\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tIs this good?\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tBetween 1936 and 2025, this is the first time Ohio State’s defense has held its opponent under 100 rushing yards in 10 straight games pic.twitter.com\/ebuqQHGAIr<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tI think it’s good.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0WELCOME TO HATE WEEK. It\u2019s Hate Week. Let\u2019s kick off the Hate Week Skull Sessions properly this time<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFill in the blank (in the comments section below \u2014 yes, that means you need to log in!):\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe don\u2019t give a ____ for the whole state of Michigan!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0IT’S TIME FOR WAR.\u00a0Ohio State beat Rutgers 42-9, yet I don\u2019t have much to talk about from the win.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWith Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate unavailable, the offense operated without its top two pass catchers. The version we watched isn\u2019t a preview of what\u2019s to come in Ann Arbor, as both Smith and Tate should be back in uniform for The Game.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State\u2019s wide receivers combined for four catches for 33 yards, a number that looks jarring until you remember the two players who command the most attention weren\u2019t dressed. Without Smith and Tate, the Buckeyes naturally leaned on the parts of the offense that were healthiest and most reliable: the running backs, the tight ends and efficient throws to keep things on schedule. They didn\u2019t need fireworks to beat Rutgers. They just needed to control the game. And that\u2019s exactly what they did.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Buckeyes dominated in all three phases, though special teams added a bit of chaos for variety. Brandon Inniss\u2019 errant lateral to James Peoples erased what looked like a touchdown and turned thunderous applause into a collective groan across Ohio Stadium (or maybe that was just Ramzy Nasrallah I heard from the press box). On the flip side, Joe McGuire downed a punt at\u00a0the 1-yard line, a small but critical play that I\u2019d love to see him replicate this weekend (if Ohio State punts!).\n<\/p>\n \n\tSo again, I don\u2019t have any real takeaways here \u2014 not because anything went wrong, but because nothing about Ohio State\u2019s approach resembled the version we\u2019ll see against That Team Up North. Ryan Day and Brian Hartline didn\u2019t ask Julian Sayin to stretch the field. They didn\u2019t reveal much of anything. They did, however, put on tape that Max Klare can ball and that he\u2019s someone the Wolverines will have to account for in their game plan.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State\u2019s defense looked great again. The Silver Bullets handled Rutgers like a No. 1 team should: comfortably, decisively and without showing their hand.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis weekend is the real test.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s the moment we\u2019ve all been waiting for.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s war.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BUSINESS-LIKE BUCKEYES. Ryan Day has described his team as business-like all season. He did it again after Ohio State beat Rutgers.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOur guys had a really good week of work in terms of focus, and it was an opportunity for guys to step up in different ways. Whether it was special teams or on offense, you know, nobody really flinched,\u201d Day said. \u201cEveryone was like, \u2018Come on, let\u2019s go play.\u2019 I think that\u2019s been the approach of this team and this coaching staff. It\u2019ll be the same way this week.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat line \u2014 It\u2019ll be the same way this week \u2014 stood out. I like the sound of it.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tDay wants this week to look like the previous 13 weeks, not just in practice but in every routine, including media availabilities. The Buckeyes will have a press conference with him Tuesday and with players Wednesday, just like normal. Day has long used consistency to prepare his team, moving the Senior Tackle to December in past years and TBDBITL\u2019s practice with the team\u00a0to October earlier this\u00a0year, all with intent.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe know everything that comes with this game,\u201d Day said on Saturday. \u201cWe want to keep it as routine as we can and keep the guys focused on what we\u2019ve worked on all year. And the No. 1 goal is to grade out a champion. We\u2019ll come back in Sunday, we\u2019ll grade this film, figure out who\u2019s a champion in this one and quickly move on to the Wolverines.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tA moment later, Day continued on That Team Up North: \u201cThey\u2019re always in the back of mind in terms of what we\u2019re working toward. We know this is the last game of the year and what it means to everybody here. \u2026 We\u2019re excited about this one and just need to focus on what really matters, and that\u2019s everybody doing their job and going on the road in what\u2019s going to be a great environment and going to get it done. That\u2019ll be the focus, and we\u2019ll continue to do what we\u2019ve done all year. That\u2019s it. And have a great week and focus on that day. And the coaches\u2019 job is to give them a great game plan, and we\u2019ve got to be at our best.