Skull Session: Nebraska Would Forfeit $50 Million if It Played Outside the Big Ten, Negative Recruiting Has Already Begun, and an Incredible Buckeye Auction Kicks Off

Just to put everything in perspective...

2020 will be the first calendar year without an Ohio State football game since 1889.

Buckeyes played through the flu pandemic of 1918 and two World Wars, but they won't play this fall.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 11, 2020

We're living in wild, wild times.

Word of the Day: Disconsolate.

COMIC RELIEF. There weren't many things to smile about yesterday, but Urban Meyer raging on a shirtless man for standing behind his live national television broadcast was absolutely one of them.

Half naked guy walks in on Urban Meyers LIVE Big Ten Net interview ... coach freaks out lol. pic.twitter.com/AqSujJLHEl
— Dave Zawilinski (@DavezONAIR) August 11, 2020

Prayers up for that fellow who received the full extent of Urban's wrath the moment those cameras stopped rolling.

IS IT WORTH IT, NEBRASKA? Nebraska's been pretty damn insistent that it would try to play a fall football season outside of the Big Ten if the conference decided to postpone fall sports.

That's their call, but the Big Ten's got about 50 million reasons why they shouldn't do that.

When Warren was asked specifically by Yahoo Sports if Nebraska could play college football this fall, he gave an answer that would make his hardline predecessor nod with approval.

“No,” he said, firmly. “Not and be a member of the Big Ten Conference.”

Warren’s concise Nebraska rebuttal is a nice window into the bottom line he used to help guide the decision that may ultimately define his career as Big Ten commissioner. He politely told Nebraska that if it goes rogue, it can pack it where the corn doesn’t husk. And the league would be happy to keep its $50 million cut and share it with those who play nice.

So... Yeah. If you're wondering why Ryan Day seemed to think that leaving the Big Ten was a much better idea than Gene Smith, this would probably be why!

LET THE NEGATIVE RECRUITING BEGIN. The Big Ten's decision to postpone the season is definitely going to hurt Ohio State on the recruiting trail. How much remains to be seen, but teams are already using it as a negative recruiting pitch against Big Ten teams.

Heard from a Big 10 coach overnight that I've known for 20 years that the conference being blamed for shutting down the sport is already impacting recruiting.

One top 2021 target told this coach's staff that he would go to a school in a conference that "supports football".
— Geoff Ketchum (@gkketch) August 11, 2020

If the other three Power Five conferences really do go forward and play a season, it's going to be a disaster for about 347,819 reasons, but this is certainly one of them.

Even if a #teen doesn't explicitly buy that Ohio State or the Big Ten value football less, the Buckeyes sell themselves on Saturday – even if it's just on TV. It's going to be quite tough to make that recruiting pitch when you're not playing, but other teams are.

SHOPPING THERAPY? If shopping and spending is your coping mechanism of choice, I've got news – you can blow a ton of money on extremely unique Buckeye gear, starting today.

Sloopy Auctions is back at it with a ridiculously impressive collection of one-of-a-kind Ohio State gear and memorabilia, auctioning everything from a 2014 national championship ring to a handwritten letter from Ohio State legend Chic Harley.

If you're trying to snag a piece of Buckeye history, auctions begin at noon today. You can see the whole docket here.

SONG OF THE DAY. "Everything Hurts" by R.E.M.