\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tOhio State plays a football game this week!\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tNext Game<\/p>\n
7:30 PM \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM DALLAS. Dan Hope and I have arrived in Dallas to cover Ohio State\u2019s Cotton Bowl matchup with Miami.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOur plane took off from the wonderful John Glenn International Airport<\/a> around 7:15 a.m. ET on Sunday. The concourses were packed with travelers heading home from a Columbus Christmas \u2014 or, like us, heading to North Texas to watch the Buckeyes break the Hurricanes for the second time.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhen our plane landed in Dallas around 9:30 a.m. ET, one passenger shouted, \u201cO-H!\u201d It was met with a healthy chorus of \u201cI-O!\u201d responses \u2014 and probably would have been louder if three-quarters of the cabin hadn\u2019t just woken up from their slumbers as the plane bounced down the runway.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe media will call The Westin Las Colinas<\/a> home this week. It\u2019s the kind of hotel I can only aspire to afford someday. But hey, if this is my one shot, I\u2019m going to enjoy it \u2014 just like Dan and I enjoyed Sunday lunch at the award-winning BBQ joint Pecan Lodge<\/a>. It was worthy of the praise Dan gave it before we visited and of the nap I took afterward.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State is staying across town at the Hilton Anatole<\/a>. Dan and I were there Sunday evening to cover brief press conferences with Texans James Peoples<\/a> and Payton Pierce<\/a>. We won\u2019t be back before Wednesday\u2019s game, but we\u2019ll spend plenty of time at Jerry World, covering Ohio State\u2019s media day (10:15-11 a.m. ET) and practice (15 minutes between 4 and 6 p.m. ET) on Monday, followed by the head coaches news conference (1:30-2:15 p.m. ET) on Tuesday \u2014 all for Eleven Warriors.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s a short week, a big stage and a familiar opponent, and we\u2019ll have you covered every step of the way.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cI DO NOW, I GUESS.\u201d Kyle Whittingham liked Ohio State \u2014 until he became Michigan\u2019s head coach.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn Whittingham\u2019s introductory press conference on Sunday, a reporter asked the 66-year-old if he dislikes the Buckeyes.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI do now, I guess,\u201d Whittingham answered.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHe continued, \u201cI followed them for quite a while. Me and Urban Meyer were on the same staff at Utah, obviously, (I was his) defensive coordinator, so there was a real tight bond there. And I followed his career and stayed in touch throughout the course of his career. He had great success there. But now I\u2019m on the right side of the deal.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tI found it hilarious that Whittingham then wondered aloud whether Meyer\u2019s name is banned at Michigan like Voldemort in the Harry Potter universe \u2014 which, frankly, it should be, considering Meyer went 7\u20130 against the Wolverines.\n<\/p>\n \n\tA name that will forever be used in Ann Arbor, however, is Bo Schembechler. Whittingham said Schembechler hooked him on football when he was just 7 years old after watching Ohio State and Michigan face off on television.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was hooked,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the honest truth.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhittingham hopes to provide the same inspiration for fans across the country as the Wolverines\u2019 head coach, but it will take weathering some storms at first.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere are some issues and missteps that are being taken care of, but the key is the players. The players are solid. The players here are rock solid. None of these issues and none of these things we\u2019re dealing with involve the players,\u201d Whittingham said. \u201cTo their credit, they just keep grinding and kept after it. I\u2019m so impressed with that because there were a lot of distractions and a lot of adversity. I\u2019ve got no doubt that everything\u2019s going to be handled properly.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tI liked Kyle Whittingham \u2014 until he became Michigan\u2019s head coach.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNow, I hope he fails spectacularly in Ann Arbor and the Wolverines spend the next decade cycling through coaches every three or four years. The Rich Rodriguezes. The Brady Hokes. The Jim Harbaughs without the cheating.\u00a0Yeah, that sounds good to me!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0MONEY, MONEY, MONEY\u2026 MONEY! Ohio State is worth $1 million<\/a>!\n<\/p>\n \n\tNo, Ohio State is worth $100 billion<\/a>!\n<\/p>\n \n\tNo, wait \u2014 Ohio State is worth over $1 billion.\n<\/p>\n \t\tMOST VALUABLE COLLEGE ATHLETICS PROGRAMS<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSCHOOL<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tVALUATION<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tTexas<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.48 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tOhio State<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.35 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tTexas A&M<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.32 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tGeorgia<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.16 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tMichigan<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.16 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tNotre Dame<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.13 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tTennessee<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.12 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tUSC<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.10 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tAlabama<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.09 billion<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tNebraska<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t$1.06 billion<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to CNBC\u2019s latest valuation of the top 75 athletic programs<\/a> in college sports, the Buckeyes own the second-most valuable athletic programs in America, trailing only Texas. The entire top 10 is located in the chart.