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tFor Day, it\u2019s about chopping wood and carrying water<\/a>, the mindset the team read about in a book this offseason.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel like we\u2019ve focused on us. I feel like we\u2019ve been consistent in our approach. But that\u2019s all in preparation for this week,\u201d Day said. \u201cThat\u2019s what this was about, it was making sure we weren\u2019t just saying, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s just get to the end of the year and everything that comes with it.\u2019 Now we go. But along the way, when you think about how fast the season\u2019s gone, it seems like it\u2019s gone really fast. But then again, you think about that first game against Texas, and that seems like a year ago, just how different this team is now from when it first started, and so all the work that we put in has now got to show for us, and that\u2019ll be the focus this week.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tI am confident in Day and the Buckeyes entering the week \u2014 more confident than I probably should be in a coach and team that\u2019s lost four straight games to a rival. But Ohio State has been locked in all year, and I have no reason to think that changes now. Same preparation, same focus, same approach. Business-like Buckeyes. Maybe that’s what it will take to finally beat the Wolverines.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0A GOOD SID DAY. Longtime Ohio State football sports information director Jerry Emig worked his last game at the Horseshoe on Saturday. There were several wonderful stories told about Jerry after the Buckeyes beat the Scarlet Knights, but I wanted to share one of mine with you all to end the Skull Session.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAt a press conference after Ohio State beat Tulane in 2021, I raised my hand to ask Ryan Day about the Ohio Stadium turf, which made a dozen Buckeyes its victims the previous Saturday. Jerry scanned the room and called on me. Well, kind of.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m sorry. I don\u2019t know your name,\u201d Jerry said, pointing at me.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThat\u2019s OK,\u201d I said with a laugh. \u201cRyan, what do you think about the turf?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tI told Jerry my name after the press conference. He nodded and wrote it down.\n<\/p>\n \n\tA few months later, however, at a press conference before Ohio State women\u2019s hockey faced Minnesota-Duluth in the national championship game, I raised my hand to ask Nadine Muzerall about\u2026 something\u2026 I can\u2019t remember.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cChad Brown, Buckeye Sports Bulletin,\u201d Jerry said.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI didn\u2019t correct him. I just asked the question, prepared to spend the rest of my career on the Ohio State beat as Chad. It wouldn\u2019t have been that big a deal. But then a miracle happened moments later.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHave a good night, Chase,\u201d Jerry said as I left the OSU Ice Rink.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFrom there, Jerry and I developed a nice relationship. A lot of our conversations revolved around Ohio State, primarily the football and artistic swimming teams. Still, I appreciated his kindness, his curiosity and the way he made even the smallest interactions feel worth remembering. Jerry didn\u2019t have to learn my name, but he did, and he made sure to use it \u2014 even after getting it wrong once (or twice). That small gesture grew into years of friendly nods, quick conversations and the kind of press-box camaraderie that makes this job feel a little less like work and a little more like home.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI wish him the best in his retirement \u2014 and hope every day is a Good SID Day.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DAILY DUBCAST. The first Eleven Dubcast of the final week of the regular season\u00a0recaps the 42-9 win for Ohio State over Rutgers, discusses the continued absences of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate and begins looking ahead to The Game.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Carmen Ohio” – TBDBITL.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0A pair of snowy owls spotted along Lake Michigan beach draws crowds in Chicago<\/a>…\u00a0Wisconsin archaeologists identify 16 ancient canoes in a prehistoric lake “parking lot”<\/a>…\u00a0Workers turn to “polyworking”\u00a0to combat frozen salaries and inflation<\/a>…\u00a0Jameis Winston TD catch could be one of NFL’s plays of the year<\/a>…\u00a0Shedeur Sanders is the first Browns QB to win his first career start since 1999<\/a>…\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders fire Chip Kelly after 11 games as offensive coordinator<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n