked up from home, money seemed to be tight around the Kapatos household. A tree branch had dislodged itself from the tree overhead the driveway and impaled the roof of Dad’s car and shattered the back window, Mom had been losing hours at her weekend job and other expenses had popped up along the year. I didn’t have the money to spend on two plane tickets, nor did I want to put the financial burden on them, and it wouldn’t make sense to drive nine hours there, leave in a few days, then rush back to Ohio.
But my Uncle Greg, a professor in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University just outside Detroit, seemed like a much more viable option. I hadn’t seen him or his daughter Dawn since I was in middle school, and I’d never met his new wife. Plus it was only a four hour drive from Columbus to suburban Detroit, so it was a much easier drive and I wouldn’t have to wake up as early.
I even invited Josh and Cedric along for the trip, who gladly accepted. They lived as far as I did from home, and they and their families lacked the funds for airfare and there were no bus services that traveled that far west.
With the idea now firmly planted in my head, I took the opportunity to give Greg a call, who was more than happy to take the time out of his day to speak with his nephew. We spoke for well over a half-hour just catching up on the last five years, how we’ve been doing, how his new wife was, how I’ve been doing at Ohio State. He never said why he’d divorced his previous wife of over twenty years, but I’m sure he had his reasons, and it wasn’t my place to pry.
“I just think it makes a lot more sense for me to go to Uncle Greg’s and save you guys the money,” I reasoned with mom over the course of the week. “And I’ll still be home for Christmas break. It’s just easier this way, for everyone.”
She was rightfully hesitant and reluctant to let her middle child spend Thanksgiving in Michigan instead of at home with the rest of her family. Everyone wanted that picturesque Thanksgiving; a well-dressed family sitting down to a perfectly prepared turkey dinner, acting civil and being the perfect family.
It’s what every family desperately wanted at least around the holidays, and so often what happens on Thanksgiving comes nowhere close to what the Normal Rockwell-inspired image everyone has seared into their heads.
But eventually she relented, and even though you could hear the disappointment laced in her voice. She knew that I hadn’t seen Uncle Greg in years and had never met his wife, that it would be a difficult drive for me alone for nine hours on the road, and that I would save more money this way that could be better used down the road.
So with my mother’s blessing and the approval for two more guests by Greg, the three of us loaded up my Explorer Sport with our luggage and a cooler filled with enough drinks and snacks to last us the trip and we left at around noon. Aside from some traffic around Toledo and Detroit, it was an incredibly smooth and painless drive. We talked shit about each other’s teams – my Giants in one of their patented mid-season slumps, Josh’s Seahawks lurking around in the NFC West, and Cedric’s Raiders sitting at a surprising 7-4 and in a position to make the playoffs – while enjoying our first trip to Michigan without the fifty-one other guys and coaches on a cramped bus.
For the first time since before the season began, we felt like regular college students on a road trip for the holidays. There was no highly detailed itinerary to keep track of, no rowdy fans to deal with on the way to the field, and certainly not having to worry about recognizing a zone blitz. All we had to worry about was where we were going, how fast we were going, and if there was going to be any traffic.
Simply put, it was peaceful.
We’d made great time, only having to stop for gas and a bathroom break once, and before long we were pulling into the driveway of their ranch-style house of the suburban development at a little past 4:30. I could’ve sworn I saw a metallic-green Spartan logo planted next to a thick bush beside the garage door.
Greg was there waiting for us in the driveway, a wide smile and his hands dug into his pockets. If you stood him right next to my father, you could barely tell them apart despite Greg being two years older, a couple of inches taller, and slightly thinner. Just like Dad, he was bald around the top of his head while a thinning layer of greying hair circling around the rest of his head. And just like Dad, he was incredibly happy to see his nephew.
If he thought it was strange to see three college kids well over six feet tall, he didn’t show it. He rushed over to me and wrapped his arms around me, with me doing the same.
“Nick, my God, look at you!” He pulled away, craning his neck upward and overdramatizing the height difference between us. “I remember you being the tall one in the family, but you’ve really shot up since I last saw you. And those muscles; Puberty sure was kind to you!”
“I guess you could say so.” I jokingly flexed my bicep, to which Greg guffawed.
“Show off,” Greg turned to Josh and Cedric, who were busy unloading their stuff from the back of the SUV. “You guys need any help with that?”
“Nah, that’s fine, sir,” Cedric said, swinging his duffle bag over his shoulder with ease. “Didn’t being too much stuff for a two-day trip, ya know?”
“If you say so. We’ve got a room set up for you guys inside, just follow me and I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
The three of us followed close behind as Greg led us inside through the garage and through the cramped laundry room. It would have definitely been a weird and comical sight to see three incredibly tall teenagers being led by someone in his fifties who barely cracked five-seven through a tight room.
“Just a heads up,” he said before opening the door. “We’re almost done doing some work in the kitchen, so don’t be alarmed if you see any wires or nails exposed.”
We entered through the laundry room into the kitchen, and I was blown away by how nice it looked. While there were a few of those exposed wires and nails he talked about, the rest of the kitchen looked spotless and very pristine. I thought I heard Greg saying something about it taking a few months to get done; If that were true, whoever did it was very good at their job.
Standing at the sink peeling apples under a running faucet while humming a tune was Greg’s second wife, Nancy. For her age (about as old as Uncle Greg), she looked beautiful. Her shoulder-length dull brown hair matched beautifully with her pale-green eyes and well-tanned skin. She wore a floral-patterned teal apron over a nice-looking pink top.
“Nancy, sweetie,” Greg called, closing the door to the laundry room behind him. “This is Nick and some of his friends from school.”
She stopped humming and turned, a lively smile suddenly flashing as she got a glimpse of her nephew-in-law, showing two rows of pearly-white teeth. “Hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you!” She brought me in for another hug before noticing my OSU sweatshirt. “Now I’ll let it slide this time because your family, but next time you hug me you’d better not be wearing anything red or grey.”
I put two and two together and chuckled. “I take it that’s your Michigan State thing outside?”
“Darn right, class of ’76. You better bet next year Gholston will come crashing off the line and put you into the ground.”
She maintained a serious, stern demeanor as I looked to Greg to ask if she was kidding. But she soon chuckled with an infectious laugh, tossing a dish rag onto the counter and put a calming hand on my chest.
“I’m just fooling you. I’m not one of those kinds of fans; I can respect a great player when I see one. Especially if it’s from the family I married into.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and let out an eased laugh as we were led into the guest bedroom, where after playing ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ for the bed saw me and Cedric sleeping on the pullout couch while Josh got the damn bed all to himself. It would be a more than awkward arrangement for two 200+ lb. teenagers to share a small bed, and one of us would probably wind up sleeping on the floor.
After fixing up the pullout and getting our bags placed, we sat down and got to talking with Greg and Nancy. It started off basic – how they met through Match.com, the wedding down in Savannah, her job as a realtor – before moving on to how the three of us were doing with the season. I let Josh and Cedric speak most about how they chose Ohio State over the other schools recruiting them.
“Because I’d rather freeze my ass of in Ohio than play for that worm Kiffin or take a redshirt and sit for three years on some SEC depth chart,” Cedric said, using more polite language when describing his decision than he normally would.
“I’m not sure,” Josh answered with a shrug. “I was recruited pretty heavily by Oregon ever since they were allowed to, and everyone in my town and high school was expecting me to declare for them. But since I was offered a full ride by pretty much every school in a BCS conference, I guess I wanted to go away from Oregon and explore the rest of the country. Plus I liked the coaches when I met them on my official visit and the campus is absolutely beautiful.”
When it was my turn to answer, I just shrugged at the simplicity of mine. “I saw Ohio State was the best place to start and succeed right away. I fell in love with that coach Tressel told me about the University, the program and the campus. Everything else after that was just icing on the cake.”
They were all different answers with a similar underlying reason for choosing OSU; A greater chance of success. Whether it be personal or as a group, all three of us wanted to be as great as we could be at the collegiate level and hopefully advance to ranks of the NFL one day, and going to Columbus appeared to be the best option to achieve that. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen, but with at least two more seasons remaining for all of us in one of the best and most visible programs in the country, who’s to say at least one of us achieves NFL stardom?
“Are you sure you guys couldn’t have picked State,” Nancy asked, half-joking about her alma mater’s inability to snatch a worthy successor for Kirk Cousins.
It brought out a good couple of laughs from the three of us, breaking up the seriousness of the room for a second. The conversation continued on for some time before me and Greg left to talk privately. We retreated into the still-unfinished kitchen, where he opened the fridge and pulled out two ice-cold cans of Coors Light.
“So you look good,” Greg said, sipping from his can. “I guess you have a D-I training program to thank for that. And your grandfather’s genetics.”
I’d never met my grandfather – or pappous in Greek – as he died of a heart attack when Dad and Greg were still in high school. But from the stories I’d heard from Dad every now and then, he sounded like a very tough and determined man, a trait all Kapatos men (and even Kristen) share. And from the old photos I’d seen, it was apparent that the height gene skipped a generation or two; While Dad and Greg both topped out at around 5’6” and 5’8” respectively, Alexander Sr. was well over six feet tall and a very imposing man.
“I guess so,” I replied, taking a sip of my own beer before turning the conversation away from myself. “You look good, Greg. Really, really good.”
“Oh yeah, how so?”
“I dunno. You just seem more relaxed, happier.”
“Yeah, I suppose I am.” He looked over his shoulder at his wife, laughing along to whatever story Cedric had just told her. A content smile quickly appeared and lasted for as long as he stared at his wife.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how come you and Cathy divorced? Why after so many years did you two decide it was time?”
The smile quickly vanished as he sighed and turned back to me, taking another sip of the cold beverage.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t –”
Greg put up a hand, cutting me off from the rest of the apology. “No, no. It’s fine. It’s good to air some of this stuff out. And you have a right to know.”
He set down his beer and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and clearing his throat. “When you’ve been with someone for as long as your aunt and I were, you kind of fall into a routine. Breakfast at the same time, leave for work at the same time, come home at the same time, dinner at the same time, bed at the same time. You do that for over twenty years and you get restless and bored. We tried to do new things to shake it up every now and then, but we had to fight ourselves to do it. And after a few more months, we just came to a decision to end it.”
I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he laughed and removed it. “Hey, don’t worry about me, bud. It was a mutual split, and we’re still friends. You know she got engaged in October? She made a post about it on Facebook.”
I smiled, nodding my head as I tried to remember the post. I hadn’t been on Facebook that often, so I’d have to remember to give her a call later.
“What about you?” He slapped my arm, a smile returning to his face. “I’m sure you’ve had your share of girlfriends as the big man on campus.”
I chuckled and smirked. “I guess you could say that.” I was more than a little reluctant to tell him about all the girls I’d been with over the course of the year, but a certain raven-haired beauty stood out. “There was one, though, but she’s transferring at the end of the semester.”
I began to think about Morgan. How she was one of the most down-to-earth person I’ve ever known in my short time in Columbus. She was the only girl on campus who I wouldn’t mind spending time with after we did the deed; who knew if that meant anything for a relationship, but it was the one thing that stuck out to me.
I took a few more gulps of the beer as I wondered if after she left OSU we would see each other again. She had to have made some friends on the team that she wouldn’t mind coming down from Grand Rapids, so maybe that would be my chance to see her. Or maybe I could sack up and drive there to spend some time with her.
Who was I kidding? We were nothing more than fuck buddies who just happened to enjoy each other’s company. There was nothing more to come out of this
Was this how it was supposed to be from now until I left? Just jump from girl to girl for the rest of my life until I was too old to play? It sounded good at the moment, but it wasn’t a sustainable lifestyle. Even the Hollywood types like Pitt or Clooney had to settle down sometime.
“Hey,” Greg brought me back to reality with one. I went to take another sip from my beer before noticing that it was completely empty. “You polished that one off pretty quick,”
I shook the can to confirm its emptiness and threw it in the nearby trash. “I didn’t even notice. I was just thinking about stuff and I guess I got lost in my thoughts.”
“I’ve seen that look before.” He put his hand on my arm, squeezing it some with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll find the one. Maybe tomorrow, maybe a couple years down the line, but you’ll meet her…” His voice trailed off as he looked back at Nancy with a smile.
“And you’ll wonder how you could’ve lived for so long without them.”
…
Those were just some of the words used to describe me from various members of the media and other football fans that had an axe to grind against Ohio State when they saw that one part of the highlight package from the Michigan loss. While it seemed that most people mentioned the fact that I was blatantly instigated by the Michigan fan – I actually received a formal apology over the phone from the Michigan Dean of Students and Athletic Director – and didn’t make any threatening moves against him, that didn’t stop the louder and more visible media personnel from going on and on about how I should’ve simply not acted and how I’ve tarnished Ohio State football and the NCAA.
