Welcome to the Skull Session.
Eleven Warriors editor Chris Lauderback said it best...
Ohhhh, so Sherrone deleted text messages with Stalions because he was... mad at Connor. Got it. pic.twitter.com/h5GUh5i7hH
— Chris Lauderback (@Chris11W) January 28, 2025
Have a good Wednesday.
THE COMPUTERS! OK, I have said several times that this Skull Session or that Skull Session would be the final time I feature Bill Connelly’s SP+ and ESPN’s College Football Power Index in the Eleven Warriors Morning Constitutional.
However, this Skull Session... this Skull Session will be that final time. I mean it!
At the end of the 2024 season, Ohio State ranked No. 1 in SP+ and College Football Power Index, with a considerable margin over the No. 2 teams, Ole Miss and Texas.
SP+
- Ohio State: 31.2 overall, 39.5 offense (3), 9.2 defense (1), 0.8 special teams (47)
- Ole Miss: 27.9 overall, 37.7 offense (7), 11.9 defense (3), 2.1 specials teams (1)
- Oregon: 26.0 overall, 40.8 offense (2), 16.3 defense (14), 1.5 special teams (26)
- Alabama: 25.0 overall, 37.9 offense (6), 14.6 defense (8), 1.7 special teams (15)
- Penn State: 24.6 overall, 37.5 offense (9), 13.1 defense (4), 0.2 special teams (66)
College Football Power Index
- Ohio State: 27.9
- Texas: 25.3
- Notre Dame: 25.2
- Alabama: 22.6
- Ole Miss: 21.7
FWIW here is where Ohio State ranked each week in the SP+:
- Week 1 (Akron): No. 4
- Week 2 (Western Michigan): No. 3
- Week 3 (BYE): No. 5
- Week 4 (Marshall): No. 4
- Week 5 (Michigan State): No. 3
- Week 6 (Iowa): No. 3
- Week 7 (Oregon): No. 2
- Week 8 (BYE): No. 2
- Week 9 (Nebraska): No. 2
- Week 10 (Penn State): No. 1
- Week 11 (Purdue): No. 2
- Week 12 (Northwestern): No. 2
- Week 13 (Indiana): No. 2
- Week 14 (Michigan): No. 2
THE BEST IN AMERICA. SP+ stated Ohio State had the best defense in college football this past season. So did Stop Rate.
What is stop rate? It’s a metric Max Olson of ESPN has produced since his time at The Athletic. Stop Rate measures “the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs.” It’s a simple metric, but can “offer a good reflection of a defense’s effectiveness on a per-drive basis.”
This season, Ohio State generated more stops than anyone in America.
NOTE: Only games against FBS opponents count toward Stop Rate
- Ohio State, 16 games, 78.5% Stop Rate, 1.11 points per drive
- Texas, 16 games, 76.9% Stop Rate, 1.14 points per drive
- Tennessee, 12 games, 76.8% Stop Rate, 1.32 points per drive
- Ole Miss, 12 games, 75.9% Stop Rate, 1.28 points per drive
- Notre Dame, 16 games, 75.7% Stop Rate, 1.34 points per drive
- Indiana, 12 games, 73.0% Stop Rate, 1.47 points per drive
- James Madison, 12 games, 72.9% Stop Rate, 1.55 points per drive
- Alabama, 12 games, 72.7% Stop Rate, 1.34 points per drive
- Sam Houston, 13 games, 72.7% Stop Rate, 1.55 points per drive
- South Carolina, 12 games, 72.0% Stop Rate, 1.54 points per drive
Why are some teams bolded while some teams aren’t? The bolded teams are ones Ohio State beat this season. The Buckeyes faced three of them – Tennessee, Texas and Notre Dame – in the College Football Playoff. I guess the Ohio State offense wasn’t too bad, either, was it?
Oh, and if you're interested, here's the latest from Jim Knowles:
The Penn State roots run deep.#WeAre x @CoachJimKnowles pic.twitter.com/3vgLYwRlmJ
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) January 28, 2025
REMEMBER THESE DUDES? I made an appearance on Rothman and Ice this week. To end the interview, Matt Hayes asked me about Purdue tight end Max Klare. I thought, Oh, yeah, Ohio State added transfers this winter, before breaking down how Klare, one of the most-coveted prospects in the transfer portal this offseason, can make an impact in his first season with the Buckeyes.
Considering I forgot about Klare and five other transfers as the Buckeyes completed a historic run in the College Football Playoff and won their ninth national championship, I decided to create an Ohio State Transfer Refresher ™ this week:
Max Klare
- Position: Tight end
- Size: 6-foot-4, 240 pounds
- Former school: Purdue
- Year: Third
- 2024 stats: 51 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns
- 2024 accolades: Third-team All-Big Ten
CJ Donaldson Jr.
