Welcome to the Skull Session.
Work Week Done.
Get dumped then, Nebraska.
Work Week Done pic.twitter.com/cnfYmTRwHF
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 24, 2024
Have a good Saturday.
DON’T CARE. PLAY BETTER DEFENSE. GO BUCKS. There’s an account on here called Hit Like Mike Doss that’s commented the words, “Don’t care. Play better defense. Go Bucks.” on, like, all the articles since Ohio State’s loss to Oregon. I draw attention to the comment because it makes me chuckle but also because it communicates what most fans (short for fanatics) have thought about the past two weeks.
It’s not that Ohio State fans are apathetic — no, Woody Hayes warned them to avoid apathy like the plague — it’s that Ohio State fans want the team’s coaches and players to talk less and work more. That sounds like a corny phrase you’d see on an Under Armour T-shirt off the clearance rack at Kohl’s, but it’s the truth.
Each time the Buckeyes have lost the past three years, Ryan Day and his players have been talking, la, la, la, la, la, like this is business as usual. But now, coming off a one-point loss to Oregon on the road, it’s time for Ohio State to work.
Beat Nebraska.
Beat Penn State.
Beat Purdue.
Beat Northwestern.
Beat Indiana.
Beat the snot out of Michigan.
Beat Oregon — or whoever — in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Buckeyes can talk about how all their goals are still in front of them.
But like Hit Like Mike Doss, I don’t care.
It’s time to talk less and work more.
And don’t let that team — or any team — stand in the way.
THE MENU. This week’s college football schedule is all kinds of good.
- No. 4 Ohio State vs. Nebraska (FOX, Noon)
- No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 24 Navy (ABC, Noon)
- No. 21 Missouri at No. 15 Alabama (ABC, 3:30 p.m.)
- No. 20 Illinois at No. 1 Oregon (CBS, 3:30. p.m.)
- No. 5 Texas at No. 25 Vanderbilt (SEC Network, 4:15 p.m.)
- No. 8 LSU at No. 14 Texas A&M (ABC, 7:30 p.m.)
And so much more.
Here’s a look at the complete schedule for Week 9:
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte at Memphis | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Tulane at North Texas | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Buffalo at Ohio | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| 12 Notre Dame vs 24 Navy (in East Rutherford, NJ) | 12:00pm | ABC/ESPN+ |
| Nebraska at 4 Ohio State | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Washington at 13 Indiana | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Oklahoma at 18 Ole Miss | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| North Carolina at Virginia | 12:00pm | The CW |
| Arkansas at Mississippi State | 12:45pm | SECN |
| Georgia State at Appalachian State | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Temple at East Carolina | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Central Michigan at Miami (Ohio) | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 11 BYU at UCF | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Kent State at Western Michigan | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| NIU at Ball State | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Eastern Michigan at Akron | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Bowling Green at Toledo | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Southern Miss at James Madison | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| UTSA at Tulsa | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Texas Tech at TCU | 3:30pm | FOX |
| Oklahoma State at Baylor | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Wagner at UMass | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Wake Forest at Stanford | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Rice at UConn | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| 21 Missouri at 15 Alabama | 3:30pm | ABC/ESPN+ |
| Northwestern at Iowa | 3:30pm | BTN |
| Maryland at Minnesota | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| 20 Illinois at 1 Oregon | 3:30pm | CBS/Paramount+ |
| Oregon State at California | 4:00pm | ESPN2 |
| 5 Texas at 25 Vanderbilt | 4:15pm | SECN |
| New Mexico at Colorado State | 5:00pm | Altitude/MWN |
| ULM at South Alabama | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida State at 6 Miami (FL) | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Utah at Houston | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| West Virginia at Arizona | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Utah State at Wyoming | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| Troy at Arkansas State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Michigan State at Michigan | 7:30pm | BTN |
| 3 Penn State at Wisconsin | 7:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| 8 LSU at 14 Texas A&M | 7:30pm | ABC/ESPN+ |
| Auburn at Kentucky | 7:45pm | SECN |
| 22 SMU at Duke | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| Kansas at 16 Kansas State | 8:00pm | ESPN2 |
| San Jose State at Fresno State | 8:00pm | truTV/Max |
| Cincinnati at Colorado | 10:15pm | ESPN |
| Washington State at San Diego State | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| Nevada at Hawaii | 11:59pm | Spectrum PPV |
MY PICKS. Because it’s HOT, HOT, HOT, the picks are HOT, HOT, HOT. I started the season 3-6 after three weeks. I’m now 10-8, thanks to a 7-2 record in the next three weeks. This Saturday, I will look to continue the HOT, HOT, HOT streak with another undefeated record — that is, if Navy, Illinois and Vanderbilt can come through.
