Skull Session: Ohio State’s QB Room is Stacked, The Buckeyes Have a Three-Game Schedule in 2024 and C.J. Stroud Praises Ohio State Analyst Todd Fitch

By Chase Brown on January 23, 2024 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

After wins over No. 1 UCLA and No. 13 USC over the weekend, Ohio State is now the No. 1-ranked team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll.

How ‘bout them Buckeyes?

Have a good Tuesday.

 STACKED AS CAN BE. Ohio State’s 2024 quarterback room is loaded with talent. And I mean loaded, loaded...

  • Will Howard, a four-star transfer from Kansas State
  • Devin Brown, a four-star recruit from Gilbert, Arizona
  • Lincoln Kienholz, a four-star recruit from Pierre, South Dakota
  • Air Noland, a five-star recruit from Fairburn, Georgia
  • Julian Sayin, a five-star transfer from Alabama

Sayin is Ohio State’s latest addition to the quarterback room. The No. 5 overall prospect and No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 class, Sayin inked a National Letter of Intent to Alabama on Dec. 21. Soon after he arrived on campus, however, Nick Saban announced his retirement. The Carlsbad, California, native entered the transfer portal and later committed to the Buckeyes.

With Sayin in Columbus, Ohio State will have five scholarship quarterbacks in winter workouts and spring football. The likelihood that all five will remain Buckeyes after the spring game is slim to none. That said, Ryan Day has some decisions to make.

Here’s how Day’s decisions should play out, in the opinion of the smooth-brained Skull Session writer for Eleven Warriors (me):

  • Spare us the quarterback competition coachspeak and name Howard the starter. He didn’t come to Columbus to be a backup; he came to Columbus to lead Ohio State to a Big Ten championship and win the College Football Playoff.
  • Be honest with Brown and Kienholz about their futures at Ohio State. Allow them to seek other options in the transfer portal and continue their college football careers elsewhere.
  • Encourage Noland and Sayin to stick around for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Remind both of them that competition breeds excellence and that either quarterback could become Ohio State’s next QB1 after Howard leaves the program.

If Day can enter fall camp with a quarterback room of Howard, Noland and Sayin, he and all of Buckeye Nation should be ecstatic. Ohio State would have its quarterback of the present (Howard) and future (Noland or Sayin) in the room. In 2025, the Buckeyes will add another talented prospect in Tavien St. Clair from Bellefontaine, Ohio, and could also secure a veteran from the portal (think: Tristan Gebbia) to back up Noland or Sayin.

Sooner or later, we could see Ohio State return to its former glory at the quarterback position – one that saw the Buckeyes bounce from J.T. Barrett to Dwayne Haskins, Haskins to Justin Fields and Fields to C.J. Stroud between 2017 and 2022.

I like the sound of that.

 A THREE-GAME SCHEDULE. Ohio State’s 2024 schedule will consist of three games: Oregon (in Eugene on Oct. 12), Penn State (in State College on Nov. 2), and Michigan (in Columbus on Nov. 30).

OK, sure, the 2024 schedule consists of 12 games. But we know the Buckeyes’ matchups with the Ducks, Nittany Lions and Wolverines are the three games that matter. The rest of the slate – Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State (in East Lansing), Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, Northwestern (in Evanston) and Indiana – don’t create the same excitement as the three games mentioned above. Not even close.

In a recent article for ESPN, Heather Dinich said Ohio State-Oregon and Ohio State-Michigan are among 12 regular-season contests that will shape the College Football Playoff race in 2024. In terms of importance, Dinich ranked the battle between the Buckeyes and Ducks third, and she ranked The Game ranked sixth.

No. 3 - Ohio State at Oregon, Oct. 12

LAST MEETING: Oregon 35, Ohio State 28 (Sept. 11, 2021)

WHY IT WILL MATTER TO THE COMMITTEE: Ohio State and Michigan aren't the only Big Ten teams capable of winning the league. The Ducks are talented enough to earn a historic title this season, a path that could start with a home win against the Buckeyes. This game is critical to both teams' playoff hopes – as an at-large contender or as a conference champion. Ohio State has experienced both sides of the selection committee's decision-making process, earning a spot in the CFP without winning the Big Ten and being excluded from it.

