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The student voice of the Ohio State University
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
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Meyer vs. Harbaugh
Year 136, Issue No. 62
‘Game of the Century,’ again
Playoff hopes pinned on coaches’ second showdown
One decade after the “Game of the Century,” a high-stakes rivalry resurfaces. | PAGE 8
Struggles against Sparty COURTESY OF U-M PHOTOGRAPHY
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh smiles during the Wolverines’ game against Colorado on Sept. 17. Michigan won 45-28. NICK MCWILLIAMS Sports Editor mcwilliams.66@osu.edu Ten years ago, Ohio State and Michigan met in Ohio Stadium in a showdown of No. 1 and No. 2. The capacity crowd inside the walls of the ‘Shoe witnessed the nail-biting conclusion to a season-long buildup, and helped propel the Buckeyes into the national championship. In those days, Lloyd Carr was the man directing the Wolverines’
attack, while Jim Tressel picked the plays for the Buckeyes. Now, a decade later, OSU has Urban Meyer, the only other Buckeyes coach since The Game of the Century. Michigan, on the other hand, is on Carr’s third replacement with Jim Harbaugh. Meyer and Harbaugh are two names with a history of winning behind them. While both men went through different paths to coaching stardom, each has the ability to push their respective teams to a potential playoff spot.
ALEXA MAVROGIANIS | PHOTO EDITOR
OSU coach Urban Meyer leads the Buckeyes onto the field before their game against Michigan State on Nov. 19. The Buckeyes won 17-16. While both Michigan and OSU are ranked in playoff spots with just one week left this season, each team’s lone loss for the year has come in varied fashions. The Buckeyes dropped a tough one on a cold, blustery night in State College, Pennsylvania, to Penn State. Meyer was scrutinized for not getting the ball to junior H-back Curtis Samuel, and blamed for conservative play-calling. For Michigan, the Wolverines’ offense sputtered against Iowa on
a cold, windy night in Iowa City. Michigan redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight struggled to produce anything through the air while senior running back De’Veon Smith was a non-factor. “Every little thing doesn’t always go our way, and to win, you’ve got to make it that way,” Harbaugh said following the loss. Meyer and Harbaugh met for the first time in 2015, when the Buckeyes embarrassed Michigan at home, 42-13. The dominant
A dash of Peppers
MEYER CONTINUES ON 6
Trump win prompts deportation Increased policing fears among some students
Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers makes quick plays on both sides of the ball. | PAGE 5
planned for jump night Ground game
HANNAH HERNER Arts&Life Editor herner.12@osu.edu
At 2 a.m. on Nov. 9, like many at Ohio State and across the country, a small group of students gathered to discuss the potential repercussions of the 2016 presidential election. But these students, protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, shared a common fear of what Donald Trump’s presidency might mean for them. DACA is an executive order introduced by President Barack Obama in 2012 that protects people who came into the United States undocumented as children. If the person meets the qualifications, any action on their immigration status is paused, which could include deportation, for a renewable period of two years. According to his platform, Trump will “cancel immediately all illegal and overreaching executive orders,” which, especially given his campaign promises to tamp down on illegal immigration, could in-
The Buckeyes struggled on both sides of the ball against Michigan State in East Lansing. | PAGE 8
DAN SMYTH Lantern reporter smyth.41@osu.edu
COURTESY OF MATT HILDRETH
Students and community members gather near the Ohio Statehouse on Nov. 9 to call on elected leaders and allies to stand against Donald Trump and his immigration policies. clude DACA. The future is uncertain for Daniella Santos Vieira, a fourth-year in finance. DACA enabled her to get a driver’s license and work permit so she could work her way through college. “I’m afraid of, ‘Now what’s going to happen? How am I going to work?’ It’s a very scary and devastating thought,” she said. Vieira came to Boston from
Brazil at 11 years old, and is the only one in her immediate family that has DACA status. Her older sister, who was born in the United States, was able to help her parents gain permanent residency, and last summer, citizenship. The process took 11 years for her mother and 13 years for her father. While Vieira has an application submitted to gain permanent residency status, DACA CONTINUES ON 2
Although the Mirror Lake Jump will not take place this year, the Ohio State Department of Public Safety is still preparing a to have an increased police presence on campus Tuesday night and throughout the week leading up to the OSU-Michigan game. During last year’s jump, Austin Singletary, a third-year in human nutrition, died after sustaining injuries after jumping into Mirror Lake, resulting in an announcement by the university to ban the jump. OSU has said that although the renovations, which include sloping marshes around the lake’s edge, will effectively end the jump — a goal of the university — the purpose is to restore the lake to its historic likeness and make the lake more sustainable. MIRROR LAKE CONTINUES ON 2
Wolverines claw forward in the rush game and it could cause problems for the Buckeyes. | PAGE 7
Behind enemy lines
Buckeyes Gareon Conley and Mike Weber were both initially committed to the Wolverines before changing allegiances. | PAGE 7
2 | Tuesday, November 22, 2016
HOTEL
CAMPUS
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A proposed hotel on High Street could displace local establishments DareDevil Dogs and The Village Idiot. | ONLINE
Petition calling for ‘sanctuary campus’ might not be enough As President-elect Donald Trump rolls out his transition into office, questions are in the air regarding how his policies proposed on the campaign trail might come to fruition. While Trump has backed away from a wall along Mexico’s border, stricter illegal-immigration enforcement still could still come about in other ways, potentially on campus. That’s the worry of hundreds of students who have signed an online petition asking Ohio State to make its campus a “sanctuary campus” — offering protection against deportation — for students who immigrated to the United States illegally. How much this petition could potentially help, however, is unclear. Anna Babel, assistant professor Hispanic linguistics, is listed as the second person to have signed the petition. “One reason (I signed) is to protect our students. Immigration regulations change continually, and people might actually move back and forth between documented and undocumented status,” Babel said. “So we don’t want our students to feel that additional insecurity of worrying that they may be vulnerable while they’re on campus. We really want people to focus on their studies, make sure they’re doing well in school and become the best prepared graduDACA FROM 1
she said she anticipates it taking six years or more for immigration authorities to even look at her case. DACA protects Vieira in the meantime. The same goes for Zun Huang Lin, a 2015 alumnus in economics who came to the United States from China at 11 years old. Lin was the only person in his family approved for a tourist visa, and hasn’t seen his parents in the 15 years he has been in the U.S., as they have not been successful in gaining a tourist visa to visit him. Lin said his parents feel positive about the education system in America and think he should stay beyond his tourist visa to have a chance at being successful in a system they deemed more merit-based than China’s. “My parents don’t have those connections, and they don’t see a good future for me in China,” Lin said. “That’s why they think it’s better for me to come out here where, they believe, in America, what you achieve isn’t based on how many connections you have, it’s based on how hard you work, how much time that you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve the American dream.” In the Spring and Fall semesters of 2013, Lin said his admission was deferred at OSU and he was told the university did not have a procedure in place for admitting DACA students at the time.
