OT: OSU, Wyatt Davis, to opt back in
We can't have nice things
Per my little birds...Wyatt Davis is heading back to Columbus to play this fall season with the Buckeyes. https://t.co/lOogz39UPL
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 16, 2020
September 16th, 2020 at 3:04 PM ^
Their better players opt back in while Michigan’s opt out or stay opt out. Because of course.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:05 PM ^
I think someone posted on here that classes haven’t started in Columbus which gives the players more flexibility.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:06 PM ^
Classes started at OSU before Michigan did
September 16th, 2020 at 3:26 PM ^
Do classes ever "start" for their football players though?
September 16th, 2020 at 11:55 PM ^
Yep. They're on tiktok.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:59 PM ^
Why would the OSU players pass up their pay for this season?
September 16th, 2020 at 5:28 PM ^
so its a violation of rules to pay ones players maybe we are going about this all wrong. what about paying other teams players to throw games?
September 16th, 2020 at 10:19 PM ^
Cash, my man, cold hard cash.
September 17th, 2020 at 12:47 AM ^
There’s an explanation- They contend for national championships.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:06 PM ^
This happens every year, why do people always act surprised that OSU gets everything they want and Michigan doesn't? Spoiler alert, a COVID-impacted season isn't going to bring us any good luck
September 16th, 2020 at 3:14 PM ^
This is hilarious on two fronts.
1) Classes Started like 3 or 4 weeks ago at OSU
2) Who would opt out and not immediately sign with an agent take $$$$$
craziness
September 16th, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
If you think a school like OSU couldn't fix item #1 with a keystroke, I don't know what to tell you.
For item #2, they simply need to pay back the agent. The boosters will handle that.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
Season ends before the semester ends. They only have to be enrolled in classes. They don't have to actually go to them or pass them.
They probably came back because the booster payments restarted.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:17 PM ^
OSU has national title possibilities, and we do not. Not that hard to understand.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
Yep, exactly. There's a reason why Wyatt Davis or Shaun Wade would opt to come back and guys like Micah Parsons, Jaylen Mayfield or Nico Collins won't. That's not an indictment of their character or commitment at all. They're making the best choices for them. But OSU is a bona fide national title contender. PSU and Michigan are not.
I'm assuming that if all OSU was getting to play for was a conference title, then Davis and Wade would not be coming back. But they want a national title and they have the actual means to do it. PSU and Michigan don't. They just don't.
OSU is kind of at a place right now where another conference title is just another day at the office.
September 16th, 2020 at 8:50 PM ^
Sadly, you're 100% correct. They (OSU) don't even think about conference titles - it's pretty much a done deal
September 16th, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
Exactly. You have a legit chance to win a national championship. Why wouldn’t you !
have to give them credit, they are elite
September 16th, 2020 at 5:13 PM ^
I get the whole "Natty" business, but I'd bet the house that the average OSU player gets more money and benefits under the table than the average Michigan player.
September 16th, 2020 at 6:13 PM ^
Unfortunately this is probably MOSTLY the factor (but lets not pretend there is some under the table shit too). Before all this covid shit hit we all knew OSU would be a freakin monster this year with Fields and co. back, and obviously they know that...so why not play for a title?
Schedule is yet to be released, but I'd expect a couple L's out of 8 games even with everyone back, in my opinion. We are not near the level of OSU in stockpiled talent...same story for the last "vomit" amount of years.
Haskins, Barrett, Cardale, Tyrelle ...all put the fear of god in defenses, if they werent roping one to a speedy WR, they were running all over our shit.
PLEASE GOD let this be Joe Milton for us.
Will I miss seeing Nico go grab balls, NO DOUBT, but sure as hell not overlooking our speedbugs either... Giles, CJ, Sanristil, bell, AJ, roman. Gattis will get them the ball in the open field.
September 17th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
They've had those possibilities every year but one since year 2 of Tressel. And yet they have less to show for it than their legit peers - Bama, Clemson, LSU - two of whom have NOT been at the same caliber for that entire span. FL has the same number of titles in that span and has spent arguably half of the last 20 years as slightly above average.
Someone posted the number of NFL players by school and O$U only trails Bama, IIRC. You could argue O$U has done a lot less with much more.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:17 PM ^
OSU going back to getting everything it wants.
Maybe this is a sign that things are returning to normal.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:53 PM ^
Michigan getting dong punched with bad news while OSU gets stronger.
Nature is healing.
September 16th, 2020 at 7:30 PM ^
If watching the Lions Sunday afternoon didn't convince you 2020 was heading back to "normal", I don't know what will.
Having OSU football return will bring some balance back to my weekends... fun Saturday's (usually), and shitty Sunday's (usually).
