Skull Session: Peacock Strikes Back, Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom Are Elite Safeties and Matt Rhule Reveals That Big Ten Coaches Have a Group Chat

By Chase Brown on September 17, 2024 at 5:00 am
Caleb Downs
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Wait, Brian Hartline is goated.

Have a good Tuesday.

 I WANNA SEE YOUR PEACOCK. Ohio State’s Big Ten opener will be on Peacock.

On Monday, the Big Ten announced that Ohio State’s Week 5 matchup with Michigan State will be a Peacock exclusive, which means fans will need to fork over at least $8 to watch the Buckeyes and Spartans battle under the lights in East Lansing. 

How does that sound? 

Great?

No, of course not.

In 2023, Ohio State faced Purdue on Peacock and secured a 41-7 win over the Boilermakers. Buckeye Nation didn’t love the price associated with the streaming service, nor did it love the actual broadcast, which included no pregame or postgame show and featured several technical difficulties, including the placement of an Ohio State touchdown graphic when Purdue recovered a fumble in the end zone.

All in all, Ohio State fans had a bad experience with Peacock in 2023. I can’t imagine most are thrilled for the Buckeyes to be on the service again in 2024.

*** checks comments section of the Eleven Warriors Ohio State-Michigan State kickoff announcement time ***

Yeah, no.

Not thrilled — not thrilled at all.

 REMEMBER WHEN…? Here’s something that could thrill Ohio State fans.

On this date, 41 years ago, the Buckeyes had one of their greatest games ever.

Following a 31-6 win over Oregon in the 1983 season opener, No. 6 Ohio State traveled to a place called Norman for a top-10 showdown with No. 2 Oklahoma. The Buckeyes were looking to avenge a loss to the Sooners six years earlier — a 29-28 defeat via “The Kick,” a last-second 41-yard field goal from Uwe von Scamann in the Shoe.

While the 1983 Ohio State team featured no leftovers from the 1977 team, head coach Earle Bruce wanted to ensure the Buckeyes secured a different outcome at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

They did.

While Barry Switzer’s second-ranked Sooners featured a vaunted running game with Marcus Dupree, Ohio State’s defense was able to stifle the All-American ballcarrier thanks to a well-crafted gameplan from Bruce and defensive coordinator Bob Tucker. Dupree carried the ball six times for 30 yards before he left the game with a knee injury.

The Buckeyes also benefited from unrelenting heat in the Midwest, as a 93-degree temperature at kickoff elevated the stadium’s Astroturf surface to a reported 135 degrees. Those temperatures could have also been a detriment, as John Frank — a tight end and one of Ohio State’s top offensive weapons throughout the season —  almost missed the game due to observation of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement in the Jewish faith. 

Frank fasted for two days before kickoff but decided to play in the game rather than continue his observation. His decision paid off for Ohio State, as he finished with seven catches, 108 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. The Buckeyes also received stellar contributions from running backs Keith Byars and Kelvin Lindsey, who combined for 132 yards on the ground. Byars also collected three receptions for 75 yards, including a long reception of 51 yards.

Ohio State scored first in the contest and never looked back. Frank and quarterback Mike Tomczak connected for the game’s opening touchdowns, and the Buckeyes led 14-7 at halftime. Roman Bates ran in a score from the 2-yard line in the second half, and kicker Rich Spangler made a field goal in the fourth to seal a 24-14 victory for Ohio State.

After the game, Bruce praised his team for their 10-point win on the road.

“It was the best game I’ve seen Ohio State play since I’ve been coaching them,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of big wins over Michigan, but I think as a team, we played better than we ever have, especially early in the season.”

 “DON’T SWEAT IT.” One could argue Ohio State has the best running backs, wide receivers, defensive line and defensive backs in college football. Of the defensive backs, Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun and Jordan Hancock stand out, but so do Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs. 

Last week, Jim Knowles discussed his safeties in depth, explaining that while neither have incredible numbers after two weeks, both have made a tremendous impact on the backend of the unit.

“They have. We keep pushing and push everybody, striving for perfection,” Knowles said. “Those are two guys — let’s face it — we haven’t had to unleash very much. You’ve seen on those specific examples when we have unleashed them, they move from A to B quickly. I think it’s just a matter of continuing to push, putting some tweaks in and keeping their aggressiveness alive through different calls. We just haven’t had to do it much. When it shows up, it’s pretty cool.”

Two of the examples where Ransom and Downs have shown up are Ransom’s scoop-and-score in the Akron game and Downs’ massive hit in the Western Michigan game.

As Ohio State returns from the bye week and faces more formidable opponents down the road, Knowles said he will ask more of Ransom and Downs. He believes both Buckeyes will be up for the task.

“You know you can go to those two and say, ‘Hey, this week we want to do it this way. By the way, against this, I want you to make this call, OK? Ready, break.’ You know what I mean?” Knowles asked. “When you put in these slight adjustments week to week, it’s not something — you don’t say, ‘Can that guy handle all that?’ You just kind of roll. ‘OK, here’s what we’re gonna do.’ (They respond) ‘OK, got it, coach.’ And that’s it. It certainly makes it easier to make adjustments.”

What a blessing it is to root for a team as talented as Ohio State.

 MORE INFO NEEDED. On Monday, Mitch Sherman of The Athletic made an interesting post on X.

As Sherman said in a follow-up post, I need more information about this “group chat” featuring the Big Ten coaches. Which coach responds to each message? Which coach lurks in the background? Do coaches “like” messages or “love” messages? Do the coaches ever make jokes or share memes?

Those could be good questions to ask Ryan Day in the future.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Oak Island" - Zach Bryan.

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Sept 11, 2004; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio Sate Buckeyes #4 Santonio Holmes breaks away from Marshall University defenders in the first quarter at Ohio Stadium.Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images (©) Copyright 2004 by Matthew Emmons
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