“He should be absolutely ashamed of his behavior in that tunnel,” professional troll Skip Bayless proclaimed on an ESPN Radio segment. “He’s the starting quarterback of THE Ohio State Buckeyes, and he’s getting into it with a drunk fan after their game, are you kidding me? How could Jim Tressel, one of the most professional coaches in all of college football, stand for this and not punish the young man? I don’t care if he was provoked or instigated, he needs to be taught a lesson and suspended immediately by either the University, the coaches, the conference or even the NCAA!”
“I understand that he was provoked by the drunk fan,” Bill Plaschke, sports writer for the Los Angeles Times, stated in his Sunday column. “I understand that it was immediately following a loss to their hated rival Michigan and emotions are running high. I can even understand if the university, Big Ten Conference or the NCAA doesn’t suspend him because he was instigated by the fan. But he has to know better. That’s something you 100%, without question cannot do in this day and age after the Malice at the Palace just seven years ago.”
I was a nervous wreck all Sunday as I waited for a decision to come down. For every possible waking second, all I could think of was how I let my emotions get the better of me and heading back to confront that fucking idiot. It wasn’t like I was going to jump in the stands and knock his head off, all I was going to do was shout at the guy and tell him to say that stuff to my face instead of behind my back. Never in a million years would I ever even consider attacking a fan because he heckled me. That’s not how I was raised, and that’s definitely not the kind of person I am.
I didn’t even care that the loss dropped us out of the Top 25 altogether, all that mattered was clearing my name and righting wrongs. So through the Ohio State sports information office and the media coordinators, I was able to get around the freshman media ban by having the school release an apologetic press release penned by me.
“I sincerely apologize for my actions on November 19 following our team’s loss to the University of Michigan. I let my emotions following our loss get the better of me, and the fan who I approached had been mercilessly heckling me non-stop from the opening kickoff. However, that does not and absolutely should not excuse my actions on Saturday, as it was I who had acted negatively. It was immature, irrational, and above all else humiliating. I’ve embarrassed myself, my teammates, my coaches, my University, but worst of all I’ve embarrassed my family, who have raised me to be better than this. I promise that I will do my absolute best to control myself and my emotions for the remainder of my time as a member of the Ohio State football program.”
“To my coaches and teammates who have received nothing but calls from the media about what I had done and not their performances, I apologize. For the University that I happily call my home, the University that I have brought shame and embarrassment upon with my actions, I apologize. And to the fan that I confronted down in the tunnel with no clear intention other than to avoid conflict, I sincerely apologize.”
Everything I said that was written down and included was from the heart… although the Public Relations people probably used better words and phrases than I could ever think of in certain parts of the release. Still, it wasn’t an attempt to win back fans, nor was it a PR attempt by the school to make myself look better. I was truly, 100% apologetic.
Tressel told me the second we got back from Michigan that he wasn’t going to suspend me; he saw how I felt immediately after I realized what I had done, and he listened to me plead for forgiveness on the bus-ride back from Ann Arbor. I’d still have to run stadiums after every practice for the week as punishment, but it was one hundred times better than being kept out of another game.
But just because Tressel wasn’t going to suspend me didn’t mean the athletic department wouldn’t. They took potential violations of the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct such as this very seriously. Guys had been suspended for a lot less than almost entering the stands to confront a fan, so my stomach was in knots as I outside the Athletic Director’s office with Tressel beside me.
“Whatever Gene and the compliance director say today,” Tressel said to me, placing an assuring hand on my shoulder. “You take it with class and dignity. I don’t want to see you hang your head or jump for joy. You save it for when your back in your room, is that understood?”
I nodded my head, wearing a confident smile despite never being more nervous and afraid in my entire life. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, I opened the door and calmly entered the Athletic Director’s office.
The office was long and large, perfectly fitting for a man of Gene Smith’s power. There were countless framed pictures of various athletic achievements hung on the two side walls of his office while a panoramic photo of Ohio Stadium. Plaques and awards were placed on end tables littered around the office, while the powerful man sat behind a large oak table covered in papers.
Smith was sitting in a big chair behind his desk, and standing next to him was Doug Archie, Associate Athletic Director of Compliance. The middle-aged dark-skinned man was wearing a relaxed look as he stood beside his boss.
“Please, have a seat,” Smith said to us, motioning to the fancy chairs in front of his desk. I took my seat, heart racing a million miles an hour. “Gentlemen, I’m sure you’ve met Doug, our head of compliance, so I’ll get right to it.”
“Mr. Kapatos, what you did on Saturday in Ann Arbor was an embarrassment to not only this athletic department, but this fine institution. I’ve received more emails and phone calls asking for your dismissal from the football team than I’d ever like to have. I mean, just what did you think was going to happen if you even got into the stands?”
I felt like I was a child being scolded by my father for a foolish act. My face burned red from the embarrassment, but I had to compose myself for the sake of pride and clarity.
“Honestly, sir,” I started, having to clear my suddenly dry throat. “I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. The guy was heckling me all game, the stuff he was saying just got worse and worse as the game went on. As we were heading into the tunnel right after the loss, he made a comment about my father and dumped a drink on me, and I guess the emotions of the moment got the better of me.”
The two looked ahead with no expressions. A slight twitch of the eyelid or a sniffling of the nose was all I got from them, but I had to keep telling my side of the story to at least give reason why I shouldn’t be suspended or worse.
“What I did was wrong, very wrong, and I don’t think I can apologize enough for my actions. I know I embarrassed myself and the University, and if I could do it over again I would definitely do my best to brush him off and keep walking down the tunnel. And I understand that you take zero-tolerance for something like this very seriously, but I think having me removed or suspended for this one incident is wrong.”
That got their attention. The long-time AD leaned closer in his chair while the compliance officer crossed his arms and shifted on his feet. I had to choose my next words very carefully if I wanted my argument to come across clearly.
“And what makes you say that,” Mr. Archie asked.
“Because it’s my first offense. I’ve been a model student-athlete for this University on the field and in the classroom. I’ve never cheated on an exam, I’ve never beaten anyone up or stolen anything from anyone, and I’ve never done anything to put the University or the program in a bad light until now. So to punish me so severely after one lapse in judgment that did absolutely zero harm to anyone when guys on programs all over the country have done much worse things and barely got slaps on the wrist is absurd.”
I watched as Smith and Archie stand there, looking at each other as I relaxed in my seat as best I could.
“As right as you are that this is the first time we’ve had to discuss something like this you, it goes without saying that your first offense is very serious and can’t be taken lightly.”
“Come on Gene,” Tressel said, objecting finally to the ridiculousness of the situation. “He’s done nothing wrong up to this point, and to boot him off the team now is absurd. He’s apologized to me more times than I can count, and we released the letter he wrote himself yesterday to the press. What more do you want him to say or do, beg for forgiveness?”
“This isn’t about what he’s said and hasn’t said, Jim. It’s about an image. If we don’t do anything about this, then we give off the perception that the players can do whatever they want without any thought of punishment.”
“Are you saying I don’t discipline my own players anymore? That I have to get you involved whenever one of them slips up? Believe me, I think I can discipline my guys just fine without you hounding me every time someone gets attention for something other than athletics or academia.”
The tone of the already tense meeting was beginning to boil over as the two men in power started trading barbs. It was incredibly uncomfortable being in the same room as these two as they went back and forth, and I could only imagine how the compliance director was feeling on the other side.
I was getting the feeling that Gene would love for nothing more than to see me suspended. I think he thought that removal from the program this late in the year was extreme, but forcing me to sit out the last game of the year was the perfect deterrent for myself and future athletes from doing anything stupid that would bring any kind of negativity towards the program.
“I’ve looked over our Student-Athlete Code of Conduct policy for the past two days, along with the policies of the NCAA and Big Ten to see if he indeed did violate anything.”
The man couldn’t have picked a worse time to make a dramatic pause; he must’ve wanted me to stew in anticipation for a little longer before revealing his findings.
“And I came across something in our own handbook under the Standards of Conduct…” He pulled out one of the Ohio State Student-Athlete Handbooks that we were all given on our first day of classes and skimmed the book until he found the page he was looking for before adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat. “Article 15 of the Standards of Conduct states that should a student-athlete partake in behavior or conduct that is inconsistent with the Statement of Purpose or that otherwise reflects negatively on you, your team and/or teammates, your coaches, the Department of Athletics or the University. And failure to abide by this will result in the loss of privileges and other sanctions as deemed appropriate by the advisement of the Department of Athletics.”
He closed the book and placed it on the desk before turning to me. “While I believe you met everything that was presented in Article 15 and brought negative attention to yourself, this program and the University, you’ve also clearly shown plenty of remorse over your actions. Your coach seems to think you’ve more than learned from this, and from the letter you wrote, it definitely seems to me that you’ve been more than willing to take responsibility for your actions. If it were up to me, I’d let you go without any punishment.”
I was about to thank the man when he put his hand up, stopping me from leaving my seat.
“But of course, the decision isn’t up to me. I can only do the research, this one’s up to you, Gene.”
The rock that resided in my stomach for much of the meeting had now grown into a boulder when that little bit of information was revealed. Unlike Doug, who seemed to be more forgiving of what happened, the AD looked completely unmoved by my defense and Tressel’s valid points.
I began to think the worse. This man, this administrator, was going to remove me from the team just two days after one of my most humiliating losses ever. It would be the final, bold-faced stamp on what had been an all-around awful weekend. Other than getting kicked out of school, there was probably no other way things could get much worse.
“Well,” the administrator began, taking a sigh and rubbing his eyes. “Normally when a student-athlete does something similar to this or worse, it’s my job to follow our Code of Conduct to the letter and suspend the student-athlete until a proper punishment can be levied.”
And here it comes…
“But, I have do have to take into account your behavior prior to and after the incident. And you have handled yourself very maturely since your equally immature act, something I honestly didn’t expect from someone your age. I suppose I can let this one go.”
I had to double take for a second to make sure I heard what I thought I heard. I had asked him to repeat himself, and when he said those magical words, I felt a great sense of relief; it was like having Superman save you from being trapped under an overturned truck.
I did everything in my power to suppress the ear-to-ear smile that was forming while I could hear Tressel give a relieved sigh. I tapped my foot and anxiously cracked my knuckles; I simply couldn’t contain my excitement any longer.
“But you are on a very fine line, Mr. Kapatos. If I hear of one more altercation involving you, you’re done. Is that understood?”
“Very clearly, sir.”
“Good. You two are free to go.”
…
All the classes and practices had started to merge into one continuous string of monotonous activity, with the games every Saturday as the only break from the norm. But even those were another form of monotony; the only difference was getting hit by a guy from another school and actually competing for real.
So it was nice to have a long holiday weekend to look forward to some much needed R&R. At the beginning of the year, I’d originally agreed to come home on the first flight for Thanksgiving, but feelings changed and a thought occurred somewhere around the beginning of November.
From some of the news I’d picked up from home, money seemed to be tight around the Kapatos household. A tree branch had dislodged itself from the tree overhead the driveway and impaled the roof of Dad’s car and shattered the back window, Mom had been losing hours at her weekend job and other expenses had popped up along the year. I didn’t have the money to spend on two plane tickets, nor did I want to put the financial burden on them, and it wouldn’t make sense to drive nine hours there, leave in a few days, then rush back to Ohio.
But my Uncle Greg, a professor in the School of Medicine at Wayne State University just outside Detroit, seemed like a much more viable option. I hadn’t seen him or his daughter Dawn since I was in middle school, and I’d never met his new wife. Plus it was only a four hour drive from Columbus to suburban Detroit, so it was a much easier drive and I wouldn’t have to wake up as early.
I even invited Josh and Cedric along for the trip, who gladly accepted. They lived as far as I did from home, and they and their families lacked the funds for airfare and there were no bus services that traveled that far west.
With the idea now firmly planted in my head, I took the opportunity to give Greg a call, who was more than happy to take the time out of his day to speak with his nephew. We spoke for well over a half-hour just catching up on the last five years, how we’ve been doing, how his new wife was, how I’ve been doing at Ohio State. He never said why he’d divorced his previous wife of over twenty years, but I’m sure he had his reasons, and it wasn’t my place to pry.
“I just think it makes a lot more sense for me to go to Uncle Greg’s and save you guys the money,” I reasoned with mom over the course of the week. “And I’ll still be home for Christmas break. It’s just easier this way, for everyone.”