- No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 24 Navy (+13.5): Notre Dame… on the road… at Navy… as a two-touchdown favorite? Ever since their stunning loss to Northern Illinois, the Irish have put the pieces back together with some nice wins over Purdue, Miami (OH), Louisville, Stanford and Georgia Tech. I think Notre Dame continues its winning streak against a talented Midshipmen team; however, it does so with a margin of less than 14 points.
- No. 20 Illinois (+21.5) at No. 1 Oregon: The disrespect to Illinois is unreal. Does Vegas not know? Has Vegas not heard? Bret Bielema is Illinois’ head coach. Under no circumstances will he let the No. 1-ranked team in college football walk all over him! I’ll take the Illini here — not to win, but to cover a three-touchdown spread in Eugene. Go Berts.
- No. 5 Texas at No. 25 Vanderbilt (+18.5): Again, the disrespect is unreal. This season, Vanderbilt has taken Missouri to overtime on the road, upset Ala-freaking-bama (!) at home and beat Kentucky on the road. Despite that, Vegas sees the Longhorns as almost a three-touchdown favorite against the Commodores. Could Texas bounce back from a disappointing loss to Georgia last week and take Vanderbilt to the woodshed this weekend? Yes, of course. But that’s not the funniest outcome. I live for the funniest outcome. Give me Vanderbilt!
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. Ohio State will honor its 2014 national championship team on Saturday. The celebration will create nostalgia and other warm feelings inside Ohio Stadium and inspire the current Ohio State team.
“I want to be able to look and be like, ‘Man, this should be in 10 years, coming back and getting honored,” Will Howard said Tuesday. “That should be something we look at and be like, ‘Man, want to be able to do.’”
Depending on how Ohio State's current season turns out, the 2014 and 2024 Buckeyes may look similar a decade from now.
Ten years ago, Ohio State suffered a two-touchdown loss to Virginia Tech at home but bounced back with 13 consecutive wins to capture the inaugural College Football Playoff. This year, the Buckeyes are reeling from a one-point loss to Oregon on the road but still have all their goals ahead of them: beat Michigan, win a Big Ten title and win a national championship. Those goals would require Ohio State to record 10 consecutive victories.
On Wednesday, Emeka Egbuka revealed that Ohio State has shown clips of the 2014 team in meetings. The clips often feature Ezekiel Elliott — who shined in the Buckeyes’ wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon, combining for 76 carries, 696 yards and eight touchdowns in those contests — for his dominance as a ballcarrier but also a special teams contributor.
“Zeke Elliott was a guy who was a big-time leader and a big-time player,” Egbuka said. “But he was also running down on kickoff and blocking his tail off. It’s having that mindset and taking it in for every player.”
TreVeyon Henderson appreciates the standard Elliott set and hopes he and his teammates can meet it for the rest of this season. He also couldn’t contain his praise for the 2014 team.
“Zeke went off,” he said. “That team was stacked. It was loaded. There were a lot of great guys on that team.”
Around 36 hours earlier, Howard said the same.
“I was probably rooting against them at the time,” the former Penn State fan said with a laugh. “But you couldn’t deny how good that team was.”
SONG OF THE DAY. Pregame, Script Ohio - TBDBITL.
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