Welcome to the Skull Session.
It’s Indiana vs. Miami for all the marbles.
It all comes down to this. #CFBPlayoff #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/p8KZAaRLn9
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 19, 2026
Who ya got?
Have a good Monday.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY… MONEY! CNBC’s Michael Ozanian reported on Dec. 19 that Texas ($1.48 billion), Ohio State ($1.35 billion) and Texas A&M ($1.32 billion) were the three most valuable college athletics programs.
One month later, The Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Beaton published a new set of valuations compiled by Indiana professor Dr. Ryan Brewer — this time focused solely on college football. Those numbers would suggest that Ozanian’s projections were what ESPN’s Mike Breen would call way off.
According to Brewer, Texas still has the most valuable college football team — again, just the football team, not the entire athletics department — at $2.2 billion. Texas A&M ranks second at $1.59 billion, followed by Ohio State at $1.55 billion. LSU ($1.54 billion) and Michigan ($1.46 billion) round out the top five.
“Brewer’s study examines industry trends, cash flows, revenue and broader economic shifts to calculate what each team would be worth if it could be bought and sold on the open market — just like a sports franchise,” Beaton wrote.
Perhaps Ozanian used a different formula. Perhaps his numbers reflect current institutional value rather than open-market valuation. I do not know. Regardless, it’s clear that college athletics programs — and college football teams in particular — have never been more valuable than they are right now. Brewer told Beaton as much.
An annual analysis of programs found that valuations went up 46% over last year, as talent moves freely around the country and levels the playing field. https://t.co/VnNL54tiXC
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 18, 2026
“There’s more value in college football than there’s ever been,” Brewer said. “Even though they’re paying players and it’s more expensive, it’s also worth more.”
Brewer pointed to Indiana as proof. The Hoosiers rank No. 28 on his list at $648 million, which may not sound eye-popping, but it represents a 67.9% increase from 2024 to 2025.
And Indiana may only be the beginning of a broader rise for so-called “surprise teams.”
“It’s interesting,” Brewer said, “because different teams could ostensibly enter into that conversation in the future.”
And Indiana may just be the beginning of a marked increase for “surprise teams.”
“It’s interesting,” Brewer said, “because different teams could ostensibly enter into that conversation in the future.”
HE’S JUST LIKE ME, FR. Speaking of Indiana, allow me to return to The Wall Street Journal, where Laine Higgins detailed how Curt Cignetti transformed the Hoosiers’ football program — all while eating the same Chipotle bowl every single day for lunch.
Cignetti, 64, is such a fierce creature of habit—even by the maniacal standards of college football coaches—that he eats the same burrito bowl every single day of every single week, except when his team is traveling. He orders rice, beans and chicken, skips the rest of the toppings, but adds a side of guacamole. His order costs $10.90 before tax and comes in at 750 calories.
And as far as Cignetti is concerned, not having to worry about lunch is simply another way to spend more time worrying about football.
“He just wants to be able to eat it, watch his film and go for the next game,” says Indiana’s assistant director of football operations, Jake McDonald, who has picked up the boss’s bowl for the past two years. “He’s a simple man.”
I promise that if I made $11 million a year, I would do the same thing. Burrito bowl with white rice, fajitas, chicken, tomato salsa, corn salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce and guacamole every single day. It’d be too easy!
Back to the story.
Higgins dubbed McDonald “Cignetti’s burrito guy.” He doesn’t pay for Cignetti’s order, and he gets all the rewards points. McDonald said he once had roughly 64,000 points on his account. (Unfortunately, he didn’t realize the points expired after a year.)
Following Indiana’s CFP win over Oregon, McDonald was sitting at 18,529 points — good for 11 free burritos, 37 sides of guacamole, 53 bags of chips or 218 extra tortillas.
According to Higgins, Chipotle is well aware of Cignetti’s burrito-bowl obsession. Company representatives hinted at their plan to gift Cignetti a “Celebrity Card,” good for one free entrée, side and drink per day, to Indiana’s coach after the national championship game.
Hey, Chipotle, while you’re at it, feel free to send one to 605 N. High St. #160, Columbus, Ohio, 43215, with the name CHASE BROWN on the front. Thanks!
