What is Talent?

During all of this hoopla, the topic that has been driving me nuts is the word talent. Why? Every sports writer I have read or listened to has made it their mission to talk about how much more talent Alabama has over Ohio State. It is mentally annoying to think that Alabama will win this game based upon talent. Do not get me wrong, talent is needed, but what is more important is the coaching that develops whether the player is rated at 2 or 5 stars. And another thing, if recruiting classes really mattered, Alabama would have been the 7 time National Champion, but they are not. Respectfully, Auburn and Oklahoma have had lesser ranking of recruiting classes, yet they handed Alabama their two losses last year. This year, Ole Miss's recruiting class was not even mentioned in the top 10, yet they handed them a loss this year. So, talent does play a role in the likelihood a team will be successful, but more importantly it is the coaching staff. Another issue I am having, amongst others, is the defensive mastermind of Nick Saban and Kirby Smart. These two are among the best in the business at stopping teams, scoring points, and getting the Win. However, among the other best coaches out there, you may find Pat Narduzzi, Greg Mattison and Mark Dantonio.Go figure three Big Ten coaches that have mastered their craft of stopping an offense. What these three coaches have in common though, Urban Meyer beat all of them!

The media would like for you to think that the best of the best reside in the South, which may be true to an extent. Case in point, Nick Saban started his coaching career in Ohio, Les Miles played for Michigan. Two of the most prominent SEC coaches have their roots in Ohio, even though their mind has been melted by the powers that be. Lets get back to what I was saying earlier about talent. The Tide have their talent in Cooper, Henry, Yeldon, White, and Sims. The Buckeyes have their talent in Wilson, Marshall, D. Smith, Michael Thomas, Ezekiel Elliot, Curtis Samuel, Cardale Jones, Nick Vannett, and Jeff Heuerman. Just by this alone, Ohio State has more talent. Talent will not be an issue for this game, considering both sides have an abundance. What will win this game is the coaching. The biggest downside for Saban is that his coaching style has no changed immensly, there are 12 games for the Buckeyes to watch, and Blake Sims is just as green as Cardale Jones. Sure, Cardale has played in one major game in his career, but Blake is still a first year starter, just like Jones. The biggest advantage for Urban Meyer is that the quarterback as so many weapons and he has a great coaching staff.

Before the Michigan State game, the hype was whether or not Ohio State could move the ball against the tough Spartan defense. Well we saw how that went. Make no mistake about it, Lane Kiffin is no match for Urban Meyer, where the match will be is between Larry Johnson, Luke Fickell, and Chris Ash against Nick Saban and Kirby Smart. If I was Urban, I would show Saban something he did not think would happen. Turn Cardale into a dual threat. During the Big Ten Championship he showed the awareness of pressure, in which he simply stepped back and ran the opposite way. If Cardale shows he can run and the passing game comes about, then Elliot will have the chance to do something very few have done and that is run. I see our defense stepping up again and stopping the run, forcing Sims to run and the passing game to become more. However, I think Grant and McMillan will spy on Sims enough to where his running abilities will be few and far between. Cooper won't be taken out of the game, but his productivity won't be what everyone thinks it will.

This game is simple, let it all hang out. Why not? What is there to lose? This team and coaching staff have all the talent and brains in the world to overcome a team that hasn't really been tested. You could say that LSU and Arkansas tested them, but they came out victorious, which is true. Troy Smtih was a 2 star recuit, that became a Heisman Trophy winner and he was recuited and coached by Jim Tressel. What do you think a team coached and recruited by Urban Meyer and his staff can do? So I must ask again, what is talent? The stars beside a players name or the development of a young player and his coaches?

Bob Stoops and Gus Malzahn beat the all mighty Nick Saban last year in back to back fashion in two championship bowl games. Their recruiting classes did not seem to matter, but they still won. One cannot say that Ohio State will not be prepared to win this game. One cannot say that Nick Saban will destroy our Buckeyes, but what one can say is that, these teams are evenly matched for the moment.

As I have faith in my time, I will always exepect them to win the game. This game is no different!
 O-H!