She was rightfully hesitant and reluctant to let her middle child spend Thanksgiving in Michigan instead of at home with the rest of her family. Everyone wanted that picturesque Thanksgiving; a well-dressed family sitting down to a perfectly prepared turkey dinner, acting civil and being the perfect family.
It’s what every family desperately wanted at least around the holidays, and so often what happens on Thanksgiving comes nowhere close to what the Normal Rockwell-inspired image everyone has seared into their heads.
But eventually she relented, and even though you could hear the disappointment laced in her voice. She knew that I hadn’t seen Uncle Greg in years and had never met his wife, that it would be a difficult drive for me alone for nine hours on the road, and that I would save more money this way that could be better used down the road.
So with my mother’s blessing and the approval for two more guests by Greg, the three of us loaded up my Explorer Sport with our luggage and a cooler filled with enough drinks and snacks to last us the trip and we left at around noon. Aside from some traffic around Toledo and Detroit, it was an incredibly smooth and painless drive. We talked shit about each other’s teams – my Giants in one of their patented mid-season slumps, Josh’s Seahawks lurking around in the NFC West, and Cedric’s Raiders sitting at a surprising 7-4 and in a position to make the playoffs – while enjoying our first trip to Michigan without the fifty-one other guys and coaches on a cramped bus.
For the first time since before the season began, we felt like regular college students on a road trip for the holidays. There was no highly detailed itinerary to keep track of, no rowdy fans to deal with on the way to the field, and certainly not having to worry about recognizing a zone blitz. All we had to worry about was where we were going, how fast we were going, and if there was going to be any traffic.
Simply put, it was peaceful.
We’d made great time, only having to stop for gas and a bathroom break once, and before long we were pulling into the driveway of their ranch-style house of the suburban development at a little past 4:30. I could’ve sworn I saw a metallic-green Spartan logo planted next to a thick bush beside the garage door.
Greg was there waiting for us in the driveway, a wide smile and his hands dug into his pockets. If you stood him right next to my father, you could barely tell them apart despite Greg being two years older, a couple of inches taller, and slightly thinner. Just like Dad, he was bald around the top of his head while a thinning layer of greying hair circling around the rest of his head. And just like Dad, he was incredibly happy to see his nephew.
If he thought it was strange to see three college kids well over six feet tall, he didn’t show it. He rushed over to me and wrapped his arms around me, with me doing the same.
“Nick, my God, look at you!” He pulled away, craning his neck upward and overdramatizing the height difference between us. “I remember you being the tall one in the family, but you’ve really shot up since I last saw you. And those muscles; Puberty sure was kind to you!”
“I guess you could say so.” I jokingly flexed my bicep, to which Greg guffawed.
“Show off,” Greg turned to Josh and Cedric, who were busy unloading their stuff from the back of the SUV. “You guys need any help with that?”
“Nah, that’s fine, sir,” Cedric said, swinging his duffle bag over his shoulder with ease. “Didn’t being too much stuff for a two-day trip, ya know?”
“If you say so. We’ve got a room set up for you guys inside, just follow me and I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
The three of us followed close behind as Greg led us inside through the garage and through the cramped laundry room. It would have definitely been a weird and comical sight to see three incredibly tall teenagers being led by someone in his fifties who barely cracked five-seven through a tight room.
“Just a heads up,” he said before opening the door. “We’re almost done doing some work in the kitchen, so don’t be alarmed if you see any wires or nails exposed.”
We entered through the laundry room into the kitchen, and I was blown away by how nice it looked. While there were a few of those exposed wires and nails he talked about, the rest of the kitchen looked spotless and very pristine. I thought I heard Greg saying something about it taking a few months to get done; If that were true, whoever did it was very good at their job.
Standing at the sink peeling apples under a running faucet while humming a tune was Greg’s second wife, Nancy. For her age (about as old as Uncle Greg), she looked beautiful. Her shoulder-length dull brown hair matched beautifully with her pale-green eyes and well-tanned skin. She wore a floral-patterned teal apron over a nice-looking pink top.
“Nancy, sweetie,” Greg called, closing the door to the laundry room behind him. “This is Nick and some of his friends from school.”
She stopped humming and turned, a lively smile suddenly flashing as she got a glimpse of her nephew-in-law, showing two rows of pearly-white teeth. “Hi, it’s so nice to finally meet you!” She brought me in for another hug before noticing my OSU sweatshirt. “Now I’ll let it slide this time because your family, but next time you hug me you’d better not be wearing anything red or grey.”
I put two and two together and chuckled. “I take it that’s your Michigan State thing outside?”
“Darn right, class of ’76. You better bet next year Gholston will come crashing off the line and put you into the ground.”
She maintained a serious, stern demeanor as I looked to Greg to ask if she was kidding. But she soon chuckled with an infectious laugh, tossing a dish rag onto the counter and put a calming hand on my chest.
“I’m just fooling you. I’m not one of those kinds of fans; I can respect a great player when I see one. Especially if it’s from the family I married into.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and let out an eased laugh as we were led into the guest bedroom, where after playing ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ for the bed saw me and Cedric sleeping on the pullout couch while Josh got the damn bed all to himself. It would be a more than awkward arrangement for two 200+ lb. teenagers to share a small bed, and one of us would probably wind up sleeping on the floor.
After fixing up the pullout and getting our bags placed, we sat down and got to talking with Greg and Nancy. It started off basic – how they met through Match.com, the wedding down in Savannah, her job as a realtor – before moving on to how the three of us were doing with the season. I let Josh and Cedric speak most about how they chose Ohio State over the other schools recruiting them.
“Because I’d rather freeze my ass of in Ohio than play for that worm Kiffin or take a redshirt and sit for three years on some SEC depth chart,” Cedric said, using more polite language when describing his decision than he normally would.
“I’m not sure,” Josh answered with a shrug. “I was recruited pretty heavily by Oregon ever since they were allowed to, and everyone in my town and high school was expecting me to declare for them. But since I was offered a full ride by pretty much every school in a BCS conference, I guess I wanted to go away from Oregon and explore the rest of the country. Plus I liked the coaches when I met them on my official visit and the campus is absolutely beautiful.”
When it was my turn to answer, I just shrugged at the simplicity of mine. “I saw Ohio State was the best place to start and succeed right away. I fell in love with that coach Tressel told me about the University, the program and the campus. Everything else after that was just icing on the cake.”
They were all different answers with a similar underlying reason for choosing OSU; A greater chance of success. Whether it be personal or as a group, all three of us wanted to be as great as we could be at the collegiate level and hopefully advance to ranks of the NFL one day, and going to Columbus appeared to be the best option to achieve that. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen, but with at least two more seasons remaining for all of us in one of the best and most visible programs in the country, who’s to say at least one of us achieves NFL stardom?
“Are you sure you guys couldn’t have picked State,” Nancy asked, half-joking about her alma mater’s inability to snatch a worthy successor for Kirk Cousins.
It brought out a good couple of laughs from the three of us, breaking up the seriousness of the room for a second. The conversation continued on for some time before me and Greg left to talk privately. We retreated into the still-unfinished kitchen, where he opened the fridge and pulled out two ice-cold cans of Coors Light.
“So you look good,” Greg said, sipping from his can. “I guess you have a D-I training program to thank for that. And your grandfather’s genetics.”
I’d never met my grandfather – or pappous in Greek – as he died of a heart attack when Dad and Greg were still in high school. But from the stories I’d heard from Dad every now and then, he sounded like a very tough and determined man, a trait all Kapatos men (and even Kristen) share. And from the old photos I’d seen, it was apparent that the height gene skipped a generation or two; While Dad and Greg both topped out at around 5’6” and 5’8” respectively, Alexander Sr. was well over six feet tall and a very imposing man.
“I guess so,” I replied, taking a sip of my own beer before turning the conversation away from myself. “You look good, Greg. Really, really good.”
“Oh yeah, how so?”
“I dunno. You just seem more relaxed, happier.”
“Yeah, I suppose I am.” He looked over his shoulder at his wife, laughing along to whatever story Cedric had just told her. A content smile quickly appeared and lasted for as long as he stared at his wife.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how come you and Cathy divorced? Why after so many years did you two decide it was time?”
The smile quickly vanished as he sighed and turned back to me, taking another sip of the cold beverage.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t –”
Greg put up a hand, cutting me off from the rest of the apology. “No, no. It’s fine. It’s good to air some of this stuff out. And you have a right to know.”
He set down his beer and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and clearing his throat. “When you’ve been with someone for as long as your aunt and I were, you kind of fall into a routine. Breakfast at the same time, leave for work at the same time, come home at the same time, dinner at the same time, bed at the same time. You do that for over twenty years and you get restless and bored. We tried to do new things to shake it up every now and then, but we had to fight ourselves to do it. And after a few more months, we just came to a decision to end it.”
I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but he laughed and removed it. “Hey, don’t worry about me, bud. It was a mutual split, and we’re still friends. You know she got engaged in October? She made a post about it on Facebook.”
I smiled, nodding my head as I tried to remember the post. I hadn’t been on Facebook that often, so I’d have to remember to give her a call later.
“What about you?” He slapped my arm, a smile returning to his face. “I’m sure you’ve had your share of girlfriends as the big man on campus.”
I chuckled and smirked. “I guess you could say that.” I was more than a little reluctant to tell him about all the girls I’d been with over the course of the year, but a certain raven-haired beauty stood out. “There was one, though, but she’s transferring at the end of the semester.”
I began to think about Morgan. How she was one of the most down-to-earth person I’ve ever known in my short time in Columbus. She was the only girl on campus who I wouldn’t mind spending time with after we did the deed; who knew if that meant anything for a relationship, but it was the one thing that stuck out to me.
I took a few more gulps of the beer as I wondered if after she left OSU we would see each other again. She had to have made some friends on the team that she wouldn’t mind coming down from Grand Rapids, so maybe that would be my chance to see her. Or maybe I could sack up and drive there to spend some time with her.
Who was I kidding? We were nothing more than fuck buddies who just happened to enjoy each other’s company. There was nothing more to come out of this
Was this how it was supposed to be from now until I left? Just jump from girl to girl for the rest of my life until I was too old to play? It sounded good at the moment, but it wasn’t a sustainable lifestyle. Even the Hollywood types like Pitt or Clooney had to settle down sometime.
“Hey,” Greg brought me back to reality with one. I went to take another sip from my beer before noticing that it was completely empty. “You polished that one off pretty quick,”
I shook the can to confirm its emptiness and threw it in the nearby trash. “I didn’t even notice. I was just thinking about stuff and I guess I got lost in my thoughts.”
“I’ve seen that look before.” He put his hand on my arm, squeezing it some with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll find the one. Maybe tomorrow, maybe a couple years down the line, but you’ll meet her…” His voice trailed off as he looked back at Nancy with a smile.
“And you’ll wonder how you could’ve lived for so long without them.”
…
Sorry for the lack of activity on here from my part. Its been a really hectic couple of months since that last update, and its finally settled down enough where I can bang out parts of an update with more frequency.
I'm going to try and update this as often as I can, and I assure you guys I want to see this to the end as much as you do.
I'm going to try and update this as often as I can, and I assure you guys I want to see this to the end as much as you do.
DaaaaaBears
Super Star
- May 30, 2006
- 51,757
- 29,338
Good update, man. Lots of stuff to take in. The family downtime chapters are always some of my favorites.
With the last week of regular season college football and conference championships now completed, it was time to find out who was going bowling and where.
Despite knowing that there was absolutely no chance of us making a BCS bowl berth, we were still gathered into the largest conference room there was inside the Hayes Complex to watch the Bowl Selection Show on Fox and ESPN. I’d done some research leading up to tonight, and since we were sitting comfortably in third place behind Northwestern and Michigan, we were definitely going to be playing on New Year’s Day, most likely in Tampa in the Outback Bowl. Although there was a slim chance of us playing in Orlando in the Capital One Bowl, the third-place team in the Big Ten was always slated to play in the Outback Bowl unless the second-place team – Northwestern, in this scenario – was selected to play in a BCS bowl, leaving that spot open for us.
I did my best to ignore the ESPN cameras placed around the conference room; they were here to show our live reactions on national television along with any of the other bowl-hopeful teams that were waiting for their postseason fates to be revealed.
My phone got the occasional buzz from my old high school friends and family wanting to know where I thought we’d be playing, but I played dumb and told them I had no idea. It was never a fan of spoiling the suspense for anyone, so I just told them to watch the show to find out and shut off my phone to ignore the surely-frustrated responses.
