Skull Session: Will Howard Wants to See Oregon “Again in Indy” and Emeka Egbuka Says Ohio State’s Confidence in Denzel Burke is “Through the Roof”

Welcome to the Skull Session.

It's. About. Now.

It's. About. Now.

Ohio States latest Game Trailer is pic.twitter.com/03WIsZA02d
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 24, 2024

Have a good Friday.

“SEE THEM AGAIN IN INDY.” As Will Howard reflected on Ohio State’s loss to Oregon amid his Tuesday press conference, he shared that the Buckeyes will use the one-point defeat as motivation for the rest of the season, explaining that none of the team’s coaches or players want to “walk off the field with that feeling” again.

“I want to be able to look back and say this is the reason we went on a run and won the national championship and not the other way around,” Howard said. “I think we’re trying to use this, in the best way, as a stepping stone. Everything is still in front of us. If nothing else, it gives us a little more extra motivation because now we know what it feels like to lose a game and walk off the field with that feeling. I can guarantee you none of us want to feel that again.”

On Wednesday captains TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka and Cody Simon, echoed Howard’s sentiments – Egbuka a little more than the others.

“Losing sucks. Especially for high-level competitors like us,” he said. “But I think Will hit it on the nose. You have to see the impurities of your team and be able to push those out and grind. Coach Day said it like this: ‘The issues are always there, but they’re brought to the surface sometimes in hard moments.’ If we would have got a win there by three touchdowns, we might not have nitpicked as many things that we’re doing now.

“We gotta play smart. We gotta take care of the ball. In matchup games like that, when you’re facing a top-five team, turnovers are some of the most important things. They ended up (forcing) more than us that day. We gotta run the ball better. We gotta block better on the perimeter. We gotta make plays when our number is called.”

For the past two weeks, Ohio State has practiced hard to correct errors that cost them the Oregon game. The players are thankful – for lack of a better word – that the loss came now rather than at the end of the regular season, like the past three years.

“Oregon pointed out our flaws. We’ve been really working on those to get them right because they weren’t exposed in the first five or six games we played. But they got exposed there,” Seth McLaughlin said. “It gives us a lot of runway. We had that bye week to work on those things and hopefully it’s better moving forward.”

As Ohio State enters the second half of the regular season, it will have several chances to prove it learned the lessons from a defeat in Eugene. The Buckeyes' first test comes on Saturday against Nebraska. They will then face No. 3 Penn State on the road and No. 13 Indiana at home a few weeks later before rounding out the year with “That Team Up North” in Columbus.

Motivated and rested coming off a bye week, Ohio State will do its best to secure a rematch with Oregon at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“There’s no way to go back and change the game,” Howard said. “All we have to do is look forward and run the table and see them again in Indy. That’s all we can hope for.”

CONFIDENCE “THROUGH THE ROOF.” According to Pro Football Focus, Denzel Burke allowed eight catches (on eight targets) for 179 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State’s loss to Oregon. While his performance was… terrible… Burke’s teammates expressed confidence in him this week as the veteran cornerback prepares to bounce back against Nebraska.

“Denzel had a great week of practice,” Egbuka said. “After every practice, we lay a brick because of that day of work we put in. And Denzel laid that brick today. He had a great week of practice being able to bounce back. I know that the confidence level in himself and our confidence level in him is through the roof. He’s gonna go out there and ball on Saturday.”

Simon, Ohio State’s middle linebacker and Captain of the Defense, also said Burke has looked good the past week and a half.

“He’s returned to all his fundamentals, his base techniques, everything. He’s had really good practices the past week and a half,” Simon said. “He knows that we always have his back. He’s so resilient. He works hard every day. He’s out here getting extra work in all the time. I have full faith in Denzel. I have full faith in everyone on our defense.”

Burke is one of several leaders in Ohio State’s defensive backfield, along with Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock, Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs. Egbuka said the position room has come together since the Oregon loss and devoted itself to the restoration of BIA for the rest of 2024.

“They took it personally,” Egbuka said of Oregon and quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s effectiveness through the air. “They’re looking to do some amazing things down this last half of the season.”

UNDER PRESSURE! (Bass line kicks in) Dm dm dm digga dm dm. Dm dm digga dm dm.

(Freddie Mercury ad-libs) Mm-noom-ba-deh. Doom-boom-ba-beh. Doo-boo-boom-ba-beh-beh…

Pressure!

Apologies.

I had the Queen song stuck in my head.

That’s what led to this detained transition.

For Ohio State’s defensive backs to “do some amazing things” in the second half of the regular season, the Buckeyes must generate more pressure on the quarterback. While Simon believes Jim Knowles called a good game against Oregon, pinning the blame on himself and his teammates for not executing, Simon thinks the Buckeyes could benefit from different looks on defense moving forward.

“I think sometimes we kind of got into a stagnant phase on defense,” Sinon said. “We’re trying to have our cleats in the dirt and ready to go. I think a couple of times, we just weren’t ready to go. That has to be the biggest thing. Up front, we have the best pass rushers. When they have their cleats in the ground, when we’re ready to go and when everyone’s on the same page, I don’t think anyone can block us.”

That’s a bold claim from Simon.

We’ll see if Ohio State can back it up against Nebraska.

Day thinks it’s possible.

“We’ve done some different things this week that should help,” he said on Thursday. “But the proof will be in the pudding on Saturday.”

THE WARDEN. This clip of Denzel Ward is just so good that I had to share it in the Skull Session.

.@denzelward putting on a clinic pic.twitter.com/vcORVV7tXs
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 24, 2024

This past offseason, NFL coaches, executives and scouts ranked Ward as the second-best cornerback in the league behind Patrick Surtain II (Denver Broncos) and ahead of Sauce Gardner (New York Jets), L’Jarius Sneed (Tennessee Titans), Jalen Ramsey (Miami Dolphins), Trent McDuffie (Kansas City Chiefs), Jaire Alexander (Green Bay Packers), Jaylon Johnson (Chicago Bears), Devon Witherspoon (Seattle Seahawks) and Derek Stingley Jr. (Houston Texans).

"Fast, fluid, with upper-tier coverage skills and high football IQ," an NFL scout said of Ward. "Can create ball production in man or zone but can match up against just about any No. 1 receiver due to his size and speed.”

After watching that clip – yeah, no kidding.

SONG OF THE DAY. “Under Pressure” - Queen.