\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tThis was a great moment during Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame on Sunday:\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tOhio State basketball legend Jerry Lucas dots the ‘i’ during halftime of the Buckeyes’ battle with Notre Dame pic.twitter.com\/dhYvjM3UpG<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tAnd how about a two-BOOM Sunday?!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t#BOOM<\/a> Ohio State has its second defensive end for the 2026 recruiting class as former Clemson commit Dre Quinn becomes a Buckeye. https:\/\/t.co\/DI7fslFQ8a<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/yhffQStmxt<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t#BOOM<\/a> Ohio State lands its second commitment of the day as in-state tight end Nick Lautar flips from Louisville to the Buckeyes. https:\/\/t.co\/1BoccYcJyN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/E5CofKlk0k<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0GOT CHEMISTRY? Julian Sayin threw for 184 yards and one touchdown in Ohio State\u2019s win over UCLA, completing just 74.2% of his passes. That earns a just because it marks Sayin\u2019s third-lowest completion percentage of the season \u2014 ahead of Texas (65%) and Illinois (70.4%) but behind some absurd numbers: Ohio (78.1%), Washington (78.6%), Purdue (81.8%), Minnesota (85.2%), Wisconsin (85.7%), Penn State (87%) and Grambling State (94.7%).\n<\/p>\n \n\tSayin\u2019s production dipped as he played without Carnell Tate for the second straight week, and Jeremiah Smith battled what Ryan Day called a \u201cnagging issue\u201d that left him limping before, during and after the game. Sayin and Smith still connected four times for 40 yards, but all of those catches came in the first half before Smith exited. In their absence, Sayin most often turned to Brandon Inniss, and the Ohio State captain responded with a career-high six receptions for 30 yards.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe patience from Sayin to find Rodgers for the TD @OhioStateFB<\/a> adds on another vs UCLA<\/p>\n :NBC pic.twitter.com\/2hFKy4vHwg<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tWhile Sayin delivered an impressive strike to Bryson Rodgers while scrambling, it was clear Saturday that he doesn\u2019t have the same chemistry with Rodgers, Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham that he has with the starters.\u00a0Some of the throws Sayin made are ones Tate and Smith routinely pull in \u2014 but not the second-team receivers. To be clear, it\u2019s hard to fault Rodgers, Porter and Graham; after all, Smith is the best player in college football, and Tate boasts a ridiculous 92.3% success rate on contested catches.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State is a 33.5-point favorite over Rutgers<\/a>, so I\u2019d like to see the Buckeyes use what should be a comfortable win as a chance to get Tate and Smith healthy \u2014 and Sayin, for that matter, who hurt his ankle\u00a0on a play where the referees clearly missed a roughing the passer call<\/a> \u2014 and to help Sayin develop a better connection with Rodgers, Porter, Graham and even Inniss before the Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor on Nov. 29 and enter the postseason.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0RUN THE DAMN BALL! <\/a>Ohio State ran 33 times for 222 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday. How much of that came from the Buckeyes\u2019 offensive dominance versus the Bruins\u2019 porous run defense \u2014 they ranked outside the top 120 nationally entering the weekend \u2014 is up for debate. Still, I\u2019m glad I get to write about the positives instead of the negatives after a game against a team that couldn\u2019t stop a parked car.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAgainst UCLA, Bo Jackson led Ohio State\u2019s backfield with Tecmo Bowl numbers: 15 carries for 112 yards and one touchdown. Isaiah West and James Peoples shined behind him, with West collecting 61 yards on eight carries and Peoples recording 42 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Peoples received the third-most carries, he produced the best moment of the three running backs, a 19-yard touchdown in which he juked one UCLA defender (a little lingerie on the deck!) and hurdled another before running untouched into the end zone.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tPEOPLES HURDLE FOR THE TD @OhioStateFB<\/a><\/p>\n :NBC pic.twitter.com\/LdoQzT6UUy<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tI mean, look at that vertical! It\u2019s like he was wearing Moon Shoes<\/a>!