Welcome to the Skull Session.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the 2024 college football national champions.
This is Ryan Day's America.
Ryan Days America. pic.twitter.com/YyoDtadMg5
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 21, 2025
Have a good Tuesday.
WELCOME TO FOREVER.
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One More, Then Forever.
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One More, Then Forever.
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NATIONAL CHAMPS pic.twitter.com/z4AcNuvOZu
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 21, 2025
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Welcome to Forever, 2024 Buckeyes.
A WELL-STOCKED TROPHY CASE. Last offseason, 11 Buckeyes decided to return for another season at Ohio State instead of entering the NFL draft: TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, Donovan Jackson, Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton, Cody Simon, Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom.
Each of them wanted hardware before their college careers ended.
A pair of Gold Pants. A Big Ten championship. A national title.
After Nov. 30, it looked like those Buckeyes would leave Columbus without those accolades. The loss to Michigan made the program plummet to its bedrock. Beaten and bloodied, Ohio State had the choice to submit. Instead, the Buckeyes, in line with their program motto, picked themselves up off the ground and continued to fight.
Over the next six weeks, Ohio State defeated Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame en route to a national championship.
Talk about hardware.
A Rose Bowl trophy. A Cotton Bowl trophy. A College Football Playoff trophy.
I know there were no Gold Pants.
I know there was no Big Ten championship.
But I don’t much care.
Ohio State won it all, cementing this team’s legacy as one of the greatest teams in school history.
“We finished the season the right way. We grew. We built. We responded in tough times. Man, that’s what life is all about. These guys learned a bunch of life lessons,” Ryan Day said of the 2024 team and its seniors. “They will go down in Ohio State history as one of the greatest teams to ever play at Ohio State. After all the things that have been said throughout the year, these guys are going to be cemented as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams ever.
“Only nine (Buckeye) teams have ever (won a title) — three in the past 50 years. These guys right here. There were not a lot of people who had that vision, but these guys did, They saw it through. Ohio State may not be for everybody, but it’s for these guys. I’m really proud of them.”
I am, too, Coach. I am, too.
THE TOUGHEST PATH OF ALL TIME. It’s hard to comprehend how difficult Ohio State’s path was to become national champions.
According to College Football Playoff seeds, Ohio State beat No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Notre Dame to claim the program’s ninth title. However, according to the College Football Playoff top 25, the Buckeyes beat No. 7 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Texas and No. 5 Notre Dame to win the inaugural 12-team tournament.
There’s never been a tougher path for a team to win a championship.
Ever.
The Miami teams in the 80s didn’t have to beat four consecutive top-10 teams to win it all. Neither did the Nebraska teams in the 90s, the Florida teams in the 2000s, the Alabama teams in the 2010s (and later), the Georgia teams in the 2020s or one-off title winners like 2005 Texas, 2010 Auburn and 2019 LSU. I left out several teams there, but I believe the point is clear. Ohio State’s title run is unprecedented; therefore, we must view the championship with proper reverence.
To make Ohio State’s accomplishment more impressive — something I didn’t think would be possible until I remembered the team’s stacked regular-season schedule — the Buckeyes faced three top-five opponents before the postseason started. Ohio State lost then-No. 3 Oregon, 32-31, in Eugene but beat then-No. 3 Penn State, 20-13, in State College and then-No. 5 Indiana, 38-15, in Columbus.
Ha.. that reminds me: Remember when people said Day couldn’t win the Big Games? Quick math tells me Ohio State went 5-1 against top-five teams and 6-1 against top-10 teams this season. How do you like them apples?
CHEERS, COACH FREEMAN. Attitude reflects leadership. Notre Dame's attitude in the second half showed me the leadership Marcus Freeman provides for the Irish.
Following an 18-play, 75-yard scoring drive on Notre Dame’s first possession, the Irish went three-and-out on back-to-back possessions before halftime. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s offense marched up and down the field, scoring on its opening three drives via one Jeremiah Smith touchdown and two Quinshon Judkins touchdowns.
With Notre Dame down 21-7 at halftime, the players could have folded. Instead, the Irish rallied behind their coach, who has inspired them to battle with their backs against the wall ever since the team’s inexcusable loss to Northern Illinois in South Bend. In the final 30 minutes, Notre Dame outscored Ohio State 16-13. It wasn’t until Jayden Fielding made a 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining that the Irish’s chances of winning fell to zero.
“We didn’t play the way we needed to get the outcome we want, but as I said to the guys in the locker room, there’s not many words to say when everybody is hurting,” Freeman said. “I’m just proud of them and proud of what they’ve done. I’m proud of who they are and the way they represent themselves. It’s just an honor to be on this journey with them. There’s going to be a lot of seniors that this was their final game with Notre Dame football, but they’ve left this place a better place, and I’m very grateful to be on the journey with them.”
If Ohio State didn’t already have the best coach in college football, I’d love to have Freeman lead the Buckeyes. He is great, and I hope he has success at Notre Dame for years to come — except when the Irish face the Buckeyes, of course.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Carmen Ohio" - TBDBITL.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Ohio State students storm Ohio Stadium in celebration of national championship... Ohio State will host a national championship celebration at Ohio Stadium on Sunday at noon... A look at Ohio State's previous eight national titles... Will Howard breaks Ohio State's single-season completion percentage record.
It’s almost 5 a.m., also known as the time the Skull Session comes out. There’s a chance I will be awake when the clock reaches that point, which would allow me to post the article manually. However, I plan to catch a few more minutes of sleep before a 9 a.m. press conference and a nine-hour drive home back to Columbus, in which I will dedicate time to another Skull Session and other work-related activities.
None of that feels real.
Neither does the fact that Ohio State won a national championship.
But it did!
That happened!
Incredible!
I’ll talk to you all tomorrow.
