Skull Session: Eleven Warriors Needs a "Threat Level: Purdue," P.J. Fleck Calls Michigan The Best Football Team He's Seen and Marvin Harrison Jr. Will Be On "Big Ten Network: The Journey"

By Chase Brown on October 10, 2023 at 5:00 am
Purdue Pete
Matthew Emmons / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Mood?

Mood.

Let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?

 THREAT LEVEL: PURDUE. In the comments section of the Monday Skull Session, an 11W user named Michael was spot on: Eleven Warriors should have a "Threat Level: Purdue" column.

Note: Edited for accuracy, brevity and clarity.

Threat Level: Purdue

Eleven Warriors need a weekly column titled “Threat Level: Purdue.”

Ohio State's record against Purdue since 2000 is nine wins, five losses – a 64% winning percentage. Our record against TTUN is 17 wins, 5 losses – a 77% winning percentage. Oh, and all five of Ohio State's losses vs. Purdue are in Ross-Ade Stadium, where the Buckeyes will be on Saturday. Ohio State is 3-5 at Ross-Ade since 2000.

Let me share some personal experience.

I was at Purdue in 1984... Loss. 2009... Loss. 2011... Loss. When I was there in 2013, Purdue was terrible. The Buckeyes won 56-0, and I was jumping up and down, hollering for every touchdown. When it was 42-0, a Purdue fan who was still there said, 'Come on. Lighten up. I think you got this one.” I said, “I am catching up for the last two visits. Thank you.”

In 2009, whatever it was, Ohio State was off. The offense, defense – nobody was on their game. Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan, the Boilermakers' top defensive end, lived in Ohio State's back field. He had nine tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles. Every time, his sacks or tackles for loss ended a drive and we punted, or we couldn’t recover a fumble.

At the start of the game, the Purdue student section was about 50% full. Near the end of the first half, Purdue was up, and the student section grew. At halftime, as Purdue had the lead, every kid in the dorms with a ticket must have run over because it was 100% full in the next 15 minutes. I sat in the closed end zone section. It was a mixture of Ohio State and Purdue fans. Late in the third quarter, a few Buckeye fans I was rooting with said, 'Wow, we could lose. Do you think they will rush the field?” Yeah, when Purdue knocks off the Buckeyes, the Boilermakers rush the field. You know the rest. It never got better. Purdue won. The fans rushed the field. After the game, I stood outside the Ohio State locker room. Players and families milled about, speaking in hushed tones. Storm Klein walked by one shoulder, Michael Brewster the other. I turned around. Simultaneously, the players hugged their parents. Then they both said, “Dad, I don’t know what happened.”

That sums up Ohio State at Purdue.

There's no way to explain it.

On Saturday, Ohio State better be ready, start fast and hard for 60 minutes. From the outside, it may seem ridiculous to suggest Eleven Warriors needs a “Threat Level: Purdue.” But since 2000, the toughest Big Ten opponent the Buckeyes have faced is the Boilermakers in Ross-Ade Stadium. That's a fact. Go Buckeyes.

Thanks for the comment, Michael.

I agree. I'm not sure I'll be able to convince the bosses at Eleven Warriors that we should dedicate an article to Purdue each week, but Michael's points are well-received and agreeable, at least from me and for me.

To build off Michael's comment, the Buckeyes' lack of success in West Lafayette, Indiana, created "The Spoilermakers" nickname for the Purdue football team, as Ross-Ade Stadium is where several iterations of Ohio State have fallen flat versus inferior Purdue teams.

In 2009, Terrelle Pryor went 17-of-31 passing for 221 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions and recorded 21 carries for 34 yards (1.62 YPC) and one score as the No. 7-ranked Buckeyes lost to a 1-5 Purdue team.

Like, what?

In 2011... well, I don't need to discuss 2011.

In 2018, Purdue quarterback David Blough (25-43, 378 yards, 3 TDs), running back D.J. Knox (16 carries, 128 yards, 3 TDs) and wide receiver Rondale Moore (12 catches, 170 yards, 2 TDs) ran wild as the 3-3 Boilermakers demolished the No. 3-ranked Buckeyes 49-20.

Like, what?

As Michael said, Ohio State must be ready, start fast and play hard for all 60 minutes on Saturday. If it doesn't, an inferior Purdue team could conjure the Spoilermaker Magic and capture its sixth win over the Buckeyes in 14 matchups across 24 seasons.

