Welcome to the Skull Session.
Remember when I wrote a Rapid Fire Skull Session on Black Friday? I'm running it back for Boxing Day – or as we call it in the United States, winners of the American Revolution — the day after Christmas.
Here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
Here.
We.
Go.
KING OF THE NORTH. Will Howard trolled Tennessee fans on Instagram this week. After he led the Buckeyes to a 42-17 win over the Volunteers in the College Football Playoff, Howard quoted Game of Thrones in the caption of his social media post:
That's my quarterback.
LAY THE BOOM. I didn't talk about it enough – scratch that, I didn't talk about it all – but Cody Simon shattered Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava's helmet on Saturday. I repeat: He shattered it.
Simon broke Iamaleava's helmet on Tennessee's opening drive. The Volunteers faced 3rd-and-4 from the Ohio State 31 when the $8 Million Man attempted to scramble for a first down. Simon slammed into Iamaleava at the line of scrimmage and drove him to the turf with some assistance from Jack Sawyer and Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
That's my captain.
THE BASKETBUCKS! In addition to Simon's tackle, I also didn't talk about the Ohio State men's basketball team's 85-65 blowout of No. 4 Kentucky at Madison Square Garden.
Big Ten Player of the Week Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 30 points and three assists, and Big Ten Freshman of the Week John Mobley Jr. added 15 points and three helpers. Behind them, Aaron Bradshaw had 11 points and three rebounds in his return to action, while Ques Glover scored nine points off a handful of contested jumpers.
Overall, Jake Diebler and his team put on an impressive performance. However, Ohio State football's win over Tennessee overshadowed it. That's understandable, of course, but it's still a shame, as a performance like that will be on the mind of the NCAA Tournament selection committee when it measures résumés in March.
THAT'S A LOT OF EYEBALLS. How much did Ohio State football's win over Tennessee overshadow the Basketbucks win? The world will never know. However, a lot of people know how dominant the former team looked against the Volunteers – 14.2 million people, to be exact.
According to Stewart Mandel of The Athletic, Ohio State-Tennessee attracted the largest television audience for College Football Playoff games this past weekend with 14.3 million viewers. Notre Dame-Indiana had the next-best audience with 13.4 million viewers, followed by Clemson-Texas with 8.6 million and Penn State-SMU with 6.4 million.
Eleven Warriors editor Ramzy Nasrallah said it best in our Slack channel: Noon games are poison.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Monday and Tuesday were marvelous. Ohio State landed running back CJ Donaldson Jr. (West Virginia), defensive end Logan George (Idaho State), tight end Max Klare (Purdue) and offensive tackle Ethan Onianwa (Rice). Those BOOMs came a week after the Buckeyes landed their first transfer commitment, offensive tackle Phillip Daniels (Minnesota), increasing the program to five incoming transfers overall.
I could make comments on all of them. However, this is a Rapid Fire Skull Session, so I need to keep pace! Here's the reason I mentioned the transfer commitments: On Tuesday, Tom Luginbill of ESPN said he's shocked Onianwa didn't declare for the NFL draft. He then added that Onianwa is "the best offensive lineman in the portal, and it's not even close."
Hes the best offensive lineman in the portal and its not even close. Cant believe he didnt declare. https://t.co/6NMc1U1zbm
— Tom Luginbill (@TomLuginbill) December 24, 2024
I love the sound of that.
GIVE HIM HIS FLOWERS. We had a whole post for the time Marvin Harrison Jr. took his final look at the Shoe after Ohio State's win over Michigan State last season. We didn't have one for Emeka Egbuka, however. To make up for it, here is an Emeka Egbuka Appreciation Section.
In 46 appearances for the Buckeyes, Egbuka has collected 189 receptions for 2,681 yards and 23 touchdowns. That means he's 12 receptions from K.J. Hill's Ohio State career record of 201, he's 218 receiving yards from Michael Jenkins' career record of 2,898 and he's 12 touchdowns from Chris Olave's career record of 35. With as many as three games left with the Buckeyes, the first two milestones are within reach for Egbuka. He could score 12 touchdowns in three games, but I'm not counting on it. I would love to see it, but I'm not counting on it.
Whether or not Egbuka breaks those records, he should be remembered as one of the all-time great receivers in Ohio State history. That's why this moment matters:
Taking it all in one last time @OhioStateFB senior Emeka Egbuka says goodbye to the Shoe. #B1GFootball x #CFBPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ypOVzWK6AJ
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) December 22, 2024
Go get the job done, Mek.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Hall of Fame" - The Script.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Snowy owl rescued from car grille by Minnesota woman who saved another bird hours earlier... Lindsey Vonn thinks her new titanium knee could start a trend in skiing. And pro sports in general... Stunning photos show lava erupting from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano... Discovery of 50,000-year-old baby mammoth a big boon to researchers... Hong Kong's plan to lure back visitors? It's black and white and eats bamboo... 2024 featured a rare calendar quirk: "Christmukkah."