Last year, the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame and Penn State – just as they did in 2022 – but it wasn't enough for a top-four finish without winning the Big Ten. The new system allows for more margin for error, so if Ohio State were to lose a critical conference game, it could still earn an at-large bid. Adding Oregon to the Big Ten gives Ohio State another chance to impress the selection committee with a road win against a ranked opponent. It will need it, considering the nonconference lineup features three straight home games against Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall.

No. 6 - Michigan at Ohio State, Nov. 30

LAST MEETING: Michigan 30, Ohio State 24 (Nov. 25, 2023)

WHY IT WILL MATTER TO THE COMMITTEE: As impactful as this game has been, it could lose a bit of its meaning in the selection committee meeting room because conference expansion has created more marquee matchups to help define the Big Ten's best teams. What was once a November heavyweight matchup between Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan in the Big Ten East has changed to a broader competition without divisions. The Game will still influence how the committee votes on Selection Day, though – and of course the stakes will be high for Ohio State coach Ryan Day, who has lost three straight to the rival Wolverines.

In addition to the bragging rights, a win will matter more for Ohio State because the Buckeyes have fewer chances to impress the selection committee. Michigan's schedule is loaded. Texas. USC. Washington. Oregon. And the road trip to Columbus. The Wolverines evade Penn State, but we already saw that show without Jim Harbaugh. Ohio State's best opportunities to impress the committee will be against Oregon, Iowa, Penn State and Michigan. If Ohio State loses to Oregon and Michigan and doesn't win the Big Ten, its résumé may not be strong enough in the new CFP to be included as a two-loss team that didn't win its conference.

With the moves Ryan Day has made over the past three weeks, the Buckeyes will enter 2024 with massive expectations. For Ohio State to win the College Football Playoff, it will need to take care of business in Eugene and Columbus.

I believe it will.

Why?

Because the Buckeyes will be too good not to.

 WHO IS TODD FITCH, ALEX? After the Houston Texans’ season ended with a 34-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, a reporter asked former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud if he would call the Texans’ 2023-24 season “a success.”

“Where I come from in college, if you don’t win it all, it’s a fail,” Stroud answered. “That’s the mindset I have. I think we have the capability. We have the team to do it.”

Then, Stroud shared some advice he received from Todd Fitch, an Ohio State offensive analyst who works with Ryan Day, Corey Dennis, and the Buckeyes’ quarterbacks. Fitch instructed Stroud in 2021 and 2022. He also helped Kyle McCord in 2023.

“My assistant quarterbacks coach in college, Coach Fitch, was always telling me the most important job for a quarterback is to make everybody around them better,” Stroud said. “I hope (my teammates) look back and are like, ‘Dang, C.J. helped me get better. That was a guy I would ride for through thick and thin.’ That’s what I look for. Of course, accolades and all that stuff are cool, but the personal relationships (with teammates are better). I hope those guys look back and are like, ‘Man, I enjoyed playing with C.J.’”

That was some great advice, Coach Fitch. Cheers.

With 19 completions on 33 attempts, 175 yards and zero touchdowns in the Texans’ loss to the Ravens, Stroud had an inconsistent performance in the AFC Divisional Round. However, that shouldn’t diminish all Stroud accomplished in 2023-24. That includes making his teammates – and his team – better.

Stroud also...

  • Broke the record for most passing attempts to start an NFL career without an interception (191).
  • Broke the record for the most single-game passing yards (470) by a rookie quarterback.
  • Tied the record for the most single-game passing touchdowns (5) by a rookie quarterback.
  • Threw for the third-most passing yards in a single season (4,108) by a rookie quarterback.
  • Lead the NFL in passing yards per game (273.5) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (23:5).
  • Threw for 274 yards and tied a rookie record with three passing touchdowns in his playoff debut.

“It’s been a heck of a year,” Stroud said. “Our future’s bright.”

That it is, C.J.

That it is.

 JSN GIVES BACK. Former Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will give back to his hometown community after he completed his rookie season with the Seattle Seahawks.

On Thursday, JSN will hold a scholarship banquet for student-athletes in Rockwall, Texas – a suburb located 30 minutes outside of Dallas. Panini America, a trading card company based out of Irving, Texas, will sponsor the event.

Here's to many more seasons of success for the former Buckeye.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” - Radiohead.

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