Welcome to the Skull Session
So, Matt Patricia, huh?
Ohio State reportedly met with former Patriots assistant and Lions head coach Matt Patricia about its defensive coordinator opening on Monday. https://t.co/uQfEIhEAft
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) February 11, 2025
Have a good Wednesday.
RYAN DAY’S BIRTHRIGHT. Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs made an appearance on the Field Talk Podcast after the Buckeyes won their ninth national championship. However, I didn’t see the video on YouTube because Field Yates or one of his producers created the worst SEO title of all time: Ohio State Safety Caleb Downs. That’s it. That’s the title.
A brief rant about stuff I and I alone care about aside, Downs’ appearance on the podcast included a moment I must share in the Skull Session – that is, how it felt for Downs to celebrate a national championship. More than that, how it felt for him to celebrate a national championship with Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
“The people that were on the podium, the leaders of the team, that was a surreal feeling for us to be up there, holding a national championship trophy, being able to take pictures with the trophy and hold it up with Coach Day. That was a special moment for him, too,” Downs said. “When we got to the locker room, everybody had the things they wanted to do and everything like that. Then we got back, celebrated with the family for a second, spent some time with them, took a couple of pictures, and that was pretty much it.”
Yates asked Downs to elaborate on what made the moment special for Day.
I locked in for his response.
“It’s crazy. When we went up on the stage, it was a bunch of us players standing next to the trophy,” Downs said. “I was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, where’s Coach Day? This is his moment. Where’s he at?’ We got him over there, and he was like, ‘Man, I felt like this has been my birthright for my whole life.’ I was like, ‘Oh, this is a crazing feeling for him.’ And then he got to hold up the trophy. I know that was a surreal feeling for him…”
** presses pause **
Birthright?
Day said winning a national title was his birthright?
That’s incredible.
** presses play **
“... For me, it was an honor (to see Day hold up the trophy) because he let me come in this year when I entered the transfer portal. I had a great relationship with him in high school — so it wasn’t that much of a change because they were one of my top schools in high school, and he was one of my favorite head coaches in high school – but I would say it was a surreal feeling knowing we got the job done. Everything we learned throughout the season, the lessons and the losses, got us to that point.”
That’s Ohio State’s head coach!
That’s THE head coach!
WELL, THAT’S NEAT! I discovered Tuesday that Ohio State’s postseason success in 2024 has helped the program’s combined record in bowl games and national championships shoot above .500, as the Buckeyes are now 30-29 all-time in those contests.
That’s important for two reasons.
- Go Bucks
- Just one college blueblood has a below .500 record in bowl games: Michigan.
Both reasons make me smile.
Here are the bowl records for college football’s “blue bloods”:
- Ohio State: 30-29
- Alabama: 45-29-3
- Notre Dame: 23-21
- Oklahoma: 31-26-1
- USC: 36-20
- Michigan: 24-29
For the heck of it, here are the bowl records for some other historic college football programs:
- Texas: 33-27
- Nebraska: 27-27
- LSU: 31-24-1
- Penn State: 33-19
- Florida: 26-23
- Georgia: 38-22-3
- Florida State: 28-18-2
- Miami (Florida): 19-25
ALWAYS BE CROOTIN. Big Ten football is about to improve – and fast.
This week, Scott Dochterman of The Athletic examined expense reports from all 18 Big Ten schools. Each school, from conference champion Oregon to conference bottom feeder Purdue, increased their recruiting expenses from the previous two seasons, indicating that all Big Ten programs have established plans to attract the best high school football talent in America to the league.
From The Athletic:
Football recruiting expenses have soared nearly 56 percent over a two-year period, with Big Ten schools combining to spend more than $30.1 million, up from $19.35 million in fiscal 2022.
In 2022, Michigan was the only program listing more than $2 million in football recruiting expenses. Last year, six eclipsed $2 million. Two years ago, only six spent more than $1.3 million. Now, all but one public institution’s athletic department hit at least $1.3 million.
...
Both Penn State and Washington recorded $2.8 million in football recruiting expenses, which is nearly double their 2022 numbers. Minnesota and Nebraska each saw leaps exceeding $1 million, while Illinois and Purdue increased their recruiting efforts by more than $900,000.
Increased recruiting budgets are one area Big Ten athletic departments have invested in their football programs. Another is via coaching salaries.
Although these numbers have changed significantly since the 2024 fiscal year concluded, there appears to be a correlation between football coaching salaries and on-field success. That’s especially true of the top five staffs.
Ohio State spent $28.5 million in 2024, which was nearly $8 million more than Penn State ($20.8 million). Oregon ($20.5 million) was third, slightly ahead of Michigan ($20.43 million) and Iowa ($19.2 million). All five programs won at least 10 games that season, and most have reinvested in their staffs in the last 19 months. Purdue by far spent the least ($10 million), with UCLA ($11.95 million) the next lowest. Their coaches from the 2024 fiscal year have both moved on.
As Big Ten schools continue to benefit from the conference’s billion-dollar media deal with FOX, CBS and NBC, I expect both of those trends to continue. I see that as a positive for the Big Ten, which needs some of the programs that have ridden off Ohio State’s coattails for the past decade to catch up and keep the pace. Otherwise, new additions like UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will send them into an even deeper pit of irrelevancy for years to come.
AND WE BACK. Ohio State was back in the lab this week.
to work. pic.twitter.com/exUtTF5b69
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 10, 2025
It's time to build a new foundation.
Building the newest foundation pic.twitter.com/wcxRqmLXYu
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 11, 2025
Spring football starts on March 17.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Feeling Good" - Michael Bublé.
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