The National Championship Game was announced first, and it would Michigan and Alabama fighting for the crystal ball in New Orleans on January 9. There were some jeers and boos directed at the screen when they showed the Michigan squad whooping and hollering at the confirmation of going to the National Championship, while there was a level of indifference towards the Crimson Tide players. Both teams had gotten to the big game in very different ways; Michigan had ran through everyone on their schedule with little difficulties, while Alabama had to rebound after a surprising upset at the hands of Vanderbilt early in the year. You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan of either fan among the team, but I’m sure more guys would be pulling for Alabama to put the hurt on the Wolverines.
Next up was the Rose Bowl, the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’, where Northwestern was rewarded for their unbelievable 11-1 season and second-place finish in the Big Ten with an At-Large bid in place of Michigan as the conference representative. The Wildcats would be playing Pac-10 champion Stanford and Heisman favorite Andrew Luck. In spite of losing in a 51-39 track meet to Oregon at home, they managed to stay in the Top 10 with a string of conference wins the rest of the way. The sports writers covering this game had tons of headlines to talk about: could Northwestern complete the dream season and win their first bowl game since 1948? Or could Andrew Luck bring conclude his final chapter at Stanford by bringing the Rose Bowl trophy back to Palo Alto for the first time since 1971 and confirming the hype surrounding him as the for-sure number one pick in the upcoming draft?
“Shoulda beat those fuckers when we had the chance,” I heard a bitter Cedric mumble as FOX cameras switched to the Northwestern players, joyously celebrating their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1995 season.
And he was right, we had the better team on both sides of the ball, but the offense stalled once I got knocked out of the game and, well, you already know what happened. Who knows what would’ve happened if I didn’t get hurt, if Joe didn’t play like shit and if the defense could keep their offense out of the end zone in the fourth quarter?
But there was no point in playing ‘What if?’ this late in the year. What’s done is done and we must now deal with the consequences of that day.
What Cedric didn’t realize, though, was that because Northwestern took the Rose Bowl bid, there was a strong possibility we would slide into their place in the Capital One Bowl. The bowl game had a tie-in with the second place team in the conference, but now that was thrown through a loop. The Capital One Bowl committee could now select anyone from our conference that they wanted; they could pick us, or they could pick 8-4, #19 Wisconsin and send us to the Outback Bowl. I shifted uneasily in my seat as Orange Bowl Committee President Tony Argiz made his way to the podium.
This year’s edition of the Orange Bowl would feature WAC champion and perennial BCS buster Boise State taking on ACC winner Clemson down in Miami. The Tigers, led by their high-flying offense, pulled off the shocking upset over the heavily-favorite Miami Hurricanes on a last-second touchdown pass from Tahj Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins to knock the Canes out of the championship and allow the Tide to slide right in. And once again, Boise State ran the table to an undefeated season, but the BCS committee adamantly refused to allow them into the big game because of their failure in last year’s game and another weak out-of-conference schedule despite a season-opening win against Georgia in the Georgia Dome. On paper it was a great match-up between a pair of high-scoring, incredibly watchable teams, but somehow one team always failed to show up in the Orange Bowl, leading to an unwatchable blowout.
Following the Orange Bowl was the Sugar Bowl, where a pair of At-Large teams who couldn’t be more different, LSU and Miami. While LSU had a starting line-up of NFL-caliber players on both sides of the ball, Miami was more of a unified team. They had playmakers, sure, but not of the level that the Bayou Bengals possessed. I’m sure oddsmakers were going to give make LSU the favorite in a landslide, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Miami managed to pull off the upset.
Finally, wrapping up the BSC portion of the Bowl Selection Show was the Fiesta Bowl. Big 12 champion Texas rolled to an undefeated conference record despite two out-of-conference losses to Ole Miss and UCLA and the loss of Garret Gilbert to a concussion in the fourth game of the year against Iowa State. Luckily, they had the top quarterback recruit in my class, Eric Harris, waiting in the wings. Once they turned to the pocket passing gunslinger, they never looked back. Even when Gilbert returned from his concussion, the coaching staff rode the hot arm of Harris to yet another Big 12 championship. Standing across from them was the other Cinderella story of the 2011 season: Big East champion Syracuse. Despite starting the season 0-3, the Orange rebounded to win the next nine games – including an upset over West Virginia in the Carrier Dome – to win their first conference title since the 2004. I’d have to remember to send Marrone a congratulatory text when this was all done.
After the final BCS game was announced, an intern switched the channel over from Fox to ESPN, where they would be unveiling the match-ups to the non-BCS bowls. Teams all over the country were now sitting on the edge of their seats to see who, where, and when they’d be playing this December and January.
We had to sit through the selection and analysis of the AT&T Cotton Bowl – #9 Ole Miss and Kansas State – and the Alamo Bowl – #18 Baylor and #13 Arizona – before they got to the first bowl game with a Big Ten tie-in.
“And we’ve just gotten word from our sources on our next bowl announcement,” ESPN anchor Rece Davis said into the camera. “And it looks like the unranked, 8-4 Ohio State Buckeyes will play 11-2, number nine Florida in the Capital One Bowl on January 2nd in Orlando, Florida!”
As the analysts began to pour over the month-away match-up, there were some small pockets of cheers spread throughout the conference room, but there were no real explosions of joy. It was more of a subdued acceptance; we knew we weren’t going to a BCS bowl, but it was one of the top non-BCS bowls in the country. And spending a few days in warm, sunny Orlando and getting to go to Disney World wasn't anything to be upset about, either.
But before I had any daydreams about riding on Space Mountain or getting my picture taken with a Disney princess, my thoughts quickly turned to preparations for the ninth-ranked Gators. They finished 11-2 in a super competitive SEC after getting smacked in the SEC Championship game to National Championship competitor Alabama. They’d lost to the Tide earlier in the year before reeling off several victories over ranked teams like LSU, Vanderbilt and South Carolina to finish as East Division champs.
Ranked one of the best in the country when Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer were in charge, their offense had slipped some with first-year head coach Will Muschamp at the reigns. While they had individual playmakers across the roster, they were still in flux in transitioning from Meyer’s spread to Muschamp’s pro-style, and the numbers showed. They ranked near the bottom of the SEC in points per game and offensive yards per game, in spite of All-SEC tight end Jorden Reed putting up over 700 receiving yards and five scores, John Brantley bouncing back after a down year last season and a pair of electrifying backs in Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps.
But it was their defense we were really going to have to worry about. Ranked in the top five in the SEC and top 10 in the country in all key statistical categories, it was the Gator defense that kept them competitive every game of the year with All-SEC and All-American players littering their starting roster.
The main focus for the coaches and players were going to be their front seven, mainly Dominique Easley on the inside, Sharrif Floyd on the edge and John Bostic at the MLB position. All three were Second Team All-SEC and led or were near the top of the conference in sacks, tackles for loss and pass breakups. I vividly remember one highlight that SportsCenter played over and over again from Florida’s game against Kentucky where Bostic literally knocked a dude’s helmet off after a catch over the middle. And depending on what draft expert you talked to he was either a lock for the first round of this year’s NFL Draft or he was a borderline first or second round player. While Floyd and Easley were no slouches either, it was Bostic I would have to keep an eye on during the game.
And although their secondary was simply lumped together with the rest of their outstanding defense, the leader of the defensive backs was First Team All-American safety Matt Elam, conference interception leader and one of the defensive captains. Only a sophomore, draft experts were calling him one of the best safeties in next year’s draft class. Pencil in an All-American kicker and All-SEC freshman punter and you’ve got an all-around scary team.
Vegas would later pencil the Gators as a three-point favorite right out of the gate, but that didn’t surprise me. Whereas Florida was coming in off an appearance in their Conference Championship game, we fell ass-backwards into the Capital One Bowl after going 1-3 in the last four weeks of the season. Our offense wasn’t clicking at 100% while we had just fired our defensive coordinator after three losses in four games and three straight times we’d given up over 400 yards of offense. We all had faith that interim coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell would fill in admirably and figure out a way to keep the Gators off the scoreboard, but this was still a bad time to be trotting out a new coordinator against one of the top teams in one of the best conferences in college football.
But if Alabama could run roughshod over the Gators in both games they played, especially in the recent 37-6 beat-down in the SEC Championship game earlier today, then who was to say we couldn’t put more points on the board and take a bowl trophy back to Columbus?
After the rest of the bowl games were announced, and before the Heisman nominees were revealed, coach Tressel walked up to the front of the room and quieted everyone down as the projector was shut down. Like always, a stern look was plastered on his face. You could tell he didn’t expect to be playing in a non-BCS bowl at the beginning of the year after all the players he had returning.
“Gentlemen, we’ve got one month to prepare for this team. I know a lot of you are still upset over what happened in Ann Arbor and how the season’s ended, so let’s take that frustration out on Florida. In the meantime, keep with your studies, ace your final exams, and enjoy your holiday break with your families. I expect to see you here on December 26th.”
As we started to get up and leave, the newly promoted Fickell held his hands up and let out a piercing whistle, stopping us all in our tracks.
“Before you all leave, we’re gonna need to see the following players. Dev, Big Mike, Boom, Corey, Dom, Kap, Johnny Simon, Ett, and Travis. The rest of you can go.”
As the other players left to return to their dorms or apartments, I joined the other guys announced by Fickell in another room connected to the conference room. Inside the room were the rest of the coaches seated around a long table, and on that long table were nine envelopes placed in a neat line.
“Gentlemen,” Tressel said, beaming with pride as he sat at the head of the table. “I and the rest of the coaching staff wanted to congratulate you on your fine seasons. In the envelopes on the table are plane tickets to Chicago. You’ve all been nominated for several conference awards at the Big Ten Awards Banquet in a week. Congratulations once again, gentlemen, you’ve earned this.”
I was floored. I knew I had a pretty decent season, but I never expected it was worthy of an award nomination. Hell, I didn’t even care what award I was nominated for or if I had a realistic shot to win it, I was too proud to give a shit. I did everything I could to keep myself from jumping up and down like an idiot and embarrassing myself. I simply gave a subdued fist-pump and congratulated the other guys who were nominated.
Adams, Posey, Kapatos Take Big Ten Awards, Among Several Named to All-Big Ten Teams
By Adam Woodard on Dec. 10, 2011
Three members of the Ohio State Buckeye football team were honored with end of the year Big Ten Conference football award honors this evening at the Big Ten Conference Award Banquet in Chicago. Wide Receiver DeVier Posey took home the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year Award, tackle Mike Adams was named the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year, and quarterback Nick Kapatos received a share of the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year Award with Raymond Force of Michigan.
Posey received his award after an 80 reception, 1,104 yard and 10 touchdown season, being Kapatos’ top target in an 8-4 season. He averaged six receptions and 92 yards a game, with his best performance coming against Penn State in an eight catch, 177-yard and two touchdown win against the Nittany Lions in October.
Adams, the top returning player along an experienced O-Line, allowed only two sacks in 2011 and is a finalist for the Outland Trophy at the left tackle position. He was rated as one of the top left tackles in all of Division I football, and is mocked by many experts as a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Kapatos, the eighth-ranked drop-back quarterback in the Class of 2011,completed 159 of 306 passes for 2,875 yards and 22 touchdowns while also running for two scores in 11 starts, twice earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after his performances against Navy on September 17 (19-23, 341 yards, 5 TD) and against Minnesota on October 15 (19-22, 290 yards, 3 TD, 75 rushing yards, 1 touchdown).
A total of 13 Buckeyes were named to the All-Big Ten Teams, also announced at the Awards Banquet. Adams and Posey were named to the First Team, while Kapatos was named to the Second Team, finishing behind conference MVP Denard Robinson of Michigan. Also honored on First Team were running back Dan Herron, guard Jake Mewhort, defensive tackle John Simon, linebackers Etienne Sabino and Dorian Bell, and cornerback Travis Howard.
Joining Kapatos on the Second Team are wide receiver Chris Fields, guard Dominic St-Croix, center Corey Linsley, cornerback Corey Brown, safety Nathan Oliver, and punter Ben Buchanan. Wide receiver Philly Brown, offensive tackle Marcus Hall, defensive end Nathan Williams, cornerback Donnie Evege, and safety Orhian Johnson were named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
Winter Break was the reward to college students across the country for making it through their first semester of higher learning. Once their finals were over, students all across America would travel home to parents they hadn’t seen since August, catch up with old friends and celebrate the holidays before returning to school to start the process all over again.
For Josh Oversonn, while it was a welcomed reprieve from the weekly rigors of balancing Division I football and a college education, there were a lot of things on his mind while he tried to relax for a month.
