Welcome to the Skull Session.
Neal Shipley made the first hole-in-one in TGL history on Monday.
FIRST TGL EVENT FOR NEAL SHIPLEY & FIRST HOLE IN ONE IN TGL HISTORY @OhioStateMGOLF | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/E1alGxDOdS
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) February 10, 2026
That's electric.
Have a good Tuesday.
“PUT RESPECT ON IT.” I love Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Comedian Druski — I believe intentionally, for clip-farming purposes — botched Smith-Njigba’s last name at the NFL honors. After the star wide receiver capped off a historically great season with a Super Bowl win, reporter Robert Littal asked Smith-Njigba to share what his name means to him.
“Jaxon Smith-Njigba, put respect on it, you hear me?” he answered with a smile.
I asked world champ Ohio State Buckeye Jaxon Smith-Njigba if he could tell the world why his name means so much to him. Just take a listen and make this go as viral as when they make a joke out of it #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/YSsSpIasLw
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) February 9, 2026
“Sierra Leone," he continued, “my grandfather came here to the United States in the 70s, had to work for everything that he had, brought a lot of people — a lot of family — over here. He was a leader. He took pride in who he was and what he had to give back to. I represent him. I represent my family. I represent Sierra Leone, Bo, Freetown. It’s an honor to even say that. I appreciate you asking that question. It’s an honor to even say that up here in front of y’all. I take great pride in it."
I love it.
Put some respect on his name!
WHERE CHASE WAS DEAD WRONG… The college football season ended Jan. 19 with Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers beating Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game.
In the Skull Sessions since Jan. 20, I meant to revisit my preseason predictions so we could all roast them — and me — like I’m standing in the middle of the Say the line, Bart! meme. Scout’s honor, I forgot to do that until Monday. I don’t hate that I did. It spared me some embarrassment. But accountability matters, so here we go.
My preseason Heisman winner?
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who finished with 2,943 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for four more scores.
My 12-team College Football Playoff?
Big Ten champion Ohio State (Pow!), SEC champion Texas (Pow!), Big 12 champion Arizona State (Pow!), Big 12 champion Arizona State again (Bam!), Group of Five bid Boise State (Bam!) and seven at-large teams: Notre Dame, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, LSU, Miami and Illinois.
As mentioned above, Mendoza won the stiff-arm trophy in 2025, and No. 1 Indiana beat No. 10 Miami in the title game. The other 10 CFP teams, in order of seeding, were Ohio State, Georgia (SEC champion), Texas Tech (Big 12 champion), Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Tulane (American champion) and James Madison (Sun Belt champion).
And my national championship pick?
Texas over Clemson.
I did greaaaaat.
The good news?
I get to do this all over again next fall.
With any luck, I’ll do a little better next time.
HELLO, HEISMAN. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach named three Buckeyes as preseason Heisman Trophy contenders: Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin and Bo Jackson.
Jeremiah Smith
Smith's highlight reel of acrobatic, one-handed catches continues to grow, and he arguably was the best player in college football this past season. He is the fastest Buckeyes player to reach career marks of 2,000 receiving yards (24 games), 100 catches (20) and 25 touchdown receptions (25).
Julian Sayin
Sayin might have captured the Heisman Trophy this season if Ohio State's offense hadn't flopped in its 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game. In his first season as a starter, Sayin challenged the NCAA pass completion record of 77.4%, set by Oregon's Bo Nix in 2023, but ended at 77.0% after the Cotton Bowl.
Bo Jackson
Jackson became the fifth true freshman in OSU history to produce a 1,000-yard season, joining Robert Smith (1990), Maurice Clarett (2002), JK Dobbins (2017) and TreVeyon Henderson (2021). That's good company. And, of course, he'd be the second Bo Jackson to collect a stiff-armed trophy.
Their way-too-early candidacy doesn’t surprise me — and it probably doesn’t surprise you, either. But this did, just a little bit.
Ohio State will face three players Schlabach also included in his preseason Heisman list: Texas quarterback Arch Manning on Sept. 12, USC quarterback Jayden Maiava on Oct. 31 and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore on Nov. 7.
And don’t sleep on Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover, either. He’ll take over the Hoosiers’ offense after more than two seasons as a starter at TCU, where he accounted for 9,617 yards of total offense and 50 touchdowns since 2023.
WE THE NORTH. Football belongs to the North.
For anyone who still believes the South runs the sport, show them this:
Football belongs to the north. pic.twitter.com/dgpjcgiavc
— Gus (@SportsPSD) February 9, 2026
The graphic shows teams that won the Super Bowl (Seattle Seahawks), College Football Playoff (Indiana) and FCS (Montana State), as well as the national title winners in Division II, Division III, NAIA, JucCO Division I, JuCO Division III and club football championship (Ohio State!).
All nine champions reside in the North!
That’s a W.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Save Me" - Jelly Roll.
CUT TO THE CHASE. David Njoku confirms his Browns tenure is over... Judge rules 7-foot center Charles Bediako is no longer eligible to play for Alabama... The Olympics have just begun. Olympic medals are already falling apart... The Death of a Sports Section... Savannah Guthrie pleads for public's help in search for missing mom Nancy: "An hour of desperation".
HOPE YOU'RE STILL HERE. Dan Hope and I interviewed Ross Bjork on Monday. In an Eleven Warriors Exclusive, the Buckeyes' athletic director tells us how he thinks the college football calendar should change, why he thinks the CFP should continue to expand, his expectations for Ohio State basketball, his favorite bourbons and much more.