 "THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM I'VE SEEN." While Eleven Warriors does not have a column called "Threat Level: Purdue," we do have one called "Threat Level: Michigan," The hilarious and wonderful Johnny Ginter posts the article on Mondays at 7:30 p.m.

This week, Ginter described Michigan as a "SEVERE" threat to Ohio State after the Wolverines' 6-0 start to the season, which includes a 52-10 beatdown to Minnesota on Saturday. 

His assessment is, unfortunately, accurate.

Michigan is a good football team, one of the best in the nation.

In a press conference after the Golden Gophers' loss to the Wolverines, Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said Michigan is "as good as advertised." His praise then continued.

"They're the best football team I have seen in 11 years of being a head coach," Fleck said. "I've never seen a football team like that, that deep. ... They're one of the deepest teams, one of the best teams, one of the biggest teams, fastest teams, strongest teams. They do not make mistakes. They are like a boa constrictor. They do not beat themselves. They're very good at each position. They're very aligned with everything that they do. They know who they are, and they go and execute that game plan. There were times they did it at will tonight. ... They're a really good football team. You can't take that away from them."

Now, we can (and should) acknowledge that Michigan has played an incredibly weak schedule this season, with wins over East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers, Nebraska and Minnesota. Those opponents have a combined record of 17-17 in 2023. Still, the Wolverines have dominated those teams on offense and defense, which means the team deserves its flowers – for now.

On Nov. 11, Michigan will experience its first test in Game 10, Week 11 (!), when it faces Penn State at Beaver Stadium. And on Nov. 25, the Wolverines will host THE World Famous Ohio State Buckeyes at The Big House. Those matchups will be the true measure of how talented the Wolverines are this season. Until then, we probably won't learn much as The Khaki Man and Co. beat up on Big Ten bottom-dwellers.

Reminder: The Game is in 46 days.

 THE TRIFECTA! Each Sunday after an Ohio State win in 2023, Eleven Warriors will present an offensive and defensive Buckeye with player of the game awards. This week, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and safety Josh Proctor received our top honors.

Five hours after we shared our selections, Ohio State revealed its picks for the Buckeyes' offensive, defensive and special teams players of the game. The Ohio State coaches agreed: Harrison and Proctor were the best Buckeyes on either side of the ball, while Jayden Fielding, who converted on three kicks from 36, 24 and 41 yards, was the star of the special teams.

On Monday, the Big Ten provided Harrison and Proctor with the hat trick of honors, as the former was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, and the latter was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for their performances on Saturday.

In less than 24 hours, Harrison and Proctor were named Big Ten Players of the Week, Ohio State Players of the Game and, of course, the most distinguished honor of the three, Eleven Warriors Players of the Game.

Is that good?

I think so!

While we are on the topic of Harrison, the star wide receiver will be featured in "Big Ten Network: The Journey" on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Here is a preview of the episode:

 OLYMPIC VILLAGE. ​Robert Cash and JJ Tracy, YOU are America's best collegiate tennis doubles duo.

Over the weekend, the Ohio State men's tennis veterans dominated at the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, securing the Buckeyes' fourth doubles title in the program's decorated history.

Cash and Tracy defeated No. 1-ranked Texas duo Eliot Spizzirri and Cleve Harper in the championship, 6-3, 7-6 (15-13). Cash and Tracy – who were the No. 19-ranked doubles team before the tournament – also defeated No. 3 Tadeas Paroulek and Zsombor Velcz (Baylor), No. 53 Nicolas Kotzen and Max Westphal (Columbia), Tyler Zink and Isaac Becroft (Oklahoma State) and No. 31 James Hopper and Inaki Montes (UVA) en route to the championship. The Ohio State duo did not drop a set all tournament.

Cash and Tracy will lead another talented Ohio State men's tennis team this season, as the program also returned Jack Anthrop, Alexander Bernard, Justin Boulais, Cannon Kingsley and Andrew Luschaunig. All seven of those Buckeyes started on or contributed to Ohio State's NCAA runner-up team in 2023 and its NCAA Final Four team in 2022.

That said, could Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker win his first NCAA title in 2024?

It sure seems like it!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "The Weight" by The Band.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. ​Bob Odenkirk used to make up zany poems. He and his daughter Erin have turned them into a kids’ book... Costly upkeep, less-than-ideal weather lead most college football stadiums to use artificial turf... Flag football set to be included at Los Angeles Olympics in 2028... New York Jets superfan "Fireman Ed" is doing fine... Gen Z workers are roasting their millennial colleagues for the phrase "out of pocket"... Can cooking and gardening at school inspire better nutrition? Ask these kids.

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