ates that they possibly can be.” Some of the requests the petition makes of OSU, however, relate to federal and state policies, not university policies. For example, the petition calls for undocumented students and students protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy — a 2012 executive order signed by President Barack Obama which protects and documents people who came illegally to the U.S. as children from deportation for a renewable period of two years — to be included in “all merit, university and diversity initiative scholarship eligibility.” DACA-protected students can pay in-state tuition in the state of Ohio in some cases, but, along with undocumented students, they cannot receive state or federal financial aid. OSU issued a statement saying it supported DACA students, but declined to elaborate further on potential holes in the petition and how exactly the university could respond to all the requests being made of it. “By definition, these individuals arrived as children and have grown up working to make real the American Dream. We support them strongly and are committed to their success,” the statement reads. “We also support strongly those programs that have been established to help them achieve
their goals. Ohio State is engaged in active dialogue with our peers and policymakers around the country, and we continue to closely monitor this important issue.” As far as the protection of students based on their immigration status, university spokesman Chris Davey said that, to his knowledge, OSU is not aware of how many students are protected under DACA. Regardless of the actual feasibility of some of the petition’s demands, Babel said she felt signing the petition carried a certain weight. “It’s kind of a symbolic action, to show that OSU stands in solidarity with immigrants and that OSU supports the Latino community in Columbus, including those who are involved on campus — not just students but also staff and faculty,” she said. Luis Macias, a graduate research associate from the College of Education and Human Ecology, said parts of this petition spoke to him on a personal level, citing things such as the calls for inclusivity and institutionalized protection. He described the petition is “intersectional,” as it’s not just for the Latino/a community, but any minority community that might face discrimination. David Filipi, the director of film and video at the Wexner Center
Both Zun and Vieira expressed frustration with the way the university handles admissions and scholarships for students protected under DACA. Yolanda Zepeda, assistant vice provost of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, said the process for students to apply to the university is not streamlined, with students often bounced back and forth between international and domestic admissions. She said she considers it her informal role to make sure these students do not fall through the cracks. Zepeda also said there are no scholarships specifically for DACA students. A DACA student is not eligible for any scholarship funded federally, including workstudy grants and Pell grants, as they are not eligible for federal funds due to their immigration status. Vieira said it cost her $400 in government fees and more than $1,000 in legal fees to apply for DACA status. “We pay a lot of money to the government,” Zepeda said. “People have a lot of thinking that immigrants like us are on welfare or we benefit from government programs, but we pay a lot of taxes and we don’t have access to any government programs including financial aid.” University spokesman Chris Davey said the university has no plans to change the scholarship
structure for DACA-protected students. Zepeda said the Office of Diversity and Inclusion has brought the issue to OSU Legal Affairs, which is looking into getting DACA students eligible for more scholarships. “We want to get some clarification, so we can know what we can do. These are our students. We have DACA students here, and there’s so much confusion around these issues,” Zepeda said. While Davey said the university doesn’t have an exact count on how many students currently enrolled are protected by DACA, Vieira said she thinks there are a lot more than the nine or 10 people in the support group she gathers with bi-weekly. They wonder about their future in the country and at the university they call home, she said. “This is my home,” Vieira said. “When I introduce myself to people, I say I’m from Boston, and Ohio is becoming increasingly my home. We all feel the school spirit with the Buckeyes, and being in Ohio I was surprised to see how proud people are of the entire state of Ohio, how people rally around the university. Four years is almost half of my time in the U.S. Ohio is also my home.”
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SCREENSHOT BY ALEXA MAVROGIANIS | PHOTO EDITOR
The petition students and faculty sent University President Michael Drake calls for the protection of undocumented students. for the Arts, also signed the petition and echoed the thoughts of Macias. Parts of the petition such as creating safe spaces for students and inclusivity were especially important, he said, as he feels no one — student, faculty or staff — should feel unsafe while on campus. “People of color and people in the LGBT community are not, of course, are not new to living with systemic bigotry, but the election has emboldened some to feel that they have a new license to act out against minorities and immigrant populations. This can’t be tolerated,” said Filipi, who emphasized he was speaking only for himself, and not for the Wex, in an email. “Acts of harassment need to be reported, recorded and dealt with immediately.”
Filipi also said he believes that students should have a place where they can gather to study or socialize and not worry that they will be harassed. While Macias agreed students should gather and share stories and concerns, he said conversations alone aren’t enough. “I don’t think having conversations just to have conversations is very productive. That’s step one,” Macias said. “Step two is to take the voices that have been shared in those conversations and see how some our policies and some of our practices are creating some of the stories that we are hearing.”
