ROSE BOWL BOUND
Ohio State demolishes Tennessee, 42-17, and advances to the Rose Bowl to face top-seeded Oregon.
Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State announced its creation of the 1922 Club on Tuesday.
Ohio State announces its creation of the 1922 Club, an exclusive, private club and dining venue inside Ohio Stadium set to open as soon as 2026. https://t.co/tAv9J2zmsu
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 10, 2024
Soooooo...
The Ohio Stadium Country Club?
Have a good Wednesday.
MOVING UP THE LADDER. Mark this as the second Wednesday Skull Session with the SP+ and College Football Power Index. After Ohio State appeared at No. 5 and No. 4 in those computer-based standings last week, the Buckeyes bolstered their position in both metrics after their dominant performance on Saturday.
SP+
| TEAM | SP SCORE | OFFENSE | DEFENSE | SPECIAL TEAMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEORGIA | 32.8 | 44.2 (3) | 11.6 (5) | 0.2 (13) |
| OHIO STATE | 30.9 | 37.1 (13) | 6.4 (2) | 0.2 (3) |
| ALABAMA | 30.4 | 43.8 (5) | 13.5 (7) | 0.1 (54) |
| TEXAS | 29.4 | 44.3 (2) | 14.7 (10) | -0.2 (114) |
| OLE MISS | 28.7 | 44.9 (1) | 16.2 (11) | 0.0 (61) |
College Football Power Index
| TEAM | FPI | WIN OUT | WIN CONF | MAKE CFP | WIN CFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEXAS | 27.5 | 19.1% | 35.3% | 91.2% | 20.8% |
| GEORGIA | 26.8 | 5.3% | 19.4% | 82.9% | 16.4% |
| ALABAMA | 26.2 | 7.7% | 19.7% | 79.3% | 14.6% |
| OHIO STATE | 26.0 | 23.4% | 56.2% | 83.4% | 17.5% |
| TENNESSEE | 21.8 | 3.1% | 9.8% | 65.6% | 7.2% |
According to the computers over at the Worldwide Leader, Ohio State has the best chance to win out, the best chance to win its conference, the second-best chance to make the College Football Playoff and the second-best chance to win the College Football Playoff.
That sounds good to me!
BY THE NUMBERS. Humans vote to decide the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Computers use formulas to decide the SP+ and College Football Power Index. Regardless, both the human polls and the computer polls use a team's statistics to determine how to rank college football programs.
After two weeks, here's where Ohio State ranks in some of the significant statistical categories:
| OFFENSE | DEFENSE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STAT | AVG / TOTAL | RANK | STAT | AVG / TOTAL | RANK |
| SCORING OFFENSE | 54 PPG | 4 | SCORING DEFENSE | 3 PPG | 4 |
| RUSHING OFFENSE | 221.5 YPG | 28 | RUSHING DEFENSE | 37.5 YPG | 6 |
| PASSING OFFENSE | 322 YPG | 17 | PASSING DEFENSE | 100.5 YPG | 7 |
| TOTAL OFFENSE | 543.5 YPG | 10 | TOTAL DEFENSE | 138 YPG | 2 |
| YARDS PER PLAY | 8 YPP | 6 | OPP YARDS PER PLAY | 2.5 YPP | 1 |
| 3RD DOWN CONVERSION | 50% | 33 | OPP 3RD DOWN CONVERSION | 22.58% | 15 |
| RED ZONE CONVERSION | 100% | 1 | OPP RED ZONE CONVERSION | 0% | 1 * |
| SACKS ALLOWED | 2 TOTAL | 32 | SACKS | 8 TOTAL | 6 |
| TACKLES FOR LOSS ALLOWED | 5 TOTAL | 12 | TACKLES FOR LOSS | 15 TOTAL | 33 |
| TURNOVERS | 0 TOTAL | 1 | FORCED TURNOVERS | 3 TOTAL | 38 |
| * Ohio State did not allow Akron or Western Michigan in the red zone. | |||||
A top-10 offense and a top-10 defense after two weeks?
Is that good?
“A COLD-BLOODED GENTLEMAN.” When Ohio State named Ty Hamilton as its Defensive Player of the Game against Western Michigan, I'll admit – I was a little taken aback. Jack Sawyer was excellent. Cody Simon looked great in his return. Davison Igbinosun had some memorable moments.
Why, then, would the Buckeyes select Hamilton for the accolade?
The answer: What Hamilton accomplished on the second snap of the game.
Did you see that?
