Skull Session: Kirk Herbstreit Blasts “Psychotic” Fans Critical of Season Opener, Ohio State’s Defense Was Efficient Against Indiana and the Buckeyes’ “Buy Games” Are Cheap This Year

By Chase Brown on September 6, 2023 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ohio State returns to the Horseshoe this weekend. Are you ready?

Let's have a good Wednesday, shall we?

 HERBSTREIT BLASTS “PSYCHOTIC” FANS. With C.J. Stroud now in the NFL –where he was already named a Houston Texans captain – the Buckeyes had Kyle McCord as QB1 on Saturday when Ohio State defeated Indiana 23-3 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.

On Tuesday, Ryan Day said McCord's performance (20-of-33 passing, 239 yards, one interception) was good enough to beat the Hoosiers, but it would not be “good enough moving forward to reach our goals.” Day also reminded Ohio State fans that he doesn't have a “crystal ball” that sees into the future. Therefore, Day will have patience with McCord in the season's early weeks.

In his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Kirk Herbstreit agreed with Day and said patience with McCord will be critical as he explained that McCord “needs time” to develop. While he made those comments, Herbstreit blasted the “psychotic” fans who have no hope for Ohio State in 2023.

​“There’s a standard and then there’s a psychotic standard. And I would say that the 15% that represent Ohio State on social media fall into that category of psychotic. They’re out of their minds. They make high school players not want to play for that program because of they’re just such jackasses. They drive me crazy with everything that they do. Kyle McCord’s trying to learn how to play the position. Kyle McCord will not be where CJ Stroud was at the end of his career when he went on to play for the Houston Texans as a top-five pick in the draft. He needs time. So let’s give him that time.

“They opened up on the road against a Big Ten team that’s not bad. Ryan Day knows what he’s doing. It’s amazing how people – again, the very small percent that’s very vocal – they want to get after Ryan Day, they want to get after Kyle McCord, they want to fire everybody. ‘Fire everybody, get rid of everybody, everybody sucks.’ These guys are very talented players. They just need time to work together. Let the offensive line have some reps, believe it or not, to build some continuity. This kid, Kyle McCord, can rip it. He’s got receivers that can make plays. Just because Marvin Harrison didn’t make any catches in his first game doesn’t mean Kyle McCord sucks.

"I’m pretty happy with the start. You'll see Youngstown State and Western Kentucky, everyone will be now the other extreme. ‘Holy cow, he’s gonna win the Heisman.’ After the next two weeks, he’s gonna win the Heisman. So it’ll all come back down to earth. We’ll find out who they are when they go to South Bend Week 4.”

Ummmmmm, how does one follow that up?

Here is my attempt...

Have standards for Ohio State, but don't make them “psychotic.” It's OK to think Ohio State did not perform well in its season opener – outside of the defense, it didn't! But be patient with McCord. Be patient with the offensive line. Be patient with Coach Day. Sooner or later, we will learn what the Buckeyes are made of in 2023.

 THE PATE STATE. A college football personality who, in my opinion, offers level-headed analysis is Josh Pate of CBS Sports. Over the weekend, Pate broke down the Buckeyes' performance in their season opener. Like Herbstreit, Pate implored fans to have patience with the Buckeyes, albeit in a much friendlier tone than the former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN analyst.

"I believe if art galleries were run by a lot of you, they would just be empty. Because a lot of you would throw the painting away when it was a quarter of the way done. And you would say, 'This painting sucks.' And the artists would be like, 'It's not done. Wait a second. Understand where I'm going with this.' You would go, 'Nope. Nope. Take your brush. Take your easel get out of here. Next.' That's how a lot of folks watch football. That's how a lot of folks judge football teams.

"In Week 1, you ignore your MeeMaw's advice. You don't observe in Week 1. A lot of you draw conclusions in Week 1. It will bite you, and it's bitten you before. I think you get amnesia every single offseason, which some of you celebrate proudly, apparently. And you're right back to diving in to conclusions after Week 1. The conclusion is Ohio State's offense is terrible. They're going to lose two or three games. Burn it down and start all over.

"I smiled [Saturday] as I watched [the Ohio State-Indiana] game. I didn't smile because I'm anti-Ohio State. In fact, I'm kind of rooting for them because selfishly I want to be right – I want to see them go to the national title game. I was not shook. A lot of people were shook when they watched this [on Saturday]. I smiled. And I smiled because of this quote, which I kept in my back pocket from a show two weeks ago and it sounds a little something like this. Quote, 'I think Ohio State is going to play for a national championship. I also think Ohio State could look really ugly to start the season.' That quote was delivered by me on this show. I got exactly what I thought I'd get yesterday, believe it or not. I thought they'd look hideous offensively. Because I don't think the quarterback situation and the offensive line situation has lent itself to firing on all cylinders out of the gate."

Well said, Josh. Well said.

You know a person made excellent points about Ohio State when Michigan fans emerge from their caverns in Mordor (where orcs or hobgoblins are formed in "The Lord of the Rings") and attempt to make Pate, a national college football analyst without bias, look like an Ohio State homer.

Be patient, Buckeye Nation. A national champion Ohio State team could exist inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. We need to allow the Ohio State coaches and players some time to find it.

 HELLO, OHIO STATE DEFENSE. If Ohio State is to win a national championship in 2023, the Buckeyes' defense must be better than it was last season, especially against more formidable opponents such as Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Good news: Ohio State's defensive performance in its 23-3 win over Indiana was impressive. Like, really impressive. Below are FBS efficiency charts from Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports, which rank the Buckeyes' defense as one of the most efficient units in the nation after Week 1:

On Tuesday, Jim Knowles said he believes "there are indications" that Ohio State's defense will continue to improve in 2023. 

"We have a long season with competitive opponents," Knowles said in a press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. "There are indications that we're moving on the right path. We gave up one explosive play, which I blamed myself for. Otherwise, we were able to keep the ball in front of us and inside of us. That's a really good thing."

So, Ohio State is already that efficient and could improve?

And defense wins championships?

Interesting. Interesting.

 HOW MUCH DID THESE WINS COST? As a perennial national championship contender, Ohio State pays a pretty penny to its nonconference opponents for a free victory early in the season. This year, the Buckeyes will send $2.6 million in combined payouts to Youngstown State and Western Kentucky for their “free” win.

Ohio State will send $800,000 to Youngstown State and $1.8 million to Western Kentucky for their respective visits to Ohio Stadium over the next two weeks. The total of the guaranteed appearance fees is the smallest Ohio State has paid for a nonconference slate since it sent a combined $2.01 million to Bowling Green and Tulsa in 2016, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Additionally, Ohio State's $800,000 guarantee to Youngstown State is the smallest for the Buckeyes since they paid $375,000 to Cincinnati in 2019. In recent seasons, most so-called buy games have cost Ohio State nearly $2 million, so the agreement between OSU and YSU certainly improved the Stonks for Gene Smith and Co.

Stonks

Unfortunately, Ohio State's buy-game stonks won't be high forever. All buy games on the Buckeyes’ schedule beyond this season are set to cost the Buckeyes at least $1.8 million, with UConn set to receive as much as $1.95 million in 2025. However, with all the conference expansion in college football these days, will that matchup even happen? Time will tell.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Tick Tick Boom” by The Hives.

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