Skull Session: On the Shoulders of Giants

By Chase Brown on December 3, 2024 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day and Jim Tressel
Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Shoutout to the Ohio State men's soccer team. Those dudes are on a generational run.

Have a good Tuesday.

 ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS. I’ll remember it forever.

Minutes after Ohio State suffered an inexplicable loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes stood in the south end zone as Carmen Ohio echoed through a shellshocked Horseshoe. Fans started to boo as Michigan stormed midfield, defensive end Derrick Moore leading them with the Block M flag. Becoming aware of their rivals' intentions to plant the banner on their Block O, the Buckeyes abandoned the Campus Chimes and brawled with the Wolverines. Ryan Day stood in a daze as it occurred. He asked a player running for the locker room, “What happened?”

I have asked the same question several times since Saturday afternoon.

Day is 66-10 at Ohio State. His winning percentage ranks first among active head coaches (.868). He has two Big Ten titles. He has three College Football Playoff appearances and one national championship appearance. However, he’s 1-4 in The Game, including consecutive losses in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. 

“It’s one of the worst things that’s ever happened to me in my life, quite honestly, other than losing my father and a few other things. For my family, it’s the worst thing that’s happened,” Day said before Saturday’s defeat. “We can never have that happen again. Ever.”

But it did.

How?

In the Monday Skull Session, I offered some reasons: Day and Chip Kelly’s insistence on running the ball at Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, Will Howard’s two interceptions and one of the worst special teams performances I can remember from the Buckeyes. I also contended that Day looked frozen on the sidelines — not because of the cold temperatures but because of the moment and the pressure that resulted from it.

Pressure.

For C.J. Stroud, it’s a privilege. 

For Ryan Day, it’s a burden.

As I reflect on The Game over the past four seasons, Day let fear consume him.

When he became head coach in 2019, some doubted whether a New Hampshire man in his 40s could understand what it means to be a Buckeye. Day silenced those doubters in his first year, leading Ohio State to an undefeated regular season, a win over Michigan, a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff. Standing on the shoulders of giants like Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer, Day seemed destined to become the next one. But then the Buckeyes fell to the Wolverines in 2021, and the loss knocked him off course. I’m not convinced the defeat was the cause; rather, the comment Jim Harbaugh made after The Game.

“Sometimes people standing on third base think they hit a triple, but they didn’t,” he said.

When Harbaugh communicated that Day didn’t earn his stripes, Day feared others would believe the same. From that moment on, he has been obsessed with proving a point that never needed to be made — that his teams are tough and violent, that his teams have resilience and strength. I like it when the Buckeyes have those qualities. But I like it more when the Buckeyes win. In pursuit of the former, Day neglected the latter. As a result, he has fallen between stools, allowing his once-promising course toward Ohio State greatness to transform into a dangerous path toward Ohio State mediocrity.

For his sake — and the program’s sake — I hope he can get his swagger back and lead the Buckeyes to a national title. That would certainly heal all most wounds in Columbus.

 DOES IT MATTER? DOES IT NOT? Hayes, Tressel and Meyer. I called each of them giants. That’s what each of them was as an Ohio State head coach. They all beat Michigan. They all won Big Ten titles. They all won national titles. But there are more than three things those men have in common. There’s also the fact that all three coaches were born and raised in Ohio.

I never put much credence to the idea that the Ohio State football coach needs to be from the Buckeye State. Still, I’ll admit — the more I mull it over, the more reasonable the take starts to seem. When I looked at how the program’s Ohio-born coaches have performed against Michigan over the past 50 years or so, it’s hard to ignore the records:

  • Woody Hayes (Clifton, Ohio): 16-11-1
  • Earle Bruce (Cumberland, Maryland): 5-4
  • John Cooper (Powell, Tennessee): 2-10-1
  • Jim Tressel (Mentor, Ohio): 9-1
  • Luke Fickell (Columbus, Ohio): 0-1
  • Urban Meyer (Ashtabula, Ohio): 7-0
  • Ryan Day (Manchester, New Hampshire): 1-4

Ohio-born coaches are 32-13-1

Non-Ohio-born coaches are 8-18-1

Does it matter?

Does it not?

You decide.

 TITLE TIME? Despite Ohio State’s loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes still have the third-best odds to win the national title (+400) behind Oregon (+350) and Texas (+380), according to FanDuel Sportsbook. While those three schools hold a comfortable lead, Georgia (+550) and Notre Dame (+800) round out the top five, and Penn State (+1000), Alabama (+1600), Tennessee (+1800), SMU (+3000) and Indiana (+4000) round out the top 10.

With the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field to be announced on Sunday, several reporters have predicted where Ohio State will land. I’ve collected a few of them and placed them below:

  • Kyle Bonagura, ESPN: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Miami
  • Mark Schlabach. ESPN: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Indiana
  • Austin Mock, The Athletic: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Indiana
  • Pat Forde, Sports Illustrated: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee
  • Brad Crawford, CBS Sports: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee

I can see Ohio State-Miami and Ohio State-Tennesee. But I cannot see Ohio State-Indiana. 

While it makes sense for the Buckeyes and Hoosiers to be No. 7 and No. 10, I think the committee will avoid a rematch between the teams at all costs. Remember: The College Football Playoff determines the national champion, but it’s also a television show. I’m sure Ohio State (and its fans) would love a rematch with Team Google Me, but would casuals? No. The answer is no. So expect the Buckeyes to face a team like Miami, Tennessee or Arizona State in the first round of the CFP.

 SOME GOOD NEWS. Ohio State landed its second commitment in the 2027 class on Monday: Five-star quarterback Brady Edmunds.

I know he's not an offensive lineman or defensive end, but I'll celebrate this one all the same. Edmunds is an elite prospect with elite timing — and that's both on and off the field. This kind of announcement? When Ohio State fans need a win? That's sweet.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Unknown" - Hozier.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. Elton John says he has lost his eyesight and struggles to see his new stage musical... Do you have "brain rot" from endless social media?... Philadelphia ready to go the distance with RockyFest week dedicated to "Rocky" movies... Scientists gather to decode the puzzle of the world’s rarest whale in "extraordinary" New Zealand study... Silent but Deadly.

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