Welcome to the Skull Session.
At 5:15 a.m., the annual Ohio State ROTC 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb takes place.
"The stair climb is symbolic of the 110 floors of the World Trade Center towers and serves as a powerful reminder of the heroism displayed by the firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel who faced unimaginable challenges that day," Ohio State's Department of Military Science and Leadership stated in an email. "Participants will climb the equivalent of 110 flights of stairs within the stadium, honoring those who perished and supporting those who continue to serve our communities."
I applaud all who have made this event happen in recent years, as well as those who will continue to make it happen now and in the future.
Never Forget.
Have a good Thursday.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY. There are Ohio state universities:
- Bowling Green State University
- Central State University
- Cleveland State University
- Kent State University
- Miami University
- Northeast Ohio Medical University
- Ohio University
- Shawnee State University
- The University of Akron
- The University of Toledo
- University of Cincinnati
- Wright State University
- Youngstown State University
And then, there’s The Ohio State University.
The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as a land-grant institution in accordance with the Morrill Act of 1862 under the name Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. Initially, it was thought that one of Ohio’s two existing public universities, Ohio and Miami, would be designated as the land-grant institution, and both schools engaged in a competition to win over the state legislature. However, Ohio Governor — and eventual United States President — Rutherford B. Hayes decided to establish Ohio A&M in Columbus, home to the state legislature. (Tough break, Bobcats.)
On Saturday, an Ohio state university faces The Ohio State University — and the Bobcats don’t stand a chance.
“THEY'RE TALENTED EVERYWHERE.” On Wednesday, I poked fun at Brian Smith for calling Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs "two of the best receivers in the country" and saying that his defense "has their hands full with that one." Now, I'll be fair to the Ohio head coach and share what else he said about the Buckeyes before the Bobcats travel to Columbus this weekend.
When asked about Ohio State's roster talent, Smith smiled, laughed from his nose and said, "They're talented everywhere. It's a really good program. There are not a lot of holes that you would say that you're seeing within that program. They have real good personnel all over the place."
Smith said Ohio State's talent is a reflection of Ryan Day's performance as the Buckeyes' head coach. When asked about Day during his press conference, Smith called him "extremely successful."
"He's led one of the top programs in the country for a good amount of years now," Smith said of Day. "He's done a great job there."
No Freudian slips there — just good old-fashioned respect!
Day returned the favor on Wednesday.
"They're well-coached and have a good team," Day said. "We know that these guys are gonna come in and play real hard."
*AHEM* BRYSON RODGERS? In Ryan Day's Tuesday press conference, the Ohio State head coach expressed frustration over the Buckeyes' performance on punt return against Grambling State.
"That's an area, coming out of the game, that we've got to improve on," Day said. "I think we lost 47 hidden yards with the ball bouncing around on the ground. A couple of them were very difficult because they weren't very well hit, but other ones I feel like we could have fielded. It's not just one thing."
He then named four Buckeyes — Brandon Inniss, Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and Caleb Downs — who could receive punt return opportunities on a week-to-week basis before calling Ohio State's punt returning "something coming out of the game that was a red flag that we got to get fixed."
"Brandon is still gonna return punts for us, but we also have Jeremiah that we can put back there, Carnell, Caleb, if we need to," Day said. "We're gonna stick to it, but we got to get better."
Question: What about Bryson Rodgers?
Rodgers earned a few opportunities to return punts last weekend. He returned one of them 25 yards while making two defenders miss in open space. Unfortunately, the referees conferred that Rodgers signaled for a fair catch, which negated his pickup. Even so, the burst Rodgers showed made me wonder if he should be the Buckeyes’ go-to option, with Smith and Downs stepping in for matchup games.
I like Inniss — I really do. But I cannot recall him making a defender miss on a punt return, and while he's fast, he's not so fast that he makes fast people look not fast. Therefore, I'd like to see Rodgers receive a few more chances to return punts this season. And if not Rodgers, how about Mylan Graham? He juked a Grambling State defender (yes, I know, I know, it's just a Grambling State defender) out of their shoes on a screen pass Saturday, and he did it immediately after the catch.
Mylan Graham first career catch and instantly makes a man miss pic.twitter.com/4ZurZeqM5l
— Brodie (@SadOSUhoopsFan) September 8, 2025
Just something to think about!
THAT'S ONE WAY TO DO IT. First-year Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said he watched film from Bryce Underwood's time at Belleville High School to incorporate some of Underwood's strengths into the Wolverines' offense.
#Michigan OC Chip Lindsey says he watched Belleville film this off-season and have tried to implement some things QB Bryce Underwood is good at.
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) September 10, 2025
Oh, he was serious.
"I mean, definitely did," Lindsey said on Wednesday when asked if Underwood's Belleville film has influenced his scheme. "You know, a little bit of a different style of offense they had there, but you could see things that highlight his ability. I think any time you’re recruiting a guy, which I wasn’t here during that process, you’re saying, okay, he’s really good at these things. He can scramble and make plays.
"I think, too, when you watch football like the Sunday night game, I mean, those two quarterbacks (Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson) are probably the best in the world right now, Buffalo and the Ravens. What you see is that they make a lot of plays off-schedule. Bryce is very capable of doing that. It’s something that I think he did (against Oklahoma) a couple of times. You saw that, I think the one throw to (Donaven) McCulley and then one of the balls to the back. I think definitely — I think we probably lean more on what we’ve seen him do here than there, but it’s definitely a starting point for us for sure."
Excellent hire, Sherrone Moore.
I am a fan of Lindsey and his high school playbook!
DAILY DUBCAST. Today's Eleven Dubcast brings on Andy Anders to help make sense of comments from Ryan Day regarding execution on punt returns becoming a "red flag" and the continued progress of the prospect some already refer to as "Big Kick" Nick McLarty.
SONG OF THE DAY. "What I Like About You" - The Romantics.
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