Did you see Hamilton smash into Western Michigan center Jacob Gideon?
Did you see Hamilton smash into the first-team All-MAC center so hard that he fell to the turf in pain and had to be assisted off the field?
That’s the main reason Hamilton was selected as Ohio State’s Defensive Player of the Game – because that rep defined how the Silver Bullets would perform the entire contest.
“Ty Hamilton dusts the offensive lineman and gets and TFL. I saw that play during our corrections on the sideline. I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ That set the tone for the game,” Lathan Ransom said on The Bobby Carpenter Show this week. “I think that’s also why he deserved player of the game.”
On Tuesday, Ryan Day praised Hamilton for the standard he sets in the Ohio State locker room with his work on and off the field.
“Ty has been reliable, durable and somebody we can count on for a few years now," Day said. "He’s put in time, and he’s put in effort, and he’s put work into this program. He was the player of the game on defense this week. You just can’t say enough about somebody like this. He’s not somebody who garners a whole bunch of attention or makes it about him. He’s the ultimate team player.
“He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he goes to work every day. You can just count on him to be there. Those are the people that a great team needs. A foundation of people who are unselfish, work hard and understand what it means to be a Buckeye. Now, he’s become a very, very good football player. If he can continue to play and take off from where he was on Saturday, you’re looking at an all-conference player, for sure.”
Jim Knowles also complimented the Pickerington, Ohio, native for his hard work over the past three years.
“He has developed into a dominant player,” Knowles said. “He’s a guy who can control the interior of the line of scrimmage. That’s a big deal. … Ty is quiet, but he’s like a cold-blooded gentleman. He really is a force. Sometimes that is difficult to see, but when you watch the tape, he is knocking people back and creating some difficult situations for the offense.
A cold-blooded gentleman.
That’s one of the coolest descriptions of a football player I’ve ever heard.
THE BEST WIDE RECEIVER EVER? Billy Tucker of ESPN ranked the top 10 freshmen in college football on Tuesday. Can you guess who Tucker ranked No. 1?
No. 1 – Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State
The hype in Columbus started building when Smith dominated spring ball, and it's not slowing down any time soon. The former five-star and No. 4 overall player in the 2024 class is averaging more than 100 yards per game and 19.2 yards per catch in his first two collegiate starts. He can turn a short pass into a big gain or make the acrobatic grab in the air look natural. Smith is a legit Heisman contender for the third-ranked Buckeyes.
Behind Smith came Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola, South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, Texas wide receiver Ryan Wingo, Michigan State wide receiver Nick Marsh, Georgia running back Nate Frazier, Notre Dame offensive tackle Anthonie Knapp and Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden. (Tangent: Raiola was once an Ohio State commitment, and the Buckeyes were top contenders for Stewart and Bolden. That's both impressive and – well... sad? I don't know.)
While ESPN named Smith the No. 1 freshman in college football, his cousin, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, made a claim about one million times bolder this week. In an interview with CBS Sports, Geno Smith said Jeremiah is "gonna be the best receiver ever" – not just in the NCAA or the NFL, but the greatest receiver to ever play football.
.@Seahawks QB Geno Smith had some HIGH praise for his cousin and @OhioStateFB WR Jeremiah Smith.
— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) September 10, 2024
I think hes gonna be the best WR ever. pic.twitter.com/fSZpndfPU3
"I've seen a lot of great receivers, and I've also had the chance to watch JJ since he was about 10 years old. He's gonna be the best receiver ever. I really believe that," he said.
Geno Smith said he watched Ohio State's season opener with Akron, a game in which Jeremiah recorded six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns in his first collegiate appearance.
"I was in the house. I was watching the whole game. When he caught that first touchdown, man, I jumped out of my seat. The whole house was going crazy, man. It was good to see that," he said. "I thought he had a heck of a game. I thought he started out a little slow. I know he wanted to catch that first one. He would have scored on that one, too. But great debut. I thought he did great. He's born with the talent. But he's put the work in. He's ready. He's ready right now."
SONG OF THE DAY. "Promotion" - Lawrence and Lake Street Dive.
CUT TO THE CHASE. This Brazilian dog is a footvolley star. He teaches beachgoers how to play their own game... Apple embraces the AI craze with its newly unleashed iPhone 16 lineup... SpaceX launches a billionaire to conduct the first private spacewalk... Former Vikings star Adrian Peterson ordered to turn over assets to pay massive debt... Late actor James Earl Jones honored at theater.