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KEVIN STANKIEWICZ | OLLER REPORTER
Although Mirror Lake is drained, University Police still plan to have an increased presence on campus Tuesday night. MIRROR LAKE FROM 1
“Law enforcement and public safety from Ohio State and Columbus will be working closely all week to support an atmosphere where Beat Michigan Week gatherings are safe and responsible,” said OSU spokesman Chris Davey. “As always, our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff.” Davey did not give details of any plans for University Police or estimates of how many officers would be on duty. In years past, students have knocked down the fences — put up as part of crowd-control efforts, not construction — in order to jump in the lake, though Basalla said he didn’t think that would be an issue this year.
“I don’t have any concerns about students knocking down fences, purely because there has been a lot of messaging why the Mirror Lake jump was canceled,” said Gerard Basalla, Undergraduate Student Government president and a fourth-year in political science and strategic communication.
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ARTS&LIFE
Tuesday, November 22, 2016 | 3
LISTEN UP Childish Gambino’s new album crosses the boundaries of rap and enters the world of R&B. | ONLINE
Aunt Flo gives hygiene to women in need ADRIEN LAC Lantern reporter lac.3@osu.edu They say the first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is one. Claire Coder, a 19-yearold entrepreneur, saw a problem in women not having access to tampons, and sought to solve it through her startup business, Aunt Flow. Aunt Flow offers a subscription service for pads and tampons, with one box given to a woman in need for every box bought. Coder was a communication major at Ohio State — for one semester. She said she realized school wasn’t for her so she left OSU in January 2016 to start her company. “Growing up, my mother was
an art therapist so she talked a lot to me about how a lot of individuals did not have access to certain products, among them tampons,” she said. “Aunt Flow is the answer to a national need.” Menstrual hygiene products are not covered by food stamps or WIC, which affects many of the 16.9 million women living in poverty, according to the Aunt Flow website. The organization partners with multiple charities including the OSU Star House and the Mid-Ohio Food Bank to distribute the boxes of feminine products. Born out of a startup weekend event, Aunt Flow was financed by a crowdfunding campaign held in February 2016. Coder works on the company full-time with the help of Lindsey McEntee, the so-
cial media director, who graduated in marketing at OSU in May. “I can’t say enough good about Claire. She’s five years younger than me, but she’s so mature and such a great boss,” McEntee said. “She cannot take me on as a fulltime employee yet, but she’s been helping me out in a lot of ways.” Coder said it is challenging, but important, to get people talking about menstruation in order to bring attention to her cause. “I still struggle with getting support. It’s a hard topic to talk about,” Coder said. “A lot of men get grossed about it and getting male investors on board is significantly harder when they don’t understand the kind of products I’m selling, and the importance of it.” That is why Aunt Flow works to
TAMPONS CONTINUES ON 4
COURTESY OF AUNT FLOW
Claire Coder uses the profits from the tampons she sells to provide her product to women in need.
Local record label puts artists first CAMERON CARR Lantern reporter carr.613@osu.edu Listen to local acts TRiBE and PZA PRTY, and one might not hear much resemblance, but Stray Soul Entertainment does. TRiBE, a low-fi hip-hop group, and PZA PRTY, an experimental trip-hop duo, were both signed by Stray Soul for their alternative styles. The Columbus-based record label prides itself on highlighting artists with sounds distinctly alternative to mainstream music. A taste for the unusual and unexpected unifies the Stray Soul roster. “I don’t want anybody to fall into a comfort zone with Stray Soul,” said label co-founder Daniel Meredith. “We want to continue to find those people who are unapologetically themselves.” Meredith, who handles most design work for Stray Soul, founded the label with Isaiah Boyd in April, as an expansion of local designer Logan Buehrer’s Stray Soul USA clothing company. Meredith described the label as an opportunity to expand the brand and ideals of Stray Soul USA into entertainment, as both organizations emphasize going against the norm. Initially, the label served as a more formal way to manage TRiBE, Meredith said. Cole Silberman, a third-year in marketing, joined as a late-coming founder a few months later
to handle marketing for Stray Soul. Each staff member of the label takes on a specific job, allowing it to cover a broad spectrum of services, Silberman said. The label distributes its artists’ music digitally in addition to assisting with tasks such as website design, music videos and booking shows. “We take a lot of the business sides and creative aspects of how they’re going to be presented to the public, and we let them take care of making the right groove and the right sound,” Silberman said. Meredith said that although Stray Soul helps with presentation, it encourages artists to take part in creative decisions. “The roles are a little back and forth,” Meredith said. “At the core of it, we really are all artists, so it’s like we all kind of have our own vision and we’re all constantly working together to make that happen.” Stray Soul’s commitment to variety shows in the label’s signed artists. The current roster of PZA PRTY and TRiBE differ noticeably and artists involved in shows hosted by Stray Soul range even broader in style, sometimes branching into alternative rock and punk. Silberman said the artists have similar motives, describing both PZA PRTY and TRiBE’s sound as a “confusing, uncomfortable symphony” that gradually grows on listeners. He said the label doesn’t care as much about genre as it does innovation.
COURTESY OF STRAY SOUL ENTERTAINMENT
Stray Soul Entertainment has helped Columbus-based PZA PRTY book shows and distribute music.
