Welcome to the Skull Session.
Look at these legends!
Two legends @OhioStateFB x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/qgfgbz4F4I
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) November 14, 2025
Have a good Saturday.
A NICE, CLEAN GAME. Being clean, efficient and technically superior doesn’t win awards, but it wins games. When UCLA enters the Horseshoe, it will face an Ohio State team that is all three — and the Bruins don’t stand a chance.
I mentioned this in Last Call and in our Staff Score Predictions: I expect Ohio State’s matchup with UCLA to follow a script similar to the Buckeyes’ last November night game, a 38–3 rout of Michigan State on Nov. 11, 2023.
Ohio State never broke a sweat against the Spartans, which was good because perspiration could have ruined the all-gray uniforms. The Buckeyes led 14–0 after one quarter thanks to two Marvin Harrison Jr. touchdowns: the first a 19-yard run, the second a 26-yard reception. They pushed the margin to 35–3 before halftime, as Harrison completed his hat trick and both TreVeyon Henderson (9-yard run) and Cade Stover (18-yard catch) scored. A 36-yard Jayden Fielding field goal in the third quarter capped the scoring in an otherwise forgettable second half.
Kyle McCord completed 24 of 31 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Harrison had eight touches for 168 scrimmage yards and three scores, while Henderson recorded 13 touches for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Now, here’s a question: Would anyone complain if Ohio State beat UCLA 38–3, Julian Sayin threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns, Jeremiah Smith scored three times and Bo Jackson averaged 4.8 yards per carry?
Well, this is Buckeye Nation.
We’ll always find something to complain about.
But you know what I mean.
UCLA has the same 3–6 record that Michigan State did back in 2023. The Bruins also have an interim head coach (Tim Skipper), just as the Spartans did (Harlon Barnett). We’ll see if Skipper’s team has more fight than Barnett’s. But no matter what energy the Bruins bring into the House That Harley Built, I don’t think there’s any scenario in which Ohio State doesn’t win comfortably. That said, I’ll predict the same score for Ohio State vs. UCLA as Ohio State vs. Michigan State — and let’s tack on four more points for good measure.
Ohio State 42, UCLA 3
THE MENU. It's Week 12 in college football! Where has the time gone?! Here's The Menu for another weekend of this Dumb and Beautiful Sport:
| MATCHUP | TIME (ET) | TV/STREAMING |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Michigan at Ball State | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Kansas State at Oklahoma State | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| USF (#24) at Navy | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Air Force at UConn | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| South Carolina at Texas A&M (#3) | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| UTSA at Charlotte | 12:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Michigan (#18) vs Northwestern (Chicago, IL) | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Wisconsin at Indiana (#2) | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Notre Dame (#9) at Pitt (#22) | 12:00pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Arizona at Cincinnati (#25) | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| Arkansas at LSU | 12:45pm | SECN |
| Oregon State at Tulsa | 1:00pm | ESPN+ |
| West Virginia at Arizona State | 1:00pm | TNT/HBO Max |
| Tennessee Tech at Kentucky | 1:30pm | SECN+ |
| Marshall at Georgia State | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| North Texas at UAB | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Colorado State at New Mexico | 3:00pm | ALT/MWN |
| UTEP at Missouri State | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Iowa (#21) at USC (#17) | 3:30pm | BTN |
| UCF at Texas Tech (#6) | 3:30pm | FOX |
| Oklahoma (#11) at Alabama (#4) | 3:30pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Middle Tennessee at WKU | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| San Jose State at Nevada | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| Texas State at Southern Miss | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| South Alabama at ULM | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| Appalachian State at James Madison | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| NC State at Miami (FL) (#15) | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Georgia Tech (#16) at Boston College | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| Penn State at Michigan State | 3:30pm | CBS/Paramount+ |
| Maryland at Illinois | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| Virginia (#19) at Duke | 3:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Florida Atlantic at Tulane | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Memphis at East Carolina | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| New Mexico State at Tennessee (#23) | 4:15pm | SECN |
| North Carolina at Wake Forest | 4:30pm | The CW |
| Liberty at FIU | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern | 6:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Purdue at Washington | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| Utah (#13) at Baylor | 7:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Florida at Ole Miss (#7) | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| Delaware at Sam Houston | 7:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Utah State at UNLV | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| UCLA at Ohio State (#1) | 7:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| Virginia Tech at Florida State | 7:30pm | ACCN |
| Texas (#10) at Georgia (#5) | 7:30pm | ABC/ESPN3 |
| Mississippi State at Missouri | 7:45pm | SECN |
| Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State | 8:00pm | ESPNU |
| Louisiana Tech at Washington State | 10:00pm | The CW |
| TCU at BYU (#12) | 10:15pm | ESPN |
| Wyoming at Fresno State | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| Boise State at San Diego State | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
OUR PICKS. Yeahhhhhh, here we goooooo! I’ve taken a commanding lead in Our Picks, but there are still three weeks left in the regular season — plus conference championship weekend — where Dan and, yes, even Andy, could try to knock me off the throne. Will I continue to reign? Will Dan and Andy make a move for the crown? We’ll see!
