Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State is no longer the No. 1 team in America.
After back-to-back weeks as the top-ranked team in the CFP, Ohio State falls behind Georgia in the third release of the rankings. pic.twitter.com/4L4AQvbrSQ
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 15, 2023
Just keep winning.
Let's have a good Wednesday, shall we?
BEAT MINNESOTA. On Tuesday, Ryan Day was asked if the Buckeyes are "North America's Team," "Buckeye Nation's Team" or "Ohio's Team." The Ohio State head coach responded with an artful answer as he avoided the question's reference to Jim Harbaugh's comments from Monday that Michigan is "America's Team."
"That's a good question," Day said. "It's been a long road to get to November, and each team has its own identity. Each team has its own dynamics and its own journey. Here we are in November. Coming to work every day with these guys – the consistency, the maturity, the competitiveness, the look in their eyes – this is a great team to be around with great guys. It's about these guys on the team. It's about the guys that put it on the line on Saturday and put the work in here. We will do that again this week and keep swinging."
No mention of Michigan. No mention of Harbaugh.
Instead, Day praised Ohio State's 120 scholarship and walk-on players who spend countless hours at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to ensure the program maintains a level of success that keeps the over 11 million members of Buckeye Nation pleased.
Day's response was one I expected from THE coach, THE leader of men and THE man in the arena. Across three weeks of Michigan Madness, he has focused on the task at hand, not the distractions from “up north.” That remains true this week as Ohio State prepares for Minnesota on Saturday.
"When you start to get ahead of yourself, you start to lose focus on right now," Day said when asked if he was ready for 7 p.m. Saturday to get here. "That's the challenge: Making sure you stay in the moment because there's nothing you can do but maximize right now. That's what we will do. When 7 o'clock comes on Saturday, 7 o'clock will come. Then, we go from there."
Beat Minnesota.
OH MY HARTLINE. In 2006, current Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck was a graduate assistant at Ohio State after several seasons as a wide receiver for Northern Illinois (1999-2003) and the San Francisco 49ers (2004-05). That year, Fleck witnessed the development of then-Ohio State wide receiver and current assistant coach Brian Hartline.
As Fleck prepares the Golden Gophers to face the Buckeyes, Fleck said he understands how Hartline transformed Ohio State's wide receiver room into what it has become in 2023 (i.e., the best wide receiver room in America).
“You can see why that room continues to develop the way they do because he was always that type of player,” Fleck said. “He was next to (Ted Ginn Jr.) and Roy Hall — all these guys. He worked through the middle and did a lot of things and had to understand a lot of defenses. He was fast, don’t get me wrong. Hartline can run. He played in the NFL for a long time. But he was such a student of the game, and it was so fun to coach him and be around him. You can see the influence he’s had on those receivers.”
More than others, Fleck has seen Hartline's influence on Marvin Harrison Jr.
“He’s one of the best players in college football,” Fleck said. “He’s got a good bloodline, to say the least. He works so hard.”
While Fleck is impressed with Harrison's complete body of work, what stands out the most to Fleck is Harrison's work without the ball in his hands.
“By no means am I a great basketball coach, but how well do people work without the ball?” Fleck said. “When you watch Steph Curry, Steph Curry’s always working without the ball to continue to get open. (Harrison) can be the number one read in the progression, or he can be the number three read in the progression. He can be away from the ball. He can be in a scramble drill. He’s constantly active. He’s constantly finding a way to create separation, block.”
Fleck believes that separates Harrison from other elite receivers.
“He does that at an elite level, understanding different route concepts, who he’s affecting, why he’s running the actual route he is,” Fleck said. “You can see that in the comfort of how people run a route. When you are running a post route, it seems simple. It’s a post. There are a lot of ways, depending on how you are being covered, to get to where that ball is going to be thrown. He has a great knack and feel for how defenses are played and how they are going to stop him and what the route concept is and what the route calls for.”
Shoutout to Fleck for the detailed breakdown of Harrison and what he sees as a coach who will attempt to slow him down — indeed, "slow him down," not "stop him" — on Saturday. Most coaches comment, "Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best receiver in college football" but don't elaborate. Therefore, I respect Fleck's comments about Harrison and the influence Hartline has had on Ohio State's wide receivers. Good job by him.