“I wouldn’t say anything is cemented with Stray Soul Entertainment as of yet except that we’re searching for the dopest music that you can find in Columbus right now,” Silberman said. PZA PRTY released “Boigus,” its first album with Stray Soul, in September. Band member David Zuppo said Stray Soul has
helped the group immensely, taking care of distribution and booking almost all of the groups’ shows since August. Zuppo said working with Stray Soul has provided the group with opportunities to develop without restriction. “They’re really good with just listening RECORDS CONTINUES ON 4
Someone is Looking for You! There IS a superior intelligence “out there” -- and a loving one too. Your Creator wants you to acknowledge Him, and come to know Him and His ways. Don’t be deceived by evolutionism. All creation screams of intelligent design! The odds alone of DNA evolving are virtually nil. Evolutionism is the only “science” that denies the law of degeneration (entropy). God alone is the origin of life, and the true God wants/needs no one to take away life for Him – beware the “god” that does! God exists, and the Bible is His Word. What is unique about the Bible? For one thing, it is the only book with fulfilled prophecy (Isaiah 46:9-10). Test it yourself! For starters, try (current situation) Psalm 83 and Zechariah 12; (reformation of Israel after nearly 1900 years) Isaiah 66:8, Jeremiah 16:14-15, Jeremiah 31:7-10, Amos 9:9-15, Ezekiel 34:12-31, Ezekiel 36, and Ezekiel 37:21-22; (suffering/crucifixion of Christ) Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53; (future situation) Zechariah 13:7 - 14:21; (timing of the 2nd Coming of Christ) Joel 3:1-2, 2Peter 3:8/Hosea 5:14 - 6:2. “Too hard to read and understand” you say? Try the KJV/Amplified parallel bible (book) or KJV/Amplified/Complete Jewish parallel bible (biblegateway.com), and for a strict literal translation try Young’s Literal. “It’s all in how you interpret it” you say? The Bible, despite numerous transcribers over hundreds of years, is remarkably consistent/coherent and interprets itself. Our Creator is the actual author (2Peter 1:16-21). Beware of modern, liberal translations from “the higher critics” which seriously distort the Word! Finally, if there is a God, why is there so much evil? We have rejected God, and now see what it is like to live in a world where God has permitted us (temporarily) to rule ourselves. Give up your lusts, and come to your Creator and follow His ways (Jude 1:18-25). All that this world has to offer is as nothing compared to what He has in store for those who love Him (1Corinthians 2:9 , John 14:15)!
4 | The Lantern | Tuesday, November 22, 2016
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Exercise safe supplementing SARA STACY Lantern reporter stacy.118@osu.edu As the holiday season approaches, some students may be interested in jump-starting their workouts with nutritional supplements to make up for large holiday meals and treats, or to boost their chances of sticking to a New Year’s resolution. Alycia Israel, personal training coordinator with Ohio State Recreational Sports, said students should research workout supplements before choosing to use them. “If you don’t understand what’s in it, then honestly, you just need to do yourself the service of re-
“If you think of training and eating as like a cake, your training and nutrition should be like your batter of your cake, supplements are the icing. If you don’t have your cake there’s no point for icing.” Alycia Israil personal training coordinator with Ohio State Recreational Sports
searching, and looking it up will take a long time,” she said. “You really need to research why you think those supplements are appropriate for you.” Israel said one way to make this process easier is to examine Food and Drug Administration labels on products. However, she added that it is not a requirement for supplement companies to get approval from the FDA to sell their products. Students can also look for a U.S. Pharmacopeia certification on supplements. The USP is a nonprofit scientific organization that confirms that the ingredients listed on supplements are actually in the product. “There’s been suing and issues with people actually putting something on the shelf that you can buy that has zero of what it says in it,” Israel said. “With pre-workouts, intra-workouts (supplements), those types of things can get really, really gray so always do your research.” Israel said pre-workout supplements, which contain nutrients such as B vitamins and calcium, along with chemicals such as caffeine, are generally used to help prevent muscle fatigue and enhance focus, while intra-workouts are branched-chain amino acids that can help keep muscles from breaking down during workouts. Despite the potential for products to contain ingredients not
listed on the label, Israel said the dangers of pre-workout and other nutritional supplements are most often due to misuse. “The hype and the dangers around it are very, very much over-exaggerated,” she said. “If things get banned and things go south, it’s usually because someone took something incorrectly, it’s not because the actual supplement was harmful.” Tyler Turner, co-owner of SupZilla on 11th Avenue, said his staff can help people choose supplements that will best help them achieve their goals. “I don’t want to sell anybody something that they don’t need, so if they’re coming in just to build
muscle: protein, amino acids and a multivitamin, all right, that’s like your first step,” he said. “Everything else after that point is just going to be the next step, it’s not necessarily essential.” The campus area SupZilla location opened in April and the chain has locations throughout central Ohio. The store offers a variety of nutrition and workout supplements in the forms of powders, liquids and pills, along with protein bars and other protein-enhanced foods. While not all of its products are FDA approved or USP certified, Turner said he can check ingredients to make sure there isn’t something in the product that a custom-
er may be allergic or averse to, and the owners of the store are wellversed in products’ ingredients. Israel said a consistent training regimen and a nutritional diet are more important than supplements to achieve results. “If you think of training and eating as like a cake, your training and nutrition should be like your batter of your cake, supplements are the icing. If you don’t have your cake there’s no point for icing,” she said. “If people are thinking backwards, they have all of the icing and sprinkles and fancy things, but they don’t have a solid foundation, they’re not going to be able to build a cake.”
COURTESY OF TNS
OSU Recreational Sports personal training coordinator Alycia Israel encourages students to be attentive when choosing supplements. RECORDS FROM 3
to what we want and making it about us because they trust us,” Zuppo said. “They don’t put any expectations on us at all ... as far as the music or the content that we make.” Right now, Stray Soul has maintained a small roster, with only two artists. Silber-
man said the label is always looking for new talent, but the main focus is progressing and exposing new audiences to its artists. “It’s a forever-developing label,” Silberman said. “We just love the idea that music can move people and evoke emotions that no one can explain.”
TAMPONS FROM 3
get the word out. Coder and McEntee organize parties, publish articles on the company’s blog and record videos in order to normalize discussions about menstruation and make them as fun as possible. “One of our main goals is to get people into talking about it. Because one of the reasons people living in poverty don’t have access to these products is because they don’t even know that it is an issue,” McEntee said.