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThese angles of that Peoples hurdle @OhioStateFB<\/a><\/p>\n :NBC pic.twitter.com\/WqgFIvrl7r<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tRyan Day said he was pleased with how all three of his running backs performed in Ohio State\u2019s win, especially with CJ Donaldson out for the game with an injury.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI thought the running backs ran hard,\u201d Day said. \u201cThere were a lot of runs in there where we were making guys miss on the first level and the second level, in particular, James.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tDay said missed tackles will remain an area of focus for Ohio State, as will finishing plays downfield.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt starts with the offensive line, and every play sort of looks the same to start with, but how are you finishing plays? We\u2019re going to get on the film and make sure we\u2019re finishing plays downfield,\u201d Day said. \u201cThe blocking on the perimeter has got to be strong. And that comes down to effort and mindset. Everybody\u2019s involved in the run game, and it starts with the offensive line, tight ends, Julian (Sayin is) involved. But at the end of the day, it seemed like the running backs were getting downhill and running physical.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tRutgers should provide Ohio State\u2019s running backs with another chance to build their confidence. Despite Greg Schiano\u2019s reputation as a defensive specialist, the Scarlet Knights rank No. 125 nationally in run defense at 196.5 yards allowed per game (with an average of 6.55 yards allowed per attempt).\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THE PEOPLES CHAMP. I am proud of James Peoples. The maturity and humility he showed following the best performance of his still-young Ohio State career really impressed me on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n \n\tPeoples was one of five Ohio State players to meet with the media after the UCLA game, along with Julian Sayin, Brandon Inniss, Caden Curry and Lorenzo Styles Jr. In a nine-minute session, Peoples wore an almost-permanent ear-to-ear grin.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State\u2019s RB3 behind TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins last season, Peoples admitted that this season hasn\u2019t gone the way he expected. Nevertheless, he\u2019s thankful to be where he is now.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen it comes to football, man, just keep growing in my faith, growing as a person, as a player, and each day coming to work,\u201d Peoples said of his experience this season. \u201cIt may not be going the way I intended it to go, but that\u2019s life. At the end of the day, man, you just got to keep going. I\u2019ve learned so much up to this point, man. I\u2019ve trusted in my Father and the Lord God, and he\u2019s keeping me going through this. Just keeping my head down, coming to work\u2026 celebrating with my team, my family and giving thanks to God.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s truly an incredible response from a 19-year-old young man.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn addition to inspiring me on Saturday, Peoples also made me laugh more than once, but none more than during his exchange with Doug Lesmerises about his hurdle.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDid you get a look at the hurdle on the sideline at all?\u201d Lesmerises asked. \n\tPerfect form; perfect response.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0HISTORY MADE. I have to end the Skull Session with Lorenzo Styles Jr.\u2019s 100-yard kickoff return touchdown. We went 15 years without seeing one, for cryin\u2019 out loud!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tSTYLES KICK RETURN TOUCHDOWN TO THE @OhioStateFB<\/a><\/p>\n :NBC pic.twitter.com\/n2n2mmHQQu<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tShoutout Ryan Day, Nate Ebner, Styles and the rest of the kickoff return team for making history!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY.\u00a0“Carmen Ohio” – TBDBITL.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE. Former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar will receive a liver transplant Monday morning<\/a>… Make way for the flock! Hundreds of sheep head through German city to their winter pastures<\/a>… Roger Goodell: NFL close to adding a “couple more” international games<\/a>…\u00a0A peek inside the Colonna Palace, Rome’s most exclusive tourist site<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI did. I haven\u2019t checked my notifications and stuff like that,\u201d Peoples replied.
\u201cWhat does that look like to you?\u201d Lesmerises continued, showing him a picture of the hurdle.
\u201cThat looks like perfect form,\u201d Peoples said, before joking that Ohio State\u2019s track and field coaches might try to recruit him this spring.\n<\/p>\n