Welcome to the Skull Session.
The college football season is over.
The NFL season is over.
What now?!
I guess the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets and future NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers will have to do!
Have a good Monday.
JSN, SUPER BOWL CHAMPION. Some call him JSN, some call him the Emerald City Route Artist — but everyone must call Jaxon Smith-Njigba a Super Bowl champion.
hehehehehehehe pic.twitter.com/QJUuMvNMkM
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
WHAT A FEELING FOR JSN pic.twitter.com/7XJvtMT8qA
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
RING HIM @jaxon_smith1 pic.twitter.com/GAce0yUpkG
— NFL (@NFL) February 9, 2026
Smith-Njigba capped off a historically great season with a championship as the Seattle Seahawks dominated the New England Patriots, 29-13, in Super Bowl LX. The former Ohio State wide receiver becomes the 34th Buckeye to win the Super Bowl as a member of the winning team’s active roster.
Congrats to JSN. He's on a path toward becoming one of the game's all-time greats!
A LASTING INFLUENCE. Last week, Emeka Egbuka finished fifth in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, trailing Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson and New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.
I don’t write this section to argue that the former Ohio State and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver should have won the award, but rather to highlight who presented Egbuka as a finalist at NFL Honors: Buckeyes physical therapist and athletic trainer Adam Stewart.
Stewart graduated from Ohio State in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in athletic training. After completing his doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Miami (FL), Stewart joined the Buckeyes’ football program as a physical therapist in 2015 and has held the role for over 10 years.
“A meaningful acknowledgement of the lasting influence athletics trainers and physical therapists have on athletes, far beyond the training room,” Ohio State’s athletic training account posted to Instagram. “Congratulations, Emeka, and thank you for shining a light on the relationships and support systems that help shape success at every level.”
Lasting influence is the reason Stewart returned to Columbus in 2015, he shared in an X post last week.
Twelve years ago @urbanmeyercoach told me not to take the job at Ohio state if ACLs and hamstrings were all I cared about. He said only come here if you can have a positive impact on peoples lives. Thank you for seeing that in me @EgbukaEmeka and thank you for this experience pic.twitter.com/ZO9dCCFldj
— Adam Stewart ATC DPT (@thestewpot2) February 6, 2026
Shoutout, Adam Stewart!
THE BASKETBUCKS. Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament hopes are on life support.
Losing 82-61 to the No. 2 team in the country isn’t disqualifying. The problem for Ohio State is that a weekend loss to Michigan wasn’t an isolated setback — it was another swing and miss in a season increasingly defined by them. Two weeks after leading for more than 11 minutes in Ann Arbor, the Buckeyes never led this time, falling behind early and never seriously threatening in what became their most decisive loss of the season.
On Sunday, the Schottenstein Center was full, the rival was elite and the moment was there for Ohio State to produce the kind of win that would signal this program has what it takes to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in years. Instead, the Buckeyes remain without a true résumé-defining victory, and the largest crowd of the year watched Michigan turn the game into a formality by halftime.
That happened in part because two of Ohio State’s three stars were largely taken out of the game. Bruce Thornton (16 points, six rebounds, four assists) carried the load as usual, but Michigan erased John Mobley Jr. (four points on 1-of-9 shooting) and didn’t let Devin Royal (15 points, six rebounds) get comfortable until the outcome was already decided. Add in a first-half defensive stretch where Michigan’s final seven field goals were all 3-pointers or three-point plays — fueling a 44-34 halftime lead — and Ohio State never recovered.
All of that leaves the Buckeyes in a familiar and uncomfortable place: running out of chances.
With a remaining schedule that includes USC (home), No. 18 Virginia (neutral), Wisconsin (home), No. 10 Michigan State (road), Iowa (road), No. 12 Purdue (home), Penn State (road) and Indiana (home), there’s no margin left. Ohio State doesn’t just need wins; it needs big ones. And after letting another opportunity burn away against Michigan, the path to March is getting harder by the day as belief continues to erode.
Come on, you Buckeyes — make me believe again!
SERIOUSLY, WHO BOUGHT THIS?! The Big Ten released a shirt called “The Championship Trifecta” to celebrate the conference’s three straight national championships: Michigan in 2023*, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana in 2025.
Our question: Who would buy this?!
The answer: Enough people to (basically) sell it out.
On Sunday, The Athletic’s Chris Vannini shared a screenshot from the Big Ten’s Gear & Apparel store showing that only XXL sizes remain for The Championship Trifecta.
So the Big Ten trifecta shirt is basically sold out. pic.twitter.com/anx6rRM2a3
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) February 8, 2026
I have to assume no Michigan fan is wearing an Ohio State logo — and no Ohio State fan is touching anything with a block “M” on it — which leaves two possibilities: Indiana fans bought them all, or a small but terrifying group of people who root for the Big Ten itself, Rob Lowe-style, bought this unironically. Either way, I still have questions. Lots of them!
SONG OF THE DAY. "DtMF" - Bad Bunny.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Lindsey Vonn breaks leg in downhill crash at Winter Olympics, in stable condition after surgery… Some people tape their mouths shut at night. Doctors wish they wouldn’t… From the field to the studio: Kershaw, Rizzo and Votto join NBC as MLB analysts… Is a kiss just a kiss? Exploring the art and science behind smooches.