Aunt Flow plans to give away 100,000 boxes of hygiene products by the end of 2017. Coder and McEntee’s endeavor is just beginning but they have faith they will get through hardships, with the company’s motto, “Don’t be self-conscious about being socially conscious.” Subscriptions to Aunt Flow are available on the organization’s website.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2016 | The Lantern | 5
Jabrill Peppers: Dynamic threat against Ohio State JACOB MYERS Assistant Sports Editor myers.1669@osu.edu On May 27, 2013, five-star safety Jabrill Peppers committed to the University of Michigan for the class of 2014. Three years later he’s entering one of the biggest games of his career against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. At the time, Michigan imagined Peppers to be a special athlete. However, when Jim Harbaugh was hired as the head coach in the winter after Peppers’ freshman season, the safety’s utilization in sporting a maize and blue jersey and a winged helmet was amplified to the extreme. The junior from Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey is now a linebacker, safety, nickelback, cornerback, running back and whatever-back for the thirdranked Michigan Wolverines, and is a player who demands attention. Peppers was on the field for 72 plays at 10 different positions in a game at Michigan State earlier this season. He plays the majority of his snaps at linebacker, but serves as an extra defensive lineman considering his quickness and how often he blitzes. Peppers is difficult to handle at just 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. “I do know he’s a dynamic player. You’ve got to give credit where it’s due. He’s a hell of a talent,” redshirt junior linebacker Chris Worley said. Last season, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Peppers ran the ball seven times for 29 yards, caught two passes for 25 yards and registered five tackles. It was not the type of performance a player such as Peppers has been attuned to. OSU redshirt junior quarterback J.T. Barrett had one of his best games of last season against the Wolverines. He gained 252 total yards and scored four times on the way to one of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s most embarrassing defeats, 42-13. Barrett challenged Peppers a few times, but in all, he made the star player a non-factor. With the move from primarily playing safety to linebacker, Peppers has become a menace in the backfield in 2016. He ranks third in the Big Ten with 16 tackles for loss and has accompanied that with four sacks. Even with a greater presence on the field this season, Barrett does not believe he will change his way of accounting for Peppers on the field from the 2015 game. “I think he’s a really good player but, I OFFENSE FROM 6
cated Speight was unable to play for the remainder of the regular season. However, Speight has not officially been ruled out and now rumors emerge that he could still be Saturday’s starting quarterback. The signal caller at the beginning of the season, Speight had given the Wolverines a starting quarterback with the ability to provide the team with a strong air attack. He had completed 160 of his 257 attempted passes for a 62.3 percent completion rate, thrown for 2,156 yards and had 15 touchdown passes to only four interceptions. Lewis acknowledges that while it isn’t easy to prepare when such an important position remains a question mark, the team will be prepared by Saturday to face whomever is behind center. “It could be rough depending on if one’s a runner or not,” Lewis said. “They have a really solid foundation with what they’re going to do: run the ball, throw when necessary.”
COURTESY OF U-M PHOTOGRAPHY
Michigan linebacker Jabrill Peppers pushes awau Michigan State safety Chris Frey during a run in Michigan’s 32-23 victory in Spartan Stadium.
mean, I guess last year I didn’t seek him out,” Barrett said. Peppers has added a little flare to the rivalry this season via social media. In the past, he has referred to Buckeye backers as “Suckeye fans” and even trolled OSU when the Buckeyes were losing to Wisconsin. Just what the rivalry needed — a little more hate. Regardless, the ability of Peppers to play at as many as 10 positions is something straight out of a video game. He has only caught two passes all season and gained just 163 yards rushing on offense, but Peppers is most feared when he’s on defense, even by the most prolific offenses — which, at times, OSU has not been. “This year, I know he’s playing a different position, but I think what we’re going to do is going to be effective,” Barrett said. “It’s not going to be me trying to figure out where he is at all times.”
@Jacob_Myers_25 CENTURY FROM 8
downfield. Smith was also judged during his time with OSU for being too small to be a signal caller, but proved all doubters wrong with the 2006 Heisman Trophy. Michigan benefits from having a do-itall force with Peppers, and has a similar force at running back as they had in 2006. While Hart had speed but could break his fair share of tackles, Michigan running back De’Veon Smith is difficult to bring down thanks to his 228-pound frame. Redshirt junior defensive end Tyquan Lewis is not afraid of the challenge of facing a similar force in the run game. “I like playing against the run,” he said. “I like playing over top of the tight end. I like good football. You spread them out. It doesn’t really matter to me because every team has their scheme with what they’re going to do. But at the end of the day, it’s about who’s going to put their hand in the dirt and just going. You can play whatever formation you want to play, we’re going to play whatever defense we have to to dominate.” The players’ names have changed for both the Buckeyes and the Wolverines since the game 10 years ago, but the playmaking ability remains. Even with the title of Game of the Century previously given to the 2006 installment of The Game, the game this Saturday could make its case.
