Welcome to Skull Session.
Garrick Hodge pinch-hitting for Chase today, who will be back with your regular skull programming on Wednesday.
It’s Tuesday, so let's go get tacos or something.
THE ATHLETIC HAS OHIO STATE NO. 1. Most college football publications have Ohio State ranked as the No. 2 team in America this preseason. Not The Athletic, though, which took on the tall task of ranking not just the top 25 teams, but all 134 FBS programs.
Ohio State came in slotted as the No. 1 team in the country, followed by Georgia at No. 2, Oregon at No. 3, Texas at No. 4 and Alabama at No. 5.
Here’s what Athletic writer Chris Vannini penned about the Buckeyes’ chances at winning a national title.
“Can Ohio State pull a Michigan? A veteran-laden team that saw star players come back to school to win it all, then made elite transfer additions like safety Caleb Downs and running back Quinshon Judkins, the Buckeyes look like the most complete roster top to bottom. And making the CFP may not require a win against Michigan this time.”
Even evident from Eleven Warriors’ own College Football Playoff predictions, nearly every preseason prognostication features the Buckeyes and Bulldogs as the sport’s top two squads, no matter the order. It may be a bit slanted considering 11W is an OSU website, but the Eleven Warriors consensus tends to align with The Athletic’s ranking.
BUT ESPN DOES NOT. Well, you can’t win them all, right? Unlike The Athletic, ESPN’s preseason power rankings are aligned with the more popular position of ranking Ohio State as the No. 2 team in the country for 2024.
For what it’s worth, the AP Top 25 and ESPN’s power rankings are nearly identical in the top 13 outside of switching around No. 6 (Notre Dame in ESPN’s ranking) and No. 7 (Ole Miss). Here’s what ESPN had to say about Ohio State.
“The stakes could not be higher for coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, who try to end a three-year losing streak against archrival Michigan and win their first national title since 2014. Ohio State has one of its most talented rosters ever, after retaining almost every non-senior NFL draft hopeful and making key portal additions such as running back Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss), safety Caleb Downs (Alabama) and quarterback Will Howard (Kansas State). Few teams will have more depth than Ohio State at defensive line, running back, secondary, wide receiver and quarterback. Offensive line will be an area to watch after some shakiness last season. The schedule includes no nonleague games against major conference competition, trips to Oregon (Oct. 12) and Penn State (Nov. 2), and a finale against Michigan at Ohio Stadium. Anything less than a win over Michigan and a deep CFP run would be deemed disappointing.”
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone here who would disagree that anything less than a win over Michigan and a deep College Football Playoff run would be deeply disappointing, but fortunately, both seem extremely attainable.
JEREMIAH SMITH, FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN. I’m about to break some news to you fine readers. Ohio State has this freshman wide receiver, and he’s supposed to be really good. You’ve probably never heard of him, but his name is Jeremiah Smith.
On3 Preseason True Freshman All-American: Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smithhttps://t.co/ZD1sjFKWvl pic.twitter.com/SLgBN0uYWn
— On3 (@On3sports) August 19, 2024
Anyway, sarcasm aside, Smith continues to earn preseason hype, this time earning a spot on On3’s preseason Freshman All-American team.
“Jeremiah Smith is the highest-rated receiver prospect to come through high school football in close to a decade and has already made a ton of waves since arriving in Columbus,” On3 wrote of Smith. “Smith looks to be a starter for the Buckeyes and I personally wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the number one receiver sooner rather than later. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, he looks like an NFL player right now. He has an advanced skill set with his ability to separate within his routes in, can out-physical corners in contested catch situations. He’s also a plus runner after the catch and really has no holes in his game. The buzz coming out of Ohio State seems to match what we thought of him being a generational type of receiver talent. It sounds like he’s done nothing to question his number one overall ranking coming out of high school. Comparing Jeremiah Smith to many of the first round receivers that Ohio has produced, he’s the most advanced perhaps naturally-gifted receiver that Ohio State has had under this prolific run that Brian Hartline and the staff have had at receiver. Ohio State has a bevy of receiver talent but I would expect over the course of the season Jeremiah Smith will show his talent and have a very good freshman year, spring-boarding into what should be a great career in Columbus.”
Smith was the only Ohio State freshman to be represented on the All-American team, which is a bit surprising given the all-star talent in the 2024 class such as Mylan Graham, Eddrick Houston, Aaron Scott Jr. and a few others. Still, it’s hard to see any freshman making a sizable impact week in and week out on this year’s Ohio State team other than Smith, but only because the Buckeyes boast such an experienced roster.
DRUE CHRISMAN DOCUMENTS PUNT TRYOUT ADVENTURES. Punters are people too, damn it. Especially former standout ones for Ohio State.
Former Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman is still searching for an NFL home and was invited to try out for the Washington Commanders recently, and Chrisman documented his experience in a short Twitter video – despite the Commanders’ objection.
My day in Washington..
— Drue Chrisman (@DChrisman91) August 18, 2024
stay until the end to see the result pic.twitter.com/tKnuys4JfM
No Fun League @Commanders pic.twitter.com/5pFOmJ4giv
— Drue Chrisman (@DChrisman91) August 18, 2024
“Great job, but no thanks.” Pro football can be a cold, cold business sometimes. Chrisman hasn’t made an NFL appearance in a game since the 2022 season with the Cincinnati Bengals, but he’s had several tryouts since then and spent time with the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions. Here’s hoping he’ll get another opportunity sometime in the near future.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Raining Tacos." — Parry Gripp & BooneBum. Look guys, I also find the song annoying, but yours truly was hungry for tacos at the time and it's Tuesday, so why not?
A HODGEPODGE OF HEADLINES. (Side note, the first Hodgepodge CFB column of the year is coming Monday) Columbus Blue Jackets trade Patrik Laine to Montreal... Northland Swim Club to close permanently on Sept. 3 after 59 years... Ohio native and longtime TV talk show host Phil Donahue dies at 88... A hunter’s graveyard shift: grabbing pythons in the Everglades ... Marathon swimmer says he quit Lake Michigan swim after going in wrong direction with dead GPS.
