Welcome to the Skull Session.
No more sleeps.
The Chase continues Saturday pic.twitter.com/Isol9BpZpF
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 11, 2023
Let's have a good GAMEDAY, shall we?
MORE LIKE PURDONT, AM I RIGHT? Ohio State's troubles at Ross-Ade Stadium are well-documented. The Buckeyes are 3-5 in West Lafayette since 2000. That record would be 2-6 had Craig Krenzel and Michael Jenkins not connected for a 37-yard touchdown to beat the Boilermakers in 2002 – a score now known as "Holy Buckeye" around these here parts.
There is no reasonable explanation for Ohio State's losses in Ross-Ade Stadium. John Cooper lost to Purdue in 2000, Jim Tressel in 2004 and 2009, Luke Fickell in 2011 and Urban Meyer in 2018. Perhaps, at the end of Cooper's tenure, someone, somewhere stole Jobu's Rum, which caused a curse to fall over the Buckeyes whenever the team has traveled to West Lafayette. Yeah, that could be it.
Whatever the explanation or the reason, 2023 is a new season – a new dawn, a new day.
Yes, Ohio State needs faster starts and more complete performances across four quarters. Yes, the Buckeyes have had their fair share of issues with the run game, particularly with the offensive line's lack of dominance at the line of scrimmage and its inconsistency reaching the second level of the defense. Yes, Ohio State's special teams need to be better.
But ask yourself this: If the Purdue team Ohio State is about to face on Saturday were instead Rutgers, Michigan State, Indiana or Illinois, wouldn't you feel a lot better about the Buckeyes' chances to make improvements in those areas and win in blowout fashion?
Don't let the dark magic of Ross-Ade Stadium deceive you. Purdue is a bad football team. Quarterback Hudson Card can do some stuff with his arm, and safety Dillon Thieneman is a talented freshman who has shined after six weeks. Outside of them, however, the Boilermakers don't have the talent to hang around for four quarters. That said, Ohio State should have a fast start, improve in the run game and on special teams, and win in blowout fashion. That's how I'll pick it.
Ohio State 42 - Purdue 14
THE MENU. Beyond Ohio State-Purdue, the Week 7 college football slate looks rather dull in the early afternoon. But once 3:30 p.m. arrives – great googly moogly – are there some fun games, including No. 8 Oregon at No. 7 Washington (ABC, 3:30 p.m.), No. 10 USC at No. 21 Notre Dame (NBC, 7:30 p.m.) and No. 25 Miami at No. 12 North Carolina (ABC, 7:30 p.m.) as the premier matchups.
Here is a complete look at the schedule for Saturday:
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas at 11 Alabama | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Syracuse at 4 Florida State | 12:00pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Temple at North Texas | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Georgia Southern at James Madison | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Iowa State at Cincinnati | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| Kent State at Eastern Michigan | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| 3 Ohio State at Purdue | 12:00pm | Peacock |
| Michigan State at Rutgers | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Indiana at 2 Michigan | 12:00pm | FOX |
| 1 Georgia at Vanderbilt | 12:00pm | CBS |
| Navy at Charlotte | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Toledo at Ball State | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| California at 16 Utah | 3:00pm | P12N |
| Wake Forest at Virginia Tech | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Miami (Ohio) at Western Michigan | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bowling Green at Buffalo | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Akron at Central Michigan | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida Atlantic at USF | 3:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Kansas at Oklahoma State | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| BYU at TCU | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| 8 Oregon at 7 Washington | 3:30pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| UMass at 6 Penn State | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Troy at Army | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| Texas A&M at 19 Tennessee | 3:30pm | CBS |
| Illinois at Maryland | 3:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| Florida at South Carolina | 3:30pm | SECN |
| Iowa at Wisconsin | 4:00pm | FOX |
| Ohio at NIU | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| UNLV at Nevada | 5:00pm | NSN/SSSEN/MWN |
| San Jose State at New Mexico | 6:00pm | MWN |
| 14 Louisville at Pitt | 6:30pm | The CW |
| Auburn at 22 LSU | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Arizona at 19 Washington State | 7:00pm | P12N |
| Kansas State at Texas Tech | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Marshall at Georgia State | 7:00pm | ESPN2 |
| ULM at Texas State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Wyoming at Air Force | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| Missouri at 24 Kentucky | 7:30pm | SECN |
| 10 USC at 21 Notre Dame | 7:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| 25 Miami (FL) at 12 North Carolina | 7:30pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| UAB at UTSA | 8:00pm | ESPNU |
| UCLA at 15 Oregon State | 8:00pm | FOX |
| NC State at 17 Duke | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| Boise State at Colorado State | 9:45pm | FS1 |
| San Diego State at Hawaii | 11:00pm | CBSSN |
MY PICKS. OK, so that old adage, "Vegas always wins" must be true because, after a RED HOT start to the 2023 season, I have been ICE COLD the last couple of weeks with picks against the spread.