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOutside of the top 10 are\u00a0Penn State, LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, Wisconsin, Clemson, Iowa, Illinois, Auburn, Stanford, Arkansas and Washington.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State sat at No. 1 a year ago but slipped to No. 2 after its revenue dropped 9% to $255 million in fiscal year 2024. The decline was driven largely by a 20% drop in ticket revenue, which an Ohio State spokesperson told CNBC resulted from having two fewer home football games in 2023-24 than in 2022-23.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt remains to be seen how the Buckeyes\u2019 nine home games in 2024 \u2013 eight in the regular season and its first-round CFP game against Tennessee \u2013\u00a0will affect revenue in fiscal 2025.\n<\/p>\n \n\tRegardless, Ohio State remains one of the\u00a0most valuable brands in college athletics, and that reality isn\u2019t changing anytime soon.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cIT’S JUST VERY STRANGE AND DIFFERENT.\u201d Six coaches \u2014 Tulane head coach Pat Sumrall, James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein, Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi and Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline \u2014 have worn or are wearing multiple hats during the College Football Playoff. Sumrall at Florida, Chesney at UCLA, Klein at Kansas State, Stein at Kentucky, Lupoi at Cal, and Hartline at South Florida.\n<\/p>\n \n\tKlein spoke with ESPN\u2019s Adam Rittenberg<\/a> last week about what it\u2019s like to juggle two roles while helping Texas A&M prepare for its first-round game against Miami.\n<\/p>\n \n\t“It’s just very strange and different,” Klein told ESPN. “The difference of hats is pretty stark. One day, you’re doing one job. The next day, you go to the next one. You’re like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this even real?'”\n<\/p>\n \n\tRittenberg\u2019s piece also quotes current Maryland coach Mike Locksley, who led Alabama to the 2018 national championship game while simultaneously taking over Maryland.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t“I made the conscientious decision that I was going to work for the Bama job more than I was going to worry about the Maryland job until I got [there],” Locksley said. Maryland signed just two recruits during that early period, and Locksley hired only one or two assistants to help him with the new program. He deferred the bulk of staff and roster construction until after Alabama\u2019s championship game against Clemson on Jan. 7, 2019.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tLocksley explained that going all-in on the national championship would ultimately benefit both Alabama and Maryland.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“I don’t think there’s a perfect way to do it, other than my mantra was work for the job I have, and not for the one I’m going to. Because what will help me at the place I’m going is if I win and take advantage of being on TV and the things that being a part of a championship run can do for your future program,” he said.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tReflecting on the double-duty challenge, Locksley added:\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“Somewhere, there’s a fine balance between what I did compared to maybe what I saw Lane and Jeremy, kind of hiring coaches and having to do both, wear two hats. For me, it obviously didn’t work that great in the championship game. Probably played the worst game we played. But I wouldn’t say it was because of me taking the Maryland job, because I actually didn’t do very much work on Maryland while I was preparing.”\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tHe acknowledged that today\u2019s environment would make his approach harder, given how quickly coaches can influence future rosters through the transfer portal. Staff hires they make, even while finishing their coordinator duties, can bring players with them.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe realities of the calendar require double-duty coaches to devote parts of their days \u2014 or late nights \u2014 to the future, even as they remain focused on the next game.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tThis excerpt confirms one thing to me: Ryan Day\u2019s decision to take over as Ohio State\u2019s play caller is the right one. When Hartline accepted the USF job, his world split in two. Now it\u2019s Day\u2019s turn to prove once again that he\u2019s one of the best offensive minds in the sport. With clear eyes and a full heart, the Buckeyes cannot, and will not, lose.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DAILY DUBCAST. The first Eleven Dubcast of the week welcomes back show founder and guru of Wolverine hatred Johnny Ginter to discuss Michigan hiring Kyle Whittingham to replace Sherrone Moore shortly after Biff Poggi made a confusing podcast appearance ahead of the Citrus Bowl against Texas.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Easy Does It” – Goldford.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Debate over surfing in German park gets gnarly after city removes wave-creating device<\/a>…\u00a0Baby is born after the rarest of pregnancies, defying all odds<\/a>…\u00a0Foods with healthy-sounding buzzwords could be hiding added sugar in plain sight<\/a>…\u00a0The moon and sun figure big in the new year\u2019s lineup of cosmic wonders<\/a>…\u00a0New York subway ends its MetroCard era and switches fully to tap-and-go fares<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
AT&T Stadium
ESPN
CFP Quarterfinal Cotton Bowl
Miami (FL) pic.twitter.com\/s0wu0lh5TK<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n