Skull Session: Steve Sarkisian Reaffirms Texas’ Commitment to Its Ohio State Game, Urban Meyer Says Dave Portnoy Still Owes Him $1,000 For the Buckeyes Beating the Wolverines

By Chase Brown on December 17, 2025 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day and Steve Sarkisian
Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

This is a massive BOOM!

Have a good Wednesday.

 CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE? What?! No section about SP+ and FPI and The Computers! I know, I know, shocking. But none of the metrics changed in a week without games, so it’d be a waste. Here’s a section about Steve Sarkisian instead!

Sarkisian reaffirmed Monday that Texas will honor its nonconference scheduling commitments with Ohio State in 2026 and Michigan in 2027. Beyond that, however, the Longhorns may rethink their scheduling philosophy based on how the College Football Playoff committee applies its selection criteria.

“You look at the principles of the CFP. The first bullet point is strength of schedule. We need to honor the criteria,” Sarkisian said during a Citrus Bowl press conference. “If we can lay the foundation for that, then that will directly impact what we do moving forward. This year, we didn’t feel like they followed through with what the principles of the CFP were. That’s why we fought for our case, and I don’t feel bad about fighting for our case.

“If we’re not going to value strength of schedule, then surely that’s going to adjust what we do moving forward in our nonconference scheduling. We’re going to nine SEC conference games, so to think that we’re going to play a 10th game against Ohio State and Michigan, and who knows who else down the road, I hope we get credit for that. If not, then we really need to look after the ’27 season.”

After Texas beat Texas A&M in its regular-season finale, Sark snarked that the Longhorns deserved credit for their quality loss to Ohio State.

“Do you want us not to schedule Ohio State?” Sarkisian said. “Because if we’re 10-2 right now, this isn’t a discussion. We’re in the playoff. But we were willing to go up there and play that game.”

My retort at the time was simple: win your games. It still applies here. Want to be 10-2? Beat Ohio State. Even with a loss to the Buckeyes, beat Florida — which finished 4-8 — and you’re 10-2. Even with losses to the Buckeyes and Gators, beat Georgia and you’re still 10-2.

That said, Sarkisian’s broader point is understandable, and it’s fair to wonder whether his words will soon turn into actions. If the CFP committee fails to reward non-conference strength of schedule, marquee matchups like Ohio State vs. Texas could cease to exist. That would be a loss for everyone — not just the coaches and players, but most of all the fans.

 I LIKE YA CUT, G. Last week, VicBlends released a DeepCuts episode featuring Jeremiah Smith that was filmed in November. Throughout the conversational sit-down, Smith reflected on his upbringing in Miami Gardens, Florida, his favorite hobbies outside of football — including video games — and the comparisons he’s received to NFL greats like Julio Jones.

Because of the free-flowing nature of the conversation, the episode doesn’t lend itself easily to full transcription. Instead, here are some of the standout moments and timestamps from the interview:

  • Smith said he chose Ohio State because of Brian Hartline and his track record of developing wide receivers for the next level (9:18)
  • Smith shared that he’s cut fast food like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Wingstop from his diet, opting instead for meals such as salmon and rice (11:09)
  • Smith said he modeled his game after Julio Jones, Andre Johnson, Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice (14:30)
  • Smith said he’s grateful for comparisons to Julio Jones, but emphasized, “Julio Jones is Julio Jones, and I’m Jeremiah Smith” (14:55)
  • Smith admitted fame overwhelmed him at first before he learned how to manage it (15:09)
  • Smith called winning a national championship as a freshman “truly a blessing,” adding that seeing the confetti fall at Mercedes-Benz Stadium “brought tears to my eyes” (16:33)
  • Smith said he wants to inspire kids from Miami Gardens every time he steps on the field (19:26)
  • Smith said he hopes to leave behind a legacy as both a great player and an even better person (36:02)

 “PORTNOY STILL OWES ME 1,000 BUCKS.” Before Ohio State kicked ass in Ann Arbor, Urban Meyer and Dave Portnoy placed a $1,000 wager on The Game. Meyer said this week that Portnoy still hasn’t paid up.

“Portnoy still owes me 1,000 bucks, I know that,” Meyer said on the latest episode of The Triple Option podcast.

Meyer should send Zach Boren to collect. Boren could stand over him — like he did to Devin Gardner in 2012 — until Portnoy finally sends the Venmo!

 BETTER THAN HE LEFT IT.  Wait… Jon Sumrall is goated.

On Monday, Tulane announced that Sumrall, who will leave the school to coach Florida following the College Football Playoff, made a $100,000 contribution to the Green Wave Talent Fund to support his successor, Will Hall. Sumrall explained the motivation he and his wife had to make the donation to the football program before his departure.

“My wife and I back two months ago made the decision to do this,” he said. “I was doing this if I stayed, and when I decided to be the coach at a different school, one of the things we talked about was, ‘Hey, we still want to do this.’”

Sumrall said Tulane’s decision to hire Hall as his replacement pushed him and his wife to make their confirmation official. Sumrall hired Hall as his passing game coordinator in 2024.

“If they had hired some schmuck, I probably wouldn’t have kept doing it, but they hired Will Hall, who I have great respect for,” Sumrall said. “I’ve coached against Will for a long time. I want to see him have continued success.”

Sumrall also said Monday that he’s received nothing but support from his players following his decision to coach at Florida. He made it clear how important it is to him to leave Tulane on good terms. (Anyone else thinking about Lane Kiffin?)

“This place, the university, the city, has meant the world to me and my family. It always will,” Sumrall said. “For us, the fact we’re not going to be here next year doesn’t change that we’re Tulane fans. We’re New Orleanians in a lot of ways. When you leave a place, how you leave it matters just as much as how you enter it. I want to leave on good terms. I want to be able to come back in 20 years and celebrate this team that’s won a championship already together, and not be like the way you walked out of the building was questionable. I want to see Tulane get better after I leave.”

Sumrall has earned my respect!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "fool" - Ethan Regan.

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