He had a lot to be happy for: he was the second tight end on a team playing in a premier bowl game, he’s made tons of friends on both the team and around campus, and he was guaranteed at least a spot on the Dean’s list with a 3.8 GPA before final grades were tallied and made official.
Even more to be happy about was meeting with his friends and former teammates again. Only a small number of players he shared the field with went on the play football and college, and most of them either played at the FCS level or the Division II or III levels, while the rest either went to the big universities or to the nearby community college. Josh was the only one from his team who left the state to play college ball, and one of the few from his school to leave the West Coast.
But even with all these great things going on in his life, there was this growing pit inside him that he had to hide from everyone close to him in his life. A select few were aware of this secret he hid, and not a soul had spoken to anyone else about it since discovering it. The reveal of a secret that big and surprising would bring an enormous amount of attention onto himself that he wanted no part of. He didn’t want to be a distraction for his teammates and family to deal with; he just wanted to be like everyone else.
While Josh was thankful of these friends for keeping this a secret, there was a small part of him that wished everyone knew just so he could feel relieved and be himself. Whenever he went to parties with his high school friends, and even now in college with the guys from the team, he always felt incredibly uncomfortable. He always worried that he would be accused of being gay by some drunk idiot, leading to hushed questions and stares from everyone around him, before someone just nosy and curious enough would start to dig until they got to the truth.
It was textbook paranoia, and it was starting to eat at him.
The weeks passed and Josh tried everything he could to make the feeling go away, but every day he felt worse and worse. He stopped eating, he slept later, and he even stopped working out or hanging out with his friends.
There were two weeks left in his short break, and he had to force himself out of bed to help his parents hang the Christmas decorations outside the single-level home. No matter how good it felt to be in the fresh Oregon air helping his family out, he sickness he felt in his stomach was eating and eating at him, threatening to put him in the Hospital from the stress he was holding in.
Right after he plugged in the lights and watched the bright colors glow against the snow beginning to pile up in the gutters, he decided it was time to tell someone. He needed to get this off his chest before it drove him down a dark path with no point of return.
In the kitchen washing the dishes was his mother, JoAnne. She had a pair of vibrant green eyes that stood out against her milky-white complexion and auburn hair that was done into a simple bun.
She was one of the nicest, most caring women he’d ever known, bias aside, of course. She was also the most dedicated teacher he’d ever known, staying much later than necessary to make sure every child got picked up by their own mom or dad. She’d recently been brought up to the elementary school, where she’d been tasked with being one of the teachers to the special needs kids. If things didn’t work out with football, his desire to teach came from his admiration of her.
“Hey mom,” Josh said, doing his best to hide his nervousness. “Can you get Dad and meet me in the living room?”
Josh moved into the cramped living room while his mother called into the door leading to the garage. His palms began to sweat from the anticipation, and Josh tried to dry them off as his mother came in to sit down.
Entering from the garage was Josh’s father, Roger. If he got his love and compassion from his mother, his size and athleticism came from his father. Standing 6’3” and over 250 lbs., Roger was a former three-sport star at Southridge High School, being named All-State in football and wrestling while winning multiple honors in the shot put. He could’ve gone to any school in the country with his athletic talents, but poor grades and impending fatherhood derailed any hopes of collegiate glory.
Instead of dominating in the arena of his choice, he had to take a job at the local auto-body shop to provide for his growing family. Lucky for him, even when the Recession hit in ’08, he was incredibly skilled and well-liked enough by his boss that he survived the wave of job cuts and was even promoted to head mechanic.
Despite all the experiences he missed out on as a teenager, his father never blamed Josh for anything that happened. Rather, he blamed himself for his own decisions and the consequences that came of them. No matter what kind of trouble Josh got into when he was a kid, his father always let his son know that he loved him no matter what.
And that special bond was about to be tested to its very limits.
"What is it, son," his father asked, sitting in his chair in the now cramped and claustrophobic living room.
Josh looked over at his father, then his smiling mother. There wasn't going to be a better time than now to get it off his chest, so he'd have to start talking eventually.
“Mom, Dad… I’m…”
His heart was racing a mile a minute, his brow was drenched in sweat, and his hands were shaking. His mouth suddenly went dry as he struggled to make the words he wanted to say come to his mouth. All 6’6”, 245 pounds of his body felt like it was shriveling under the spotlight he’d put himself under. He suddenly felt incredibly weak, unable to muster out the three words he so desperately wanted – nay, needed – to tell his parents.
“I’m…”
He’d thought about and rehearsed everything he was going to say in the mirror when the time came for this. He had everything memorized forwards and backwards. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and how it would be said right down to the minute detail. He even had his speech scribbled down on a piece of paper and placed in his pocket just in case he needed help.
So why was he freezing up when the big moment had finally come?
“I’m…”
He felt a build up of tears forming in his eyes, and he looked away from his parents in shame, doing everything he could to keep his emotions from boiling over.
His parents, his loving mother and father who would give their lives to see their only child happy sat across from him in their cramped living room, stared across from him in confusion. They never liked it when their son hid things from them, and right now his mannerisms and body language were a dead giveaway that he was hiding something.
How would they react? They weren’t as incredibly conservative as some of the people he knew in his town, but they weren’t exactly the most liberal people in the world. He never heard them say anything remotely homophobic, but who knows how much people can change when someone close to them that they love reveal the kind of information he wanted to.
Suddenly, his mother reached across the gap between them and grabbed is hand; his giant hands that would rival a bear’s paw dwarfing her more dainty hand. He looked up from the floor, seeing his mother through the big wet tears on the verge of rolling down his cheek.
“Josh, sweetie. Whatever it is you need to tell us, just know that we’ll love you no matter what.”
He composed himself and wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked back at his parents, seeing his sympathetic mother and father – a normally stone-faced man – cracking a rare smile. He suddenly felt a swell of courage brewing inside him and took one last, deep breath, calming himself before dropping the bomb.
It's now or never.
“Mom, Dad… I’m gay.”
Despite knowing that there was absolutely no chance of us making a BCS bowl berth, we were still gathered into the largest conference room there was inside the Hayes Complex to watch the Bowl Selection Show on Fox and ESPN. I’d done some research leading up to tonight, and since we were sitting comfortably in third place behind Northwestern and Michigan, we were definitely going to be playing on New Year’s Day, most likely in Tampa in the Outback Bowl. Although there was a slim chance of us playing in Orlando in the Capital One Bowl, the third-place team in the Big Ten was always slated to play in the Outback Bowl unless the second-place team – Northwestern, in this scenario – was selected to play in a BCS bowl, leaving that spot open for us.
I did my best to ignore the ESPN cameras placed around the conference room; they were here to show our live reactions on national television along with any of the other bowl-hopeful teams that were waiting for their postseason fates to be revealed.
My phone got the occasional buzz from my old high school friends and family wanting to know where I thought we’d be playing, but I played dumb and told them I had no idea. It was never a fan of spoiling the suspense for anyone, so I just told them to watch the show to find out and shut off my phone to ignore the surely-frustrated responses.
The National Championship Game was announced first, and it would Michigan and Alabama fighting for the crystal ball in New Orleans on January 9. There were some jeers and boos directed at the screen when they showed the Michigan squad whooping and hollering at the confirmation of going to the National Championship, while there was a level of indifference towards the Crimson Tide players. Both teams had gotten to the big game in very different ways; Michigan had ran through everyone on their schedule with little difficulties, while Alabama had to rebound after a surprising upset at the hands of Vanderbilt early in the year. You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan of either fan among the team, but I’m sure more guys would be pulling for Alabama to put the hurt on the Wolverines.
Next up was the Rose Bowl, the ‘Granddaddy of Them All’, where Northwestern was rewarded for their unbelievable 11-1 season and second-place finish in the Big Ten with an At-Large bid in place of Michigan as the conference representative. The Wildcats would be playing Pac-10 champion Stanford and Heisman favorite Andrew Luck. In spite of losing in a 51-39 track meet to Oregon at home, they managed to stay in the Top 10 with a string of conference wins the rest of the way. The sports writers covering this game had tons of headlines to talk about: could Northwestern complete the dream season and win their first bowl game since 1948? Or could Andrew Luck bring conclude his final chapter at Stanford by bringing the Rose Bowl trophy back to Palo Alto for the first time since 1971 and confirming the hype surrounding him as the for-sure number one pick in the upcoming draft?
“Shoulda beat those fuckers when we had the chance,” I heard a bitter Cedric mumble as FOX cameras switched to the Northwestern players, joyously celebrating their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1995 season.
And he was right, we had the better team on both sides of the ball, but the offense stalled once I got knocked out of the game and, well, you already know what happened. Who knows what would’ve happened if I didn’t get hurt, if Joe didn’t play like shit and if the defense could keep their offense out of the end zone in the fourth quarter?
But there was no point in playing ‘What if?’ this late in the year. What’s done is done and we must now deal with the consequences of that day.
What Cedric didn’t realize, though, was that because Northwestern took the Rose Bowl bid, there was a strong possibility we would slide into their place in the Capital One Bowl. The bowl game had a tie-in with the second place team in the conference, but now that was thrown through a loop. The Capital One Bowl committee could now select anyone from our conference that they wanted; they could pick us, or they could pick 8-4, #19 Wisconsin and send us to the Outback Bowl. I shifted uneasily in my seat as Orange Bowl Committee President Tony Argiz made his way to the podium.
This year’s edition of the Orange Bowl would feature WAC champion and perennial BCS buster Boise State taking on ACC winner Clemson down in Miami. The Tigers, led by their high-flying offense, pulled off the shocking upset over the heavily-favorite Miami Hurricanes on a last-second touchdown pass from Tahj Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins to knock the Canes out of the championship and allow the Tide to slide right in. And once again, Boise State ran the table to an undefeated season, but the BCS committee adamantly refused to allow them into the big game because of their failure in last year’s game and another weak out-of-conference schedule despite a season-opening win against Georgia in the Georgia Dome. On paper it was a great match-up between a pair of high-scoring, incredibly watchable teams, but somehow one team always failed to show up in the Orange Bowl, leading to an unwatchable blowout.
Following the Orange Bowl was the Sugar Bowl, where a pair of At-Large teams who couldn’t be more different, LSU and Miami. While LSU had a starting line-up of NFL-caliber players on both sides of the ball, Miami was more of a unified team. They had playmakers, sure, but not of the level that the Bayou Bengals possessed. I’m sure oddsmakers were going to give make LSU the favorite in a landslide, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Miami managed to pull off the upset.
Finally, wrapping up the BSC portion of the Bowl Selection Show was the Fiesta Bowl. Big 12 champion Texas rolled to an undefeated conference record despite two out-of-conference losses to Ole Miss and UCLA and the loss of Garret Gilbert to a concussion in the fourth game of the year against Iowa State. Luckily, they had the top quarterback recruit in my class, Eric Harris, waiting in the wings. Once they turned to the pocket passing gunslinger, they never looked back. Even when Gilbert returned from his concussion, the coaching staff rode the hot arm of Harris to yet another Big 12 championship. Standing across from them was the other Cinderella story of the 2011 season: Big East champion Syracuse. Despite starting the season 0-3, the Orange rebounded to win the next nine games – including an upset over West Virginia in the Carrier Dome – to win their first conference title since the 2004. I’d have to remember to send Marrone a congratulatory text when this was all done.
After the final BCS game was announced, an intern switched the channel over from Fox to ESPN, where they would be unveiling the match-ups to the non-BCS bowls. Teams all over the country were now sitting on the edge of their seats to see who, where, and when they’d be playing this December and January.
We had to sit through the selection and analysis of the AT&T Cotton Bowl – #9 Ole Miss and Kansas State – and the Alamo Bowl – #18 Baylor and #13 Arizona – before they got to the first bowl game with a Big Ten tie-in.
“And we’ve just gotten word from our sources on our next bowl announcement,” ESPN anchor Rece Davis said into the camera. “And it looks like the unranked, 8-4 Ohio State Buckeyes will play 11-2, number nine Florida in the Capital One Bowl on January 2nd in Orlando, Florida!”
As the analysts began to pour over the month-away match-up, there were some small pockets of cheers spread throughout the conference room, but there were no real explosions of joy. It was more of a subdued acceptance; we knew we weren’t going to a BCS bowl, but it was one of the top non-BCS bowls in the country. And spending a few days in warm, sunny Orlando and getting to go to Disney World wasn't anything to be upset about, either.
But before I had any daydreams about riding on Space Mountain or getting my picture taken with a Disney princess, my thoughts quickly turned to preparations for the ninth-ranked Gators. They finished 11-2 in a super competitive SEC after getting smacked in the SEC Championship game to National Championship competitor Alabama. They’d lost to the Tide earlier in the year before reeling off several victories over ranked teams like LSU, Vanderbilt and South Carolina to finish as East Division champs.
