Welcome to the Skull Session.
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
CAN'T CAN BELIEVE IT.#ForTheLand | #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/WX6wM8OXg4
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 18, 2024
Have a good Friday.
KEEPING THE FAITH. In the latest episode of The Triple Option podcast, Urban Meyer shared his two cents on Ohio State’s one-point loss to Oregon. After the game, Meyer exchanged texts with his successor, Ryan Day, and encouraged the sixth-year head coach to remember that all of the team’s goals remain in front of them.
“I see a rematch coming (in the Big Ten championship),” Meyer said. “I texted Coach Day and told him, ‘You went on the road to one of the most difficult places, you took the team’s best shot and you were 1 yard short of winning.”
For Ohio State to beat [REDACTED], win a Big Ten championship and win the College Football Playoff this season, Meyer said Day needs to endure “the talk of him not winning big games” and discover where the team’s defense fell flat against the Ducks. (The first part will be difficult; the second part… well, that’s simple… Denzel Burke and the defensive line.)
“He just has to get through the media and the talk of him not winning big games,” Meyer said. “They are still one of the most talented teams in the nation. They need to find out what happened on defense. The defensive performance was not what I expected. The fanbase has to cool out, but there’s no chance of that happening. That fanbase is out of their mind. But that’s also why they donate so much money to help with NIL. They have a good enough team to win it all.”
Meyer also addressed Dan Lanning’s decision to place 12 men on the field on the second-to-last play of the game. The extra defender helped force an incomplete pass for Ohio State, and while Oregon received a 5-yard penalty for illegal participation, the move ultimately benefited the Ducks as it drained four precious seconds off the clock (10 to six).
“If that’s true, and he did that, then for 38 years of my career, I’ve been playing checkers,” Meyer said. “I’ve never done that. It’s never even crossed my mind. Ohio State is 12 yards away from kicking a game-winning field goal, and we’re gonna give them five more yards? I’m a checkers guy, then. Have you ever heard of a coach telling his team to practice an intentional 12-man penalty? I went to Eugene in the spring. I spent time with the offensive staff. They are playing chess. That is one hell of a staff. Hats off. That rule will be revisited. That should be a dead ball.”
The NCAA agrees.
On Wednesday, the loophole Lanning exploited to help Oregon defeat Ohio State closed as the NCAA issued a rules interpretation that will allow offenses the option to reset the clock to the pre-snap time if 12 or more defenders participate in a play during the final two minutes of a half. The interpretation will be effective immediately.
“Football is a very dynamic game,” NCAA football secretary rules editor Steve Shaw said in a statement. “Occasionally, there are specific situations when committing a penalty can give a team an advantage. A guiding principle of the NCAA Football Rules Committee is that there should be no benefit when a team commits a penalty. The goal of this in-season interpretation is to eliminate a potential clock advantage for committing a substitution foul and take away any gain for the defense if they violate the substitution rule.”
I didn’t comment on the rule change in the Thursday Skull Session, but I will now.
Does anyone else think that, yes, the change should have been made, but also that the immediate acknowledgment that Oregon exploited a loophole makes the loss hurt all the more? Or is that just me?
ALL-AMERICAN KIDS. This week, The Athletic named its midseason All-Americans. Between first- and second-team offenses, defenses and specialists, the website’s college football staff selected at least one player from 39 schools, headlined by three players each from Texas, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Alabama and [REDACTED].
Jeremiah Smith, Seth McLaughlin and Caleb Downs were Ohio State’s three representatives. Smith and McLaughlin were named to the first-team offense, while Downs was named to the first-team defense.
Jeremiah Smith
It’s hard to pick the best freshman wide receiver for this spot, as Alabama’s Ryan Williams has a strong case and is featured on our second team. The first-team choice is Smith, who has been a human highlight reel, stacking one jaw-dropping catch on top of another. The No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class drew rave reviews all offseason and has made an even bigger instant impact than could have been imagined in replacing Marvin Harrison Jr., catching 32 passes for 553 yards and seven touchdowns.
Seth McLaughlin
After a bout with snapping problems at Alabama, McLaughlin has emerged as one of the top offensive linemen in the country at Ohio State. He hasn’t allowed a sack, according to PFF, and is at the center of a Buckeyes offensive line that ranks fourth in pressure rate allowed and second in yards before contact per rush, per TruMedia. Ohio State was 99th in the latter category last year.
