\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tAnother\u00a0home night game?!\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThis is incredible!\n<\/p>\n
\n\tRemember the last time Nico Iamaleava had to play under the lights in the Horseshoe?\n<\/p>\n
\n\tI do!\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tThe last time Nico Iamaleava played at night against Ohio State. pic.twitter.com\/zip2aoJ14d<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) November 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0A CHAMPIONSHIP MINDSET. Ohio State led Penn State 17-7 with two minutes left in the second quarter. The last time the offense was on the field, it had marched 75 yards for a touchdown in 2:37. The Buckeyes were eager to extend their lead before the break. Then CJ Donaldson fumbled, the Nittany Lions scored their second touchdown, and Ohio State went into the locker room up just 17-14.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWith a three-point lead as 18.5-point favorites, Ohio State could have panicked or pressed in the final 30 minutes. Instead, the Buckeyes torched Jim Knowles and the Nittany Lions in a blitzkrieg (bop) that saw Julian Sayin complete all nine of his passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns as Ohio State outscored Penn State 21-0 in the second half.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s been a lot to love about the Buckeyes\u2019 performance this season, but the killer instinct they showed in the second half on Saturday takes the cake. Against a Penn State team that had every reason to be more desperate and hungrier, the Buckeyes put the Nittany Lions in a chokehold and won by submission.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe came in at halftime, we were up by three. You would have thought we were down by 21,\u201d Ryan Day \u2014 excuse me, Evil Ryan Day \u2014 said on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI thought we responded well. That\u2019s the thing, when you come out in the second half, you have to learn from the first half, but you can\u2019t dwell on it. We knew how important that first drive was. We were aggressive. I thought some of Julian\u2019s deep balls were just excellent in this game. And we saw how they were playing us in the first half, so we felt like we had a chance to get behind them\u2026\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tNo kidding. Listen here where Day yells \u201cGot him!\u201d moments before Carnell Tate beat his defender for a 57-yard reception:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tRyan Day yells got em from the sideline when Carnell Tate is five steps into his route on the 57-yard pass in the third quarter pic.twitter.com\/uzxdKXeZyn<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Bill Landis (@BillLandis25) November 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe called those plays, and Julian and the receivers did a great job, Jeremiah (Smith), Carnell. Then it was good to see us finish the game with some runs. Got physical. That was good as well. The defense was excellent, really stepped up. I know there were a couple of third downs early on that were frustrating, but I thought Matt (Patricia) changed it up a little bit, and then guys played really physical, got to the quarterback, changed up looks in the back end. A very good team win.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt was. And if Ohio State continues to let its desperation and hunger fuel its execution, there will be more victories like that in the future for the Buckeyes \u2014 perhaps even eight more!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BUCKEYES ON THE RISE. Following Ohio State\u2019s win over Penn State, Carnell Tate and Arvell Reese continued their ascent up NFL draft boards, while Kayden McDonald emerged as one of the fastest risers in the class.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFirst, let\u2019s look at what ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller<\/a> has heard about Tate since Saturday:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State has become “WRU” with Brian Hartline working as a master recruiter and developer of the position after his own brilliant career in Columbus and six-year NFL career. Tate is the next first-round receiver from Columbus, and each week, he builds a case for a higher grade. That includes a five-catch, 124-yard performance against Penn State that saw him score his sixth touchdown of the season.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tIn comparing Tate to the line of OSU receivers before him, his actual grade will be closer to Emeka Egbuka or Jaxon Smith-Njigba than players like Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson or even Chris Olave coming out of college. Both Egbuka (No. 19 overall) and Smith-Njigba (No. 20) were selected in the back-half of Round 1, and right now that’s where the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Tate is projected to land. His tape is full of physicality and an ability to win 50-50 balls.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“The great thing about Tate is you know exactly who he’s going to be at our level because of how well coached he’s been there,” an AFC East area scout said.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe biggest questions about Tate’s game \u2014 which are currently keeping him out of the early-Round 1 talk \u2014 are a lack of explosive yards-after-catch ability and some route-running inefficiencies stemming from his high-cut, long-legged build. But the overall picture is a very good one, and Tate is a top-32 lock on my board.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tClassifying Tate as \u201ca top-32 lock\u201d is extremely conservative. I\u2019ll hear arguments for Arizona State\u2019s Jordyn Tyson, but I think Tate has established himself as the No. 1 receiver in the draft class this season. He has an elite build at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. He has elite statistics with 39 catches, 711 yards (182 YAC) and seven touchdowns. Oh, and he has a contested-catch rate of 91.7% (11 of 12).\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn other words, if Tate\u2019s still on the board at No. 32 overall, I\u2019ll eat my shorts.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNext, here\u2019s ESPN\u2019s Jordan Reid<\/a> on Reese:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tNo prospect has improved his stock more than Ohio State’s Arvell Reese this season. But the main question becomes: edge rusher or off-ball linebacker? In the victory over Penn State, Reese once again flashed his versatility at both positions. Long term, I like the outlook of Reese (6-4, 243) rushing off the edge because there are very few blockers who are able to match his combination of explosive power, bend and physicality. The Reese conversation is reminiscent of the debates we had about Micah Parsons during the lead-up to the 2021 draft. And Reese’s climb up the board could go as high as a top-three pick. He has been that good this season, with 6.