Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State will wear some cleeeeeeeeean new cleats for the Oregon game.
Heading out West with some pic.twitter.com/reWZXM0UZ5
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 6, 2024
Have a good Monday.
“SUPER EXCITED.” I still plan to discuss Ohio State’s win over Iowa in the Monday and Tuesday Skull Sessions; however, I feel the need to kick off Oregon Week with a section that sets the tone for the Buckeyes’ top-three showdown against the Ducks.
Here’s what Emeka Egbuka, Jack Sawyer, Will Howard, Donovan Jackson, Sonny Styles and Ryan Day said about Oregon after the Iowa game on Saturday:
Emeka Egbuka
“I think Oregon’s a good team. Going over to the Pacific Northwest is a homecoming game for me, being from Washington. This is the kind of game you dream about when you commit to Ohio State, going and playing on a platform like that. We’re excited to welcome them to the Big Ten. It’s gonna be an awesome game. We just have to have a really good week of practice. That’s really the only way we’re gonna be able to be confident the next time we play.”
Jack Sawyer
“Super excited. Can’t wait to go compete against a team like Oregon. Going behind enemy lines, we love that. We’re ready for a heavyweight battle.”
Will Howard
“I think confidence-wise we feel great (entering the Oregon game). I think going into this game, we know that it’s a big one. … We knew that this Iowa team was gonna be a good team, but I looked at (Oregon) a little bit on the bye week, and I started checking them out and seeing what they’re about. I’m excited, man. It’s gonna be a good challenge. I’ve played against Dillon (Gabriel) a few times. He’s a great player. Their defense is good. I know Coach Dan Lanning is a good coach. He’s gonna have them ready. I’m excited to get home and start watching some film and get ready for these guys.”
Donovan Jackson
“One of the reasons you come to Ohio State is for games like this. We have great respect for that team. They’re well-coached. They’re doing a great job over there. But we just have to prepare hard, go over there and execute.”
Sonny Styles
“I think we’ve seen a lot of different stuff. We’re ready to stop the run. We’ve seen a little bit of passing. They’ve got a really talented quarterback and a bunch of talented receivers, so I don’t know if we’ve seen people that talented. But we’ve got some talented guys as well. We go against the best offense in the country every day. I think we’re more than prepared to get ready this week.”
Ryan Day
“(The Iowa game) was a big challenge to our entire team about physicality and toughness. I thought we answered that. We’ll watch the film and get it figured out, but there’s a team right there that feels like they got challenged, and they answered that. But as you can imagine, it didn’t take long for us to set our focus on Oregon. Our focus is when we leave the locker room that we’re already starting on Oregon. … We’ll watch film tomorrow. We’ll learn from (the Iowa game).”
Ohio State-Oregon will be cinema.
Get your popcorn ready.
IN THE TRENCHES. Ohio State’s offensive line passed its first real test of the season.
Before Saturday, Iowa hadn’t allowed an opponent to run for more than 90 yards or yield more than 2.4 yards per attempt. Ohio State ran for 203 on 5.1 yards per attempt.
“We knew we needed to be physical, play downhill, and go at them,” Howard said. “I think our O-line took that challenge and ran with it. Those dudes are some bad SOBs, man. They’re coming downhill and just rocking off the ball. … They’re playing really, really good football right now. They’re just continuing to get better every single week.”
Donovan Jackson said the offensive line answered the call against the Hawkeyes. He then explained how Iowa utilizes a technique called two-gapping, where the defensive linemen hit offensive linemen in the chest and cover gaps, allowing their linebackers to close in on ballcarriers without much resistance.
“We knew they were gonna be a great test,” Jackson said. “(The coaches) gave us a great plan of how we can attack it and how we can take advantage of two-gapping because it is a hard technique to go get after. We knew that we had our hands full.”
Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson — the best duo in college football — were good, great, grand on Saturday. While neither running back reached the end zone, both were efficient on the ground. Judkins carried the ball 13 times for 78 yards (6 YPC), while Henderson carried the ball 11 times for 61 yards (5.5 YPC).