Caleb Downs
Downs starred as a five-star freshman at Alabama and is making a similar impact at Ohio State, forming a standout safety combination with Lathan Ransom. Downs has 26 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups, and he’s given up just eight catches for 60 yards, per PFF. He’s a do-it-all safety who is valuable in run support for one of the nation’s best run defenses.
Before the season, The Athletic named Donovan Jackson and Downs to its first-team offense and first-team defense. It also named Emeka Egbuka and Tyleik Williams to its second team.
After seven weeks, Willie Lampkin (North Carolina), Joshua Gray (Oregon State), Paolo Gennarelli (Army) and Luke Kandra (Cincinnati) took the four guard spots over Jackson. Smith, Tre Harris (Ole Miss), Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona) and Ryan Williams (Alabama) were named midseason All-Americans over Egbuka, and Derrick Harmon (Oregon), Walter Nolen (Ole Miss) and Deone Walker (Kentucky) were named over Williams.
THE BEST OF THE BEST. In addition to his midseason All-American selection from The Athletic, Smith earned recognition as one of ESPN’s top 25 players seven weeks into 2024. Oh, and he didn’t just make the cut; he appeared at No. 11 overall.
No. 11 - Jeremiah Smith
It is almost impossible to live up to the hype that Smith received heading into his first collegiate season. We heard plenty of, "He might already be Ohio State's best receiver!" rumbles in the spring about Smith, the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2024 class. And while spring buzz seems to be wrong about 98% of the time, damned if it wasn't almost underselling Smith's capabilities. Through six games, Smith has caught 32 passes for 553 yards and seven touchdowns; through the first six games of 2023, Marvin Harrison Jr. had 31 catches for 604 yards and five scores. Ohio State lost the No. 4 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and a freshman is matching his production. That's not supposed to happen. — Bill Connelly
The final two lines are so absurd that I have to repeat them.
Through six games in 2024, Smith has 32 catches for 553 yards and seven touchdowns. Through the first six games of 2023, Marvin Harrison Jr. had 31 catches for 604 yards and five touchdowns.
Excuse me?
And that doesn’t even include the two carries, 32 rushing yards and touchdown Smith added to his receiving numbers in the Michigan State and Iowa games!
At No. 11 in ESPN’s rankings, the Worldwide Leader sees just 10 players ahead of Smith after seven weeks: Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Miami (FL) quarterback Cam Ward, Colorado wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter, Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris, Texas A&M defensive end Nic Scourton, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams and Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon.
RE: The conversation about Smith and Williams from the Thursday Skull Session. Yes, those dudes are the best wide receivers in college football – as freshmen!
THE BIG RED-HEAD. Most of the #content in this week’s Skull Sessions has felt… negative. That’s what happens when Ohio State loses, I guess. Still, a sour week doesn’t need to have a sour end, so here’s some heartwarming news out of UCLA – which is in LA.
Earlier this week, the Bruins’ men’s basketball coach, Mick Cronin, announced that UCLA will honor the late Bill Walton when the program hosts Ohio State on Feb. 23. Walton, who died of cancer in May at 71, will be honored throughout the game and during a halftime ceremony.
, .
— UCLA Mens Basketball (@UCLAMBB) October 16, 2024
UCLA will honor the late Bill Walton during the home contest against Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 23.
That afternoons game will be nationally televised by CBS at 12:45 p.m. (PT).
: https://t.co/HFdSXUwN1l pic.twitter.com/g4VLFmBGGz
"It's a difficult reality to know we're getting ready to start a basketball season in Westwood without Bill's presence," Cronin said in a statement. "He will forever be an icon in our great game, and his memory will forever live on at UCLA."
As part of UCLA’s honoring of Walton, fans will receive a commemorative poster that celebrates Walton’s life and legacy. Students will also receive a tie-dyed T-shirt in a nod to Walton’s love for the Grateful Dead. (That last part rocks – literally.)
In three seasons at UCLA, Walton averaged 20.3 points and 15.7 rebounds per game. A three-time national player of the year, Walton led John Wooden’s Bruins to back-to-back 30-0 national championship seasons in 1972 and 1973 as part of an 88-game winning streak.
Walton continued his dominance in his first four NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 17.1 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. He made two NBA All-Star teams, led the Blazers to an NBA championship in 1977 and won NBA MVP in 1978.
Unfortunately, Walton battled injuries for the rest of his career and missed three of the next four seasons due to a foot issue. He would, however, go on to win a second NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1986, when he was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year for averaging 7.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 minutes per contest.
SONG OF THE DAY. "American Kids" - Kenny Chesney.
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