Skull Session: Sevyn Banks Has Been Ohio State's Best Corner, Don Brown Calls Jim Harbaugh “A Perfect Head Coach” and Looking Back at Khalil Mack's Buckeye Domination

By Kevin Harrish on November 11, 2020 at 5:48 am
Some touchdown scorers are singing in today's skull session.
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Welcome to today.

Here is your daily dose of Justin Fields being better than everyone else on the football field.

It's like giving Dwayne Haskins' arm to Braxton Miller.

Word of the Day: Acrimonious.

 BEST IN COLUMBUS. I tried my best to have no expectations for a defense that just lost its coordinator and seven starters.

But still, given all the things that I thought I knew, I never would have guessed that through three games, Ohio State's best-performing cornerback would be Sevyn Banks.

Wade was pretty blunt and to the point when talking about his play yesterday, and I respect that completely. I also really don't think he's been *bad*, he just hasn't looked like an All-American, which was somehow the standard we set for a guy moving to a new position he hasn't played since high school.

But I think the real story here isn't how much Wade's struggled, but that Banks has absolutely balled out. Crazy what happens when you give a guy the jersey number to match his name. I assume that's what did it.

 “A PERFECT HEAD COACH.” You would think that at this point, it would have become extremely clear that Jim Harbaugh's stint at Michigan is on life support.

But apparently Don "They Ran 'Mesh' Again" Brown lives on a damn island cause he's out here claiming to be "blindsided" by the criticism of Harbaugh, calling him "a perfect head coach."

“I don’t think anybody likes criticism. I mean, I’d be lying to you,” Brown said. “Sometimes I get a little disappointed – and I’ve been completely kind of blindsided. (I’ve) stayed out of the social media circles during the season, no matter what’s going on, but it’s concerning. I could care less for me, but we have an outstanding head coach who does a tremendous job. I just think he’s a perfect head coach.

Great to see the Michigan delusions extend past the online message boards.

 REMEMBER KHALIL MACK? There are two ways to handle a guy single-handedly demolishing your football team – you can get absolutely furious, or you can tip the cap and admit you just got got.

I generally take the second approach (shoutout to Rondale Moore), which is why I'll never forget that one time Khalil Mack sonned Ohio State's entire offensive line for four quarters. And Jack Mewhort won't forget, either.

"We're in a fast-paced, no-huddle offense, and him and I are lined up against each other," Mewhort said of Mack. "I throw a cut block, get the defensive end's hands down, we're going to throw it quick so we want you to cut the guy. So in the middle of the series I'm like, 'Yeah, OK, perfect, this will be easy. I can do that; at least I can execute that on this guy.'

"So ball gets snapped, I throw a cut block, and I'm looking and I'm like, 'Where is this guy?' I didn't feel anything. He had stepped back perfect, pushed me to the ground, gets that legendary interception and runs it back for a pick-six. I remember rolling over and looking at him and being like, 'Wait ... he's like Superman.'"

Mewhort learned that day that Mack -- the best football player on the field that game -- could do anything he wanted.

"There was a spin move that he worked against [freshman OL Taylor Decker] that I remember being like, 'That ain't right,'" Mewhort said. "That's not something that a college football player should be able to do against another college football player. That's not fair."

One thing all the former Bulls mentioned: Urban Meyer spoke about Mack the Monday leading up to Ohio State's game against Buffalo, but the Buckeyes coach couldn't remember Mack's name and just referred to him by number. It's something that everybody at Buffalo used as bulletin board material.

"After the game," Licata said, "Khalil went up to [Meyer] and introduced himself and said, 'Hey, I just wanted to introduce myself, Coach. I'm Khalil Mack.'"

Dude was in the backfield almost every play and finished the game with nine total tackles and 2.5 sacks and this hilarious pick-six.

Mewhort was the one who got it on that play, but I'll never forget Taylor Decker getting turnstiled almost every snap of his first collegiate snap. Folks were calling for his head by halftime. And now, he's one of the 10 highest-paid offensive tackles in the NFL.

I bet he still gets post-traumatic stress every time he plays the Bears, though.

 THAD MATTA BACK? TIL – Gregg Marshall has not been fired yet. Related, we also have our latest entry into the "will Thad Matta coach again?" dairy.

It's worth noting that Matta no longer has to do fake interviews to receive millions of dollars from Ohio State, so if he's talking to teams there's probably a legit chance he's entertaining a comeback.

Hey, I'd welcome him back. College basketball's a better place with him in it.

 SUPERHUMAN. Imagine being over 300 pounds. Now imagine having 8 percent body fat. Now imagine being a high school junior.

I bet none of those things overlapped in your brain, but they do for Ohio State offensive line target Kiyaunta Goodwin.

Do high schoolers qualify for Bruce Feldman's offseason "freaks" list? Because...

 SONG OF THE DAY. "m.A.A.d city" by Kendrick Lamar.

 NOT STICKING TO SPORTS. How to tell the story of a cult... The rise of Japan's "super solo" culture... A Russian superspy posing as an artist stole top secrets from the White House, FBI and NATO for 32 years... A 91-year-old woman ate plant soil to survive after falling in her home... A man's accidental purchase of identical lottery tickets doubles his winnings... Why small talk is good for you...

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