I LOVE MICK CRONIN TEARS. I love that Ohio State beat UCLA on Saturday. And I especially love that, after the game, Bruins coach Mick Cronin once again behaved without decorum — a polite way of calling him an absolute jackwagon — by throwing his own players under the bus following a Big Ten loss.
“I offer no excuses. Blame me. Blame me,” Cronin told reporters. “I recruited ’em. I signed ’em as free agents. We’re not gonna win meaningful games if we can’t stop the other team. … You can’t give up 80-plus and win on the road. You’re not gonna get 90 — can’t do it. We scored 74 points on the road in the Big Ten. You should have a big-time shot to win.”
Then came the turn.
“Our defense is an embarrassment today,” Cronin continued. “Last couple of games it was great. Today, we couldn’t guard ’em. We had plenty of time to get ready and talk about it, but the problem is we didn’t have anybody who could guard (Bruce) Thornton or (John) Mobley Jr. In my opinion, we didn’t have anybody interested in rising to that challenge. … Everybody wants somebody else to do the dirty work. We’re a team that struggles to have dirty-work guys.”
When a reporter attempted to ask what could be done going forward, Cronin cut him off.
“Nothing. Nothing,” Cronin said. “I can’t trade guys. You get your ass kicked physically, you don’t defend in the Big Ten, you’re going to lose.”
I wake up every morning thankful that Mick Cronin is not Ohio State’s head coach.
And before anyone launches into the “old-school coach showing tough love” defense, let me stop you right there. I played for a coach who gave me tough love from age 8 through my senior year of high school. That tough love was delivered directly to players — to our faces — not in front of microphones. And he spoke to the media often, back when ThisWeek still existed (RIP).
What Cronin did — and repeatedly does — isn’t tough love. It’s public finger-pointing after failing to have his team prepared.
You offer no excuses?
You want the blame on you?
Then stop there.
Take the blame. Mean it. And handle the rest behind closed doors.
OLYMPIC VILLAGE (LITERALLY!) There are plenty of directions this section could go — the Ohio State spirit squad winning three national titles at the UCA and UDA championships, the men’s tennis team sweeping Xavier and Toledo in its season opener — but let’s go here instead.
The Ohio State women’s hockey team will have 12 (yes, 12!) representatives at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. The Buckeyes will be represented on five of the 10 Olympic teams, an absurd number that underscores just how loaded the program has become.
- Cayla Barnes (graduated in 2024) – USA
- Hannah Bilka (2024) – USA
- Andrea Braendli (2022) - Switzerland
- Joy Dunne – USA
- Jenn Gardiner (2024) – Canada
- Sophie Jaques (2023) – Canada
- Mira Jungåker – Sweden
- Emma Maltais (2023) – Canada
- Jenna Raunio – Sweden
- Natalie Spooner (2012) - Canada
- Hilda Svensson – Sweden
- Sanni Vanhanen – Finland
Ohio State has become a powerhouse under Nadine Muzerall, including two national titles and four championship game appearances in the past four seasons, winning titles in 2021–22 (Minnesota Duluth) and 2023–24 (Wisconsin) while falling to the Badgers in 2022–23 and 2024–25.
In the history of NCAA women’s hockey, only five programs have ever won a national championship: Wisconsin (eight), Minnesota (six), Minnesota Duluth (five), Clarkson (three) and Ohio State (two).
This season, the Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the USCHO poll behind Wisconsin and sit at 21–3 overall. Their only losses came on the road at Minnesota and in back-to-back home games against the Badgers.
Ohio State’s season will continue without three forwards (Dunne, Svensson and Vanhanen) and two defensemen (Raunio and Jungåker). The Buckeyes are set to host St. Thomas on Friday and Saturday and Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 30 and 31 before traveling to Wisconsin for a two-game series on Feb. 7 and 8.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will open on Feb. 6, with women’s hockey competition running from Feb. 5–19.
THE ELEVEN DUBCAST. When George Eisner is away, Andy Anders and I come out to play. That means an episode of the Eleven Dubcast about the Ohio State men's basketball team and its chances to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021-22.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Man I Need" - Penelope Road (Oilvia Dean Cover).
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