Skull Session: Ohio State's Defensive Line Better Than Clemson, Dwayne Haskins Passing Outside, and Conference Pride

By Kevin Harrish on September 11, 2018 at 4:59 am
Let's celebrate the arrival of today's Skull Session.
85 Comments

Don't look now, but Darron Lee is starting to do Darron Lee things at the NFL level:

ICYMI:

Word of the Day: Deracinate.

 BETTER THAN CLEMSON? I've always said that any other season, this Buckeye defensive line would be hands down the best in the country, but Clemson and their four horsemen of the apocalypse hold that crown.

I might walk that back a bit.

After watching both, I'm not sure I'd trade Ohio State's defensive line for Clemson's, as absurd as that sounds. I think as individuals, Clemson's linemen might be more talented across the board, but as a unit Ohio State's has just looked more effective.

And the folks over at Pro Football Focus with their numbers and analysis agree with that take, at least so far.

I'm throwing an extreme FWIW in here, because comparing Ohio State's performance against Rutgers to Clemson's against Texas A&M just ain't fair, but the Buckeyes seem to dominate the point of attack every play – inside and out – and Clemson's couldn't seem to get pressure on Texas A&M's Kellen Mond when it mattered most, allowing him to throw for 430 yards and three scores on Saturday.

And then there's this absurdity:

I don't know. I guess all else equal, it's hard to turn down the defensive line that includes what might be the most dominant college football player my eyes have ever seen.

I'm riding with Larry Johnson's boys until they give me reason not to.

 RIP CROSSING ROUTES. Before the season started, I said I expected a lot more throws outside the hashes with Dwayne Haskins at the helm compared to the middle of the field with J.T. Barrett.

Behold:

Part of me loves this, because that chart is indicative of a strong-armed, confident quarterback who can hit those outside throws with ease, but part of me is absolutely terrified because if one of those goes awry or doesn't have enough zip on it, it's absolutely a touchdown the other way.

But that hasn't happened yet, at least this season, so we won't call it a problem until it becomes a problem!

 DEVELOPED HERE. This may come as a shock to you, but former Buckeyes make up a substantial portion of the NFL's talent pool.

Ohio State is tied with Miami for the fourth-most players on NFL rosters this season, trailing Florida, LSU and Alabama, ccording to NCAA.com.

Rank FBS school Players
1 Alabama 44
2 LSU 40
3 Florida 38
4 Miami 36
4 Ohio State 36
6 Florida State 33
7 Southern Cal 32
8 Clemson 29
9 Auburn 28
9 Georgia 28

With the rate Ohio State's been recruiting and the talent that should be headed to the next level in the coming years, I think it's safe to say that number is going to grow pretty substantially.

 CONFERENCE PRIDE AT STAKE. With how rough as the Big Ten has looked to start the season, I hadn't even noticed that the Big XII has been even more atrocious.

That makes TCU's matchup with Ohio State on Saturday a battle of top contenders in underperforming conferences.

From Sportsday.com:

With those two high-profile matchups and five games against "power five" opponents, the Big 12 gets one last chance to salvage its nonconference reputation. Currently the Big 12 is 2-4 against its power conference peers with West Virginia (over Tennessee) and Oklahoma (over UCLA) the two winners.

Either the Big 12 bounces back or takes an even bigger hit. In addition to TCU-Ohio State and Texas-USC, there's West Virginia-North Carolina State, Duke-Baylor and Rutgers-Kansas, not counting two meetings with "group of 5" powers: Boise State at Oklahoma State and Houston at Texas Tech.

If Oklahoma continues to be in College Football Playoff contention -- and right now, the Sooners look very good -- the strength of its Big 12 competition (Top 25 wins, etc.) could come into play.

I'm going to be honest, I hate all conversations like this. I sincerely could not care less if the Big Ten is bad or good.

I get it – a good Big Ten adds to the strength of schedule which bolsters a playoff resume. But if the conference is actually bad and the Buckeyes don't cakewalk through it, then they probably aren't a top-four team.

It's not like Jim Tressel had problems navigating through a weak Big Ten for the last six years of his career, Urban Meyer shouldn't either.

 KELSEY MITCHELL – ALL ROOKIE. When you're selected No. 2 overall in the draft, you're expected to be an immediate contributor.

Kelsey Mitchell was, and is on the 2018 WNBA All-Rookie team because of it.

Mitchell averaged 12.7 points per game her debut season, which was third among all WNBA rookies. She also hit 70 3-point field goals, which is also good for third among rookies.

She also topped 20 points six times this season, which is the most by a Fever rookie since Tamika Catchings in 2002.

 LINK LOCKER. Italy defied Starbucks—until it didn’t... Antartica is now the best-mapped continent on Earth... Why aren't we eating more insects?... What if vacant property received the attention that, for decades, has been showered on petty crime?

85 Comments

Ohio State Blows Out Indiana, 38-15, for Second Top-Five Win of Season

Josh Fryar

With Ohio State’s Win Over Indiana, It’s Officially “That Team Up North” Week

TreVeyon Henderson TD vs. Michigan
View 85 Comments