Welcome to the Skull Session.
One more sleep.
One more sleep.
One more sleep!
Let's have a good Thursday, shall we?
UNDEFEATED. NEVA LOST. While Ohio State has more than five all-time appearances in the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, the program will make its third appearance in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, when the No. 7-ranked Buckeyes battle the No. 9-ranked Tigers in Arlington, Texas.
Here is a look at how the Buckeyes fared in their previous Cotton Bowl games:
Jan. 1, 1987: Ohio State defeats Texas A&M, 28-12
Ohio State ended the 1986 regular season with a 26-24 loss to Michigan in Columbus. However, over one month later, the Buckeyes defeated Texas A&M, 28-12, in the program’s first-ever Cotton Bowl appearance.
With Ohio State down 7-6 at the intermission, linebacker Chris Spielman put the Buckeyes in front when he returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown in the third frame. From that point forward, Ohio State never relinquished its lead.
Later in the second half, running back Vince Workman reached the end zone from 8 yards out and linebacker Michael Kee put a ribbon on the Ohio State win with a 49-yard pick-six. The Buckeyes’ defense allowed a couple of field goals, but it ended the bowl game having allowed one 2-yard touchdown and 3.9 yards per play to the Aggies.
Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M was its second consecutive bowl victory after it defeated BYU 10-7 in the Citrus Bowl to complete the 1985 season. After the Buckeyes beat the Aggies, the program went winless in bowl games until 1993 – a 28-21 victory over BYU in the Holiday Bowl.
Dec. 29, 2017: Ohio State defeats USC, 24-7
While the 1987 Cotton Bowl occurred before I was around, I was around for the 2017 Cotton Bowl. I was a senior in high school. I was in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, for a holiday basketball tournament, and I watched the game from a hotel room with my teammates.
Good times.
After Ohio State suffered regular-season losses to Oklahoma and Iowa, the Buckeyes were left out of the College Football Playoff in favor of Alabama. Ohio State went to the Cotton Bowl and faced USC. The Buckeyes defeated Sam Darnold and the Trojans, 24-7, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
As I recall it, the game was a snooze fest. All scoring for both teams came in the first half. Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett scored two touchdowns on the ground, safety Damon Webb returned an interception 26 yards for a score and Sean Nuernberger drilled a 26-yard field goal. That’s all Ohio State needed to beat USC, who scored once off a 1-yard touchdown run from Ronald Jones.
The Buckeyes’ second Cotton Bowl win was the first of two consecutive bowl wins as Ohio State defeated Washington 28-23 in the 2019 Rose Bowl the following year. It then lost to Clemson 29-23 in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.
“IT IS WHAT IT IS.” In The Game on Nov. 25, Denzel Burke wrested the ball from Roman Wilson as the Michigan wide receiver fell into the end zone at Michigan Stadium. Burke got the football; Wilson got the touchdown.
On Dec. 11, Burke remained unsure what the Big Ten referees should have called at the moment. As one can imagine, however, Burke wasn’t thrilled with the outcome when it was delivered after review.
“I (was) thinking he’s going to give me the pick. Like, we got a pick in the red zone. It’s going to change the game,” Burke said. “And then I turn around, and I see his hands go up, and I’m like, ‘Wow.’”
The call was not reversed, and the touchdown gave Michigan an 11-point lead. The Buckeyes later lost 30-24. The defeat is the reason Ohio State will face Missouri in the Cotton Bowl on Friday rather than compete for a national championship in the College Football Playoff.
On Tuesday, when Burke was asked if he intercepted the pass, he seemed more certain than he was weeks before.
“Oh, I definitely did,” Burke said. “The refs didn’t give it to me. They gave it to (Wilson). ... He didn’t have possession of the ball. I don’t know what the ref saw.”
Burke said he's watched the replay countless times – he estimates the number is somewhere in the hundreds – and that it has confirmed what he believed occured on that fateful day in Ann Arbor.
“It was blatant,” Burke said. “He didn’t have control of the ball.”
The play will haunt him forever, Burke explained. However, the veteran cornerback said he's learned not to dwell on the past as an Ohio State player.
“A lot of the calls that game didn’t go our way (in the Michigan game),” Burke said. “It is what it is.”
As an Ohio State observer, I can dwell on the past for the Buckeyes.
But I won't.
Too much pain there.
So, like Burke said, eet ees what eet ees.
A HEARTFELT SEND-OFF. I will never understand how the YouTube algorithm works. Sometimes it recommends videos I would never watch in a million years. Other times, however, it recommends a video I would love to watch but would never find in a million years. It's a delicate balance.
On Wednesday, the latter occurred.
YouTube sent me a video from Rob Jones, a person with 81 subscribers on the platform. While not YouTube famous, he is a neighbor of Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown. Jones' video featured a Cotton Bowl send-off for Brown from his family’s neighborhood in Gilbert, Arizona.
What a fun video.
That is Buckeye Nation at its best.
No other fanbase comes close.
THIS AND THAT. Another Skull Session, another This and That™.
You know the drill.
We revealed our Cotton Bowl Game Poster on Wednesday. It was the last of 13 Game Posters Sam Harachis created for Eleven Warriors in 2023. After Walt Keys retired in 2021, Harachis took over our creative director role and has shined the past two seasons. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with him.
In this weeks Cotton Bowl Game Poster, Brutus stars in Trumans Trophy Troubles and scares the black and yellow feline with the 88th Cotton Bowl prize.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 27, 2023
Download the hi-res and mobile wallpaper versions here: https://t.co/V0esDayjhs pic.twitter.com/KX8aa4gp8V
Ohio State football visited the Children's Medical Center in Dallas on Wednesday. These kinds of events always warm the heart.
Thank you to the Childrens Medical Center for having us today pic.twitter.com/cXGSei54Rv
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 27, 2023
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith attended his last football practice on Wednesday. Time and change will surely show...
Last practice with our guy, @OSU_AD
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 27, 2023
#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/h4AlHBdsSP
The Cotton Bowl hooked up Ohio State football with free, custom-made cowboy hats. I'm not a cowboy hat person, but if it were custom-made in the Lone Star State, I may consider an evolution to my current style.
If you go to North Texas without getting a customized hat, did you even go?
— Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (@CottonBowlGame) December 27, 2023
The @OhioStateFB got their hat game #LikeNoOther at the 88th #GoodyearCottonBowl Classic!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/huuFG9fKcB
David Boston → STUD.
Going through video of the last time Ohio State and Missouri played (Home-and-home series in 1997-98). David Boston was such a stud. pic.twitter.com/kdxXQdAsVP
— Dave Holmes (@DaveHolmesTV) December 27, 2023
That's it for This and That™.
I'll see you on GAMEDAY, ladies and gentlemen.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Sh-Boom” - The Chords.
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