Welcome to the Skull Session.
One more sleep.
"If you are elite, grab somebody today. Take 'em with you. There is no more average in this program! Not in this program!"
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 19, 2023
Larry Johnson sets the tone for Ohio State before its top-10 showdown with Penn State.
Season 2023, Vol. 7 starts Saturday.pic.twitter.com/Qz0C815Ysj
Let's have a good Friday, shall we?
CHEAT TO COMPETE? Archive data... May, 18, 2023... Eleven Warriors Forums.
STLBUCKEYE15: Part of TTUN's recent success is sign-stealing.
BUCKEYEEDDIE27: This is 100 percent true. Based on zero facts I have but their recent success alone.
SILVER SNIPER: One point of evidence is how their magical resurgence coincided with becoming a "second-half team." This is due to how they process the sign-stealing and implement that in the second half.
STLBUCKEYE15: The same Ohio State offense that scored 41 on Georgia scored 3 (THREE) points in the second half against TTUN at home. I hope it's on Day's radar.
Turns out, it was on the NCAA's radar. Their staff must read the 11W forums!
#B1G Conference Statement
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) October 19, 2023
https://t.co/F8yXggM3xw pic.twitter.com/qxVPaQow2o
Ahahahahahahahaha.
*breathes*
Ahahahahahahahaha.
Jim Harbaugh once told author and Michigan alum John U. Bacon it's "hard to beat cheaters" when referring to SEC programs that have achieved great success in college football through program spending and on-field production.
Harbaugh (allegedly) adopted the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach.
Remember, people: Secrets will be uncovered, and the truth will come forth – what is done in the dark will come to the light. Also, cheaters never prosper!
"WE HAVE TO WIN THIS GAME." Ohio State has treated preparation for its top-10 Penn State matchup with the utmost importance this week. While I have not seen practice, workouts, meetings and other aspects of that preparation, one can tell from how Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have discussed the matchup that the program understands what it will take to beat their Big Ten East counterparts.
"You can see the focus. The guys know what's at stake here," Day said Thursday on The Ryan Day Radio Show. "They are gonna challenge us in the throw game and the run game. We have to play our best football on Saturday. ... This game has gone to the fourth quarter in almost every game I can remember. This has always been a battle. We have to prepare ourselves for that."
"They're going to challenge us in the throw game and the run game. We gotta play our best football on Saturday." - @ryandaytime
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) October 19, 2023
Tune in: https://t.co/B7AyPjJBSZ pic.twitter.com/ypmypfheyB
Day's correct. It has been a battle.
While Ohio State has defeated Penn State in nine of the last 10 matchups, the scoreboard reflects a four-quarter game between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions in (almost) every season. Here are the scores for each matchup since the Braxton Miller Era:
- 2013: Ohio State 63, Penn State 14
- 2014: Ohio State 31, Penn State 24
- 2015: Ohio State 38, Penn State 10
- 2016: Penn State 24, Ohio State 21
- 2017: Ohio State 39, Penn State 38
- 2018: Ohio State 27, Penn State 26
- 2019: Ohio State 28, Penn State 17
- 2020: Ohio State 38, Penn State 25
- 2021: Ohio State 33, Penn State 24
- 2022: Ohio State 44, Penn State 31
That averages to a score of Ohio State 36.5, Penn State 23 since 2013.
Knowing one or two scores has separated Ohio State from victory or defeat year in and year out, Day shared that the Buckeyes must treat each drive, each play and each moment as if it could decide the outcome of the top-10 showdown.
"Penn State is a very good team. There are challenges across the board. You have to go out there and lay it on the line," Day said on Wednesday. "When you think about the games that have been played against Penn State, even before I got here (in 2017), they were always great games that went back and forth. You prepare for every scenario that could come up. ... When you play really good teams, like we have in the past, every play counts, every play matters. The margin for error is very tight."
Man, I am pumped for Saturday.
Half the season remains – I know, I know (!) – but we could look back on a win or loss versus Penn State as what determined Ohio State's chances to win a Big Ten championship, make a College Football Playoff appearance and win a national title. That's how massive the stakes are for Ohio State-Penn State in 2023.