Andy: 15-35
Chase: 26-24
Dan: 20-30
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 22 Pitt (+12.5)
Notre Dame has played College Football Playoff elimination games since it suffered back-to-back losses to Miami and Texas A&M to start the season. The Irish’s reward for being 7-0 in those games? A trip to Pittsburgh to face the No. 22-ranked Panthers. Still, if Marcus Freeman’s team can pull off the road win, all that stands between Notre Dame and the CFP are 3–7 Syracuse and 3–7 Stanford.
Andy: Pitt
Chase: Notre Dame
Dan: Notre Dame
No. 19 Virginia at Duke (-4.5)
I disagree with Joey Galloway’s take that the Big Ten is closer to the ACC than the SEC. Have you looked at the ACC this season? It’s a mess. No team is undefeated in conference play: Georgia Tech, Virginia, Pitt, SMU, and Duke each have one loss, Miami has two, and the rest — including Clemson! — have three or more. On paper, the UVA–Duke matchup carries ACC title implications, but the game could be just as chaotic as the conference itself, especially with Cavaliers quarterback Chandler Morris questionable after suffering a concussion in last week’s loss to Wake Forest.
Andy: UVA
Chase: UVA
Dan: UVA
No. 21 Iowa at No. 17 USC (-6.5)
Oregon ended Iowa’s College Football Playoff hopes with an 18–16 win at Kinnick Stadium last weekend. Now it’s the Hawkeyes’ turn to play spoiler, as Kirk Ferentz and Co. head to the LA Coliseum to face a USC team that must remain perfect to keep its CFP hopes alive. In a battle between an Unstoppable Force (USC’s offense) and an Immovable Object (Iowa’s defense), who will come out on top?
Andy: Iowa
Chase: Iowa
Dan: Iowa
Penn State at Michigan State (+7.5)
Penn State opened the season 3–0 with wins over Nevada, FIU, and Villanova, but has since dropped six straight to Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, Iowa, Ohio State, and Indiana. The Nittany Lions could – and probably should – snap their skid in East Lansing, but bouncing back from last week’s heartbreaking, last-minute loss to Indiana inside a sold-out Beaver Stadium is easier said than done.
Andy: Penn State
Chase: Penn State
Dan: Penn State
No. 10 Texas at No. 5 Georgia (-5.5)
Has Arch Manning arrived? Over the past two weeks, the preseason Heisman favorite has completed 68.4% of his passes for 674 yards and six touchdowns while leading Texas to wins over Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. He’ll look to carry that momentum into Athens, where current Heisman candidate Gunnar Stockton and the Bulldogs aim to cement themselves as a top-three SEC team alongside Texas A&M and Alabama.
Andy: Texas
Chase: Texas
Dan: Texas
BUCKEYE BLITZ. There was a bunch of #content I didn’t get to this week that I want to share now.
Cool?
Cool.
Ohio State wide receiver commit Chris Henry Jr. wore his late father’s Cincinnati Bengals jersey to Mater Dei’s practice on Friday, which is wholesome.
Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. wore his late fathers jersey at practice today
— Cody Croy | Buckeye Backers (@BoominBuckeyes) November 14, 2025
Very cool pic.twitter.com/YC0CFlpSOE
Following his three-touchdown performance in the New England Patriots’ win over the New York Jets, TreVeyon Henderson said Ohio State “is gonna win the chip again.”
"I think [Ohio State] is gonna win the chip again."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 14, 2025
TreVeyon Henderson tells @notthefakeSVP hes confident the Buckeyes can go back-to-back pic.twitter.com/gLJmCAgXNO
In an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Friday, Nick Saban defended Ohio State against people who think the Buckeyes aren’t good because they haven’t played anybody. “Ohio State has been dominant,” Saban said. “They’re a great football team.”
"Ohio State has been dominant..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 14, 2025
They're a great football team" ~ Coach Saban#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/H19TumqRvv
On Friday, The Ringer’s Todd McShay became the latest NFL draft analyst to put Arvell Reese at No. 1 in a mock draft. Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema followed suit, calling the Ohio State linebacker “out of his mind when you watch this tape.”
No LaNorris Sellers or Dante Moore in @McShay13s latest mock? He explains why and makes the first 16 picks of the 2026 draft in his latest (free and unlocked) newsletter:https://t.co/qZ7Vrs22yl pic.twitter.com/2GEzSmljCY
— The Ringer (@ringer) November 14, 2025
Arvell Reese has played himself into 1st overall conversations pic.twitter.com/zvuHC5H8EW
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 14, 2025
That'll do it!
Talk to you all on Monday!
SONG OF THE DAY. "Panama" - Van Halen.
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