Welcome to the Skull Session.
To start, I want to thank Skull Session readers and the Eleven Warriors community for their support for the past year and change. Working at 11W has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I cannot express my gratitude enough that you read my Skull Sessions. It truly is an honor to work and write for you!
Today, make sure to tell someone you love them and that you are thankful for them. We could all use a little love and compassion, so show that to another person as often as possible. Heck, make that a part of your daily routine. Imagine how that could change the trajectory of every day!
Once again, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A million times, thank you. You are all the best Ohio State fans around.
Let's have a good Thanksgiving, shall we?
"THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT." On Monday, TownHall Columbus held its annual "Feed the Need" event and several Ohio State football players, including the event's host TreVeyon Henderson and his teammates Miyan Williams, Xavier Johnson, Mike Hall Jr., Ty Hamilton, Tyleik Williams, Steele Chambers, Tommy Eichenberg, Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Davison Igbinosun.
On Tuesday, the same event occurred at TownHall Cleveland. Former Ohio State and current Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward was in attendance. So was former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. The latter spoke with Jay Crawford of WKYC-NBC Cleveland about "Feed the Need" and, of course, The Game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines on Saturday.
On Ohio State vs. Michigan in 2023
"It (stacks up as) one of the best. It's different with the four-team playoff than it was back when we were there with the two-team playoff. It will be different next year with the 12-team playoff. ... But what you can't lose sight of is that there's nothing more important than this game. Your whole life – I watched it for three years as an assistant and 10 years as a head coach – whenever the old guys come back, all they talk about is what their record was in that game. They don't talk about how many Big Ten championships (they have) or if they went to the national championship. It's, 'I was there four or five years and this was my record.' Nothing long-term is as big as this game. It will impact the landscape. I don't know if the loser can get into the final four with the looks of all the other undefeated teams. But that's not important. Don't be the loser."
On having 10 pairs of Gold Pants
"When you grow up in Ohio or when you became a part of Ohio State or Michigan, you know that you were blessed to be in what we think is the greatest game of them all. It is for us. If you have a chance to succeed in that game, that's a warm feeling that lasts a long time."
On how he sees Ohio State vs. Michigan playing out
"I've only watched Michigan on television, and I've seen Ohio State live. Michigan better come up with an answer for number 18 (Marvin Harrison Jr.) because he's awfully good. I think the Ohio State defense has found its way a little bit. You don't see them giving up the explosive plays that they did the last year or two, and they obviously have great personnel. But it will come down to who makes an uncharacteristic mistake because neither of those teams make many mistakes. It will come down to who makes the uncharacteristic mistake, the special teams mistake. And who can keep the noise out? There's a lot of noise in Ann Arbor. There's a lot of noise in Columbus. Who can forget that and not worry about who's gonna win the game but worry about who's gonna win this play and the next play and the next play. That's the magic, I think. It's staying in the moment that you're in. That's hard with that spotlight so bright."
Thanks to Tressel, I can now explain The Game in one sentence.
"Don't be the loser."
If I were Ryan Day or a member of Ohio State's staff, that would be the message I would share with the Buckeyes before Saturday: Don't be the loser. The state of Ohio is counting on the Buckeyes to deliver a win over the Wolverines for the first time since 2019. It's been four long years. Now, it's time to make things right.
THESE GUYS DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER. On Monday, Jim Harbaugh was asked at a press conference if he respects Ryan Day and Ohio State's staff. With some initial hesitation, the Michigan head coach dodged the question.
“It’s all about our preparation for Ohio,” Harbaugh said. “The days, the minutes, the hours –everything leading up to this game. That’s where our focus is. Preparing ourselves and planning, gonna practice and then execute. Anything else is irrelevant when you get to this kind of big game.”
TRANSLATION: No.
On Tuesday, Day was asked if he respects Harbaugh and Michigan's staff. He, too, dodged the question.
“With everything going on and the things that are out there, we’ve kind of just stayed away from all the distractions and have just kind of focused on our team,” Day said. “I think our guys have done a good job of it. … I’ve talked to them a couple of times about what’s gone on this season, going into the game. But they’re focused on this game. They are focused on this season.”
TRANSLATION: No.
These dudes don't like each other.
From Ari Wasserman of The Athletic, who articulated that point well this week:
Four years ago, after Ohio State’s 56-27 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor in Day’s first year as the Buckeyes coach, the rivalry seemed dead because Urban Meyer killed it. Meyer was no longer Ohio State’s coach, but the foundation of what he built carried over into the Day era and the Buckeyes stomped the Wolverines. The Game was lopsided, the recruiting results were lopsided and Ohio State was more concerned with Clemson than it was about its most bitter rival.
