Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ryan Day... QB1?
We have a new quarterback entering the competition.
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) March 19, 2025
Ryan Day throwing some back shoulder passes today. pic.twitter.com/aPr27rtFaI
Have a good Thursday.
A 64-TEAM CFP?! ESPN’s Chris Low has done it again. Last March, he mirrored the NCAA Tournament and all of its Madness with a 64-team College Football Playoff, selecting Texas to beat Ohio State in the national title game… lol… we all saw how a matchup between those two teams went in real life…
Back with another attempt to crown a college football champion in a 64-team postseason, here’s what Low predicted would happen for Ohio State, whom Low named the tournament's No. 1 overall seed based on Bill Connelly’s preseason SP+.
First Round (in the Midwest Regional)
(1) Ohio State 45, (16) Boston College 14: A couple of guys from the Northeast, Ohio State's Ryan Day and Boston College's Bill O'Brien, go at it in this first-round game. Day, who was BC's offensive coordinator in 2013-14, has a sizable edge in talent and depth, and it shows as the Buckeyes score touchdowns on their first three possessions and win comfortably.
Second Round
(1) Ohio State 30, (9) Arkansas 24: Green is the better quarterback in this game, but Ohio State is the better team. The Buckeyes wear down the Hogs in the second half. James Peoples, who played in the shadow of TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins a year ago, rushes for 105 of his 140 yards in the second half.
Sweet 16
(1) Ohio State 28, (5) BYU 23: How do you cover Buckeyes receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate? It's a question teams asked all season. The Cougars do their best to keep Smith from torching them, but Tate does most of the damage with eight catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Elite Eight
(1) Ohio State 31, (3) Tennessee 21: The Vols get another shot at the Buckeyes after getting blown out in Columbus last season in the first round of the playoff. This game is much closer, and Tim Banks' Tennessee defense holds up most of the way. But the same guy who wreaked havoc on the Vols a year ago does it again. Smith has two of his three touchdown catches in the second half to lead Ohio State to its 10th straight win.
Oh, how sweet that matchup would be in back-to-back years! And how much sweeter that win would be in back-to-back years!
Final Four
(2) Clemson 35, (1) Ohio State 28: The first time these teams played was back in 1978, with Clemson winning 17-15 in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a blah game until legendary coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson's Charlie Bauman on the sideline late in the fourth quarter after Bauman intercepted a pass. Hayes was fired the next day. This national semifinal game doesn't include any extracurricular fireworks that rise to that level, but Klubnik and Ohio State's Julian Sayin provide plenty of fireworks on the field. They both pass for more than 300 yards, but freshman running back Gideon Davidson delivers the winning 24-yard touchdown run for the Tigers.
I loved the first-round result, loved the second-round result, loved the Sweet 16 result and loved the Elite Eight result. But that Final Four result? I hate it. I hate it so much. Ryan Day and Ohio State shot Dabo Swinney and Clemson in 2020, and the Tigers have been bleeding out ever since. If given a chance for a kill shot, the Buckeyes wouldn’t miss — I guarantee you that!
OHIO LEGENDS. This weekend, the Ohio High School Athletic Association will induct former Ohio State basketball stars Aaron Craft and Jacy Sheldon into its Circle of Champions.
A Flag City native and Liberty-Benton graduate, Craft was the 2010 Ohio Division III Player of the Year after he averaged 26 points, seven assists, eight rebounds and 3.2 steals per game as a senior. In four seasons, Craft led the school to an 88-5 overall record.
Across four seasons at Ohio State, Craft was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead the Buckeyes to the Final Four in 2012. He is currently in residency at OSU to become a surgical and medical manager of head and neck conditions.
Sheldon, a Dublin native and Coffman graduate, also won Ohio Player of the Year honors as a senior after collecting 28.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.1 steals per game. She left Coffman as the school’s all-time leader in points, assists and steals.
In five seasons with the Buckeyes, Sheldon was a second-team All-American and two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. She became the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, spending one season with the Dallas Wings before being traded to the Connecticut Sun this past winter. Sheldon also became the director of player development for the Ohio State women’s team in November 2024.
Craft and Sheldon will be honored during the Division VII final between Russia and Willoughby Cornerstone Christian on Saturday. Former Ohio State swimmer Hunter Armstrong will also be honored for his accomplishments at Dover High School.
IT’S * BECAUSE OF * THE GAME. EA Sports College Football 25 was a massive hit – yes, massive like a certain streamer’s low-taper fade – becoming the highest-selling sports video game of all time in total dollars. Now, EA Sports will share its spoils with Football Bowl Subdivision players.
According to The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, EA Sports emailed all FBS players Tuesday and said it will increase name, image and likeness payments from $600 to $1,500 for their inclusion in College Football 26. Players will also receive a Deluxe Edition of the game, a carryover compensation system for College Football 25.
NEWS: EA Sports will pay players $1,500 each in NIL for College Football 26, @TheAthletic has learned.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 18, 2025
- That's more than double last year's $600 and comes after record game sales.
- Plus, more for ambassadors and cover athletes.
More details: https://t.co/CzNe5nH5zd
“From the beginning, we’ve designed our NIL program to be accessible, direct, voluntary and equitable for all, offering the same base-level compensation to every FBS athlete that opts in using the OneTeam platform and COMPASS NIL app,” EA Sports vice president of business development Sean O’Brien told The Athletic in a statement. “This approach empowers each athlete to make their own decision. College sports are growing and changing, and our focus at EA Sports is on continuing to put athletes first as we bring them into the game in College Football 26 and beyond.”
Over 14,000 players opted into College Football 25, and EA Sports used the name, image and likeness of more than 11,000 players in the game. Almost all of Ohio State’s scholarship players opted into the game. JT Tuimoloau was the most notable exclusion, though his game-generated replacement, Tyler Bourne, was still a menace.
It’s been rumored (or perhaps even confirmed?) that Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs and Ryan Day will be on the cover of College Football 26. Last week, the three Buckeyes were at the Rose Bowl for a photo shoot that included at least 10 active players, five coaches and three former players.
I, for one, hope the rumors are true. I also hope – and this has not been rumored, to my knowledge – that College Football 26 has a “Champions Edition” (or something with a similar name) that features Ohio State hoisting the College Football Playoff trophy after beating Notre Dame in the national title game. Here’s what it could look like:
A National Champion deserves its own cover @OhioStateFB | @EASPORTSCollege pic.twitter.com/hNllQPr2K3
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) January 21, 2025
Me, personally?
I’d purchase that.
I’d purchase that so hard.
DID YOU KNOW… That there used to be gardens outside of Ohio Stadium?
On Wednesday, Ohio State posted images of the Horticultural Gardens, which were located next to Campbell Hall and Townsend Hall from the 1920s and 1960s. The gardens were “just a stone’s throw from Ohio Stadium,” the school’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences states.
Springtime nostalgia. Take a walk through the old campus gardens that grew near the 'Shoe.
— Ohio State (@OhioState) March 19, 2025
: @BuckeyeHistory pic.twitter.com/G3D4Wyq0zl
As the campus evolved, Ohio State moved the gardens along Lane Avenue. On July 11, 1980, the school opened the Chadwick Arboretum, named in honor of respected faculty member Lewis C. Chadwick. The gardens are still located there across from the Schottenstein Center and most of Ohio State’s athletic facilities.
Isn’t that cool?
I think that’s cool!
SONG OF THE DAY. "Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey.
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