- Position: Running back
- Size: 6-foot-2, 238 pounds
- Former school: West Virginia
- Year: Fourth
- 2024 stats: 163 carries for 734 yards and 11 touchdowns
- 2024 accolades: N/A
Ethan Onianwa
- Position: Offensive tackle
- Size: 6-foot-6, 345 pounds
- Former school: Rice
- Year: Fifth
- 2024 stats: 69.2 overall grade, 72.4 pass-blocking, 64 run-blocking grade in 549 snaps
- 2024 accolades: N/A
Phillip Daniels
- Position: Offensive tackle
- Size: 6-foot-5, 315 pounds
- Former school: Minnesota
- Year: Third
- 2024 stats: 62.5 overall grade, 65.4 pass-blocking grade, 66.7 run-blocking grade in 300 snaps
- 2024 accolades: N/A
Logan George
- Position: Defensive end
- Size: 6-foot-5, 259 pounds
- Former school: Idaho State
- Year: Third
- 2024 stats: 57 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss (!), 6.5 sacks
- 2024 accolades: N/A
Ty Howard
- Position: Linebacker
- Size: 6-foot, 200 pounds
- Former school: Duquesne
- Year: Fourth
- 2024 stats: 52 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery
- 2024 accolades: First-team All-NEC
Klare, Donaldson, Onianwa and Daniels seem poised to become immediate contributors for Ohio State, while George and Howard look like potential depth pieces next season.
With the departure of Gee Scott Jr., Ohio State needed another tight end who poses more of a threat as a receiver than a blocker. They found that in Klare, who is coming off a season at Purdue in which his production (51 receptions, 685 yards, four touchdowns) as a pass-catcher surpassed that of Scott, Will Kacmarek, Bennett Christian and Jelani Thurman combined (41 receptions, 442 yards and four touchdowns). Expect him to be one of the Buckeyes’ top receiving threats in 2025, alongside Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss.
While I think James Peoples will become Ohio State’s featured back in 2025, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Donaldson receive a considerable workload in the team’s season opener against Texas. That’s because he has experience – and lots of it – at the collegiate level. In three seasons at West Virginia, Donaldson recorded 421 carries for 2,058 yards and 30 touchdowns, indicating that he can be trusted with the ball in his hands. That experience will also be useful off the field, as Donaldson can teach Peoples, Bo Jackson, Turbo Rogers and Isaiah West what it takes to be a Division I running back at a Power Four school.
Tom Luginbill of ESPN once called Onianwa “the best offensive lineman in the portal and it’s not close.” I believe him. With Donovan Jackson and Josh Fryar headed to the NFL, Onianwa is the frontrunner to start at left tackle. Daniels is also a frontrunner to start at right tackle. However, the Minnesota transfer will have to fend off Ian Moore, who impressed the coaches in his first season, before he’s handed the job outright.
As for George and Howard, the pair of FCS transfers will have to prove themselves at one of college football’s prominent programs. Both have the potential to make an impact – the former more than the latter – but have established veterans ahead of them, like defensive ends Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson and linebackers Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese, who will make their opportunities few and far between.
COME ON, YOU BASKETBUCKS! I’ll admit it. This final section features some fanaticism. But not that much fanaticism.
Coming off wins over No. 11 Purdue in West Lafayette and Iowa in Columbus, Ohio State men’s basketball has 11 games left in the regular season. I think the Buckeyes can win 11 of 11; I think the Buckeyes will win nine of 11.
Here’s a look at Ohio State’s remaining schedule, with each opponent’s record listed as of Wednesday:
- At Penn State (13-8) on Thursday
- At No. 18 Illinois (14-6) on Sunday
- Maryland (16-5) on Feb. 6
- At Nebraska (12-8) on Feb. 9
- Washington (10-10) on Feb. 12
- Michigan (15-5) on Feb. 16
- Northwestern (12-8) on Feb. 20
- At UCLA (15-6) on Feb. 23
- At USC (12-8) on Feb. 26
- Nebraska (12-8) on March 4
- At Indiana (14-7) on March 8
If the Ohio State team that beat Texas, Kentucky, Purdue and Iowa shows up the rest of the season, I think the Buckeyes can win all 11 of those games. Since this is college basketball, I don’t expect that Ohio State team to show up for the rest of the season. That said, I think the Buckeyes will lose to Illinois on Sunday and Maryland on Feb. 6. The former is one of the best teams in America and will have home-court advantage, and the latter has an interior presence – Derik Queen (6-foot-10, 246 pounds) and Julian Reese (6-foot-9, 252 pounds) are absolute units – that the Buckeyes cannot match (see: the teams’ 83-59 final score in College Park on Dec. 4).
Outside of Illinois and Maryland, I could see Ohio State winning all of them.
Penn State is Penn State. Nebraska is Nebraska. (Those sentences make sense for Big Ten basketball fans of the past decade and change.) Washington is the worst team in the league. WDGADFTWSOM. Nerds. Mick Cronin can kick rocks. USC scored 36 points in a game earlier this season. Nebraska is Nebraska, part two. I love Trey Galloway (IYKYK), but this Indiana team is on a Train to Nowhere so long as Mike Woodson is the head coach.
Yeah, I could see Ohio State winning all of them.
The 21-10 Buckeyes sounds pretty good to me!
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