Ranked one of the best in the country when Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer were in charge, their offense had slipped some with first-year head coach Will Muschamp at the reigns. While they had individual playmakers across the roster, they were still in flux in transitioning from Meyer’s spread to Muschamp’s pro-style, and the numbers showed. They ranked near the bottom of the SEC in points per game and offensive yards per game, in spite of All-SEC tight end Jorden Reed putting up over 700 receiving yards and five scores, John Brantley bouncing back after a down year last season and a pair of electrifying backs in Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps.
But it was their defense we were really going to have to worry about. Ranked in the top five in the SEC and top 10 in the country in all key statistical categories, it was the Gator defense that kept them competitive every game of the year with All-SEC and All-American players littering their starting roster.
The main focus for the coaches and players were going to be their front seven, mainly Dominique Easley on the inside, Sharrif Floyd on the edge and John Bostic at the MLB position. All three were Second Team All-SEC and led or were near the top of the conference in sacks, tackles for loss and pass breakups. I vividly remember one highlight that SportsCenter played over and over again from Florida’s game against Kentucky where Bostic literally knocked a dude’s helmet off after a catch over the middle. And depending on what draft expert you talked to he was either a lock for the first round of this year’s NFL Draft or he was a borderline first or second round player. While Floyd and Easley were no slouches either, it was Bostic I would have to keep an eye on during the game.
And although their secondary was simply lumped together with the rest of their outstanding defense, the leader of the defensive backs was First Team All-American safety Matt Elam, conference interception leader and one of the defensive captains. Only a sophomore, draft experts were calling him one of the best safeties in next year’s draft class. Pencil in an All-American kicker and All-SEC freshman punter and you’ve got an all-around scary team.
Vegas would later pencil the Gators as a three-point favorite right out of the gate, but that didn’t surprise me. Whereas Florida was coming in off an appearance in their Conference Championship game, we fell ass-backwards into the Capital One Bowl after going 1-3 in the last four weeks of the season. Our offense wasn’t clicking at 100% while we had just fired our defensive coordinator after three losses in four games and three straight times we’d given up over 400 yards of offense. We all had faith that interim coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell would fill in admirably and figure out a way to keep the Gators off the scoreboard, but this was still a bad time to be trotting out a new coordinator against one of the top teams in one of the best conferences in college football.
But if Alabama could run roughshod over the Gators in both games they played, especially in the recent 37-6 beat-down in the SEC Championship game earlier today, then who was to say we couldn’t put more points on the board and take a bowl trophy back to Columbus?
After the rest of the bowl games were announced, and before the Heisman nominees were revealed, coach Tressel walked up to the front of the room and quieted everyone down as the projector was shut down. Like always, a stern look was plastered on his face. You could tell he didn’t expect to be playing in a non-BCS bowl at the beginning of the year after all the players he had returning.
“Gentlemen, we’ve got one month to prepare for this team. I know a lot of you are still upset over what happened in Ann Arbor and how the season’s ended, so let’s take that frustration out on Florida. In the meantime, keep with your studies, ace your final exams, and enjoy your holiday break with your families. I expect to see you here on December 26th.”
As we started to get up and leave, the newly promoted Fickell held his hands up and let out a piercing whistle, stopping us all in our tracks.
“Before you all leave, we’re gonna need to see the following players. Dev, Big Mike, Boom, Corey, Dom, Kap, Johnny Simon, Ett, and Travis. The rest of you can go.”
As the other players left to return to their dorms or apartments, I joined the other guys announced by Fickell in another room connected to the conference room. Inside the room were the rest of the coaches seated around a long table, and on that long table were nine envelopes placed in a neat line.
“Gentlemen,” Tressel said, beaming with pride as he sat at the head of the table. “I and the rest of the coaching staff wanted to congratulate you on your fine seasons. In the envelopes on the table are plane tickets to Chicago. You’ve all been nominated for several conference awards at the Big Ten Awards Banquet in a week. Congratulations once again, gentlemen, you’ve earned this.”
I was floored. I knew I had a pretty decent season, but I never expected it was worthy of an award nomination. Hell, I didn’t even care what award I was nominated for or if I had a realistic shot to win it, I was too proud to give a shit. I did everything I could to keep myself from jumping up and down like an idiot and embarrassing myself. I simply gave a subdued fist-pump and congratulated the other guys who were nominated.
…
Adams, Posey, Kapatos Take Big Ten Awards, Among Several Named to All-Big Ten Teams
By Adam Woodard on Dec. 10, 2011
Three members of the Ohio State Buckeye football team were honored with end of the year Big Ten Conference football award honors this evening at the Big Ten Conference Award Banquet in Chicago. Wide Receiver DeVier Posey took home the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year Award, tackle Mike Adams was named the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year, and quarterback Nick Kapatos received a share of the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year Award with Raymond Force of Michigan.
Posey received his award after an 80 reception, 1,104 yard and 10 touchdown season, being Kapatos’ top target in an 8-4 season. He averaged six receptions and 92 yards a game, with his best performance coming against Penn State in an eight catch, 177-yard and two touchdown win against the Nittany Lions in October.
Adams, the top returning player along an experienced O-Line, allowed only two sacks in 2011 and is a finalist for the Outland Trophy at the left tackle position. He was rated as one of the top left tackles in all of Division I football, and is mocked by many experts as a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Kapatos, the eighth-ranked drop-back quarterback in the Class of 2011,completed 159 of 306 passes for 2,875 yards and 22 touchdowns while also running for two scores in 11 starts, twice earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors after his performances against Navy on September 17 (19-23, 341 yards, 5 TD) and against Minnesota on October 15 (19-22, 290 yards, 3 TD, 75 rushing yards, 1 touchdown).
A total of 13 Buckeyes were named to the All-Big Ten Teams, also announced at the Awards Banquet. Adams and Posey were named to the First Team, while Kapatos was named to the Second Team, finishing behind conference MVP Denard Robinson of Michigan. Also honored on First Team were running back Dan Herron, guard Jake Mewhort, defensive tackle John Simon, linebackers Etienne Sabino and Dorian Bell, and cornerback Travis Howard.
Joining Kapatos on the Second Team are wide receiver Chris Fields, guard Dominic St-Croix, center Corey Linsley, cornerback Corey Brown, safety Nathan Oliver, and punter Ben Buchanan. Wide receiver Philly Brown, offensive tackle Marcus Hall, defensive end Nathan Williams, cornerback Donnie Evege, and safety Orhian Johnson were named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
…
Winter Break was the reward to college students across the country for making it through their first semester of higher learning. Once their finals were over, students all across America would travel home to parents they hadn’t seen since August, catch up with old friends and celebrate the holidays before returning to school to start the process all over again.
For Josh Oversonn, while it was a welcomed reprieve from the weekly rigors of balancing Division I football and a college education, there were a lot of things on his mind while he tried to relax for a month.
He had a lot to be happy for: he was the second tight end on a team playing in a premier bowl game, he’s made tons of friends on both the team and around campus, and he was guaranteed at least a spot on the Dean’s list with a 3.8 GPA before final grades were tallied and made official.
Even more to be happy about was meeting with his friends and former teammates again. Only a small number of players he shared the field with went on the play football and college, and most of them either played at the FCS level or the Division II or III levels, while the rest either went to the big universities or to the nearby community college. Josh was the only one from his team who left the state to play college ball, and one of the few from his school to leave the West Coast.
But even with all these great things going on in his life, there was this growing pit inside him that he had to hide from everyone close to him in his life. A select few were aware of this secret he hid, and not a soul had spoken to anyone else about it since discovering it. The reveal of a secret that big and surprising would bring an enormous amount of attention onto himself that he wanted no part of. He didn’t want to be a distraction for his teammates and family to deal with; he just wanted to be like everyone else.
While Josh was thankful of these friends for keeping this a secret, there was a small part of him that wished everyone knew just so he could feel relieved and be himself. Whenever he went to parties with his high school friends, and even now in college with the guys from the team, he always felt incredibly uncomfortable. He always worried that he would be accused of being gay by some drunk idiot, leading to hushed questions and stares from everyone around him, before someone just nosy and curious enough would start to dig until they got to the truth.
It was textbook paranoia, and it was starting to eat at him.
The weeks passed and Josh tried everything he could to make the feeling go away, but every day he felt worse and worse. He stopped eating, he slept later, and he even stopped working out or hanging out with his friends.
There were two weeks left in his short break, and he had to force himself out of bed to help his parents hang the Christmas decorations outside the single-level home. No matter how good it felt to be in the fresh Oregon air helping his family out, he sickness he felt in his stomach was eating and eating at him, threatening to put him in the Hospital from the stress he was holding in.
Right after he plugged in the lights and watched the bright colors glow against the snow beginning to pile up in the gutters, he decided it was time to tell someone. He needed to get this off his chest before it drove him down a dark path with no point of return.
In the kitchen washing the dishes was his mother, JoAnne. She had a pair of vibrant green eyes that stood out against her milky-white complexion and auburn hair that was done into a simple bun.
She was one of the nicest, most caring women he’d ever known, bias aside, of course. She was also the most dedicated teacher he’d ever known, staying much later than necessary to make sure every child got picked up by their own mom or dad. She’d recently been brought up to the elementary school, where she’d been tasked with being one of the teachers to the special needs kids. If things didn’t work out with football, his desire to teach came from his admiration of her.
“Hey mom,” Josh said, doing his best to hide his nervousness. “Can you get Dad and meet me in the living room?”
Josh moved into the cramped living room while his mother called into the door leading to the garage. His palms began to sweat from the anticipation, and Josh tried to dry them off as his mother came in to sit down.
Entering from the garage was Josh’s father, Roger. If he got his love and compassion from his mother, his size and athleticism came from his father. Standing 6’3” and over 250 lbs., Roger was a former three-sport star at Southridge High School, being named All-State in football and wrestling while winning multiple honors in the shot put. He could’ve gone to any school in the country with his athletic talents, but poor grades and impending fatherhood derailed any hopes of collegiate glory.
Instead of dominating in the arena of his choice, he had to take a job at the local auto-body shop to provide for his growing family. Lucky for him, even when the Recession hit in ’08, he was incredibly skilled and well-liked enough by his boss that he survived the wave of job cuts and was even promoted to head mechanic.
Despite all the experiences he missed out on as a teenager, his father never blamed Josh for anything that happened. Rather, he blamed himself for his own decisions and the consequences that came of them. No matter what kind of trouble Josh got into when he was a kid, his father always let his son know that he loved him no matter what.
And that special bond was about to be tested to its very limits.
"What is it, son," his father asked, sitting in his chair in the now cramped and claustrophobic living room.
Josh looked over at his father, then his smiling mother. There wasn't going to be a better time than now to get it off his chest, so he'd have to start talking eventually.
“Mom, Dad… I’m…”
His heart was racing a mile a minute, his brow was drenched in sweat, and his hands were shaking. His mouth suddenly went dry as he struggled to make the words he wanted to say come to his mouth. All 6’6”, 245 pounds of his body felt like it was shriveling under the spotlight he’d put himself under. He suddenly felt incredibly weak, unable to muster out the three words he so desperately wanted – nay, needed – to tell his parents.
“I’m…”
He’d thought about and rehearsed everything he was going to say in the mirror when the time came for this. He had everything memorized forwards and backwards. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and how it would be said right down to the minute detail. He even had his speech scribbled down on a piece of paper and placed in his pocket just in case he needed help.
So why was he freezing up when the big moment had finally come?
“I’m…”
He felt a build up of tears forming in his eyes, and he looked away from his parents in shame, doing everything he could to keep his emotions from boiling over.
His parents, his loving mother and father who would give their lives to see their only child happy sat across from him in their cramped living room, stared across from him in confusion. They never liked it when their son hid things from them, and right now his mannerisms and body language were a dead giveaway that he was hiding something.
How would they react? They weren’t as incredibly conservative as some of the people he knew in his town, but they weren’t exactly the most liberal people in the world. He never heard them say anything remotely homophobic, but who knows how much people can change when someone close to them that they love reveal the kind of information he wanted to.
Suddenly, his mother reached across the gap between them and grabbed is hand; his giant hands that would rival a bear’s paw dwarfing her more dainty hand. He looked up from the floor, seeing his mother through the big wet tears on the verge of rolling down his cheek.
“Josh, sweetie. Whatever it is you need to tell us, just know that we’ll love you no matter what.”