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like, ‘this is a crazy athlete,’” Meyer said. “Then you get to meet him and his family. Major impact. He’s not just a great player, but a great leader as well.” Conley, who made the game-ending interception last Saturday against Michigan State, said that his initial commitment to be a Wolverine was “real fast.” He had only gone to Ann Arbor once to visit and didn’t talk to a lot of people, causing him to make the decision to switch schools. “It was a magnificent decision because, obviously, two years ago we won a championship and last year we had a good season,” Conley said. “Overall, the teams I’ve been a part of (at OSU) and the brotherhood I have experienced — it’s great.” Now one of the Ohio State team captains, Conley was the first player that Meyer would convert from Wolverine to Buckeye in his OSU coaching tenure. Conley wouldn’t be the last player to recommit to OSU, as Weber would do the same just two years later. Unlike Conley, Weber grew up in Michigan as a native of Detroit. After playing football for Cass Technical High School, Weber committed to the Wolverines. However, after Michigan fired then-head coach Brady Hoke, the four-star recruit decommitted from the university, and eventually ended up at Ohio State. Weber said that former Cass Tech teammate and current Ohio State teammate Damon Webb, a junior cornerback, helped him with his decision to join the Buckeyes. “Having people here that I know of, that I can talk to, and that relate to me is always good,” Weber said. “I used to talk to (Webb) in high school about the program, about what to expect, and he always gave me good feedback.” Weber said that with Webb already in Columbus and with redshirt freshman defensive tackle Joshua Alabi, also one of We-
ber’s Cass Tech teammates, committed to OSU, he was comfortable with his decision. “It feels good to play with guys you grew up with,” Weber said. However, Weber, who joins Maurice Clarett and Robert Smith as the only Ohio State freshman to rush for 1,000 yards, will be playing several of his high school teammates when the Buckeyes and Wolverines take the field on Saturday. “Now it is really personal. A lot of people I played with — Jourdan Lewis, Delano Hill, Mike Onwenu, Lavert Hill — all those guys I played with in high school and won championships with are on the team,” Weber said. “It’s going to be fun playing against all those guys and I’m looking forward to it.” Along with Conley, Weber, Alabi and Webb, true freshman offensive lineman Michael Jordan is also a native of Michigan and will be playing for his home-state rival on Saturday. With each of these players deciding to play for Meyer and the Buckeyes, there is no denying that both teams could look very different for Saturday’s game had Conley and Weber not recommitted to OSU and stayed at Michigan. Conley said that he is looking forward to the game on Saturday, and that he is happy with the decision he made three years ago. “It’s an honor to play in this game. It’s an honor to be a Buckeye in this game,” Conley said. “This is one of the most tradition-rich programs in tradition games, and it’s going to be a great challenge. I’m just glad to be here with my team.”
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6 | The Lantern | Tuesday, November 22, 2016
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Michigan offense starts with the run game EDWARD SUTELAN Lantern reporter sutelan.1@osu.edu Michigan played its first game of the season without redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight last week, and if they proved one thing in their 20-10 victory over Indiana, it’s that its offense now relies almost solely on the shoulders of senior running back De’Veon Smith. Even if the injured Speight does return against Ohio State, Smith will still likely be considered the most crucial part of the Michigan offense. The senior running back set a career-high with 158 rushing yards in last Saturday’s victory over the Hoosiers and accounted for both of Michigan’s touchdowns. This trend is not something that has been entirely alien to their offense, however. Of the 60 touchdowns scored this season by the Maize and Blue, 39 have come on the ground while only 17 have come through the air and two have come on defensive plays. Smith is responsible for 10 of those rushing touchdowns. But this style of rushing offense is a bit different from one that the Buckeyes have faced in other games this year. The Wolverines run with a pro-style offense, meaning they rely heavily on the play of the offensive line and count on their quarterbacks being styled more to pass than to run. The play of the running backs is differ-
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OSU junior defensive end Tyquan Lewis (59) takes his position on the field at Spartan Stadium on Nov. 19. The Buckeyes won 17-16. ent than that of most other college-style offenses, but junior linebacker Chris Worley knows exactly what to expect out of the running backs. “It’s not going to be guys trying to run around you,” Worley said. “It’s going to be guys trying to run through your face.” OSU redshirt junior cornerback Gareon Conley said in this game, the defense will
have to focus more on stopping Smith and the rushing offense than their air attack. “They don’t throw the ball as much because they run the ball a lot,” Conley said. “But we’ll be forced to stop the run and play the pass whenever it comes.” Facing a run-heavy offense, the Buckeyes should feel confident about their chances in slowing down Smith given how their de-
nerve with many OSU faithful. For Meyer, he still remembers the promise by Harbaugh that he kept. More surprisingly, he remembers something that came after the 26-24 loss that most fans forget today. “Vince Workman had a touchdown, and we missed a field goal right at the end and went to the Cotton Bowl and won that,” he said. “So I remember it very well.” Now, the matchup between the two college football icons has come full circle. With so much riding on this game, it would be easy to buy into the hype of the dynamic ability of Michigan junior linebacker Jabrill Peppers or the cool poise of OSU redshirt junior quarterback J.T. Barrett. But it’s Meyer vs. Harbaugh round two, with playoff implications in the minds of both teams. With such an important game coming Saturday, players could resort to bashing their opponents and downplay the accomplishments of the coaches. Instead, players like redshirt junior guard Billy Price has nothing but respect for the opposition’s leader. He had one word to describe Harbaugh. “Iconic,” Price said. The entire premise of The Game is a bitter rivalry, filled with hatred for a team from a state that shares a border. The tradition of the game — from OSU players tearing down the “M” banner in 1973 at Michigan Stadium to Wolverines’ safety Charles Woodson fighting OSU wide receiver David Boston on the field — is drenched in
bad attitudes and feelings of disdain for the other side. However, from the coaching side, Meyer has different feelings about the man he is facing off against on Saturday, and it comes from two coaching icons. “I didn’t say like, but there’s a mutual respect,” Meyer said. “And I learned it from (Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler), two of the greatest coaches of all time.” While it’s No. 2 OSU vs No. 3 Michigan in the final week of the regular season, the chess match between coaches is the more compelling matchup.
