Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State is Heading West.
Heading out West pic.twitter.com/0d0VcIUvfy
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 23, 2025
Have a good Wednesday.
THE COMPUTERS! It's Wednesday. You know what that means. This week, The Computers still view Ohio State as one of the best teams, but not the best team in college football. The Buckeyes remain at No. 2 behind Oregon in the College Football Power Index and No. 3 behind Penn State and Oregon in the SP+.
College Football Power Index
| TEAM | RECORD | FPI | WIN OUT | WIN CONF | MAKE CFP | WIN CFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OREGON | 4-0 | 23.6 | 6.9% | 26.2% | 71.7% | 12.2% |
| OHIO STATE | 3-0 | 22.4 | 9.9% | 24.1% | 76.2% | 13.4% |
| ALABAMA | 2-1 | 22.2 | 2.6% | 18.1% | 49.1% | 7.5% |
| GEORGIA | 3-0 | 21.7 | 4% | 24.4% | 74.8% | 12% |
| TEXAS | 3-1 | 21.4 | 3.3% | 16% | 49.6% | 6.3% |
Ohio State's future opponents in the College Football Power Index: Washington (24), Minnesota (59), Illinois (37), Wisconsin (55), Penn State (10), Purdue (76), UCLA (93), Rutgers (50), Michigan (12)
SP+
| TEAM | RECORD | RATING | OFFENSE | DEFENSE | SPECIAL TEAMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OREGON | 4-0 | 29.6 | 42.6 (2) | 13.3 (5) | 0.3 (4) |
| PENN STATE | 3-0 | 26.6 | 39.3 (9) | 12.8 (4) | 0.1 (36) |
| OHIO STATE | 3-0 | 26.4 | 37.4 (14) | 11.3 (2) | 0.2 (12) |
| ALABAMA | 2-1 | 25.9 | 39.5 (7) | 13.8 (6) | 0.2 (18) |
| TENNESSEE | 3-1 | 23.6 | 39.7 (6) | 16.4 (15) | 0.3 (8) |
Ohio State's future opponents in the SP+: Washington (28), Minnesota (41), Illinois (36), Wisconsin (60), Penn State (1), Purdue (84), UCLA (81), Rutgers (43), Michigan (17)
Matchup Predictor
| OPPONENT | DATE | LOCATION | PREDICTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| WASHINGTON | 9/27 | SEATTLE, WA | OHIO STATE 68.8% |
| MINNESOTA | 10/4 | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE 94.2% |
| ILLINOIS | 10/11 | CHAMPAIGN, IL | OHIO STATE 82.3% |
| WISCONSIN | 10/18 | MADISON, WI | OHIO STATE 89.2% |
| PENN STATE | 11/1 | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE 67.8% |
| PURDUE | 11/8 | WEST LAFAYETTE, IN | OHIO STATE 94.4% |
| UCLA | 11/15 | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE 98.6% |
| RUTGERS | 11/22 | COLUMBUS, OH | OHIO STATE 91.1% |
| MICHIGAN | 11/29 | ANN ARBOR, MI | OHIO STATE 57.7% |
Movements from Week 4 to Week 5
- Washington: 76.5% → 68.8%
- Minnesota: 93.4% → 94.2%
- Illinois: 69.7% → 82.3%
- Wisconsin: 84.5% → 89.2%
- Penn State: 65% → 67.8%
- UCLA: 98.5% → 98.6%
- Rutgers: 89% → 91.1%
- Michigan: 59.8% → 57.7%
I do not like that the Michigan number continues to go down. I do not like it at all!
HELLO, OLD FRIENDS! Two former Buckeyes will coach against their alma mater on Saturday: Washington running backs coach Scottie Graham and assistant offensive line coach Michael Brewster.
Graham, a native of Long Beach, New York, was a high school All-American in football, wrestling and lacrosse before becoming a three-year starter at running back for Ohio State. A team captain as a senior, he ran for 1,704 yards and scored 20 total touchdowns across 43 appearances with the Buckeyes.