But the rivalry wasn’t dead. It turns out, it cannot be killed.
And if you’re looking for something to be thankful for on Thursday, how about this? The greatest rivalry in the sport, one that was on life support less than five years ago, isn’t only back. It’s better than ever.
...
This year we have two programs and two coaches who legitimately hate one another. Rivalries exist at all levels of sports and hate is probably more common in the stands than on the field. But this? This is natural.
Even Schembechler and legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes — the two men who presided over the Ten Year War from 1969 through 1978 — had love and admiration for one another. The two were close friends, even though they spent the entire year trying to figure out how to beat each other. Woody visited Bo in the hospital after he had a heart attack. Bo gave a eulogy at Woody’s funeral.
Those are the ultimate signs of respect. The two current coaches can’t even muster the energy to say the word.
The coaches hate each other.
The teams hate each other.
The fans hate each other.
When, not if, Ohio State wins on Saturday (there's a take), Day's press conference will be appointment television. If he screamed the words, "I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHERE LOU HOLTZ IS RIGHT NOW!" one day after the former Notre Dame head coach called out his team, one can imagine the fire and passion that would come from his mouth after avenging back-to-back losses to the Wolverines (and a coach that said he was "born on third base").
Get it done, Coach Day. Make Buckeye Nation proud.
TEAR IT DOWN. On Saturday, the Eleven Warriors X (Twitter) featured the 1973 Ohio State football team tearing down Michigan's sacred M Club banner that reads “GO BLUE” from end to end.
In the video, Michigan announcer Bob Ufer says, "They're tearing down Michigan's coveted M Club Banner!" However, that's not all Ufer said after one of the now-iconic moments in The Rivalry. Actually, it's far from everything he had to say about the Buckeyes' act of war.
“They're tearing down Michigan's coveted M Club banner! They will meet a dastardly fate here for that! There isn't a Michigan man in the stadium who wouldn't like to go out and scalp those Buckeyes right now! They had the audacity – the unmitigated gall – to tear down the coveted M that Michigan is going to run out from under!”
As I watched that video and heard Ufer's words, I quoted "Anchorman" and the legendary Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell). “Well, that escalated quickly,” I said when Ufer claimed every Michigan fan in the Big House would like to scalp the players on Ohio State's team and that the Wolverines would make the Buckeyes pay for their actions.
But the Wolverines didn't make the Buckeyes pay.
In fact, Michigan perhaps had the worst-case scenario take place after that event occurred. The Game ended in a 10-10 tie that year, which meant the Big Ten's athletic directors would choose the conference's Rose Bowl representative. And, despite the precedent that a Big Ten team should not play in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons, the ADs chose the Buckeyes.
Hilarious.
Ohio State pummeled USC in Pasadena, California, 42-21, on New Year's Day 1974 behind a combined 246 yards and four touchdowns from Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson. Meanwhile, Michigan wasn't invited to a bowl game despite an undefeated 10-0-1 record.
Also hilarious.
I bet the Wolverines had so much fun watching the Buckeyes win the Granddaddy of Them All.
GET 'EM, C.J.! Former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is off to an incredible start to his NFL career with the Houston Texans, completing 223 of 335 passes (62.2%) for 2,962 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions while leading his team to a 6-4 record.
Because of his success, Stroud has appeared on several television shows in October and November, including "The Pat McAfee Show," "College GameDay" and, this week, "Inside the NFL" on The CW.
In an interview with former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark, the Super Bowl champion asked Stroud how confident he is in Ohio State, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Co. defeating Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Lol. CJ couldnt help himself here pic.twitter.com/taEztLmott
— Ben Koo (@bkoo) November 22, 2023
"I am very confident, man. I am really proud of those guys. I know that they're gonna go up there and fight their tails off. Hopefully, (Michigan doesn't) steal no signals this time. No, I'm playin'."
The well-delivered joke left Clark doubled over in laughter.
I can confirm that it did the same for me.
Stroud, who had previously said he was "not worried about what happened in college" now that he is in the NFL, couldn't resist a free shot as the Wolverines – and given the way his college career played out, I don't blame him.
The record-breaking college quarterback left Columbus with an 0-2 record vs. "That Team Up North" and received ridicule from both Ohio State fans and non-Ohio State fans. With evidence of Connor Stalions' sign-stealing operation now out there, few people deserve to call out Michigan for their antics more than Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV, so good on him for having some fun with it.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Thanksgiving Song" – Adam Sandler.
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