fense has played against the run this year. OSU ranks 18th in fewest rush yards allowed per game and has only allowed four touchdowns to be scored on the ground, tied for second among FBS teams. They have also only allowed opponents to average 3.39 yards per carry, good for 18th fewest among FBS schools. For redshirt junior defensive end Tyquan Lewis, that ability to plug up the run comes down to more than just preparation, it rests on the defensive line’s mentality. “It doesn’t really matter to me, because every team has their scheme with what they’re going to do,” Lewis said. “At the end of the day, it’s about who’s going to put their hand in the dirt and just going. You can play whatever formation you want to play, we’re going to play whatever defense we have to to dominate.” In Michigan’s 14-13 loss two weeks ago to Iowa, Speight suffered a broken collarbone on his left side. Filling in for the redshirt sophomore was redshirt junior quarterback John O’Korn, a transfer from the University of Houston. O’Korn failed to deliver much as he finished the game with only seven completed passes in 16 attempts for a total of 59 yards. He was also only capable of running for 19 yards on six rush attempts. For a time, it appeared O’Korn was headed towards his second career start in a Wolverine uniform as many early reports indiOFFENSE CONTINUES ON 5
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MEYER FROM 1
performance against the Wolverines gave the Buckeyes momentum for a playoff run, but OSU’s season was ruined by a loss to Michigan State. This time, the implications rival that of the 2006 edition of The Game, which saw both the Buckeyes and the Wolverines as the top spots in the nation. Even though many of the players on the team might remember this game as their first OSU football experience versus Michigan, Meyer has a different time in mind. “In the ‘70s, Bo, Woody,” he said, referencing past OSU eras. “My mother, for some reason, I still to this day don’t know why, grabbed me and said we have to go run an errand. What the hell you talking about? You don’t leave that game. In Ashtabula, Ohio, outdoor mall walking down, and over the loud speakers, I just kept stopping and listening to the game. In the ‘70s, the TenYear War. I remember that.” Harbaugh’s experience comes from playing in the biggest rivalry game in the nation back in 1986. At the time, Meyer was a graduate assistant with OSU, while his counterpart on Saturday was slingin passes downfield. Most Buckeyes fans from the 1980s might remember Harbaugh for a different reason. Famously, Harbaugh guaranteed a victory in the 1986 edition of The Game. It was a bold statement from a quarterback then-Michigan coach Bo Schembechler called one of the cockiest quarterbacks he had ever met. The statement still strikes a
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Tuesday, November 22, 2016 | The Lantern | 7
Former Michigan recruits, now key Buckeyes WILLIAM KOSILESKI Senior Lantern reporter kosileski.2@osu.edu It’s no secret that this coming Saturday’s game between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan has a lot of implications behind it. It is not just college football’s annual matchup between the two teams, but it is also a game that will potentially decide which of the two teams will make the College Football Playoff. But the rivalry goes beyond just “The Game” itself. It ranges all the way down to recruiting. For years, young football players have looked at both universities as potential options to continue their playing careers, while both programs have pushed to obtain the next best recruit. On the OSU roster, there is no shortage of connections with “That Team Up North,” as a few of its current players have decommitted
from Michigan only to commit to OSU. This was the case for redshirt junior cornerback Gareon Conley and redshirt freshman running back Mike Weber. “I was a young-minded person, and really, (Michigan) was my first big offer,” Conley said. “But I wanted to explore my options, and when I came (to OSU) it just felt like going from the same program to a better program of what I already experienced, and it felt like home.” As a four-star prospect out of Massillon Washington High School in Ohio, Conley was a Michigan commit for eight months before he decided to join Urban Meyer’s 2013 class. Meyer said on Monday that he went to watch Conley play basketball when recruiting the cornerback, and that the team thought highly of him during the process. “I went and watched him actually practice basketball, and that’s when I was RECRUITS CONTINUES ON 5
John O’Korn brings new threat to Michigan offense
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Michigan quarterback John O’Korn is pressured by Indiana defenders during the Wolverines’ game on Nov. 19. ZOLTAN ROEMER Lantern reporter roemer.38@osu.edu The No. 3 Michigan Wolverines lost their starting quarterback Wilton Speight to a collarbone injury against Iowa. On Saturday against Indiana, everyone had a chance to witness the Wolverines’ backup quarterback start a football game for his first time since 2014. John O’Korn, a redshirt junior, transferred from Houston last season after seeing playing time lost to Greg Ward Jr., the Cougars current starter. O’Korn played in all 13 games in 2013 and recorded 3,117 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a completion rate of 58 percent. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing in at 215 pounds, O’Korn is a big quarterback who is not afraid to run. With more than 100 career rushes in his college career, he has been known to show off his athleticism and run when a play breaks down or the defensive coverage is too tight. Last weekend, one of his biggest highlight came on a momentous 30-yard scamper that set up a rushing touchdown on the next play. Look for Ohio State to focus on containing him on Saturday, as O’Korn’s running might be something on the radar of OSU coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes.
In his first start for the Wolverines against the Hoosiers, his stat line was unimpressive, to say the least, completing just 7-of-16 passes for 59 yards and adding 19 yards rushing on six attempts. A couple of factors such as snowy conditions, limited attempts, and conservative, run-heavy play calling all attributed to the lackluster play of O’Korn. It was still an alarmingly average game by the quarterback, and much still remains unknown heading into The Game. Perhaps that is the plan of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who is known for his dedication to confusing opponents. Furthermore, comparing the statistics of the two starting quarterbacks for the game would be arbitrary. Barrett and the Buckeyes offense have been inconsistent. At the same time, don’t write off O’Korn for one poor game. His only start was uninspiring, but conditions were against him, and he has proved to be a competent starter in the past. Don’t forget, before the start of the season, Michigan had an intense quarterback competition between Speight and O’Korn, showing he has the talent and the trust of his team. Ultimately, when the clock strikes noon this Saturday, OSU will learn who will start at quarterback for Michigan. Regardless of who starts at quarterback for Michigan, the game is sure to be an instant classic in a legendary rivalry.