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tA top-three pick!\n<\/p>\n \n\tHe\u2019s that good!\n<\/p>\n \n\tLast but not least, here\u2019s The Athletic\u2019s Dane Brugler<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tI\u2019d love to talk about Arvell Reese again, because he was really, really good versus Penn State, but let\u2019s spread the love around a little bit.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe 330-pound McDonald was Ohio State\u2019s second-leading tackler Saturday \u2014 he finished with eight tackles and was dominant in the trenches. His ability to reset the line of scrimmage with power, find the football and then get hands on the ball carrier consistently disrupts opposing game plans.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tMcDonald\u2019s draft projection might be capped because of his limitations as a pass rusher, but NFL teams looking for a dominant run defender will be keeping tabs on whether or not the third-year junior enters the 2026 NFL Draft.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tBa da ba ba bah… I’m lovin’ it!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cI CAN\u2019T DEAL WITH IT.\u201d Hours before Marvin Harrison Jr. ran out of the tunnel for Monday Night Football in Dallas,\u00a0 Marvin Harrison Sr. ripped into the Cardinals\u2019 franchise in an interview with ESPN\u2019s Josh Weinfuss<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t“It’s very hard for me to watch the Cardinals’ offense,” Harrison Sr. told ESPN. “And you can quote me on that.”\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tA season and a half into his son’s NFL career, the elder Harrison has been forced to grapple with being a former player who’s the father of a current player. The balance needed to navigate that isn’t always easy to find. Harrison Sr. can’t help but watch his son’s games with the critical eye of a former player, and he wants, desperately, to help his son, to tell him what to do, to try to fix Arizona’s issues. But Harrison Jr. is an adult, a well-compensated professional, a fourth pick, and Harrison Sr. knows it’s his time to sit on the sideline, watch and try to enjoy his oldest son’s professional career.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tBut it’s hard. The 53-year-old Harrison Sr. is aware of how he sounds.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“The style of offense that I am accustomed to, that I’m used to watching as a professional eye, as a wide receiver … I just can’t relate to watching that [current] offense, that style of offense,” Harrison Sr. said. “Basically, I can’t relate to what goes on there.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“I think that’s just peacefully put, without pointing fingers or anything. It’s just me. I’m giving you the professional eye. I can’t relate to it. It don’t add up to me. I can’t deal with it.”\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u2026\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThose words aren’t new to his son.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tHarrison Jr. has heard his dad’s concerns and complaints dating back to last season. But Harrison Sr. walks a tightrope when he brings up football with his son, a rare occurrence these days. He stays away from talking about the day-to-day, not wanting to be an armchair quarterback from across the country because he’s not there, in the meetings, and he doesn’t understand the intricacies of the Cardinals’ scheme like he did the Peyton Manning-led offense in Indianapolis.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“I don’t get into what goes on the field and the things that I see,” Harrison Sr. said. “I just leave it alone. I don’t even bother bringing it up no more.”\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tSheesh.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHarrison Sr.\u2019s harsh criticism paid off for Harrison Jr. \u2014 for now. The Ohio State great had seven catches for 96 yards and one touchdown in the Cardinals’ 27-17 win over the Cowboys. We’ll see if he can build off that performance next when Arizona heads to Seattle for an NFC West showdown with the Seahawks.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BIG BUTT, BIGGER HEART. Like Stanley from The Office<\/a>, Penn State offensive lineman Vega Ioana has a big butt but a bigger heart<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFollowing Ohio State\u2019s win over Penn State, a video of Ioana assisting a Nittany Lions staffer push a cart up the visitor\u2019s ramp at Ohio Stadium floated around social media. In the video, the 6-foot-4, 330-pound guard jumped over a barrier to push a cart full of equipment toward the team\u2019s locker room.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tWhile being heckled by Ohio State fans, 330-pound Penn State OL Vega Ioane jumped a wall to help a struggling equipment guy. pic.twitter.com\/6QuCIPRXav<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) November 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tOn Monday, Penn State interim coach Terry Smith praised Ioana for springing into action, sharing how it reflects the players\u2019 character and leadership despite the team\u2019s five-game losing streak.\n<\/p>\n \n\t“I\u2019m super proud of this team. I\u2019m super proud of the leadership. These guys could have packed it in weeks ago. They could have lain down and quit. They refused to do that. When you see what Vega did coming up the ramp to jump across the banister and help out like that, it\u2019s a testimony to the guys that we have here in this locker room, it\u2019s a testimony to Penn State, it\u2019s a testimony to the program of how things are run here. We\u2019ve got a locker room full of guys like that \u2014 that are willing to do things like that, do things the right way. Obviously, we\u2019re going through some tough times right now, but that doesn\u2019t change our character.”\n<\/p>\n \n\tGood stuff, Vega.\n<\/p>\n \n\tYou\u2019ve earned my respect!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DAILY DUBCAST. Today’s Eleven Dubcast brings on Kyle Jones to speak on the upcoming return of Film Study after a week off and explore how Ohio State adjusted on both sides of the ball to ultimately blow out Penn State in a dominant win.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “My Hero” – Foo Fighters.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0AC\/DC has scheduled a concert\u00a0at the Shoe next summer<\/a>…\u00a0Christmas harvest begins in Germany, where some say decorating trees began<\/a>…\u00a0Underwater sculpture park brings coral reef art to Miami Beach<\/a>…\u00a0How Saquon Barkley became the face of a niche indie watchmaker<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n