Skull Session: Bo Schembechler’s Turncoat Changed The Game and the Big Ten Forever, Jeremiah Smith Appears in ESPN’s “Best 2028 Olympics U.S. Flag Football Roster”

Welcome to the Skull Session.

Can you spot the differences in these pictures?

There may or may not be 4 differences, you tell us pic.twitter.com/dJ4sW6MqCu
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 9, 2025

Have a good Thursday.

ARE THE BIG TWO BACK? Ohio State is the defending national champion. Michigan won* it the year before. Oregon may have claimed the Big Ten crown last season, and Penn State might look the part this fall, but let’s be honest – this conference still belongs to the Buckeyes and, I hate to write it, the Wolverines.

In a way, "The Big Two" are back.

That’s the premise of a recent feature from The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode, who traced how Ohio State and Michigan reclaimed center stage in the sport – and how Michigan State, once a legitimate threat to both, slowly faded into the middle.

It’s the story of Michigan and Ohio State rising to the top and dispatching Michigan State to the middle. The Wolverines and Buckeyes were bigger than disco in the ’70s, and by the end of the decade, the Spartans were forgotten like bellbottoms.

It wasn’t always that way. In the 1950s and 1960s, Michigan State was a prominent member of the Big Ten’s elite, winning national championships, churning out future head coaches and consistently beating Michigan. The Spartans went 14-4-2 against the Wolverines during those decades. They even outdrew Michigan in attendance during the 1960s, averaging more fans per game despite the Wolverines’ 100,001-seat stadium.

But the tide turned when Bo Schembechler, a former member of Woody Hayes’ staff, took over Michigan in 1969, kicking off The Ten Year War and turning The Game into the defining rivalry of college football.

A made-for-TV drama marked by bitter personal history was born. So was the most important rivalry in the sport.

Michigan State had dominated the Wolverines in the two decades prior, but Schembechler flipped the script. During his tenure in Ann Arbor, Michigan went 17-4 against the Spartans, erasing any illusions of parity between the programs.

Michigan created a gulf, in terms of finances and football, between themselves and the Spartans in the 1970s.

Then came the infamous 1973 Rose Bowl vote. After Michigan and Ohio State tied 10-10 in Ann Arbor, the Big Ten’s athletic directors had to choose which team would represent the conference in Pasadena. Michigan State AD Burt Smith – a Michigan alum – voted for Ohio State, swinging the decision and handing Bo one of the biggest grudges of his career.

Schembechler used the vote as a rallying cry before games against Michigan State for years to come… "You never forget a thing like that."

While Schembechler built Michigan State’s coffin, Hayes put in the nail. After a controversial loss to the Spartans in 1974, Woody submitted information to the NCAA that led to crushing sanctions: no postseason games and no TV appearances for three years – one of the harshest punishments the NCAA has ever imposed.

Hayes… was revenge-minded. He submitted information to the NCAA the following spring on Michigan State recruiting violations, which led to one of the most impactful punishments the association has handed out – three years with no postseason and no games on TV. This got Smith and Stolz fired. It meant the only team in the 1970s that got a piece of a Big Ten title other than Michigan or Ohio State, the 1978 Spartans coached by Darryl Rogers, couldn’t go to the Rose Bowl. It contributed to Rogers’ decision to leave for Arizona State. And it prompted Hayes to proclaim at Big Ten media days in 1976 of the Spartans: “I turned them in. Damn right, I did!”

Hayes’ power move came amid decades when Ohio State wasn’t just dominant on the field – it was dominating everywhere. In the 1960s, the Buckeyes led the country in attendance at over 82,000 per game, ahead of both in-state rivals. Bigger crowds. More wins. More national titles. The machine was humming in Columbus, and apart from a handful of miserable one-off seasons (see: 1988, 1999, 2011), the humming has never stopped.

The Big Ten might have grown to 18 schools and stretched across four time zones, but at its core, the story hasn’t changed. It’s still about Ohio State and Michigan and Michigan State’s role as the once-dangerous, now-faded third wheel.

The Big Two are back – and the Buckeyes never left.

IN GOOD COMPANY. This week, ESPN’s Matt Bowen picked the best 2028 Olympics United States flag football roster.

Bowen’s selections included quarterback Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders); running back Jahmyr Gibbs (Detroit Lions; wide receivers Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings) and Ja’Marr Chase (Cincinnati Bengals); edge rusher Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys); cornerbacks Pat Surtain II (Denver Broncos), Travis Hunter (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Cooper DeJean (Philadelphia Eagles); and safety Antonie Winfield Jr. (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Oh!

And Jeremiah Smith.

Necessary skills: Matchup ability, vertical element, catch radius, ball skills

The Ohio State star will be eligible for the 2027 NFL draft, meaning he could have completed his rookie season ahead of the Olympics. Team USA should be eager to bring him in as a boundary X receiver since he can win on deep balls and be a priority target after the team crosses midfield. (Flag football fields are only 50 yards in length, with the same 10-yard end zones as NFL play.)

I'm looking for Team USA to throw the 50-50 fade balls here, and Smith can use his 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame, wide catch radius and great play strength to finish. And don't forget about his explosive straight-line speed after the catch on quicks and crossers.

Smith, who had 15 touchdowns as a freshman for the national champion Buckeyes, has already drawn comps to former Falcons receiver Julio Jones. I don't disagree with that after watching the tape. If he continues his ascension through 2028, this should be a no-brainer for the U.S.

Smith’s alternate?

Malik Nabers.

Yes, the former LSU receiver who collected 109 catches for 1,204 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie is – on the best 2028 Olympics United States flag football roster — an alternate for a current college sophomore.

That’s unreal (which is also the word I would use to describe the current college sophomore).

NOT THROWING AWAY HIS SHOT. George Fitzpatrick never started a game during his three seasons at Ohio State. However, there’s a good chance he’ll be a Game 1 starter at Kansas State.

Fitzpatrick, who transferred from Ohio State to Kansas State in January, received praise from Wildcats head coach Chris Klieman during Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday.

“We needed some older guys as these younger guys grew,” Klieman said while discussing Kansas State’s offensive line, “and George Fitzpatrick is one that was here in the spring that elevated himself to the top of the depth chart at left tackle.”

This is the transfer portal at its best.

George won’t throw away his shot!

WELL, HELLO, COACH CIG. Pro Football Focus ranked the top 10 coaches in college football entering the 2025 season. Surprise, surprise, Kirby Smart and Ryan Day were the first and second coaches named, followed by Dabo Swinney, Dan Lanning, Marcus Freeman, Steve Sarkisian, Kalen DeBoer, James Franklin, Brian Kelly and – wait, here’s a surprise:

Curt Cignetti.

Here’s what Max Chadwick wrote about Indiana’s head coach:

Cignetti was a relatively unknown commodity entering the season, but is now a top-10 head coach in college football due to his magical year in Bloomington. In his first season at Indiana, the Hoosiers won 11 games and made the College Football Playoff. That was two wins more than Indiana’s previous program record, and it went just 9-27 in the three years before Cignetti took over. Before he took over there, he led James Madison to an incredible 19-4 record during its first two seasons as an FBS program. With plenty of star power returning, the Hoosiers have a chance to crash the playoff once again.

I like Coach Cig.

He’s a good coach.

I think he talks too much…