Welcome to the Skull Session.
Well... you can't win 'em all.
Final from College Station.
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) November 16, 2024
OSU: 64
TAM: 78
The Buckeyes are back in action Tuesday vs. Evansville at 7 PM in the Schott. pic.twitter.com/BSnqJP4zPD
Have a good Saturday.
GET IN, GET OUT. Before the season, I was excited about the prospects of Ohio State and Northwestern’s matchup at Wrigley Field. However, now that it’s here, the Buckeyes playing in a baseball stadium one week before a top-five showdown with Indiana, two weeks before the 120th edition of The Game and three weeks before a potential rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten championship scares me.
I am sure it scares Ryan Day, too – even if the head coach won’t admit it.
“It’s gonna be 100 yards. It’s gonna be in front of fans. We’re gonna go play,” Day said Thursday.
This afternoon, the Buckeyes need to get a comfortable lead in the opening 30 minutes and rest the starters for most, if not all, of the second half. The healthier Ohio State can be entering their final two regular-season games, the better. It needs wins in both to reach Lucas Oil Stadium – a place it hasn’t been to since 2020 – and the team being at full strength could be crucial in securing those victories.
So that’s the hope on Saturday: Get in, get out. With a win, with a clean bill of health.
Is that too much to ask?
I don’t think so!
Ohio State 38, Northwestern 6
THE MENU. This week's college football slate lacks considerable juice outside of the SEC, as the two ranked-versus-ranked matchups – No. 23 Missouri at No. 21 South Carolina and No. 7 Tennesee at No. 12 Georgia – come from the Southeastern Conference. Outside of that, there are not too many great games. But, hey, like I've said before, it's college football! We'll still watch it!
Here's a look at the complete schedule for Saturday:
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Tulane at Navy | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Utah at 17 Colorado | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Louisiana Tech at WKU | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| Liberty at UMass | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 2 Ohio State vs Northwestern (in Chicago, IL) | 12:00pm | BTN |
| 3 Texas at Arkansas | 12:00pm | ABC/ESPN+ |
| 20 Clemson at Pitt | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| ULM at Auburn | 12:45pm | SECN |
| Coastal Carolina at Marshall | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Murray State at Kentucky | 1:30pm | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| Mercer at 10 Alabama | 2:00pm | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| FIU at Jacksonville State | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Florida Atlantic at Temple | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Michigan State at Illinois | 2:30pm | FS1 |
| Syracuse at California | 3:00pm | The CW |
| Sam Houston at Kennesaw State | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Hawaii at Utah State | 3:00pm | Spectrum PPV |
| USF at Charlotte | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Oregon State at Air Force | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| 19 Louisville at Stanford | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Boston College at 14 SMU | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| 22 LSU at Florida | 3:30pm | ABC/ESPN+ |
| Virginia at 8 Notre Dame | 3:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| 4 Penn State at Purdue | 3:30pm | CBS/Paramount+ |
| Nebraska at USC | 4:00pm | FOX |
| Baylor at West Virginia | 4:00pm | ESPN2 |
| James Madison at Old Dominion | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| Troy at Georgia Southern | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 23 Missouri at 21 South Carolina | 4:15pm | SECN |
| Arkansas State at Georgia State | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Rutgers at Maryland | 6:00pm | FS1 |
| Arizona State at 16 Kansas State | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| 13 Boise State at San Jose State | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| South Alabama at Louisiana | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Southern Miss at Texas State | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| 1 Oregon at Wisconsin | 7:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| 7 Tennessee at 12 Georgia | 7:30pm | ABC/ESPN+ |
| New Mexico State at 15 Texas A&M | 7:45pm | SECN |
| Wake Forest at North Carolina | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| Cincinnati at Iowa State | 8:00pm | FOX |
| UAB at Memphis | 8:00pm | ESPN2 |
| 18 Washington State at New Mexico | 9:30pm | FS1 |
| Kansas at 6 BYU | 10:15pm | ESPN |
| San Diego State at UNLV | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
MY PICKS. With another one-win, two-loss week in the books, I continue to hover around .500 with picks this season (14-13). That’s not a bad place to be. It’s not a good place to be, either. Like Ohio State, I want to be perfect in November, and I’ll be that this week as I ride with Boise State, Illinois and Georgia.
- No. 13 Boise State (-14) at San Jose State: Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has been incredible this season — so much so that he is a Heisman frontrunner along with Colorado receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel. With San Jose State’s run defense ranked No. 61 in the nation (148 rushing yards allowed per game), I expect Jeanty to continue his Heisman campaign in California, as not even 300 Spartans could bring him down, let alone 11.
- Michigan State at Illinois (-3.5): After a brutal five-week stretch of Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa, Michigan and Indiana, there’s a chance Michigan State finally gets a chance to breathe and knocks off Illinois in Champaign. However, I think it’s more probable that the Spartans suffer one more loss before bouncing back with victories against Purdue and Rutgers to end the year. I’ll take the Illini here.
- No. 7 Tennessee (+10) at No. 12 Georgia: Well, well, well. I picked Georgia to beat Ole Miss last week, and the Bulldogs fell flat in a 28-10 loss. With their College Football Playoff hopes on the line against Tennessee, how will Georgia respond? With a win. But a 10-point win? I’m not so sure. Give me Tennessee to cover in Athens.
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. This week, I considered the question: Could the Ohio State football program field a Sandlot baseball team? If so, how would that team look? The answer to the first question is kind of. The answer to the second is half-decent.
From what I could find in the bios on Ohio State’s roster, the Buckeyes have three former college baseball players: Tywone Malone (Infielder, Ole Miss), Joey Velazquez (Infielder, Michigan) and Jace Middleton (Outfielder, Ohio State). Emeka Egbuka, Lincoln Kienholz, Caden Curry and Ryan Rudzinski are among the Buckeyes who were prolific high school baseball players.
Those seven are locks. Hand them a bat and a glove.
But what about the eighth, ninth and 10th spots?
That’s where it becomes complicated.
I think the correct course of action is to choose the best athletes to fill the final two positions in the field, so I’ll pick Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs for those spots because – well, Smith and Downs are athletic freaks. Either of them could bat leadoff and steal bases. Either of them could be the centerfielder and track down fly balls with ease.
The team needs a pitcher for the 10th spot. Yes, Kienholz could do it, but with his baseball acumen and athleticism, he should be the shortstop for this make-believe team. Will Howard, Devin Brown and Julian Sayin are excellent choices here. Still, the best pick is Air Noland for no reason other than the fact that he is left-handed – and in baseball, being left-handed is desirable, especially on the mound. Give me the 6-foot-2, 195-pound southpaw to throw some heat from 60 feet, 6 inches.
And there we have it, our Sandlot roster:
- Caleb Downs, CF
- Emeka Egbuka, 2B
- Lincoln Kienholz, SS
- Tywone Malone, DH
- Joey Velazquez, 1B
- Jace Middleton, RF
- Caden Curry, C
- Ryan Rudzinski, 3B
- Jeremiah Smith, LF
- Air Noland, P
SONG OF THE DAY. "Centerfield" - John Fogerty.
CUT TO THE CHASE. New Hampshire shelter faces enor-mouse problem after man surrenders nearly 1,000 rodents... Only 8 monkeys remain free after more than a week outside a South Carolina compound... Military horse drenched in blood as it ran through London returns to duty... TV funnyman Conan O’Brien is tapped to host next Oscars.