Day understands that more than anyone.
"We have to win this game," he said on Thursday.
Please do, Coach. Please do.
YOU ARE NOT THAT GUY, PAL. This week, there's been a lot of discussion about James Franklin needing a win vs. Ohio State on Saturday. That, if there were ever a time for Franklin to knock off the Buckeyes – outside of the unexpected win in 2016 via a field goal block returned for a touchdown – now would be that time.
There seems to be a wave of people (media members and college football fans alike) who have picked Penn State to beat Ohio State on Saturday. We know Desmond Howard will when College GameDay announces their picks. Brady Quinn will probably do the same over on Big Noon Kickoff.
But what Howard, Quinn and whoever else picks Penn State will have failed to understand is – Franklin is NOT THAT GUY, PAL.
Since Franklin became Penn State's head coach in 2014, here are the different records he possesses against Big Ten opponents: 2-11 on the road vs. top 25 teams; 0-9 on the road vs. top 10 teams; 6-7 at home vs. top 25 teams; 1-4 at home vs. top 10 teams; 1-8 vs. Ohio State (including a series-record six consecutive losses); 1-11 vs. top-five teams.
Overall, whether he's coached in Beaver Stadium or elsewhere, Franklin is 8-18 vs. top 25 teams, 1-13 vs. top 10 teams, and 1-11 vs. top-five teams.
If Franklin and the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes this weekend, I will eat my words in Monday's Skull Session. However, until that happens, I expect to write another Victory Monday Skull Session, as I have for the past six games. And, yeah, I will probably be a little chesty in that one. Just a little.
HERBIE THE GREAT. In a recent survey from The Athletic, former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit was voted the top college football analyst, beating out Joel Klatt, Todd Blackledge and Greg McElroy, among others. The duo of Chris Fowler and Herbstreit was also voted the No. 1 broadcast team above Gus Johnson and Klatt, and Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson.
With over 3,200 responses, The Athletic found that 35.1% of responders picked Herbstreit as their favorite college football analyst, well ahead of second-place Klatt, who received 14.8% of the vote. In the section for the best broadcast team, Fowler and Herbstreit won with 38.3% of the vote, while Johnson and Klatt finished with 21.9%.
Also of note: ESPN is the favored network for college football fans, as it was the preferred network for 57.7% of voters in The Athletic's poll, followed by CBS (20.3%), FOX (18.3%) and NBC (3.7%).
Here are some more interesting questions and responses:
What is your favorite conference network for games?
- Big Ten Network: 41.3%
- SEC Network: 39.8%
- ACC Network: 11.5%
- Pac-12 Network: 7.5%
How would you rate NBC’s Big Ten broadcasts? (1 = hate it, 5 = love it)
- 1: 3.2%
- 2: 11.6%
- 3: 42.2%
- 4: 35.7%
- 5: 7.4%
Do you prefer College GameDay or Big Noon Kickoff?
- College GameDay: 77%
- Big Noon Kickoff: 23%
Do you believe TV networks are biased toward certain conferences?
- Yes: 82.7%
- No: 17.3%
Do you believe TV networks play an active role in driving conference realignment?
- Yes: 95.5%
- No: 4.5%
If you could have any CFB announcer in history call your team’s game, who would it be?
- Keith Jackson: 42.2%
- Brent Musburger: 10.8%
- Verne Lundquist: 9.6%
- Gus Johnson: 8.4%
- Al Michaels: 5%
- Chris Fowler: 5%
- Larry Munson: 3.2%
- Mike Tirico: 3.1%
- Dick Enberg: 1.9%
- Ron Franklin: 1.7%
- Sean McDonough: 1.6%
- Ian Eagle: 1.3%
- Brad Nessler: 1.3%
- Joe Tessitore: 1.1%
- Lindsey Nelson: 1%
- All others: Less than 1%
SONG OF THE DAY. "Dirty Laundry" by Carrie Underwood.
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