Skull Session: Kirk Herbstreit Says "A Massive Challenge" Awaits Ohio State in Atlanta, Ranking the Buckeyes' CFP Teams and Denzel Ward Wanted BBQ

As we prepare for what should be a phenomenal football game in under three weeks, let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?

 A MASSIVE CHALLENGE. Kirk Herbstreit says “a massive challenge” awaits Ryan Day and Ohio State when the Buckeyes face Georgia on Dec. 31 in Atlanta, where he believes the Bulldogs always play their best football.

"This is gonna be a MASSIVE challenge for Ohio State against Georgia" ~@KirkHerbstreit#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/dix2o7WDzL

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 9, 2022

As Dan Hope wrote over the weekend, Ohio State thrives in the underdog role, perhaps more than any other team in college football. The previous 10 times the Buckeyes have entered a matchup with the odds stacked against them, they are 8-2, which includes the 2014 Big Ten Championship victory over Wisconsin and the two CFP wins from that year against Alabama and Oregon.

Underdogs? Yes.

Is that a problem? Heck no.

Bring on the Bulldogs.

Ohio Against the World.

 LET’S RANK ’EM. Ever wondered how Ohio State's five College Football Playoff teams would rank among the 36 total teams that have made the CFP since 2014? Well, if you have, Bill Connelly of ESPN offered his take on Monday.

From the 2016 team that Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers blanked in the Fiesta Bowl to the 2014 team that won a national title in the inaugural playoff, here is how Connelly ranked Ohio State's CFP entrants over the years:

36. 2015 Michigan State (12-2) 35. 2018 Notre Dame (12-1) 34. 2019 Oklahoma (12-2) 33. 2020 Notre Dame (10-2) 32. 2022 TCU (12-1)

31. 2016 Ohio State (11-2), lost to Clemson 31-0

After what might have been Urban Meyer's most talented Ohio State team missed the CFP in 2015, the most offensively limited one made it the next year. The defense was strong enough to limit Deshaun Watson and Clemson to just two touchdowns in the Tigers' first 10 drives in the semifinal, but the Buckeyes' offense, which ranked just 32nd in offensive SP+, got embarrassed and shut out.

30. 2021 Cincinnati (13-1) 29. 2015 Oklahoma (11-2) 28. 2014 Florida State (13-1) 27. 2021 Michigan (12-2) 26. 2018 Oklahoma (12-2) 25. 2017 Clemson (12-2) 24. 2016 Washington (12-2)

23. 2022 Ohio State (11-1), Peach Bowl vs. Georgia

No team stands to potentially gain more from a CFP bid than Ryan Day's fourth Buckeyes team, which rolled through most of the regular season with little resistance -- 11 wins, all by double digits and seven by at least 29 points -- before face-planting against Michigan for the second straight year. While that threw the Buckeyes into a bit of an existential crisis, a win over Georgia in Atlanta would certainly flip their perceptions around quite a bit. (And a blowout loss would very much do the opposite.)

22. 2020 Clemson (10-2) 21. 2017 Oklahoma (12-2) 20. 2015 Clemson (14-1) 19. 2014 Oregon (13-2) 18. 2014 Alabama (12-2) 17. 2017 Georgia (13-2)

16. 2020 Ohio State (7-1), beat Clemson 49-28; lost to Alabama 52-24

The Buckeyes played only eight games, but they won four by at least 21 points, including a 49-28 victory over Trevor Lawrence and Clemson in the semifinals. They lived up to most of their preseason hype and avenged their 2019 semifinal loss to the Tigers. They also lost the national title game by 28 points. Still, in a year of abbreviated schedules and limited two-deeps, Ohio State was a poster child of sorts, and the Buckeyes looked the part until the final act.

15. 2021 Alabama (13-2) 14. 2022 Michigan (13-0) 13. 2016 Alabama (14-1)

12 and 11. 2019 Ohio State (13-1) and 2019 Clemson (14-1)

It was overshadowed by LSU's late-season brilliance, but both the Buckeyes and Tigers were unreal for most of 2019. They went a combined 26-0 in the regular season; 22 of the wins were by at least 24 points, and only one was by single digits. And in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, they played one of the most even and compelling games in recent college football memory.

