Welcome to the Skull Session.
Being a Buckeye is different...
What does it take to be different in November?
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 14, 2024
Mentality. Execute. Belief.
Time to be different.pic.twitter.com/MwvTlMisKV
Have a good Friday.
“I WANT TO WIN THIS GAME PERSONALLY FOR HIM.” Carnell Tate’s mother, Ashley Griggs, was killed in Chicago in July 2023. Over 15 months later, Tate will return to his hometown when Ohio State faces Northwestern at Wrigley Field. When asked Thursday about Tate and how much it means for the sophomore receiver to return to Chicago after such a loss, Ryan Day offered an incredible response:
“I just cannot say enough about Carnell Tate. I’m not gonna get into it right now, but I just have so much respect for who he is as a person, what he’s been through, and the fact that he’s going back to Chicago,” Day said.
But he didn’t stop there.
“I want to win this game personally for him,” Day said. “I know this team respects the fact that he’s going home – and it means a lot to him. He’s not a guy who speaks a lot or says a lot or tries to bring a lot of attention to himself. He’s a team player. I know the team loves who he is. I know Buckeye Nation appreciates him.”
Will Ohio State-Northwestern be The Carnell Tate Game?https://t.co/eHra3hel8O pic.twitter.com/QTxKXxo0qX
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 14, 2024
I’ve listened to Day praise a lot of people in his six years as head coach, but I’ve never heard praise as powerful as that. I know who to take as a Player to Watch in Last Call on Saturday. Give me Carnell Tate for at least a couple of catches and a touchdown – oh, and get me some tissues when he catches the ball in the end zone. There’s a good chance I’ll need them.
“THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM IS INDIANA.” Who is the best football team in the Big Ten? That’s the question Adam Rittenberg of ESPN asked two of the conference’s defensive coordinators this week. The first answered Oregon. The second answered Indiana.
“Oregon is the best team, with Ohio State as a close second,” the first coordinator said.
The second coordinator – whom Rittenberg said “has faced or studied” both Ohio State and Indiana earlier this season, which must mean the coordinator is from Michigan State, Nebraska, Purdue or Northwestern – picked the Hoosiers over the Buckeyes.
“The best football team is Indiana,” he said. “Now, they’re not the most talented team, and they’ll lose to Ohio State because Ohio State’s more talented than them, but if you want to talk about the team that executes the best and plays complementary football the best, that’s (Indiana).”
I know much less football than the second Big Ten defensive coordinator does.
Far less.
But here’s what I know that the second Big Ten defensive coordinator (apparently) does not: On Saturdays in college football, the best team wins, not the more talented team. That’s how we will all remember it, at least. If Ohio State beats Indiana next weekend, the Buckeyes will be a better team than the Hoosiers – and vice versa if the opposite outcome occurs. (It won’t.)
“A VERY CLEAN TEAM ON A MISSION.” I’ve talked about turf and kickoff times and Wrigley Field this week. That’s left little time to discuss Ohio State’s opponent, Northwestern. I’m sure that’s fine. I don’t think there’s been a demand for #content about a team the Buckeyes will steamroll. But still, to end this Skull Session, I wanted to look at some of the comments Wildcats head coach David Braun made about Ohio State this week:
Opening statement
“We have a great opponent in Ohio State. Having a chance to start our preparation last week over the bye week. It’s very evident and very obvious watching the film (that Ohio State is) a very talented football team, a very deep football team. It shows up on offense, defense and special teams. They are very well-coached in all three phases, a very clean team on a mission. You can just see the way they play, they way they play together, the way they battle. … They present a great challenge to our team and our program, but it’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.”
On Will Howard
“He’s very mature. He commands the offense, can make all the throws and understands the talent he has around him. He has done a good job of valuing and protecting the football. He has been efficient in the red zone. He’s big, athletic and has been utilized wisely in the quarterback run game. He definitely shows up in the red zone area. You know, he forces you to defend the entire field and be cognizant of plus one run game as well. He presents a lot of challenges.”
On how to pressure Will Howard
“It’s this really fine line between finding ways to pressure and get them uncomfortable but understanding what the pressure does and that it exposes you on the perimeter. The best plan of attack against an operation like this and a quarterback that’s playing at a high level is getting pressure with four. That will be the ultimate test for our D-line. Can we find ways consistently to rush four and affect Will? If we’re able to do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance to get them off rhythm. But we’ve got to find some selective opportunities to bring heat, especially with his talent and his processing and the talent they have on the perimeter.”
On Ohio State’s defense, which defenders require constant attention
“You could say that about anybody. But 91 (Tyleik Williams) definitely shows up inside, 33 (Jack Sawyer) and 44 (JT Tuimoloau) on the edges are both players that are incredibly disruptive in the run game and pass game. They’ve done a great job in building their entire football team, but specifically on that side of the ball. I went back and watched all the defensive tape from this entire season and tried to find some trends on things that maybe they’ve been exposed in or things they’ve struggled with. That’s a difficult task. They’re playing at a really high level right now.”
Now, take Braun’s comments about Ohio State and compare them to Day’s comments about Northwestern.
“I think Coach Braun is doing a good job getting these guys to play really hard. They’re very sound in what they do,” he said. “We’ve been in these games before with them where they’re going to play really hard. That’s what you expect this time of year playing in the Big Ten, especially on the road.”
Last week, Day complimented Purdue in spades. This week, he couldn’t even come up with one (!) for Northwestern – just that it plays hard.
Buckeyes > Wildcats tomorrow.
Big.
REMEMBER WHEN. Wait, I lied. This is the end of the Skull Session.
Trey Sermon vs. Northwestern in the 2020 Big Ten Championship Game:
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) November 2, 2022
29 carries
331 yards (Ohio State's single-game rushing record)
2 TDspic.twitter.com/1hx0S3hMGl
Trey Sermon.
Absolute legend.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Redbone" - Rindue (Childish Gambino).
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