Skull Session: College Football Has a Commercial Problem, C.J. Hicks Truthers Are Down Bad and Ohio State Will Get Its First Ranked Win on Saturday

By Chase Brown on September 5, 2023 at 5:00 am
C.J. Hicks
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

In his press conference on Aug. 29, Jim Knowles said, "Don't sleep on Jaden McKenzie. He's a playmaker." But as Ohio State entered the 2023 season, I still slept on Jaden McKenzie. I was wrong to do that. The senior defensive tackle was, in fact, a playmaker on Saturday and recorded two tackles, one solo stop and 0.5 tackles for loss against Indiana.

 A COMMERCIAL PROBLEM. In the fourth quarter of Ohio State's 23-3 win over Indiana, the wunderkind who runs the Eleven Warriors Twitter account commented on the excessive commercials he watched in the season opener.

RedditCFB immediately responded to the tweet and welcomed Ohio State and Big Ten fans to the CBS college football experience.

While it could be possible that commercials are more prevalent on CBS, didn't the Buckeyes' mid-afternoon clash with the Hoosiers feel... different? 

There was a lot of discussion in Week 0 and Week 1 about college football's new clock rules, which keep the clock running after first downs except for the final two minutes of each half. While there is no data to connect the rule change with shortened games or evidence that broadcast companies have filled any additional air time with more ads, it sure felt that way on Saturday.

Just ask Chip Kelly.

In their Indiana Notebook, Dan Hope and Andy Anders shared that Ohio State ran 67 plays on Saturday after the Buckeyes averaged 67.4 plays per game in 2022. However, Indiana ran 54 plays in the contest – eight fewer plays than the 62 Ohio State's opponents averaged last season.

Steve Shaw, secretary-editor of the NCAA Rules Committee, said in April that the new clock rules would reduce the number of plays by an average of seven per game. Ohio State-Indiana proved that theory correct.

But how come Ohio State-Indiana took soooooo long?

Commericals. The answer is commercials.

College football has a commercial problem. However, there is no solution to that problem now, and there probably will never be one. The extra advertising cash is simply too good for media executives to pass on.

Buckle up, Ohio State fans, especially those who watch the Buckeyes on television – which is, like, everyone – it could be a long, long season full of long, long Saturdays.

 ARE YOU DOWN BAD? C.J. Hicks truthers were down bad on Saturday, as the former five-star recruit and current sophomore linebacker recorded one defensive snap against Indiana, per our Snap Counts from Dan Hope and Matt Gutridge.

To be clear, I like Hicks. I don't mean to dunk on him or his fans, as I would consider myself one. Instead, I share Hicks' snap counts to reveal the kind of battle the Dayton, Ohio, native and Archbishop Alter standout faces to receive live reps in 2023.

Jim Knowles leaned on Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg almost exclusively in the season opener. Chambers recorded 54 snaps, the second-most on the team behind Lathan Ransom (55), while Eichenberg recorded 48. Cody Simon also received seven snaps as a backup.

In Snap Counts, Hope wrote:

Eichenberg played every defensive snap until Indiana’s final two possessions, on which Simon replaced him at Mike linebacker, while Chambers played every snap at Will linebacker until Indiana’s one-play final possession, when Hicks played the first defensive snap of his Ohio State career.

Good news: Those truthers will see more Hicks in Ohio State's matchups with Youngstown State and Western Kentucky.

Bad news: Those truthers probably will not see more of Hicks against Ohio State's Big Ten opponents other than in blowouts.

How Knowles and graduate assistant James Laurinaitis reached the "Bad News" conclusion, I am not sure. But please, Buckeye fans, be patient and do your best to trust the process. It's not as if Ohio State has placed some scrubs ahead of Hicks – this is an All-American and an All-Big Ten duo at the defense's second level. When Hicks is ready, the Buckeyes will use him accordingly.

 WE LOVE A RANKED WIN. When Ohio State defeats Youngstown State in its home opener this weekend, the Buckeyes will have secured a ranked win in 2023 – an FCS-ranked win, of course. On Monday, the Penguins checked in at No. 25 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll following a dominant 52-10 win over Valparaiso on Saturday.

Does any of that mean Youngstown State has a chance to upset Ohio State on Saturday? By no means!

The Buckeyes will take care of the Penguins as they did in the schools' two previous matchups: A 38-6 win in 2007 and a 43-0 shutout in 2008. However, we should expect more points in favor of Ohio State in 2023 – to account for the Buckeyes' scoring inflation since the Jim Tressel era, of course.

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was also spotted before the game wearing a shirt with "FREE HARBAUGH" written on the front.

Your coach did not die. He does not need a tribute.

Your coach is not in prison. He is on his couch in a million-dollar home. And that's only for games! He still coaches at practice! He still holds press conferences! He still making up words like "we-fense"!

Corny. Just so unbelievably corny.

Someone, preferably Ohio State, needs to put Michigan back in its place.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Knee Deep" by Zac Brown Band ft. Jimmy Buffett.

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