\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tVictory Monday feels gooooood.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tThat’s a shutout #GoBucks<\/a> | @anduriltech<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/SywXTgLUDs<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) October 18, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a great\u00a0Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THIS TEAM IS GREAT. You tell me \u2014 how many of college football\u2019s best players does Ohio State have on its roster? Four? Five? Six? Seven?<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n\tJeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs entered the fall as the best offensive and defensive players in the sport. Carnell Tate, Max Klare and Sonny Styles were also well-regarded, so the number was at least five before Ohio State faced Texas in the season opener. But this year, several Buckeyes have established themselves in college football\u2019s upper echelon.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tI hesitated to place Davison Igbinosun among the \u201cwell-regarded\u201d tier because of the countless penalties he committed last season \u2014 it was 16, I counted \u2014 but through seven games in 2025, he\u2019s cleaned up his coverage and become one of the nation\u2019s best corners. His running mate, Jermaine Mathews Jr., has done the same. Both are, as Ryan Day called them last week<\/a>, \u201cthe kind of DBs you want on your team.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIgbinosun and Mathews have not climbed the mountain to greatness alone. How about Kayden McDonald and Caden Curry? Both Buckeyes were named midseason AP All-Americans<\/a>, along with Smith, Downs and Arvell Reese (spoiler: he\u2019s climbed the mountain, too). McDonald is the best nose guard in the nation, while Curry is \u2014 well, just look at this stat, per Cleveland.com\u2019s Stephen Means<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tCaden Curry through 7 games:<\/p>\n 34 tackles, 10 TFLs, 7 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FR and 26 pressures in 296 snaps<\/p>\n Chase Young through 7 games in 2019:<\/p>\n 23 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 9.5 sacks, 1 PBU, 3 FF and 30 pressures in 269 snaps\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Stephen Means (@Stephen_Means) October 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s important to note that Young accomplished that feat while double and sometimes triple-teamed, but it shows the kind of impact Curry has made in 2025. He\u2019s no longer a no-name.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThen there\u2019s Reese, who has NFL scouts looking like Slick Joe McWolf<\/a> when viewing his All-22 film. The Cleveland native has been so good this season that all the well-known NFL draft analysts have him ranked as a top-10 prospect (and in some cases, top five) for 2026.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd last but not least, there\u2019s Julian Sayin, who has established himself as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate, alongside Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson and Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza. (More on that in a moment.)\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s 11.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDid I miss someone?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tProbably.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s how talented Ohio State is \u2014 and that\u2019s surely what has Smith confident enough to declare the 2025 Buckeyes better than the 2024 Buckeyes<\/a>. Yes, Smith said this year\u2019s team is better than the one that won a national championship.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis year\u2019s team, we want to make a name for ourselves. We want to go down in the history books as the team (to win national titles) back-to-back,\u201d Smith told CBS Sports on Saturday. \u201cI feel like this team is better than last year\u2019s team. That\u2019s what I feel.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn the latest episode of Eleven Warriors Live<\/a>, associate producer Jack Emerson and I agreed it\u2019s hard to back Smith\u2019s claim until Ryan Day and the Buckeyes win it all again in January. Still, with the talent on this roster, I\u2019m inclined to believe him.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0KING JULIANNNNNN. Julian Sayin completed 36 of 42 passes for a career-high 393 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State\u2019s win over Wisconsin.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tFor Ohio State fans, Sayin\u2019s performance felt like just another day in the office for the Buckeyes\u2019 quarterback, who had completed 78.4 percent of his passes for 1,479 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions during the team\u2019s 6-0 start. OK, maybe not just another day in the office \u2014 more like one where a co-worker brought in donuts and coffee to share.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut for non-Ohio State fans, Sayin\u2019s performance put him on the map \u2014 specifically, a Heisman Trophy map<\/a> near Simpson and Mendoza.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tSayin\u2019s teammates leap at opportunities to praise him. This past offseason, Jeremiah Smith said his quarterback can \u201cmake any and every throw,\u201d a statement he reiterated<\/a> following Ohio State\u2019s win over Grambling State. On Saturday, Tate called Sayin \u201cthe truth.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe\u2019s the truth. He\u2019s the Heisman winner. Ain\u2019t no question, ifs ands or doubts,\u201d Tate said. \u201cEach and every week, he goes out there to prove to us why he\u2019s a Heisman winner.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tSayin\u2019s 80 percent completion rate leads the nation (the next closest quarterback is Marshall\u2019s Carlos Del Rio-Wilson at 74.4 percent).\u00a0His 189.7 passer rating ranks second behind Mendoza\u2019s 191 and his 86.9 QBR ranks fourth behind USC\u2019s Jayden Maiava, Georgia\u2019s Gunner Stockton and Arkansas\u2019 Taylen Green.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tFitting the California quarterback mold, Sayin continues to look calm and poised as Ryan Day, Brian Hartline and Billy Fessler ask more of him week after week.