He composed himself and wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked back at his parents, seeing his sympathetic mother and father – a normally stone-faced man – cracking a rare smile. He suddenly felt a swell of courage brewing inside him and took one last, deep breath, calming himself before dropping the bomb.
It's now or never.
“Mom, Dad… I’m gay.”
…
His parents, after hearing Josh drop the biggest bomb they’d heard since JoAnne first found out she was pregnant with their son, didn’t react. They didn’t know how to react.
Despite feeling a great weight lifted off his body, Josh still had a great feeling of anxiety. Sitting across from the people who he loved more than anything else in the world, all he thought about were what was going through their heads at the moment.
He’d read plenty of articles and stories all over the Internet about parents disowning their children and even physically beating them or kicking them out of their house. He’d never seen either of his parents act this way with each other or anyone else in the family unless they deserved it, but he had no idea what people were capable of when their own flesh and blood were gay or lesbian.
“So…” his mother said, voice trailing off as she continued to understand what just happened. “You’re… gay... Are you sure?”
“Y-yeah, I’m sure of it.”
“One-hundred percent sure, or…”
“Yes, I’m one-hundred percent sure.”
There was another attack of anxiety for Josh as his mother turned silent once again. He nervously chewed his fingernails and rapidly tapped his foot as he waited for his either of his parents to make some sort of response. A smile, a shout, anything other than the unbearable silence.
“Does anyone else know? Are we the first people you’ve told?”
OK, not a bad first question…
Josh sighed before answering the first question. “Only two other guys on the team know, and they swore they wouldn’t say a word. But you’re the first two I’ve actually told.”
“Who else knows?”
“I told you, just them and you two. And I’d like to keep it that way for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
Josh shrugged. “Until I’m comfortable telling more people.” He didn’t know when that would be, or even if he would ever experience that feeling. Josh didn’t mean to make it sound ambiguous, but it was better than being unsure or saying ‘no’ outright.
This would go on for the next couple of minutes. JoAnne would ask Josh a question and he would do his best to give her a straight answer. A lot of the answers were pretty simple and easy to answer: If he was sure he was gay, when he discovered this, if he was really sure he was gay, how the two people on the team figured it out, if he was seeing anyone, if he was really, really sure he was gay. It seemed as though the more questions he answered, the more questions his mother asked. There were no invasive or accusatory questions, not personal attacks, no ‘woe is me’ type statements from his mother. To Josh’s surprise, she was taking this rather well.
While Josh’s mom kept peppering him with questions, his father remained silent. Like a statue, he just sat in his chair and looked ahead, blinking every now and then and adjusting himself while his wife and son spoke.
Josh tried to get a read on how he was thinking, but he got nothing. His father was always a difficult man to read; no matter what the situation, he always remained stoic. You could’ve told him his truck was totaled and he wouldn’t have reacted any differently than if his favorite show was cancelled or if the Seahawks lost.
“Look,” Josh said, running his hand through his hair and then rubbing his eyes clean of tears. “If you guys don’t want me in the house, that’s fine. I’ve can find–”
Suddenly, Josh found himself in his mother’s arms. There were tears running down her cheeks. She squeezed him so tight that he exhaled sharply and with plenty of surprise. For someone her size and age, she moved pretty quickly.
“Josh, sweetie, we’d never kick you out of the house for something like this! It’s just… a lot to take in right now. But we’ll always love you, right Roger?”
He was beaming. Absolutely through the roof with how well his mother was taking the news. He smiled – genuinely smile – for the first time in days as he gave his mother an even bigger hug. He squeezed so tight so quickly that he thought he hear her give a few weak coughs, so he eased up to let her breathe. Spending so much time with the guys on the team made him forget just how strong he really was.
Josh turned to his father, still dead quiet since he sat them down to spill his secret. He took a deep breath, looked like he was going to say something, and instead quickly got up from the couch and went into the garage.
Josh’s heart sank as quickly as it had soared, and negative thoughts began to swirl in his mind. Was he mad? The room began to spin and he suddenly felt nauseous.
The calming touch of his mother’s hand and a gentle kiss on his cheek calmed his nerves and brought him back. “Just give him time, honey. He’ll come around.”
For as comforting and assuring as JoAnne’s words were, they didn’t make him feel any better.
…
It was an awkward couple of weeks in the Oversonn household. Every encounter with his mom was like nothing had ever happened. It was nice to not have to hide anything, acting like everything was back to normal while still being treated like the same person he was. She would ask him a few questions every now and then regarding his sexuality, but they were just innocent questions and nothing offensive. She was more interested if he had met anyone or if he had a crush on anyone than anything else. You know, mom stuff.
While his mother was more than relieved for her son to be happy and not have to hide anything, it was another story with his father. Josh felt like he was walking on eggshells around him, refusing to say or do anything that might set him off. Mr. Oversonn wasn’t one to have a short temper, and he never put his hands on Josh in a violent way, but a man of his size would always give off an intimidating image of that kind of person.
Whenever Josh sat next to him or roughly across from him, Roger’s body language would change. It was nothing major, just small shifts in posture or the fidgeting in his seat. But it was visible enough for Josh to notice and think that it was all because of him.
He shouldn’t have let it eat at him, but it did. If his mother could come to terms with his sexuality, why shouldn’t his father? Moms were stereotypically more forgiving or accepting when it came to their sons, so that Josh could understand. But for his own biological father to walk around and act as if he didn’t even exist made him boil with anger inside. But if that’s the way he wanted it, then fine. He just wouldn’t have a relationship with him. Plenty of people had poor or no relationships with at least one of their parents,
It was late on Christmas night, long after the few relatives around had left to head back home. Neither mom nor dad brought up the news Josh told them a few days ago. The last thing the family needed was any overreactions from the little extended family that visited them.
Josh was taking his last walk around the house before he hopped on a flight back to Columbus early tomorrow. Preparations for their trip to Florida had already been made, now all that was left was to rehearse the game plan over and over until it was memorized to perfection and then unleashed against the unsuspecting Gators on New Year’s Day.
It was late and he was tired, but he just couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes and drift off to sleep. He decided to take one last walk around the house, quietly walking around not trying to wake anyone up. He’d eventually found himself in front of the trophy case in the living room, where all the athletic awards and achievements he and his father had accrued over their high school careers were placed. From Josh’s Parade All-America award in football and OSAA All-State award in basketball to photos from when Roger won the state championships in track & field, it was packed to the brim with their achievements. Even JoAnne had a photo from when she graduated with her Master’s degree from Oregon State in the case.
Josh could barely see it in the dark, but Roger had just started building what looked to be an extension to the case, presumably for Josh’s future collegiate accolades and newspaper clippings. It reminded him that he loved his father, and that he did want a relationship with him. Even if his father didn’t want one with him.
Josh left the living room and was soon at the door leading to the garage. He saw that the light was on, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Inside the cramped garage was Roger putting his Christmas gift – a new set of tools Josh got him – to use by fixing up a desk he took home from a garage sale a few weeks ago.
While auto repair was his passion, furniture repair and restoration was a personal hobby of his. He’d sell a few pieces every now and then, but most of the time he’d add a refurbished end table or completely redone bookshelf to somewhere in the house. The air was thick with paint remover and wood stain, but his father wisely had the garage door open to ventilate the area.
Roger was just finishing up sanding the top of the desk when Josh cleared his throat to get his attention.
“I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave tomorrow. It’s been good seeing you and mom again.”
“What time are you heading out?”
Josh let out a quick, barely audible sigh. At least he’s talking to me this time.
“5:30, and my flight is at seven.”
“Why so early?” Roger blew off a layer of sandblasted wood from the top of the desk.
“It was either that or a flight in the evening, and I had to time it up so that me and my roommate arrive at roughly the same time.”
Roger nodded his head as he bought over the can of staining paint. He dipped his brush into the deep-brown substance and began carefully applying the coating onto the desk.
“So what bowl did you say you were playing in?”
“Capital One, against Florida.”
“Hmm.”
“It’ll be on ESPN, so you and mom will actually get to watch me stand around on the sideline.”
Since they didn’t get the Big Ten Network in their cable package this far from the Midwest, the only games his family was able to watch on TV were the games broadcasted on the ESPN channels and ABC. This usually meant that aside from some reps in the two-tight end sets and special teams, his mom and dad didn’t get to see him make the plays that earned him his five-star rating and scholarship offers.
Roger continued with his project as he dipped his brush back into the stain and applied another slow, steady stroke of the dark coating onto the desktop.
Feeling defeated, Josh turned and headed back inside the dimly lit kitchen. But before he left his father alone, there was something else he had to get off his chest.
“Look, if you don’t ever want to talk or see me again, then fine. You’ve been dancing around it ever since I told you two, but I get the picture. I just wish you’d at least tell me this before you give me the silent treatment the night before I leave.”
He’d barely turned around when his father loudly got his attention.
“God dammit Josh,” his father shouted, practically throwing the brush against the can of wood stain and forcing Josh to freeze in where he stood.
His heart rate picked up slightly and his palms turned damp, but Josh stood his ground.
“When you told me… you know…” Roger started, shifting uneasy on his feet and fiddling with his goggles. “It really caught me and your mother off guard. I know she’s OK with it, but it’s taken a lot more time for me to come to grips with this. I mean, you told us that right out of the blue, for Christ sake! How else should I react?”
“Not by avoiding speaking with me, for starters!”
“OK, OK, I know that was the wrong way to handle this. But I’m not used to dealing with a situation like this. We’ve never had to… you know… deal with something like this before.”
Josh rolled his eyes at the comment and stifled a snicker when he saw his father wasn’t in a joking mood. He tightened his posture at the sight of his father’s serious demeanor and readied himself for if things got physical.
Roger continued. “It’s still something I don’t entirely understand, and I can’t promise you I’ll ever really understand it. But I want you to know that no matter what, I will always love you.”
And then, something amazing happened. Roger stopped walked over and hugged his son tighter than ever before. This was the most emotion Roger had ever shown his son since he graduated from high school or before leaving for college, and even those were tiny smiles and firm handshakes.
Josh had no clue what to do in the moment. He would have a good laugh about this later on in life, but right now he was absolutely stunned.
But soon, the swell of emotions bubbled over and Josh hugged his father tighter than he’d ever hugged anyone before. They stood dead center of the garage, surrounded only by silence and the steady fall of December snow, hugging as father-and-son while the world around them was quietly asleep.
“Just promise me you won’t bring home a sissy for a boyfriend, alright?”
Dark and horribly inappropriate humor. Add that to the list of things shared by father and son.
And for the first time since coming home for break, Josh’s discomfort was put to rest, and he could finally sleep silently throughout the night. No nightmares, no sudden panic attacks, just quiet, blissful slumber.
…
With the familiar chill in the Ohio air greeting him the second he exited the airport, he looked around the terminal for his ride back. The thoughts of him and his father coming to an understanding late in the night were still fresh in his mind as he continued to walk through the chilly and breezy airport parking lot. He felt completely rested and recharged, thanks to the best night of sleep he had all week while at home after the talk he had with his father, plus taking a nap halfway through the flight from Oregon to Ohio.
He only had to wait five minutes before his roommate and friend Nick walked out of the gate from New York. A big smile spread across his face the second he spotted Josh.
“Josh, my man,” Nick said, arms open for a hug and a smile plastered on his face. “How was your flight, bud?”
“It was nice,” Josh replied, sliding his bag back onto his shoulder. “Long, but quiet. I think I slept for most of the flight.”
“Shit man, I wish mine was that quiet.” Nick hurried over to the back of his SUV and opened the back hatch. He carelessly tossed in his bags and swore after a strong gust of wind blew through the airport’s parking deck.
Josh chuckled and shook his head. He’d almost forgotten just how childish his roommate could be sometimes. But what else could you expect from an eighteen year-old kid in college? It would only be a problem if he were out in the real world and acted this way.
“There had to have been, like, eight families on that flight with kids, and they were all pains in the ass. Almost strangled one of them after he whacked me in the leg with his Transformer toy.”
Josh placed his stuff in the back of the trunk and quickly hopped in the passenger seat. “So how was being home?”
“Oh man, it was great!” Nick slammed the trunk and raced inside to the equally chilly Explorer. He started up the car as quickly as possible and set the radio to some punk rock station. “Got to chill with friends I hadn’t seen in months, enjoyed some home cooking and sleeping in my own bed. Remind me to have you back at my place for a week in the summer before we all head down to North Carolina.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
They backed out of their spot and slowly made their way through the concrete parking garage and out to the road, looking to leave the airport behind them.
“What about you, man? How was being home for a month? I bet it was nice seeing your family again.”
He thought about it, and a calming smile eased onto his face. “It was good… it was good.”
