\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s Indiana vs. Miami for all the marbles.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tIt all comes down to this. #CFBPlayoff<\/a> #NationalChampionship<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/p8KZAaRLn9<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tWho ya got?\n<\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0MONEY, MONEY, MONEY\u2026 MONEY! CNBC\u2019s Michael Ozanian<\/a> reported on Dec. 19 that Texas ($1.48 billion), Ohio State ($1.35 billion) and Texas A&M ($1.32 billion) were the three most valuable college athletics programs.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOne month later, The Wall Street Journal\u2019s Andrew Beaton<\/a> published a new set of valuations compiled by Indiana professor Dr. Ryan Brewer \u2014 this time focused solely on college football. Those numbers would suggest that Ozanian\u2019s projections were what ESPN\u2019s Mike Breen would call way off.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to Brewer, Texas still has the most valuable college football team \u2014 again, just the football team, not the entire athletics department \u2014 at $2.2 billion. Texas A&M ranks second at $1.59 billion, followed by Ohio State at $1.55 billion. LSU ($1.54 billion) and Michigan ($1.46 billion) round out the top five.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBrewer\u2019s study examines industry trends, cash flows, revenue and broader economic shifts to calculate what each team would be worth if it could be bought and sold on the open market \u2014 just like a sports franchise,\u201d Beaton wrote.\n<\/p>\n \n\tPerhaps Ozanian used a different formula. Perhaps his numbers reflect current institutional value rather than open-market valuation. I do not know. Regardless, it\u2019s clear that college athletics programs \u2014 and college football teams in particular \u2014 have never been more valuable than they are right now. Brewer told Beaton as much.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tAn annual analysis of programs found that valuations went up 46% over last year, as talent moves freely around the country and levels the playing field. https:\/\/t.co\/VnNL54tiXC<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 18, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s more value in college football than there\u2019s ever been,\u201d Brewer said. \u201cEven though they\u2019re paying players and it\u2019s more expensive, it\u2019s also worth more.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tBrewer pointed to Indiana as proof. The Hoosiers rank No. 28 on his list at $648 million, which may not sound eye-popping, but it represents a 67.9% increase from 2024 to 2025.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd Indiana may only be the beginning of a broader rise for so-called \u201csurprise teams.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s interesting,\u201d Brewer said, \u201cbecause different teams could ostensibly enter into that conversation in the future.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd Indiana may just be the beginning of a marked increase for \u201csurprise teams.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s interesting,\u201d Brewer said, \u201cbecause different teams could ostensibly enter into that conversation in the future.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0HE\u2019S JUST LIKE ME, FR. Speaking of Indiana, allow me to return to The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, where Laine Higgins detailed how Curt Cignetti transformed the Hoosiers\u2019 football program \u2014 all while eating the same Chipotle bowl every single day for lunch.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tCignetti, 64, is such a fierce creature of habit\u2014even by the maniacal standards of college football coaches\u2014that he eats the same burrito bowl every single day of every single week, except when his team is traveling. He orders rice, beans and chicken, skips the rest of the toppings, but adds a side of guacamole. His order costs $10.90 before tax and comes in at 750 calories.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tAnd as far as Cignetti is concerned, not having to worry about lunch is simply another way to spend more time worrying about football.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe just wants to be able to eat it, watch his film and go for the next game,\u201d says Indiana\u2019s assistant director of football operations, Jake McDonald, who has picked up the boss\u2019s bowl for the past two years. \u201cHe\u2019s a simple man.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tI promise that if I made $11 million a year, I would do the same thing. Burrito bowl with white rice, fajitas, chicken, tomato salsa, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce and guacamole every single day. It\u2019d be too easy!\n<\/p>\n \n\tBack to the story.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHiggins dubbed McDonald \u201cCignetti\u2019s burrito guy.\u201d He doesn\u2019t pay for Cignetti\u2019s order, and he gets all the rewards points. McDonald said he once had roughly 64,000 points on his account. (Unfortunately, he didn\u2019t realize the points expired after a year.)\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tFollowing Indiana\u2019s CFP win over Oregon, McDonald was sitting at 18,529 points \u2014 good for 11 free burritos, 37 sides of guacamole, 53 bags of chips or 218 extra tortillas.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to Higgins, Chipotle is well aware of Cignetti\u2019s burrito-bowl obsession. Company representatives hinted at their plan to gift Cignetti a \u201cCelebrity Card,\u201d good for one free entr\u00e9e, side and drink per day, to Indiana\u2019s coach after the national championship game.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHey, Chipotle, while you\u2019re at it, feel free to send one to 605 N. High St. #160, Columbus, Ohio, 43215, with the name CHASE BROWN on the front. Thanks!