8 | Tuesday, November 22, 2016
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OSU knows Sparty performance not good enough JACOB MYERS Assistant Sports Editor myers.1669@osu.edu The outcome of the entire year comes down to the final week of the college football season for the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes as they prepare an epic matchup with archrival No. 3 Michigan. When these two teams meet at the end of each season, the records can be thrown away because it comes down to execution in arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports. However, it almost didn’t happen that way. And if OSU plays the way it did against Michigan State, OSU’s chances at a national championship will dilute to nothing. “Fumbles and two big plays in the first half, that’s not us and that can’t be us,” OSU coach Urban Meyer said after Saturday’s Michigan State game. “We’ll lose next week if we play like that.” Michigan, or “That Team Up North” as it’s commonly referred to by players, is always the biggest game on OSU’s schedule every season — same goes for Michigan. The hatred and respect between the two programs is unrivaled, especially when considering the polarizing personalities on the two sidelines. However, there comes humility. Michigan State had an opportunity to win the game on the final drive against OSU in East
ALEXA MAVROGIANIS | PHOTO EDITOR
OSU redshirt freshman running back Mike Weber (25) kneels after a first-half fumble as junior quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) and senior offensive lineman Pat Elflein (65) return to the sidelines during the Buckeyes’ 17-16 win over Michigan State on Nov. 19. Lansing, Michigan. The Buckeyes’ defense stood tall with an interception from redshirt junior cornerback Gareon Conley in the final minutes of the game to preserve the victory, setting up the biggest edition of The Game in a decade. It wasn’t just Meyer who said the team was underwhelming against the Spartans. Redshirt junior defensive end Tyquan Lewis, who was instrumental in the final
defensive stand, echoed his coach. “Come out next week kind of flat, you obviously won’t win the game,” Lewis said. One of OSU’s most concerning storylines from Michigan State was the susceptibility to the big plays, especially on the ground. Spartans’ sophomore running back L.J. Scott had more than 160 rushing yards and a touchdown. He broke several tackles and consistently got to the second, and
sometimes third, level. Co-defensive coordinator and associate head coach Greg Schiano said that the caliber of play from the Silver Bullets on Saturday was uncharacteristic. “We just missed tackles, just got to capitalize on those plays, on those short-yardage plays,” Lewis said. “Big Ten has a lot of physical ball carriers, so they’re going to fight for those extra yards. We just got to do a better job with
that.” Michigan running back De’Veon Smith presents the same challenges for the OSU defense. At all skill positions, the Wolverines possess NFL-caliber talent and will likely give the defense its greatest test yet. For the offense, redshirt junior quarterback J.T. Barrett and redshirt freshman running back Mike Weber both eclipsed 100 yards on Saturday. However, Barrett threw for just 86 yards on 10-of-22 passing. The weather played a factor, but OSU still only had 304 total yards of offense following two straight games of more than 500 yards each. Meyer expressed that the team enjoyed the Michigan State victory, but there is no time to think about any mistakes made against the Spartans. Michigan leads the country in total defense and scoring defense, allowing just 245.6 yards and 10.9 points per game. The Buckeyes will be looking to get the trio of Barrett, Weber and junior H-back Curtis Samuel heavily involved in The Game at noon at Ohio Stadium. “We have to utilize all the weapons … Statistically the offense is pretty good,” Meyer said. “But you’re going to need it. Against a defense like this, you’ll need every one of them playing their best.”
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10 years later: Game of the Century redux NICK MCWILLIAMS Sports Editor mcwilliams.66@osu.edu It’s been a decade since OSU fans were treated to what is arguably one of the greatest college football games to ever be played. So much so, Big Ten Network aired a special documentary on the Game of the Century 10 years after OSU defeated Michigan in Ohio Stadium, 42-39. One of redshirt senior center Pat Elflein’s first memories of OSU vs. Michigan football happened to be that very game. “The (No. 1 vs. No. 2) game, that one will go down in history,” he said. In the decade since, times have changed for both sides. While Michigan has struck gold with the presence of veteran players such as junior linebacker Jabrill Peppers, senior tight end Jake Butt and redshirt senior Amara Darboh, OSU has depended on contributions from underclassmen such as redshirt freshman running back Mike Weber and sophomore linebacker Jerome Baker. In 2006, names like Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Leon Hall led the Wolverines. For OSU, the household names were Troy Smith, James Laurinaitis and Antonio Pittman.
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Former OSU wide receiver Roy Hall (8) runs with the ball during a game against Michigan on Nov. 18, 2006. The hype coming into the 2006 game was amplified with the death of long-time Michigan coach Bo Schembechler at age 77 the night before the game. Wolverine faithful began using the passing of their beloved former coach as a battle cry to find a way to knock off OSU. In 2006, the ability of Pittman’s legs and Smith’s arm propelled the
Buckeyes to victory and a berth in the BCS National Championship, which OSU eventually lost. Michigan’s largest offensive contributions came from Henne and Hart. Defense was the name of the game for both teams, as OSU had been allowing just 10.4 points per game, and Michigan giving up just 14.6. 10 years later, the ability of both defenses has been flipped,
as Michigan is allowing just 10.9 points per game, while the Buckeyes give up an average of 13 points in each matchup. Even with such stout defenses, each team racked up points in a hurry in 2006. The same could very well happen on Saturday, with both sides presenting a dynamic offense similar to the team that walked onto the Ohio Stadi-
um field 10 years ago. The wide receiving unit for Michigan in 2006 had soon-to-be NFL talents on it such as Mario Manningham and Steve Breaston. This time around, the presence of senior wide receivers Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson will put the OSU secondary to test. Although each holds a similar knack for catching the ball and scoring much like the players from a decade ago, OSU redshirt junior Gareon Conley is excited to play against such talented wideouts. “Both their receivers are good,” he said. “They go against press everyday so they’re going to be good at going against us. That’ll be a good challenge, and I’m just ready to go out and play against them.” In the backfield for OSU, Weber, a 5-foot-9 running back with quick feet, is known more for his ability to bulldoze defenders than for his breakaway speed. However, against Michigan State, he showed off his wheels with a 52yard rush past multiple Spartan defenders. Pittman was known for his speed while in Columbus. OSU is led by an intelligent quarterback in redshirt junior J.T. Barrett, who has been criticized for his apparent lack of arm strength while throwing the ball
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