Welcome to the Skull Session.
O-H!
Moments like this >> pic.twitter.com/RI24YoACdr
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 12, 2025
Have a good Monday.
BEFORE WE BEGIN… This is one of the crazier photos from the 2024 season:
Had bro touching his toes pic.twitter.com/Y86kKfUViS
— Robert (@JRAMNOTTHAGOAT) January 11, 2025
Jack Sawyer made potential first-round pick Cameron Williams bend over to the front and touch his toes like he was listening to Lil Jon.
That’s wild!
JUST A KID FROM PICKERINGTON. Jack Sawyer lived out the dream.
The dream?
One all people from Central Ohio pictured for themselves as children: To score the game-winning touchdown for Ohio State.
It was mine.
With a basketball hoop in the driveway and a field of green grass in the backyard, I won countless games for the Buckeyes. I did it in dramatic fashion, too. A 3-pointer as time expired in the NCAA Tournament (or magically didn’t expire because I, the shooter and clock operator, missed and needed an additional two seconds), a last-second touchdown in the BCS Championship Game, a walk-off home run in the College World Series. All moments that would land me on SportsCenter Top 10.
Those dreams – my old dreams – were Sawyer’s reality on Friday.
With Ohio State leading 21-14 late in the fourth quarter, Texas marched to the goal line and was inches from evening the score. Following a trio of stops from the Silver Bullets, the Longhorns went for it on fourth down, and as Quinn Ewers dropped back to pass, Sawyer knocked the football loose, scooped it off the turf and ran it 83 yards for a touchdown.
Jack Sawyer. Ohio State legend. pic.twitter.com/TwtwXvP1Ui
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) January 11, 2025
“It was a special moment. I love Columbus. I love the state of Ohio. I love Ohio State football,” Sawyer said.
Like all of us, Ryan Day “couldn’t be prouder” of Sawyer, who became an Ohio State football legend in the Cotton Bowl.
“This is a play that will go down in Buckeye history as one of the greatest,” Day said Sunday. “It was as happy as I’ve been in a long time, just watching the players enjoy that moment. I think that’s, as a coach, why you do this.”
Still, Day said that elation should be short-lived, as the national championship is still on the line on Jan. 20.
Sawyer understands that.
After all, he’s been dreaming about it for as long as he can remember.
“We’re going and competing for a national championship now, which is something I’ve always dreamed of bringing back to Columbus since I was a little kid throwing the football in the backyard with my dad with an Ohio State jersey on,” Sawyer said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
GIVE US AN INCH… and we’ll defend it.
That’s been Ohio State’s mindset all season on defense.
As Eleven Warriors assistant producer Josh Poloha wrote about after the game, Ohio State had a Goal Line Stand for the Ages that Sawyer capped off with his 83-yard strip-sack scoop-and-score. Before that magical moment, the Buckeyes stuffed Jerrick Gibson for no gain, tackled Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss and forced an Ewers incompletion.
All in all, this…
A DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 11, 2025
Watch @OhioStateFB's defense make four game-changing goal line stops #B1GFootball x #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/vxDwwhq7eI
… led to seven points for Ohio State.
When Sawyer scored those points (six of them, at least), it marked Ohio State’s 12th goal-line stand of the season. The other 11 resulted in a total of nine points for its opponents. Here’s a breakdown of all of them, via the College Football Reddit:
Oregon (regular season): Three goal-line stands, six points allowed
- 1st-and-Goal at the 9: FG from the 9
- 1st-and-Goal at the 9: Turnover on downs at the 2
- 1st-and-Goal at the 9: FG from the 1
Nebraska: One goal-line stand, zero points allowed
- 1st-and-Goal at the 7: Turnover on downs at the 2
Penn State: Two goal-line stands, zero points allowed
- 1st-and-Goal at the 3: Davison Igninosun interception in the end zone
- 1st-and-Goal at the 3: Turnover on downs at the 1
Purdue: One goal-line stand, zero points allowed
- 1st-and-Goal at the 5: Missed FG from the 3
Northwestern: One goal-line stand, zero points allowed
- 1st-and-Goal at the 6: Turnover on downs at the 6
Michigan: Three goal-line stands, three points allowed
- 1st-and-10 at the 12: Turnover on downs at the 3
- 1st-and-Goal at the 3: Jack Sawyer interception returned for 12 yards
- 1st-and-Goal at the 5: FG from the 3
Texas: One goal-line stand, seven points scored
- 1st-and-Goal at the 1: Jack Sawyer strip-sack scoop-and-score
Ohio State’s defense is on a whole ’nother level.
TOUGH AS THEY COME. Another wild stat from r/CFB: Since the start of its Big Ten schedule, Ohio State has faced more College Football Playoff teams than non-College Football Playoff teams.
No, seriously.
That’s real.
With all the talk of Ohio State’s “cupcake-filled” non-conference schedule of Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall earlier this season, the Buckeyes will end this season with the best resume in the FBS – and it won’t be close. Here is a look at Ohio State’s schedule since its matchup with Michigan State in Week 5:
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | SCORE | OPP. FINAL RECORD | OPP. FINAL GAME RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MICHIGAN STATE | EAST LANSING, MI | 38-7 | 5-7 | MISSED BOWL GAME |
| IOWA | COLUMBUS, OH | 35-7 | 8-5 | LOST MUSIC CITY BOWL |
| NO. 3 OREGON | EUGENE, OR | 31-32 | 13-1 | LOST ROSE BOWL |
| NEBRASKA | COLUMBUS, OH | 21-17 | 7-6 | WON PINSTRIPE BOWL |
| NO. 3 PENN STATE | STATE COLLEGE, PA | 20-13 | 13-3 | LOST IN ORANGE BOWL |
| PURDUE | COLUMBUS, OH | 45-0 | 1-11 | MISSED BOWL GAME |
| NORTHWESTERN | CHICAGO, IL | 31-7 | 4-8 | MISSED BOWL GAME |
| NO. 5 INDIANA | COLUMBUS, OH | 38-15 | 11-2 | LOST CFP FIRST ROUND |
| MICHIGAN | COLUMBUS, OH | 10-13 | 8-5 | WON RELIAQUEST BOWL |
| NO. 9 TENNESSEE | COLUMBUS, OH | 42-17 | 10-3 | LOST CFP FIRST ROUND |
| NO. 1 OREGON | PASADENA, CA (ROSE BOWL) | 41-21 | 13-1 | LOST ROSE BOWL |
| NO. 5 TEXAS | DALLAS, TX (COTTON BOWL) | 28-14 | 13-3 | LOST COTTON BOWL |
| NO. 7 NOTRE DAME | ATLANTA, GA (CFP FINAL) | TBD | TBD | TBD |
With its win over Texas, Ohio State tied 2019 LSU, 1967 USC and 1943 Notre Dame for the most top-five victories in a single season with four. The Buckeyes can break that record with a win over Notre Dame in the national championship game, as the Irish are the No. 7 seed in the College Football Playoff but the No. 3 team in the AP Poll.
As a Reddit user mentioned, this number of top-five victories will not be common in the future despite CFP expansion. Why? The Buckeyes faced three playoff teams in the regular season, hosted a first-round game and reached the title game. That combination is rare and will continue to be rare no matter if the postseason tournament has 12, 14 or 16 teams moving forward.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Carmen Ohio” - TBDBITL.
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