September 16th, 2020 at 3:18 PM ^
Any option for Mayfield or Thomas to get back in?
September 16th, 2020 at 3:22 PM ^
Per Tom Mars, there is a slight chance based on Kevin Warren’s comment that the decision was FINAL.
That said, I don’t see either coming back. Nico, on the other hand, could come back.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:35 PM ^
Because of course this is what would happen
September 16th, 2020 at 3:49 PM ^
NO!!!!
September 16th, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
Like, whatever.
FML.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:52 PM ^
Honest question: do you think Davis and Wade coming back makes any difference in what the final result will be when Michigan heads to Columbus?
Not trying to be snarky, but I don't think it matters. The end result will still be the same.
September 16th, 2020 at 4:12 PM ^
That the game will be canceled due to COVID outbreaks? Agreed.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:25 PM ^
Yep gonna be so much fun. Yay football
September 16th, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^
I almost want the season to get re-canceled.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:33 PM ^
Being a Michigan fan feels like a chore
September 16th, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
OSU is going to absolutely steamroll us this year. Yay
September 16th, 2020 at 5:32 PM ^
again.....
September 16th, 2020 at 10:00 PM ^
Not possible, we have DB as our DC!!!!
September 16th, 2020 at 3:39 PM ^
This is why a Thanksgiving start would have been better IMO. Students would all be sent home, Fields would opt out, and we’d actually have a chance (still a small one admittedly).
Now we’ll almost certainly be boat raced for the Nth time, while OSU wins it’s 3rd natty since 2002. Oh and Fields will probably win the Heisman! Woohoo!
September 16th, 2020 at 3:46 PM ^
Big Ten is dumb, not stupid. Won’t hurt its best chance of getting to CFP because - guess what? - mo money. Start the season when Ohio St’s studs can justify to themselves and the NFL that sticking around is worth it.
September 16th, 2020 at 4:03 PM ^
Yep I get it. I just don’t like it.
September 16th, 2020 at 3:44 PM ^
Come on, man!
September 16th, 2020 at 4:37 PM ^
Right. Fuck them.
September 16th, 2020 at 4:54 PM ^
Our biggest issue against Ohio State is on defense, not on offense, which is why Ambry Thomas' departure really hurts but we may be able to weather the loss of Nico and Mayfield. We'll have 2/3 of a season to get their replacements up to speed. And the hope is that Milton can give us our best QB play that we've had under Harbaugh. Creative play calling can get us the rest of the way. We just have to stop the Buckeyes on the other side of the ball.
September 16th, 2020 at 4:54 PM ^
Our biggest issue against Ohio State is on defense, not on offense, which is why Ambry Thomas' departure really hurts but we may be able to weather the loss of Nico and Mayfield. We'll have 2/3 of a season to get their replacements up to speed. And the hope is that Milton can give us our best QB play that we've had under Harbaugh. Creative play calling can get us the rest of the way. We just have to stop the Buckeyes on the other side of the ball.
September 16th, 2020 at 5:18 PM ^
This is so indicative of the state of the culture at OSU vs. Michigan. Players want to stay, play, and win at OSU and they want to coast on 1 season of stats at Michigan to preserve their draft stock.
At some point we have to question not just the kids we recruit but the culture that coddles the players inside the program.
We will never beat OSU ever again until we want it more than them. We haven't for the last 20 years.
Justin Fields will probably play every snap this season, yet he could have easily been a top 5 pick if he hired Drew Rosenhaus too.
September 16th, 2020 at 5:21 PM ^
Agree,
Not mad at the individual players for making the decisions they did, nor do i think it reflects on their character in any way BUT the fact that everyone stays on board at OSU while Michigan loses it's big-timers speaks to a culture problem. That's on the coaches. I am not sure how to fix it, but it would be nice to establish a program that gets more buy-in.
September 16th, 2020 at 5:54 PM ^
There is no culture problem at Michigan. The problem is that there is no culture.
OSU has 2 decades of absurd success, with coaches maintaining their systems (not just offensive/defensive philosophies, but their cultures of winning and excellence) which Michigan has not had since Lloyd left - and it was faltering even then.
Once RichRod and Hoke came through, changed everything, failed spectacularly, and were axed, it only furthered the instability of the program. During those same years, OSU, Bama, and others built upon or solidified their foundations and began to separate from the pack. At this point, barring any radical changes, Michigan never gets to that next level of success.
September 16th, 2020 at 5:49 PM ^
this doesn't move the needle for me much. OSU's 2nd team would run the table and kick our asses this fall.
September 16th, 2020 at 6:07 PM ^
Davis was the most impressive offensive lineman I saw last season. He’s a top 15 pick as a guard. He’s really really good and their O Line is ridiculous this season.