Welcome to the Monday Skull Session.
Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan has won 300 duals in his career, including many with the Buckeyes. Don't forget the national championship in 2014-15, either. Over the weekend, Ryan took the time to thank some of his assistant coaches who helped him achieve the big three-hundo.
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) December 23, 2022
You love to see it, Coach Ryan. You love to see it.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Let's have a good Monday, too, shall we?
FIND THAT PANDA. Folks, I have located Public Enemy No. 1 in Atlanta. His name is Yang Yang, a 25-year-old rare giant panda only a few months older than Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. He resides in Zoo Atlanta.
Why do I have beef with a panda? Last week, the animal representing peace and friendship was neither peaceful nor friendly. Instead, he chose violence and to be an enemy of Ohio State when he picked the Bulldogs to beat the Buckeyes in the Peach Bowl.
It's officially Ohio Against the World, as even the animals have picked against the Buckeyes. How ridiculous! People and pandas will soon learn what the men in scarlet and gray are capable of while underdogs (Hint: They're pretty good!).
Five days until the Peach Bowl, folks. It can't come soon enough.
AN ALL-TIME (STATS) CLASSIC. The narrative has been firmly established that Ohio State is the worst draw for Georgia. As a top-three team for most of the year in the AP and Coaches Polls and the second-ranked team in every release of the CFP rankings until its loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes will challenge the Bulldogs in all three phases of the matchup.
But how do Ohio State and Georgia compare statistically? Ryan McGee of ESPN broke down the numbers of the two playoff teams in a recent video:
Now, I know Ohio State looked beatable at points this season. When I write that sentence, I think of Penn State, Northwestern and Maryland. Additionally, the Buckeyes were beaten by Michigan *sighs heavily*.
How-evuh, when Ohio State plays to its full potential, it is one of the best teams in college football, driven by the most talented offense in the country behind C.J. Stroud, Miyan Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. That version of the Buckeyes can beat anybody, even the mighty Georgia, which is very talented in its own right, and chiefly on defense.
It feels to me like an unstoppable force will meet an immovable object in Atlanta. That sounds fun, doesn't it?
10 FEET TALL AND BULLETPROOF. It's become apparent to me what Georgia's players (and perhaps even their coaches) think of Stroud. While they believe he is as talented as can be, he is not untouchable in their minds. In fact, they claim one of the primary focuses is to knock Stroud out of the game mentally – to rattle him from the start.
As Connor Riley of Dawg Nation wrote last week, the best way to slow down Ohio State's offense is to make Stroud uncomfortable and second-guess his ability to tear apart what is statistically a subpar pass defense that ranks 51st in the nation in surrendering 215.1 passing yards per game.
From Riley's article (with added brackets for clarity):
As for how to slow Stroud and the offense down, [defensive lineman Zion] Logue did offer up some things he picked up in the hours he’s spent watching tape in recent weeks.
“I think they kind of rattled him a little bit,” Logue said. “A lot of teams have gotten in his face and gotten him off his point a little bit. I think that is what kind of rattles him. So I think we have to do a lot of different things and just get in his face.”
Ohio State’s powerful offense hasn’t been perfect in every game, as the Buckeyes were held under 24 points in games against Michigan, Northwestern and Notre Dame. Georgia’s defense meanwhile held Tennessee’s powerful offense to its worst output of the season.
For Ohio State to defeat Georgia, Stroud must be 10 feet tall and bulletproof. He must be mentally and physically tough and a leader among men. We know how talented he is and all the attributes that make him a phenomenal quarterback, one that was a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Quarterback of the Year and a Heisman Trophy finalist.
But a loss to the Bulldogs – specifically, a loss resulting from Stroud being rattled by Georgia's defense – would be the third mark, along with his performances against Michigan in 2021 and 2022, Buckeye fans would use against him when considering Stroud as one of the best quarterbacks in Ohio State history. He could have the best statistics in the world (which he does), but people won't remember him fondly without the victories in the big games.
A win in the Peach Bowl could change all that for Stroud (and Ryan Day and the Ohio State program). We shall see if he is up to the task.
SAME MESSAGE, SAME HOPE. Ever since USC lost to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, opening a door for Ohio State to receive the No. 4 seed in the CFP, Day has happily spoken about his program's "second lease on life" and how the Buckeyes will have "an opportunity" in front of them.
He continued that narrative over the weekend in an interview with ESPN's Marty Smith, claiming he and his players have plenty of regret toward how they performed in The Game but look forward to playing aggressively and loose in the CFP in hopes of not wasting an unlikely chance at winning a national championship.
"You know it's gonna be hard. You know they're the defending national champs. You know we're gonna be underdogs. All of the above are gonna be hard. Good. That's the way we have to look at it."
Juice me up. As I've said for weeks now, bring on the Bulldogs. Ohio Against the World.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof" by Travis Tritt.
CUT TO THE CHASE. In 2022, sports brought every imaginable emotion... The weird, wild and wonderful stories you might have missed this year... Rare footage of moose losing its antlers goes viral... "Cousin Eddie" display in Kentucky leads to police response... Rhode Island man's nativity scene features more than 400 pieces.