After college, Graham was selected in the seventh round of the 1992 NFL draft and went on to play seven seasons in the league with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. He later served as an assistant athletic director at Arizona State from 2014–20 before joining Jedd Fisch’s staff at Arizona as running backs coach, eventually following Fisch to Washington.
On Monday, Graham shared his excitement to face Ohio State (where he earned two degrees!), calling Saturday “a momentous occasion” for himself and the Washington football program.
Saturday is a momentous occasion! We play our first Big10 game of the season against the The Ohio State University! Ill be coaching against my alma mater, where I earned 2 degrees. My wife and I graduated in 91 & both her parents graduated in the 50s. It will be a great day pic.twitter.com/3Y0meq4pfz
— Scottie Graham (@ScottieGraham) September 22, 2025
In 2024, I wrote in a Skull Session that Valparaiso had hired Brewster as its offensive line coach. At the time, Valpo marked the latest stop for the former Ohio State interior offensive lineman, who had previously coached at Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Cincinnati (on Luke Fickell’s staff) and Tennessee State (on Eddie George’s staff). But one year later, Brewster left for Washington, joining Fisch’s staff as an assistant offensive line coach to Michael Switzer.
Brewster, an Orlando native, was a four-year starter at center for Ohio State from 2008-11, earning first-team All-American honors in 2010 and serving as team captain in 2011. He went undrafted in 2012 but played two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before brief stints with the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
Trench Dawgs @MichaelSwitzer pic.twitter.com/tpdaSAp7BQ
— Michael Brewster (@CoachBrewster50) August 14, 2025
While I wish Graham and Brewster continued success at Washington, I hope their team has no success on Saturday. After that? Win all you want! At least until the Buckeyes and Huskies cross paths again.
“THIS IS A VERY PROUD PROGRAM.” Neither Fisch, nor Graham, nor Brewster, nor most of Washington’s players were around for the Huskies’ run to the 2023 national title game. Still, Ryan Day said Tuesday that Ohio State will treat Washington as an opponent with a championship pedigree.
“This is a team that was in the national championship not long ago. I mean, this is a very proud program, and they have really good players,” Day said. “I think our guys understand and have understood that this is a very good program with a lot of talent at multiple positions, and going on the road in this conference is not easy to do.”
“It’s going to be a great environment, so I think that was what our guys expected, and that’s what I expected watching the game. Again, really good play. It’s a really good challenge to figure out where we are as a program right now after four weeks of being in the season. All focus is on this week of preparation.”
I’ve seen some comments asking me (and other Eleven Warriors writers) to pump the brakes on Washington being an opponent that will test Ohio State on Saturday. I get it. The Huskies haven’t beaten a Power Four opponent yet — but (!) UW ranks No. 24 in the College Football Power Index and No. 28 in SP+ after four weeks, and it has some dudes in Demond Williams Jr., Jonah Coleman and Denzel Boston.
That said, I appreciate that Day has reiterated several times in the past week that Ohio State has not underestimated Washington during its prolonged preparation for the Week 5 matchup.
“The No. 1 goal is to win this game. Period,” Day said. “This game in particular is going to be an absolute battle. This is a very, very good team, really good in all three phases and well-coached. To go and get this win on the road is going to take everything we've got with this team. So our guys are fired up for it, and we need to have a great week of practice.”
This is the mindset that has led Ohio State to a 49-1 record against unranked teams since Day took over as head coach. No letdowns!
BEHOLD, THE MEDIA GUIDE! I have been back and forth on whether this warrants a Skull Session section, but then I decided that 7-year-old Chase, the version of Chase who would cut out box scores and images from The Columbus Dispatch and scrapbook them, would be upset if I didn’t.
Ohio State released its annual Media Guide on Tuesday. The 304-page document features a wealth of #content about the 2025 Buckeyes, including bios, statistics, and other essential information.
Click here to download the 2025 Ohio State Media Guide.
Take some time to skim through it — in honor of my younger self!
DAILY DUBCAST. Today's Eleven Dubcast enlists the help of Dan Hope to decipher which Ohio State Buckeye has the more likely route to the Heisman Trophy between Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith now one-fourth of the way through the regular season.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Old Friends" - Ben Rector.
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