\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tYou love to see a C.J. Stroud appreciation post:\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tCJ7 appreciation post. pic.twitter.com\/sfWRorbPQI<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Thursday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cHUH???\u201d\u00a0Public service announcement: Don\u2019t believe everything you read on the internet.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWait, didn\u2019t I write that on Wednesday<\/a>?\n<\/p>\n \n\tI did.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhether it\u2019s an uncle\u2019s comments about his nephew\u2019s recruitment or a report from a satirical X account, take a second to ask yourself: \u201cIs this real?\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tJeremiah Smith didn\u2019t need much time to answer that question this week when he saw \u201cShane Tuttle\u201d report that the Ohio State wide receiver is making $0 in NIL money this season. The post even included a doctored quote that read, \u201cI want to win another National Championship. I figured that money could be used to make our team stronger in other areas.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tSmith simply quoted the post with \u201cHuh???\u201d and a few laughing emojis.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tHuh???? https:\/\/t.co\/nn63GlZLcJ<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tAccording to On3 and Rivals, Smith\u2019s current NIL valuation<\/a> sits at $5 million, ranking No. 5 among all college athletes nationally behind Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, Kentucky power forward Milan Momcilovic, Louisville center Flory Bidunga and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. While I\u2019ll admit those outlets have a better finger on the pulse of NIL valuations than I do, I\u2019d argue their numbers for Smith are already outdated \u2014 especially after he told On3\u2019s Chris Low<\/a> he could have made more than $10 million to transfer from Ohio State this offseason.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBut that\u2019s not how I operate,\u201d Smith told Low.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNow, just because Smith didn\u2019t leave Ohio State for a $10 million payday doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s playing for free. The Buckeyes have made sure Smith is well compensated as he enters what will likely be his final season before heading to the NFL \u2014 and he deserves every penny.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAfter all, he\u2019s the best player in college football.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0JULIO AND MEGATRON, ALL IN ONE. Remember Air Noland, the former Ohio State quarterback who transferred to South Carolina after his first season with the Buckeyes?\n<\/p>\n \n\tNoland, now a quarterback at Memphis, appeared on the Raw Room podcast with NFL veterans Daren Bates and Jalen Collins last month. While the trio talked football, Bates asked Noland to name his favorite wide receiver that he\u2019s thrown to in his college career.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJeremiah Smith,\u201d Noland answered without hesitation. \u201cJulio Jones, Megatron (Calvin Johnson), all in one. I\u2019m telling you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI don\u2019t know about that now,\u201d Bates responded.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019m telling you, though,\u201d Noland said, asserting his claim. \u201cI\u2019m telling you.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe got to see that established now,\u201d Collins said.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJeremiah puts his head down. He grinds,\u201d Noland said. \u201cYou gon\u2019 get some fear walking in front of him. He\u2019s one of them dudes.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tCollins, a former cornerback, laughed. That made me laugh because Collins was a second-round pick who played five NFL seasons before making stops in the XFL and CFL.\n<\/p>\n \n\tJeremiah Smith would pack him up quick.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut I digress.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNoland\u2019s point was that Smith\u2019s rare combination of talent, physicality and mentality makes him stand out even among elite college football players.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAn average college football player (sees him) and is like, \u2018Whoa,\u2019\u201d Noland said. \u201cHe\u2019s tough. You can see it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tHoooooo, man. Yes, you can.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0A DANGEROUS DUO. OK, one more section about Jeremiah Smith. Just one more.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis week, On3\u2019s J.D. PicKell<\/a> ranked the top 10 quarterback-wide receiver duos in college football, and Julian Sayin and Smith claimed the No. 1 spot.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Ohio State duo earned the top ranking because of their combination of talent and chemistry. In his first season as the Buckeyes\u2019 QB1, Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns, with both marks ranking among the best in the FBS. Smith hauled in 87 passes from him for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns, earning unanimous All-American honors and Big Ten Receiver of the Year recognition.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tAn Duo@juliansayin2<\/a> @Jermiah_Smith1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/TDd6jGmXpB<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tSayin and Smith finished ahead of several impressive duos in the top five, including Miami\u2019s Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney, Texas\u2019 Arch Manning and Cam Coleman, Oregon\u2019s Dante Moore and Dakorien Moore, and Notre Dame\u2019s CJ Carr and\u2026 Mylan Graham?\n<\/p>\n \n\tWow. PicKell is really buying into Graham\u2019s potential in South Bend.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe\u2019ll see if the former five-star receiver lives up to the hype for the Fighting Irish.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs for Sayin and Smith, though, we already know what both players are capable of. There should be plenty of fireworks from those two this fall.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0WELL, THAT\u2019S INTERESTING. Ohio State is college football\u2019s only recession-proof program, so how is it possible that the Buckeyes have never been the team that defined an entire decade of the sport?\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s the question I had after reading an article from Chip Patterson this week, in which the CBS Sports writer named the greatest college football program from each decade<\/a> since the 1920s. Here were his answers:\n<\/p>\n \t\t1920s: Notre Dame (83-11-3 record)<\/p>\n \t\t1930s: Alabama (79-11-5)<\/p>\n \t\t1940s: Notre Dame (82-9-6)<\/p>\n \t\t1950s: Oklahoma (93-10-2)<\/p>\n \t\t1960s: Alabama (90-16-4)<\/p>\n \t\t1970s: USC (93-22-7)<\/p>\n \t\t1980s: Miami (99-20)<\/p>\n \t\t1990s: Nebraska (108-16-1) and Florida State (109-13-1)<\/p>\n \t\t2000s: Florida (100-30)<\/p>\n \t\t2010s: Alabama (124-15)<\/p>\n \t\t2020s: Georgia (73-9)<\/p>\n \n\tPatterson named Ohio State as an honorable mention for the 2020s, lauding Ryan Day\u2019s performance as head coach of the Buckeyes. He wrote this about Day\u2019s program over the past six seasons:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State and Ryan Day, like Georgia, had their own local issues to handle before ascending to the top of the mountain. A four-game losing streak to Michigan placed immense weight on Day and the Buckeyes, but a bounce back in 2024 to win the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff moves Ohio State back in line to challenge the Bulldogs for decade supremacy.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State needs another national title to get level with Georgia in the decade count, but given the level of recruiting and consistency under Day, it’s likely they’ll have a roster talented enough to win it all nearly every year between now and 2029.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State and Georgia are the only programs to finish in the top-10 of the final AP poll in each of the last five years, setting a standard that Oregon, Notre Dame, Indiana and Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama are pushing to match. There is plenty of time left for Georgia or Ohio State to be unseated, but it’s easy to look at those two as the programs that have ruled the first six seasons of the 2020s.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tAfter reading this article, I was left with a would-you-rather question: Would you rather have Ohio State be an unquestioned Team of the Decade \u2014 even if that meant enduring stretches of mediocrity afterward \u2014 or would you rather have what the Buckeyes are now?\n<\/p>\n \n\tA program that is never bad, always in the national championship conversation and consistently among the most talented teams in the country, even if it hasn\u2019t had one decade defined entirely by its dominance?\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Here It Goes Again” – OK Go.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0“The Pitt” leads with 25 Emmy nominations and “Hacks” breaks record for comedies with 24<\/a>…\u00a0Justin Bieber and more join World Cup final halftime show featuring Madonna, Shakira and BTS<\/a>…\u00a0In-N-Out unveils 6 new locations across 5 states<\/a>… In an era of $1,000 tickets, $10 watch parties bring die-hard fans together<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n