Skull Session: The Buckeyes Rank First in Stop Rate, Will Howard Shares His Introduction to the Ohio State-Michigan Rivalry and Ross Bjork Discusses Ohio State’s Travel Budget

By Chase Brown on October 10, 2024 at 5:00 am
Lathan Ransom
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

*** SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT ***

I need Ohio State to wear the all-whites this weekend.

I NEEEEEEEEED IT.

Have a good Thursday.

 STOP RATE. It’s time for a STOP RATE UPDATE.

Two weeks ago, I had a section in the Skull Session that showed Ohio State as the No. 3 team in college football in stop rate. I had hoped to make that a recurring section in the Eleven Warriors Morning Constitutional, but when I looked for the numbers last week, I couldn’t find them!

Alas… earwax.

Thankfully, on Tuesday, Max Olson of ESPN posted the post-Week 6 stop rate top 25. Those rankings featured Ohio State as the No. 1 team in college football, with the Buckeyes checking in ahead of Texas, Army, Tennessee and Iowa State in the top five.

Remember, stop rate measures “the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or turnovers on downs.”

“This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo game than yards per game or points per game,” Olson wrote when he still worked for The Athletic.

Given that quote, I should note that Ohio State also leads the nation in yards allowed per game (202.4) and points allowed per game (6.8). They also rank third in rushing defense (72.6), third in touchdowns allowed (four) and fourth in passing defense (129.8).

In other words, the Silver Bullets are elite. They’ll have another chance to prove that this weekend against an Oregon team that ranks third in points per game (35), 25th in yards per game (458.6), 19th in passing offense (294.2) and 67th in rushing offense (164.4).

 ONE OF US! ONE OF US! ONE OF US! This week, Will Howard appeared on The Triple Option podcast with Rob Stone, Mark Ingram II and Matt Leinart – the last of whom filled in for Urban Meyer. In the 15-minute segment, the Ohio State quarterback discussed several topics. Among them was how he learned the importance of The Game and the greatest rivalry in all of sports.

“There’s a countdown (clock) in the weight room, right outside the cafeteria, right outside this room right here,” Howard said, explaining the constant preparation Ohio State makes for Michigan. “I had to buy in, you know. I’d get slapped upside the head if I said that M-word around here. I might as well buy in.”

Before he transferred to Ohio State, Howard said he had an idea of how much the Buckeyes hated the Wolverines. Yet, it wasn’t until his official visit in January that the former Kansas State standout fully understood the detestation.

“I remember on my visit, I was wearing a darker blue hoodie, and I remember somebody said something to me (about it being a Michigan color). I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t even realize. I just thought it was, like, a nice little Rhoback hoodie,” Howard said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Shoot, I’ve got to change.’ So I had to take it off and it was, like, freezing cold. It was January, and I was wearing a T-shirt on my visit. I had to kind of learn as I went, and the mistakes I made, I guess, were highlighted — like every time I said the M-word.”

Howard then shared an interaction he witnessed between Ryan Day and Seth McLaughlin’s girlfriend… or mom? (He couldn’t remember, which could be an insult to McLaughlin’s girlfriend or a compliment to McLaughlin’s mom.)

“I was at dinner with Seth McLaughlin, his family and Coach Day on our visit. I think it might’ve been Seth’s girlfriend or Seth’s mom, but Alabama played ‘The Team Up North’ in the Rose Bowl, and she was talking about it, and she said the M-word, and Coach Day — kind of under his breath — was like, ‘The Team Up North.’ From that point on, I was like, ‘I can’t call them Michigan, that M-word, anymore.”

What a hilarious tidbit Howard shared there.

Ryan Day rocks. And so does Will Howard.

He’s one of us! (One of us! One of us!)

 TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’. Ohio State will travel 2,339 miles from Columbus to Eugene this week in preparation for a top-three showdown with Oregon. While the regular-season matchup will be the football program’s first interaction with a new Big Ten team, it is not the first Ohio State sport to travel west this fall – and it won’t be the last.

In 2024, the Ohio State women’s volleyball team has played games at USC (Sept. 29) and UCLA (Sept. 31). Meanwhile, the men’s soccer team will head to UCLA on Friday, and the women’s soccer team will travel to USC (Oct. 17) and UCLA (Oct. 20) next week.

Ohio State-Oregon and the other matchups mentioned above come as a result of the Big Ten’s expansion to 18 teams. With them come wins and losses for the Buckeyes, but also an increased budget for the school’s athletic department. First-year Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork discussed in a radio appearance during halftime of the Iowa game last weekend.

“Our travel budget – just so everyone knows – it went up to over $2 million to adjust for (conference expansion),” Bjork said. “It’s not a cheap endeavor.”

Bjork also shared concerns that extend beyond cost.

“I think the thing that we have to learn is what toll does it take on our athletes,” he said. “What is the right amount of travel to go out there? … Luckily, we only have one trip (west) for most of our teams. I can’t imagine if you’re the four West Coast teams and you’re gonna have multiple trips to the Midwest or let alone the East Coast.”

Bjork said it’s not all bad, however, explaining on the broadcast that Ohio State alumni clubs in Los Angeles and Orange County have shared their excitement about having the Buckeyes play more games in their backyards.

Still, Bjork said the Big Ten and its now-18 member schools expect to make adjustments as the conference’s presidents, chancellors and athletic directors discover the most beneficial scheduling plan for the future.

“I think we’re gonna have to assess the next couple of years and figure out what’s the right rhythm and what’s the right approach,” Bjork said. “This year will be a nice learning curve for everyone.”

 GIFTS FROM THE KING. When Ohio State faces Oregon on Saturday, the Buckeyes will wear brand-new cleats courtesy of NBA superstar LeBron James.

This week, James gifted all 120 Ohio State football players a pair of LeBron 4 “Eggplant” special edition cleats ahead of the team’s marquee matchup with Oregon. The Buckeyes announced the gift in a shared social media with James.

This is far from the first time James has gifted Ohio State players with items before a big game. 

In 2023, James sent each Buckeye a pair of LeBron 4 “Graffiti” before the Penn State game. The year before, he sent them personalized Beats Studio3 wireless headphones before the Wisconsin game and black and scarlet Air Zoom Generation 1 cleats before The Game. 

I could continue – as I said, the Oregon game is far from the first occasion James has sent gifts to Ohio State football – but the point is this: the Buckeyes have the chance to look good, feel good, play good on Saturday. If the Buckeyes do, it will give James a reason to tweet about them more than he already does. And, look, love him or hate him, that’s an incredible recruiting tool for Ohio State. After all, he is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. (He’s the greatest.)

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Sophie's House" - half-alive.

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Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (12) is tackled by Oregon Ducks safety Verone McKinley III (23) and Oregon Ducks cornerback DJ James (0) on a punt return during Saturday's NCAA Division I football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on September 11, 2021
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