Skull Session: Ohio State Ranks Second in SP+, Chip Kelly Calls Autzen Stadium “A Special Place” and Will Howard Says the Oregon Game is “What You Dream About As a Kid”

By Chase Brown on October 9, 2024 at 5:00 am
Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ohio State-Oregon is the EA Sports College Football 25 Game of the Week.

Turn on the console. Run up the score. Leave no doubt.

Have a good Wednesday.

 THE COMPUTERS! It's Wednesday. You know what that means. It's time to examine Ohio State's place in the SP+ and College Football Power Index. (We'll pass on ESPN's written assessment of the Buckeyes because I'm still not over the article I read on Sunday.)

This week, Ohio State ranks No. 2 behind Texas in both the SP+ and College Football Power Index. Here's a closer look at the Buckeyes' numbers in both metrics:

SP+

RANK TEAM SP SCORE OFFENSE DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS
1 TEXAS 30.5 44.2 (2) 13.5 (5) -0.1 (84)
2 OHIO STATE 30.1 38.9 (9) 9.1 (1) 0.4 (15)
3 ALABAMA 28.2 45.2 (1) 16.8 (16) -0.2 (91)
4 GEORGIA 27.9 41.7 (6) 14.2 (9) 0.4 (7)
5 OLE MISS 27.8 41.2 (7) 13.8 (6) 0.4 (13)
...          
7 OREGON 24.7 42.3 (5) 18.0 (21) 0.4 (6)

Ohio State's remaining 2024 opponents in the SP+: Nebraska (26), Penn State (6), Purdue (89), Northwestern (77), Indiana (17!!), Michigan (27)

College Football Power Index

RANK TEAM FPI WIN OUT WIN CONF MAKE CFP WIN CFP
1 TEXAS 28.1 20.6% 44.4% 91.3% 22.5%
2 OHIO STATE 27.7 27.2% 60.4% 91.2% 22.6%
3 ALABAMA 25.2 13.3% 17.4% 70.5% 11.4%
4 GEORGIA 24.4 5.6% 8.5% 74.3% 10.6%
5 OLE MISS 21.5 11.0% 12.8% 54.8% 6.5%
...            
8 OREGON 18.5 18.2% 14.0% 66.1% 3.0%

Ohio State's remaining 2024 opponents in the College Football Power Index: Nebraska (37), Penn State (9), Purdue (114), Northwestern (87), Indiana (14!!), Michigan (31)

Again, no written assessment this week – and maybe even in future weeks?

I don't know.

That's next Wednesday's problem.

 “IT’S A SPECIAL PLACE.” Chip Kelly received a lot of questions about Oregon on Tuesday – and I mean a lot of questions.

That’s understandable, of course. He won 46 games as the Ducks’ head coach, including one Rose Bowl and one Fiesta Bowl. He also led Oregon to another Rose Bowl, losing to THE World Famous Ohio State Buckeyes, and a BCS National Championship Game, losing to Cam Newton and Auburn.

While I will let Dan Hope, Andy Anders or another Eleven Warriors reporter write the thousand-word feature about Kelly’s homecoming, I want to make a brief mention of Kelly’s comments on Autzen Stadium in the Skull Session.

“It’s a special place,” Kelly said. “I think it’s great for our players. It’s a chance for them to play in one of the special places in college football. They came out here a couple of years ago and got to play in the Shoe. We get to go play in Autzen Stadium – and Autzen Stadium at that time of day, it’s truly special – so I think our guys are excited.”

Kelly’s correct: Autzen Stadium will be beautiful on Saturday. With a 4:30 p.m. start time on the West Coast, the sun will set two hours after kickoff at 6:32 p.m., leading to a picturesque environment in Eugene for the third and fourth quarters.

In addition to the colorful skies, Kelly said the football will also be good to take in.

“They’re a really good team,” Kelly said of Oregon. “I think that’ll get your attention right away when you look at the film.”

After a brief description of all the brothers, sisters, cousins and nephews he has in the Pacific Northwest, Kelly returned to his original point.

“It’s about the game,” he said. “I’m fired up for our players because it is a really special place to play.”

 “WHAT YOU DREAM ABOUT AS A KID.” Like Kelly, I think Will Howard feels jussssssttt a little bit of excitement for the Oregon game. The veteran quarterback took the podium immediately after his offensive coordinator and, immediately, he talked about how much he looks forward to the Buckeyes' top-three showdown with the Ducks on Saturday.

"When you come to a place like Ohio State, you want to play on the biggest stage – College GameDay, all the hype, a No. 2 versus No. 3 matchup," Howard said. "This is what you signed up for. This is what I was looking forward to. It's a challenge, man. It's fun. This is what college football is all about. This is what you dream about as a kid, being on this stage, playing in front of a ton of people and a ton of people watching on TV. It's a dream, man. It's definitely a big reason why I came here."

Since Howard came here, he's been excellent, albeit against some good-not-great competition, save for Iowa. In five appearances as Ohio State's QB1, Howard has completed 93 of 130 passes (71.5 percent) for 1,248 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions. He's also run a touchdown in four consecutive contests.

Howard understands Ohio State's competition will improve significantly on Saturday, yet he'll still prepare the same way he has for the first six weeks of the regular season.

"It's a big game," he said. "You want to say you don't treat any game more than another, but we know how big this one is. We know it's a big matchup. We're gonna have to be on our stuff. Going into the game, it's about being poised, being confident. I just want to stay neutral, stay level-headed and be as prepared as you possibly can."

Game on, Will.

 THIS AND THAT. Another Skull Session, another This and That™.

You know the drill.

Ohio State's EQ staff started The Oregon Trail at noon on Monday. After 2,449 miles on the open road, the staff will arrive in Eugene on Wednesday at noon and complete their 48-hour trip across the United States. (Question: Was this graphic made before or after the Tuesday Skull Session? I demand answers!)

Here's a remarkable fact I saw this week:

Here's another remarkable fact I saw: The Big Ten has four undefeated teams in Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Indiana (!!), while the SEC has one undefeated team in Texas. Is the Big Ten better than the SEC? Some people have said it.

Ohio State men's soccer is also undefeated, which deserves some praise. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 4 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll this week, took care of Washington, 2-0, on Monday and improved to 9-0-2 (4-0-1 Big Ten) in the 2024 regular season.

OK. Final note. Ohio State wrestling revealed its Big Ten schedule for the 2024-24 season on Tuesday. While the schedule looks great – as always – I am more interested in the decision to make Sammy Sasso the featured athlete. Could that mean we will see the two-time Big Ten champion and three-time All-American back in the lineup for the Buckeyes this season? I don't have the answer, but I want one!

That's all, folks!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Are You Ready?" - Creed.

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Across The Field: Indiana Beat Writer Zach Osterman Says This Might Be the Hoosiers’ Most Important Regular Season Game Ever and QB Kurtis Rourke Has Played Well Under Pressure

Kurtis Rourke

Prognosticating: Indiana

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