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0I LOVE MICK CRONIN TEARS. I love that Ohio State beat UCLA<\/a> on Saturday. And I especially love that, after the game, Bruins coach Mick Cronin once again behaved without decorum \u2014 a polite way of calling him an absolute jackwagon \u2014 by throwing his own players under the bus following a Big Ten loss.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI offer no excuses. Blame me. Blame me,\u201d Cronin told reporters. \u201cI recruited \u2019em. I signed \u2019em as free agents. We\u2019re not gonna win meaningful games if we can\u2019t stop the other team. \u2026 You can\u2019t give up 80-plus and win on the road. You\u2019re not gonna get 90 \u2014 can\u2019t do it. We scored 74 points on the road in the Big Ten. You should have a big-time shot to win.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThen came the turn.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOur defense is an embarrassment today,\u201d Cronin continued. \u201cLast couple of games it was great. Today, we couldn\u2019t guard \u2019em. We had plenty of time to get ready and talk about it, but the problem is we didn\u2019t have anybody who could guard (Bruce) Thornton or (John) Mobley Jr. In my opinion, we didn\u2019t have anybody interested in rising to that challenge. \u2026 Everybody wants somebody else to do the dirty work. We\u2019re a team that struggles to have dirty-work guys.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhen a reporter attempted to ask what could be done going forward, Cronin cut him off.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cNothing. Nothing,\u201d Cronin said. \u201cI can\u2019t trade guys. You get your ass kicked physically, you don\u2019t defend in the Big Ten, you\u2019re going to lose.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tI wake up every morning thankful that Mick Cronin is not Ohio State\u2019s head coach.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd before anyone launches into the \u201cold-school coach showing tough love\u201d defense, let me stop you right there. I played for a coach who gave me tough love from age 8 through my senior year of high school. That tough love was delivered directly to players \u2014 to our faces \u2014 not in front of microphones. And he spoke to the media often, back when ThisWeek still existed (RIP).\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhat Cronin did \u2014 and repeatedly does \u2014 isn\u2019t tough love. It\u2019s public finger-pointing after failing to have his team prepared.\n<\/p>\n \n\tYou offer no excuses? \n\tThen stop there.\n<\/p>\n \n\tTake the blame. Mean it. And handle the rest behind closed doors.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0OLYMPIC VILLAGE (LITERALLY!)\u00a0There are plenty of directions this section could go \u2014 the Ohio State spirit squad winning three national titles<\/a> at the UCA and UDA championships, the men\u2019s tennis team sweeping Xavier and Toledo in its season opener \u2014 but let\u2019s go here instead.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Ohio State women\u2019s hockey team will have 12 (yes, 12!) representatives at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. The Buckeyes will be represented on five of the 10 Olympic teams, an absurd number that underscores just how loaded the program has become.\n<\/p>\n \t\tCayla Barnes (graduated in 2024) \u2013 USA<\/p>\n \t\tHannah Bilka (2024) \u2013 USA<\/p>\n \t\tAndrea Braendli (2022) – Switzerland<\/p>\n \t\tJoy Dunne \u2013 USA<\/p>\n \t\tJenn Gardiner (2024) \u2013 Canada<\/p>\n \t\tSophie Jaques (2023) \u2013 Canada<\/p>\n \t\tMira Jung\u00e5ker \u2013 Sweden<\/p>\n \t\tEmma Maltais (2023) \u2013 Canada<\/p>\n \t\tJenna Raunio \u2013 Sweden<\/p>\n \t\tNatalie Spooner (2012) – Canada<\/p>\n \t\tHilda Svensson \u2013 Sweden<\/p>\n \t\tSanni Vanhanen \u2013 Finland<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State has become a powerhouse under Nadine Muzerall, including two national titles and four championship game appearances in the past four seasons, winning titles in 2021\u201322 (Minnesota Duluth) and 2023\u201324 (Wisconsin) while falling to the Badgers in 2022\u201323 and 2024\u201325.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn the history of NCAA women\u2019s hockey, only five programs have ever won a national championship: Wisconsin (eight), Minnesota (six), Minnesota Duluth (five), Clarkson (three) and Ohio State (two).\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis season, the Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the USCHO poll behind Wisconsin and sit at 21\u20133 overall. Their only losses came on the road at Minnesota and in back-to-back home games against the Badgers.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State\u2019s season will continue without three forwards (Dunne, Svensson and Vanhanen) and two\u00a0defensemen (Raunio and Jung\u00e5ker). The Buckeyes are set to host St. Thomas on Friday and Saturday and Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 30 and 31 before traveling to Wisconsin for a two-game series on Feb. 7 and 8.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe 2026 Winter Olympics will open on Feb. 6, with women\u2019s hockey competition running from Feb. 5\u201319.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THE ELEVEN DUBCAST.\u00a0When George Eisner is away, Andy Anders and I come out to play. That means an episode of the Eleven Dubcast about the Ohio State men’s basketball team and its chances to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021-22.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Man I Need” – Penelope Road (Oilvia Dean Cover).\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Sri Lanka unveils a rare purple star sapphire claimed to be the biggest of its kind<\/a>…\u00a0Green Day to open 60th Super Bowl with anniversary ceremony celebrating generations of MVPs<\/a>…\u00a0College football leaders debate playoff expansion ahead of Friday deadline from ESPN<\/a>…\u00a0Michael Irvin was\u00a0at the SNL Update desk to discuss Miami football<\/a>…\u00a0Gene Steratore chimes in on controversial Broncos-Bills officiating<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
You want the blame on you?\n<\/p>\n