Ohio State dominated the early proceedings, going up 16-0 but settling for field goals; that offered Clemson a lifeline, and the Tigers charged back. The second half featured three scores and three lead changes, and after controversy and countless plot twists, Nolan Turner's interception of Justin Fields made the difference. If they'd played 100 times, each team would have won 50.

10. 2015 Alabama (14-1)

9. 2014 Ohio State (14-1), beat Alabama 42-35; beat Oregon 42-20

The ultimate "peak when you most need to" team. Ranked 16th in the initial CFP rankings, Ohio State kept getting better and rising down the stretch. Needing a huge statement in the Big Ten championship game, the Buckeyes unleashed the hugest statement, beating Wisconsin 59-0 to eke out the No. 4 CFP seed. They then proceeded to beat Bama with a 28-0 run and take down Oregon with a late 21-0 run. Late-arriving? Nope, just in time.

8. 2018 Alabama (14-1) 7. 2016 Clemson (14-1) 7. 2016 Clemson (14-1) 6. 2017 Alabama (13-1) 5. 2021 Georgia (14-1) 4. 2022 Georgia (13-0) 3. 2018 Clemson (15-0) 2. 2019 LSU (15-0) 1. 2020 Alabama (13-0)

*inhales* OK. Lot's to unpack. Here are my takes:

• On 2016 - We don't talk about Ohio State's 2016 CFP appearance. I pushed the memories of that embarrassing performance so far down into my mind that all I can picture in my brain is J.T. Barrett sitting on the grass following what was probably an incomplete pass, an interception or a run for negative yards.
• On 2022 - Go win the whole dang thing! Ohio Against the World!
• On 2020 - When COVID delayed the start of the 2020 season, it robbed us of a second full year watching Justin Fields play in an offense that had Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jameson Williams. I'll always think about what could have been. In the playoff, Ohio State crushed Clemson and it was glorious but didn't stack up with that year's Crimson Tide team which is ranked accordingly as the No. 1 team to ever play in the CFP with players like DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Najee Harris, etc.
• On 2019 - This is arguably the most talented team not to win the CFP title and it's a shame the year ended with such heartbreak. If Shaun Wade wasn't ejected, a scoop-and-score was called correctly and Fields and Olave were on the same page, we would probably see this team ranked a lot higher on the list.
• On 2014 - An unbelievable achievement from an unbelievable team. Ohio State beat Bama and steamrolled Oregon on its way to a championship and Buckeye Nation rejoiced.

​​ YOU GOT BBQ BACK THERE? On Monday, I was reminded that Gus Johnson is a national treasure and must be protected at all costs. To understand why, we must travel back to Sunday when former Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward laid a hit so powerful on Ja'Marr Chase that his helmet fell off in the Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals game.

Denzel Ward hit Ja'Marr Chase so hard he lost his hat#Browns #CLEvsCIN pic.twitter.com/DfjEZb8GMC

— crunchypuddle (@crunchypuddle1) December 11, 2022

Does that hit from Ward look familiar? It probably does. That's because the 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback made a very similar play while wearing a scarlet and gray uniform on Oct. 7, 2017, when Ohio State faced Maryland on a Saturday afternoon in the Horseshoe.

Johnson called the play as part of FOX's broadcast of the game, and, as always, his commentary was as quotable as it was hilarious.

HURT. MY. FEELINGS. https://t.co/oWKiQcJ9Vn pic.twitter.com/PN3moNjGxL

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) December 12, 2022

"Oh! What a hit, Denzel Ward! You got barbecue back there? And you didn't invite me? Hurt. My. Feelings."

Never change, Gus Johnson. Never change.

And may Ward continue laying the boom on hits for the foreseeable future, as he is one of the lone bright spots on my beloved Cleveland Browns team that continues to make me sad weekly. It is a Factory of Sadness out here.

 PURE CLASS. Eddie George is as good as they come. This soundbite from a recent interview with Jacob Hester and former Ohio State linebacker on SiriusXM where he explains what it means to win the Heisman is all I need to use as proof:

1995 @HeismanTrophy winner @EddieGeorge2727 credits his @OhioStateFB teammates for a special senior season that resulted in him winning the most prestigious individual award in college football. @JacobHester18 | @Bcarp3

Full Interview:https://t.co/ebcI5c8iJF pic.twitter.com/Ri6RZyyGZI

— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) December 10, 2022

Humility will take you places, people. May we use Eddie George as an example.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “California Stars” by Billy Bragg and Wilco.

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