Skull Session: Ohio State vs. Clemson is a Coin Flip, the Buckeyes Have a Strong Strength of Record, and Justin Hilliard Looked Like a Five-Star

By Kevin Harrish on December 21, 2020 at 4:59 am
The Buckeyes are hanging out in today's skull session.
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Clemson is officially on notice.

I'll be texting Ryan Day today about some plans I have to work Dawand Jones into the passing game.

Word of the Day: Nonpareil.

 COIN FLIP. Clemson's going to enter this game as more than a touchdown favorite and I downright guarantee the public will be betting heavy on the Tigers at that line.

That's all cool and good, but predictive metrics are seeing this as much more of a coin flip.

So, the line is off. And so is public perception. But you're not going to hear me complaining. Personally, I am more than fine with Ohio State getting as much disrespect as everyone wants to give.

Let the world write off one of the most talented teams in the country, led by arguably the best quarterback in the nation, the best receiving duo in the country, and a dude who just rushed for 331 yards his last game. That's fine.

 PLAY LIKE A FIVE-STAR. Due to some of the worst injury luck I've ever witnessed, it's taken Justin Hilliard more years than he's supposed to have in eligibility to reach his five-star potential.

But on Saturday, the dude was there.

And to think, he wasn't even supposed to start on Saturday. The only reason he did was because Baron Browning was out. And then he went and was the best defensive player on both sides of the ball.

Tip the cap, Justin. But can I kindly request two more games just like that?

 STRENGTH OF RECORD. Surely, you've been told that Ohio State's faced a cupcake schedule, played far too few games, and doesn't belong in the playoff.

I know I don't have to do much to convince y'all that those #takes are asinine, but here are some numbers, anyway.

For those of you wondering what the hell a "strength of record" is, it's basically how difficult it would be to achieve your record based on the strength of your schedule.

So basically, Ohio State's season was more impressive than Clemson's. And so was Indiana's, for that matter.

 TWEET OF THE WEEK. It ain't often a Tweet scrolls across my feed that causes me to audibly laugh, but I have to say, this one got me.

Straight up, I'm going to tell my kids about that game. It was the single most incredible and unexpected individual performance I've ever seen.

And here the thing – obviously, it's a statistical anomaly, but maybe not as much as you might think. Because he actually put up comparable numbers against Michigan State, as well, he just had fewer carries.

Sermon finished the Northwestern game with 331 yards on 29 carries, averaging 11.4 yards per carry. Against Michigan State, he had 10 carries for 112 yards, averaging 11.2 yards per carry.

So... Maybe this is just who he is now? I'll just go ahead and pencil him in for 11.6 yards per carry against Clemson. That seems reasonable.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Snow" by Leslie Odom Jr.

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