Skull Session: Gene Smith Wants to Pause Playoff Expansion, Ohio State's Polynesians Band Together, and Hunter Armstrong Wins Gold

The USMNT dumped Mexico to earn a cup for the second time in one summer and it was glorious.

MILES ROBINSON IN THE 117TH MINUTE

The @USMNT takes the lead!!!!f pic.twitter.com/1CwsO0qQWe
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2021

Next, do the World Cup!

Word of the Day: Peccable.

“HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON.” College football as we know it is changing faster than a middle schooler hitting puberty. So Gene Smith sees it wise to maybe pump the brakes on any longterm College Football Playoff reorganization until the dust settles from *gestures at the half dozen groundbreaking things happening in the sport*.

The chances of the College Football Playoff growing to 12 teams in 2023, the first year officials have stated it could expand, appear to be diminishing.

The combination of uncertainty in the environment and a building skepticism over the power being collected by ESPN and the SEC after recent realignment moves have prompted a more cautious approach to expansion. The exploration of growing from a four-team model to 12-team model was announced in early June and is being deliberated on, with a decision expected in the fall.

“I think the pause button should be hit,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told Yahoo Sports. “We need to evaluate the landscape and what it’s going to look like. We still need to evaluate the 12-team playoff. We don’t need to rush into that when there’s legitimate concerns that need to be addressed.”

...

Smith is perhaps the most powerful athletic director in the country and a former member of the CFP committee. Smith’s point is tied, in part, to potential changes in the fundamental structure of conferences and overall college athletics. Essentially, it's difficult to determine access when there’s little certainty as to what leagues will look like. There’s also NCAA governance issues, as it’s uncertain what the collegiate leadership model will look like in two years.

Waiting until we actually know what the hell college football is even going to look like before making these kinds of decisions is probably the most rational course of action I've seen take place in this sport in like, years. Good on Gene, and anybody who follows his lead.

I guess I'll get a few more years of bitching about the committee's ability to seed a four-team playoff. I think I can handle that.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER. So I'll get this caveat out of the way right off the bat – the first Buckeye to earn gold at the Tokyo Olympics didn't technically participate in the event that clinched the gold, but he earned it, nonetheless.

Ohio State swimmer Hunter Armstrong is officially a gold medalist after the United States won the 4x100 relay men's medley relay finals on Saturday. Armstrong didn't participate in the final race, but he did race in the prelims that got them to the final.

Thanks! Lets gooo!! So proud of all of these guys and their hard work
https://t.co/5ta4SyEhFd
— Hunter Armstrong (@ArmstrongH_) August 1, 2021

To quote Jeff Teague, Armstrong got an A on the group project.

Jokes aside, he earned every bit of this, and I'm sure that gold medal is going to feel real good around his neck – and that $37,500 cash prize won't feel too bad in his pocket, either.

POLY BOYS. I remember how oddly jealous I used to be that all the coast schools (namely, USC) would land all the awesome Polynesian players like Troy Polamalu, Haloti Ngata, Lofa Tatupu, Junior Seau, Rey Maualuga, etc.

It made all the sense in the world given geography, but I'm extremely glad to see Ohio State recently turning into a sort of Polynesian pipeline.

Nature getaway before the grind @PalaieGaoteote @JT_tuimoloau #athletes #impactbyhg #polyboys pic.twitter.com/s0tFI8XDpv
— Haskell Garrett (@HaskellGarrett_) August 1, 2021

Haskell Garrett, J.T. Tuimoloau and Palaie Gaoteote – all top-70 players coming out of high school, and all of Polynesian descent. I don't know who's in charge of making sure those pipelines don't go dry, but I'm gonna need more of this.

STILL GOT HANDS. K.J. Hill is Ohio State's all-time leader in receptions for a reason, and it turns out he's still got hands.

Now this is impressive.

Chargers WR KJ Hill Jr. caught SIX footballs while holding onto the others during training camp

(via @chargers) pic.twitter.com/hIExA8dFeE
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) July 31, 2021

I'm gonna be honest, if you just simply threw six balls at me with my hands completely empty, I might catch three. K.J. is just built different.

SONG OF THE DAY. "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.