Still, the Gophers don't stand a chance this weekend.
Sorry, not sorry, Coach Fleck.
"THAT'S A BET." While the Buckeyes are focused on Minnesota this week, others have the freedom to look ahead to Ohio State-Michigan on Nov. 25. That includes former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady, who made a tongue-in-cheek bet on Brady's "Let's Go!" podcast about the result of this year’s edition of The Game.
New episode with CJ Stroud dropping now! Fun conversation this week. https://t.co/w355Jl8NJR pic.twitter.com/fOo0i9zybF
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) November 14, 2023
"If Ohio State wins... you get one of my Super Bowl rings. And if Michigan beats Ohio State, then you got to give me all your youth, your agility, your time in the 40 (yard dash) and all your future years in the NFL," Brady said. "How about that?"
"That's a bet," Stroud replied.
It's not a serious bet (at least I don't think), but Tampa Tom should perhaps rethink his offer of a Super Bowl ring. If Ohio State beats Michigan in two weeks — or should I say when Ohio State beats Michigan in two weeks — I expect Stroud to collect from the seven-time world champion, which means Stroud would need five Super Bowl wins to match Brady's jewelry collection instead of seven. What a deal for C.J.!
OLYMPIC VILLAGE. On Tuesday, the John R. Wooden Award Program named a Big Ten-best three Buckeyes to the 2023-24 Women's Preseason Top 50: Jacy Sheldon, Celeste Taylor and Cotie McMahon. The trio was also named to the 2023-24 Naismith Preseason Watch List.
Congrats to these three on being named to the preseason watch list for the @WoodenAward
— Ohio State WBB (@OhioStateWBB) November 14, 2023
: https://t.co/bX825cGraW#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/4k1tGfIAfC
Sheldon, Taylor and McMahon have been leaders on and off the court to start the season. Sheldon scored 28 points in Ohio State's season opener with then-No. 21 USC. In Sunday’s 108-58 vs. IUPUI (ooey-pooey), Taylor contributed 11 points with four steals and four assists, while McMahon led the Buckeyes with 22 points.
Before the season, the Associated Press named McMahon an honorable mention preseason All-American. McMahon and Sheldon also appeared on the preseason All-Big Ten team.
From an Ohio State press release:
McMahon was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season and earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team, All-Big Ten Freshman Team and All-Big Ten Tournament Team as she helped lead Ohio State to its first NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 30 years in 2022-23. The six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week scored 543 points to rank 30th in program history in single-season points. McMahon averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 29.1 minutes per game during her freshman campaign, shooting 51 percent from the floor.
Sheldon made an immediate impact for Ohio State when she returned for the postseason in 2022-23 after missing 23 games due to ailment. Sheldon scored in double figures in all four NCAA Tournament games and made the last-second, game-winning shot vs. North Carolina in the second round. She averaged 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.5 assists per game despite returning in a limited capacity after being injured. The 2022 honorable mention AP All-American ranks in the top-25 in program history in 10 different categories heading into the 2023-24 season.
Taylor came to Ohio State in the summer after two seasons at Duke and two seasons at Texas. Taylor is the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year and also earned AP All-American Honorable Mention, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Defensive Team and All-ACC Academic Team following the 2022-23 season. ... The 1,000-point scorer led Duke last season in scoring (11.4 ppg), steals (72) and steals per game (2.2) and was second on the team in assists (2.5 apg) and rebounds (4.8 rpg). Taylor set the Duke NCAA Tournament record with 10 steals against Colorado, becoming the first player in NCAA women's basketball history to record eight points, assists, rebounds and steals since 2000, as well as the only player in history to record at least 10 steals and rebounds.
Congratulations to Sheldon, Taylor and McMahon.
However, because Iowa's Caitlin Clark is HER, I fear Sheldon, Taylor, McMahon and the rest of women's college basketball will compete for second place. But who knows? Herm Edwards once said, "YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!" The same applies to individual awards. Go out and win it, Buckeyes.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Jump" - Van Halen.
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