Josh leaned back into the cod leather seats of Nick’s Explorer and looked out at another plane taking off. Compared to the stress and inner turmoil he felt all week, preparing for Florida would be a breeze.
Despite feeling a great weight lifted off his body, Josh still had a great feeling of anxiety. Sitting across from the people who he loved more than anything else in the world, all he thought about were what was going through their heads at the moment.
He’d read plenty of articles and stories all over the Internet about parents disowning their children and even physically beating them or kicking them out of their house. He’d never seen either of his parents act this way with each other or anyone else in the family unless they deserved it, but he had no idea what people were capable of when their own flesh and blood were gay or lesbian.
“So…” his mother said, voice trailing off as she continued to understand what just happened. “You’re… gay... Are you sure?”
“Y-yeah, I’m sure of it.”
“One-hundred percent sure, or…”
“Yes, I’m one-hundred percent sure.”
There was another attack of anxiety for Josh as his mother turned silent once again. He nervously chewed his fingernails and rapidly tapped his foot as he waited for his either of his parents to make some sort of response. A smile, a shout, anything other than the unbearable silence.
“Does anyone else know? Are we the first people you’ve told?”
OK, not a bad first question…
Josh sighed before answering the first question. “Only two other guys on the team know, and they swore they wouldn’t say a word. But you’re the first two I’ve actually told.”
“Who else knows?”
“I told you, just them and you two. And I’d like to keep it that way for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
Josh shrugged. “Until I’m comfortable telling more people.” He didn’t know when that would be, or even if he would ever experience that feeling. Josh didn’t mean to make it sound ambiguous, but it was better than being unsure or saying ‘no’ outright.
This would go on for the next couple of minutes. JoAnne would ask Josh a question and he would do his best to give her a straight answer. A lot of the answers were pretty simple and easy to answer: If he was sure he was gay, when he discovered this, if he was really sure he was gay, how the two people on the team figured it out, if he was seeing anyone, if he was really, really sure he was gay. It seemed as though the more questions he answered, the more questions his mother asked. There were no invasive or accusatory questions, not personal attacks, no ‘woe is me’ type statements from his mother. To Josh’s surprise, she was taking this rather well.
While Josh’s mom kept peppering him with questions, his father remained silent. Like a statue, he just sat in his chair and looked ahead, blinking every now and then and adjusting himself while his wife and son spoke.
Josh tried to get a read on how he was thinking, but he got nothing. His father was always a difficult man to read; no matter what the situation, he always remained stoic. You could’ve told him his truck was totaled and he wouldn’t have reacted any differently than if his favorite show was cancelled or if the Seahawks lost.
“Look,” Josh said, running his hand through his hair and then rubbing his eyes clean of tears. “If you guys don’t want me in the house, that’s fine. I’ve can find–”
Suddenly, Josh found himself in his mother’s arms. There were tears running down her cheeks. She squeezed him so tight that he exhaled sharply and with plenty of surprise. For someone her size and age, she moved pretty quickly.
“Josh, sweetie, we’d never kick you out of the house for something like this! It’s just… a lot to take in right now. But we’ll always love you, right Roger?”
He was beaming. Absolutely through the roof with how well his mother was taking the news. He smiled – genuinely smile – for the first time in days as he gave his mother an even bigger hug. He squeezed so tight so quickly that he thought he hear her give a few weak coughs, so he eased up to let her breathe. Spending so much time with the guys on the team made him forget just how strong he really was.
Josh turned to his father, still dead quiet since he sat them down to spill his secret. He took a deep breath, looked like he was going to say something, and instead quickly got up from the couch and went into the garage.
Josh’s heart sank as quickly as it had soared, and negative thoughts began to swirl in his mind. Was he mad? The room began to spin and he suddenly felt nauseous.
The calming touch of his mother’s hand and a gentle kiss on his cheek calmed his nerves and brought him back. “Just give him time, honey. He’ll come around.”
For as comforting and assuring as JoAnne’s words were, they didn’t make him feel any better.
…
It was an awkward couple of weeks in the Oversonn household. Every encounter with his mom was like nothing had ever happened. It was nice to not have to hide anything, acting like everything was back to normal while still being treated like the same person he was. She would ask him a few questions every now and then regarding his sexuality, but they were just innocent questions and nothing offensive. She was more interested if he had met anyone or if he had a crush on anyone than anything else. You know, mom stuff.
While his mother was more than relieved for her son to be happy and not have to hide anything, it was another story with his father. Josh felt like he was walking on eggshells around him, refusing to say or do anything that might set him off. Mr. Oversonn wasn’t one to have a short temper, and he never put his hands on Josh in a violent way, but a man of his size would always give off an intimidating image of that kind of person.
Whenever Josh sat next to him or roughly across from him, Roger’s body language would change. It was nothing major, just small shifts in posture or the fidgeting in his seat. But it was visible enough for Josh to notice and think that it was all because of him.
He shouldn’t have let it eat at him, but it did. If his mother could come to terms with his sexuality, why shouldn’t his father? Moms were stereotypically more forgiving or accepting when it came to their sons, so that Josh could understand. But for his own biological father to walk around and act as if he didn’t even exist made him boil with anger inside. But if that’s the way he wanted it, then fine. He just wouldn’t have a relationship with him. Plenty of people had poor or no relationships with at least one of their parents,
It was late on Christmas night, long after the few relatives around had left to head back home. Neither mom nor dad brought up the news Josh told them a few days ago. The last thing the family needed was any overreactions from the little extended family that visited them.
Josh was taking his last walk around the house before he hopped on a flight back to Columbus early tomorrow. Preparations for their trip to Florida had already been made, now all that was left was to rehearse the game plan over and over until it was memorized to perfection and then unleashed against the unsuspecting Gators on New Year’s Day.
It was late and he was tired, but he just couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes and drift off to sleep. He decided to take one last walk around the house, quietly walking around not trying to wake anyone up. He’d eventually found himself in front of the trophy case in the living room, where all the athletic awards and achievements he and his father had accrued over their high school careers were placed. From Josh’s Parade All-America award in football and OSAA All-State award in basketball to photos from when Roger won the state championships in track & field, it was packed to the brim with their achievements. Even JoAnne had a photo from when she graduated with her Master’s degree from Oregon State in the case.
Josh could barely see it in the dark, but Roger had just started building what looked to be an extension to the case, presumably for Josh’s future collegiate accolades and newspaper clippings. It reminded him that he loved his father, and that he did want a relationship with him. Even if his father didn’t want one with him.
Josh left the living room and was soon at the door leading to the garage. He saw that the light was on, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Inside the cramped garage was Roger putting his Christmas gift – a new set of tools Josh got him – to use by fixing up a desk he took home from a garage sale a few weeks ago.
While auto repair was his passion, furniture repair and restoration was a personal hobby of his. He’d sell a few pieces every now and then, but most of the time he’d add a refurbished end table or completely redone bookshelf to somewhere in the house. The air was thick with paint remover and wood stain, but his father wisely had the garage door open to ventilate the area.
Roger was just finishing up sanding the top of the desk when Josh cleared his throat to get his attention.
“I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave tomorrow. It’s been good seeing you and mom again.”
“What time are you heading out?”
Josh let out a quick, barely audible sigh. At least he’s talking to me this time.
“5:30, and my flight is at seven.”
“Why so early?” Roger blew off a layer of sandblasted wood from the top of the desk.
“It was either that or a flight in the evening, and I had to time it up so that me and my roommate arrive at roughly the same time.”
Roger nodded his head as he bought over the can of staining paint. He dipped his brush into the deep-brown substance and began carefully applying the coating onto the desk.
“So what bowl did you say you were playing in?”
“Capital One, against Florida.”
“Hmm.”
“It’ll be on ESPN, so you and mom will actually get to watch me stand around on the sideline.”
Since they didn’t get the Big Ten Network in their cable package this far from the Midwest, the only games his family was able to watch on TV were the games broadcasted on the ESPN channels and ABC. This usually meant that aside from some reps in the two-tight end sets and special teams, his mom and dad didn’t get to see him make the plays that earned him his five-star rating and scholarship offers.
Roger continued with his project as he dipped his brush back into the stain and applied another slow, steady stroke of the dark coating onto the desktop.
Feeling defeated, Josh turned and headed back inside the dimly lit kitchen. But before he left his father alone, there was something else he had to get off his chest.
“Look, if you don’t ever want to talk or see me again, then fine. You’ve been dancing around it ever since I told you two, but I get the picture. I just wish you’d at least tell me this before you give me the silent treatment the night before I leave.”
He’d barely turned around when his father loudly got his attention.
“God dammit Josh,” his father shouted, practically throwing the brush against the can of wood stain and forcing Josh to freeze in where he stood.
His heart rate picked up slightly and his palms turned damp, but Josh stood his ground.
“When you told me… you know…” Roger started, shifting uneasy on his feet and fiddling with his goggles. “It really caught me and your mother off guard. I know she’s OK with it, but it’s taken a lot more time for me to come to grips with this. I mean, you told us that right out of the blue, for Christ sake! How else should I react?”
“Not by avoiding speaking with me, for starters!”
“OK, OK, I know that was the wrong way to handle this. But I’m not used to dealing with a situation like this. We’ve never had to… you know… deal with something like this before.”
Josh rolled his eyes at the comment and stifled a snicker when he saw his father wasn’t in a joking mood. He tightened his posture at the sight of his father’s serious demeanor and readied himself for if things got physical.
Roger continued. “It’s still something I don’t entirely understand, and I can’t promise you I’ll ever really understand it. But I want you to know that no matter what, I will always love you.”
And then, something amazing happened. Roger stopped walked over and hugged his son tighter than ever before. This was the most emotion Roger had ever shown his son since he graduated from high school or before leaving for college, and even those were tiny smiles and firm handshakes.
Josh had no clue what to do in the moment. He would have a good laugh about this later on in life, but right now he was absolutely stunned.
But soon, the swell of emotions bubbled over and Josh hugged his father tighter than he’d ever hugged anyone before. They stood dead center of the garage, surrounded only by silence and the steady fall of December snow, hugging as father-and-son while the world around them was quietly asleep.
“Just promise me you won’t bring home a sissy for a boyfriend, alright?”
Dark and horribly inappropriate humor. Add that to the list of things shared by father and son.
And for the first time since coming home for break, Josh’s discomfort was put to rest, and he could finally sleep silently throughout the night. No nightmares, no sudden panic attacks, just quiet, blissful slumber.
…
With the familiar chill in the Ohio air greeting him the second he exited the airport, he looked around the terminal for his ride back. The thoughts of him and his father coming to an understanding late in the night were still fresh in his mind as he continued to walk through the chilly and breezy airport parking lot. He felt completely rested and recharged, thanks to the best night of sleep he had all week while at home after the talk he had with his father, plus taking a nap halfway through the flight from Oregon to Ohio.
He only had to wait five minutes before his roommate and friend Nick walked out of the gate from New York. A big smile spread across his face the second he spotted Josh.
“Josh, my man,” Nick said, arms open for a hug and a smile plastered on his face. “How was your flight, bud?”
“It was nice,” Josh replied, sliding his bag back onto his shoulder. “Long, but quiet. I think I slept for most of the flight.”
“Shit man, I wish mine was that quiet.” Nick hurried over to the back of his SUV and opened the back hatch. He carelessly tossed in his bags and swore after a strong gust of wind blew through the airport’s parking deck.
Josh chuckled and shook his head. He’d almost forgotten just how childish his roommate could be sometimes. But what else could you expect from an eighteen year-old kid in college? It would only be a problem if he were out in the real world and acted this way.
“There had to have been, like, eight families on that flight with kids, and they were all pains in the ass. Almost strangled one of them after he whacked me in the leg with his Transformer toy.”
Josh placed his stuff in the back of the trunk and quickly hopped in the passenger seat. “So how was being home?”
“Oh man, it was great!” Nick slammed the trunk and raced inside to the equally chilly Explorer. He started up the car as quickly as possible and set the radio to some punk rock station. “Got to chill with friends I hadn’t seen in months, enjoyed some home cooking and sleeping in my own bed. Remind me to have you back at my place for a week in the summer before we all head down to North Carolina.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
They backed out of their spot and slowly made their way through the concrete parking garage and out to the road, looking to leave the airport behind them.
“What about you, man? How was being home for a month? I bet it was nice seeing your family again.”
He thought about it, and a calming smile eased onto his face. “It was good… it was good.”
Josh leaned back into the cod leather seats of Nick’s Explorer and looked out at another plane taking off. Compared to the stress and inner turmoil he felt all week, preparing for Florida would be a breeze.