On Oct. 7, I selected Texas, Washington State and Notre Dame to cover their spreads with Oklahoma, UCLA and Louisville. All three teams failed to do that. Better yet, the Longhorns, Wildcats and Irish all lost! That's a bad beat.
But we bounce back.
2023 RECORD ATS: 10-5
- Iowa at Wisconsin (-10): This Week 7 battle between Wisconsin and Iowa could be seen as a "Big Ten West Championship Game." The Badgers and Hawkeyes rank first and second in the division with Northwestern, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Illinois a couple of games (or more) behind. Wisconsin and Iowa have had difficulties on offense – the latter way more than the former – so expect another Big Ten West classic at Camp Randall Stadium. Give me the Badgers to cover the double-digit spread.
- No. 25 Miami at No. 12 North Carolina (-3.5): Oh, Mario Cristobal. All you needed to do was call a kneel-down and Miami would be 5-0. But you didn't. Silly. Despite three interceptions last week, Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke remains the No. 6-ranked passer in QBR this season, but North Carolina signal-caller Drake Maye, Omarion Hampton and an improved defense give me enough confidence to pick Mack Brown's Tar Heels.
- UCLA at No. 15 Oregon State (-3.5): UCLA’s defense is No. 1 in yards allowed per play (3.7) and No. 3 in Max Olson's stop rate (84.6 percent). Still, I will trust in Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei's experience over that of UCLA freshman quarterback Dante Moore, who was pretty bad at Utah in his first Pac-12 road start. I'll take the Beavers to cover and improve to 6-1 in 2023.
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. All Columbus bar and restaurant owners plan to show the Ohio State-Purdue matchup on Saturday. However, not all Columbus bar and restaurant owners will do so. Why? Well, several reasons. The most significant reason is that it could cost them thousands of dollars.
From Belinda M. Paschal of The Columbus Dispatch:
Tony Mollica, owner of Varsity Club Restaurant & Bar, 278 W. Lane Ave., found out firsthand the cost of offering patrons a gathering place when he contacted Peacock about obtaining a license to stream the game.
"I just spent $3,600 in order to access Peacock in my restaurant, so we will be showing the game Saturday. I had to get a commercial license to legally show the game," he said.
A Varsity Club employee said the game will be shown on six of the restaurant/bar's numerous televisions. "They are located in a central area, so everyone should be able to view the game," the employee said.
Why does the Varsity Club – and other businesses, for that matter – need a license to show Ohio State's matchup with Purdue? The answer, in short, is Peacock and its partners EverPass and UPshow want more money in their pockets.
Here is the longer answer.
Businesses are permitted to stream Peacock sports with the Peacock Sports Pass, a package made available through the streamer's partnerships with EverPass and UPshow. Peacock is owned and operated by Peacock TV, LLC, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. In August, NBCUniversal agreed to a multi-year contract that provided EverPass with exclusive rights to distribute Peacock’s sports content to commercial venues.
Peacock’s sports content includes Big Ten football and basketball (what you probably care about the most), an NFL Wild Card Playoff game, the Tour de France, IndyCar races, the Preakness Stakes, the Ryder Cup and U.S. Open, Premier League matches and more.
In addition to its deal with NBCUniversal, EverPass also has an agreement with UPshow, a marketing and entertainment platform for branded TV networks. UPshow will offer Peacock’s live sports content library to commercial establishments nationwide.
These agreements came as bar and restaurant owners face the challenge of much-anticipated sporting events moving to streaming platforms.
"It's unfortunate that showing games on TV has come to this. It is a huge expense and one that many small businesses simply cannot afford," Mollica said.
"I'm sure many businesses will be streaming the game without (a) license, but we felt like we needed to comply."
So, dear reader, before you leave for a bar or restaurant today, please check that the business has Peacock and a license to show the game. Otherwise, you could be left out in the cold.
SONG OF THE DAY. "That's The Way (I Like It)" by KC & The Sunshine Band.
CUT TO THE CHASE. A 100-year-old shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Michigan... A USC football truck was pulled over on its way to South Bend, Indiana... The Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio helps thousands of families find a home away from home while their children are in area hospitals... Man pleads guilty to stealing "Wizard of Oz" ruby slippers from Minnesota museum in 2005... What does the science say about the grass vs. turf debate in sports?