“Running the ball is a badge of honor for an O-line,” Jackson said. “You want to get after it. You want to see your running backs run down the field. That’s a sense of pride you have.”
There’s pride in pass protection, too, Jackson said. Ohio State allowed just one sack to Iowa’s defense, yet it came to little fault of the offensive line. Howard rolled out and should have thrown the ball out of bounds; instead, he slammed into Jay Higgins and fell to the (slick) turf. (Higgins was sensational with 14 tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble. He’s a dude.)
“Anytime you get that kind of protection, it’s huge,” Ryan Day said.
Howard agreed — for the team’s sake but also his body’s sake, I am sure.
“Our O-line is playing a really high level right now,” he said.
ALWAYS SONNY IN COLUMBUS. I was critical of Sonny Styles’ performance through four games. I said I had concerns with his development (or lack thereof). I said he looked “lost.” I said his transition has been “less than smooth.” I said the patience of Ohio State coaches and fans “could continue to wear thin” if he didn’t pick up the slack.
I think he heard me — and all the other people who critiqued his performance in 2024.
Styles was one of Ohio State’s best defenders versus Iowa, collecting a team-best seven tackles, four solo stops and two tackles for loss. While it should be noted all 105,135 people in Ohio Stadium — and the millions watching on television — knew Iowa wanted to run the football on Saturday, Styles still looked instinctual and violent as he ran crashed into Kaleb Johnson and several other Hawkeyes for three-and-a-half quarters.
“I just played free,” Styles said of his performance. “I started doing a tradition with my grandparents where I pray with them before games. I just pray for confidence in God, myself and things like that. I feel like when you play with that confidence, you play more free and go fast. You don’t worry about anything.”
When Eleven Warriors editor Dan Hope asked Styles if he didn’t play as free in the previous four games, the Pickerington native offered a brief response.
“I was just playing a little slow. I could (have gone) more. A few plays I could have made that I didn’t. I feel like today I was playing a little more free — just playing fast, just getting on it,” he said.
I like Styles when he’s free. I like Styles when he’s fast.
Let’s hope he continues in both this weekend.
ES(EC)PN? To end the Skull Session, here’s a look at ESPN’s description of Ohio State’s win over Iowa. I think you’ll find it accurate and devoid of bias.
SLUGGISH DAY FOR THE TOP TEAMS
No. 3 Ohio State: Had little trouble swatting away Iowa 35-7. Still, it had to feel like a loss for the Buckeyes, who are the first ranked team to allow points to Iowa's offense since Michigan surrendered two touchdowns in a win over the Hawkeyes in Week 5 of 2022.
No. 5 Georgia: Responded to last week's loss to Alabama with an entirely reasonable 31-13 win over Auburn. Carson Beck was 23-of-28 passing, and Trevor Etienne scored twice, and yet it was hardly the offensive performance that offered significant reassurance this uneven start to the season is insignificant. More than anything, Georgia wore down Auburn rather than delivering any sort of statement. If anything, it was a bit embarrassing not to get a single Payton Thorne interception. Typically, Auburn is giving those away with the purchase of any large soft drink.
…
No. 12 Ole Miss: Cruised past South Carolina 27-3, but those third-down woes that cost the Rebels last week against Kentucky were still on display Saturday. Ole Miss was 3-of-13 on third down (and 1-of-3 on fourth) against the Gamecocks, and Jaxson Dart went without a touchdown pass against an unranked team for the first time in two years. It was entirely meh.
Yeah! A 28-point win over an almost-ranked Iowa team “had to feel like a loss” for Ohio State! Give me a break. As Jeremy Birmingham of Rivals said Sunday afternoon, this is some next-level propaganda from the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network — excuse me, the Entertainment and Southeastern Conference Sports Network.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Carmen Ohio" - TBDBITL.
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