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe really tried to put a lot on his plate today and let him push the ball down the field,\u201d Day told CBS Sports on Saturday. \u201cI thought he made some really good decisions. I thought there were some really good catches as well, but he\u2019s making good decisions. I thought he made a couple of really good scramble plays down the stretch as well.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn a press conference with reporters, Day continued his praise for Sayin, who\u00a0translates information processed in weekday meetings to the field in weekend games, Day said.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI sit in those meetings with Billy and he and Lincoln (Kienholz) and the amount of information that he\u2019s processing and those guys go through in those meetings is well done. And when you see it translate to on the field, that\u2019s winning football,\u201d Day said. \u201cWhen you can take a meeting to the field as quickly as he can and then see it and then process it \u2014 you know, is he perfect? No, there are things he\u2019s gonna work to get better at, but man, he\u2019s got a bright future ahead of him.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tOh yeah, Sayin is a redshirt freshman. Ha, we have at least another year and a half with this kid \u2014 and he\u2019s already this good.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CARNELL GREAT. You know who else is good?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tMy mom!<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAny Regular Show<\/a> fans out there?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tJust me?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tCool, cool, cool.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOn a serious note, Carnell Tate is good. Like, so, so, so good.\n<\/p>\n \n\tTate had six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns against Wisconsin. His second catch \u2014 the 100th of his career \u2014 deserves to be on repeat all week. Tate leaped over two defenders, lost his helmet and still scored Ohio State\u2019s first touchdown of the game.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tRyan Day called it \u201can All-American catch,\u201d which sounds cool, but the context Day provided made it sound even cooler.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOn the play before Tate\u2019s touchdown, Brandon Inniss left the game with an injury. While Inniss entered the medical tent, Tate moved to the slot, and Quincy Porter entered the game as Ohio State\u2019s X. The following snap, Tate ran in a straight line to the end zone and hauled in the 33-yard score.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe had not run that play in practice one time,\u201d Day said.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDay clarified that he meant a practice this year because, according to Day, Tate ran the play two years ago against Purdue. Then a true freshman behind Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, Tate turned the play into a big gain for the Buckeyes.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat means it was just like old times for Tate \u2014 only better this time around.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJust happened to be two defenders up there,\u201d Tate said. \u201cI just went up there and grabbed the ball.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s hard to capture in writing just how casual Tate was when he said it. Like that kind of thing just happens. Oh, wait, this is Ohio State. It does!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0WAKE UP, MR. WEST! Ohio State\u2019s run game left a lot to be desired on Saturday \u2014 or as Ryan Day said on Saturday, the Buckeyes \u201cleft some meat on the bone in the run game, for sure.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tBo Jackson (10 carries, 26 yards) and CJ Donaldson (2 carries, 12 yards) combined for 38 yards on 12 attempts. That\u2019s 3.2 yards per carry. Oof. Thankfully, Isaiah West carried the load elsewhere, leading the team with 55 yards on nine carries \u2014 a healthy 6.1 yards per attempt.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBack in the summer, Carlos Locklyn told reporters at a prospect camp that we were overlooking West. Given that Ohio State already had Donaldson, James Peoples and Sam Dixon on the roster \u2014 plus Jackson and Anthony \u201cTurbo\u201d Rogers joining the program as higher-rated recruits \u2014 I laughed it off.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI should not have laughed.\n<\/p>\n \n\t(This is a good example of how Ohio State coaches are better talent evaluators than I am, and that all college coaches have forgotten more about football than I could ever hope to know.)\n<\/p>\n \n\tWest showed some burst in his nine carries on Saturday. More importantly, he made defenders miss \u2014 something Ohio State\u2019s running backs had failed to do consistently through its first six games.\n<\/p>\n The Lock Boyz adding a big time playmaker to the backfield who can do it all, welcome @IsaiahWest_12<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6eCdQa4Olx<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a good sign for a young back, so we\u2019ll see what it looks like and see where we are going from here,\u201d Day said. \u201cWe are going to look at everything and do everything we can to make sure we are more efficient and more balanced.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIf West keeps performing at this level, Day and Locklyn may need to rethink the Buckeyes\u2019 running back rotation. Could a setup where Jackson and West take the majority of carries, with Donaldson handling short-yardage situations, be the key to unlocking Ohio State\u2019s run game?\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DAILY DUBCAST.\u00a0The first Eleven Dubcast of the week recaps the 34-0 win for Ohio State over Wisconsin and explores if the Buckeyes will have enough remaining competition to prepare themselves for the late-season challenges to come.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY.\u00a0“Chimes, Carmen Ohio” – TBDBITL.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Former Buccaneers standout running back Doug Martin dies at 36<\/a>…\u00a0Florida fires head coach Billy Napier after 3-4 start to the 2025 season<\/a>… Madrid\u2019s annual “Transhumance”\u00a0festival of sheep and goats draws huge crowds<\/a>…\u00a0Robot rabbits the latest tool in Florida battle to control invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades<\/a>…\u00a0Thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing jewelry of “inestimable heritage and historical value” in brazen heist<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n