Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State baseball gets Culver's milkshakes when it sweeps an opponent.
A tradition unlike any otherand for our first (but not last) time here at Ohio State. #SweepShakes
— Justin Haire (@JHaire03) February 15, 2026
It Pays to be a Winner! pic.twitter.com/aDHHX3QAgN
That rules.
Have a good Monday.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS. In a development that will surprise no one, ESPN has named Jeremiah Smith as one of its preseason All-Americans in 2026.
WR, Jeremiah Smith
Arguably the best player coming back at any position in the FBS this season, Smith already has a highlight reel worthy of a 30 for 30 documentary. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), he was the only receiver in the FBS with grades of 85 or better against both man-to-man and zone coverages.
The only other Buckeye mentioned in the article is Julian Sayin, who finished third for the quarterback All-American honor behind Texas’ Arch Manning and Oregon’s Dante Moore. Sayin will duel both signal-callers in 2026 — Manning on Sept. 12 in Austin and Moore on Nov. 7 in Columbus — which could decide who earns the title this fall. Let the best man win. (Please, please, please let it be Julian.)
DOES HE HAVE A POINT? Gus Johnson called out Ohio State’s men’s basketball spending on national television.
During the Buckeyes’ 70-66 loss to No. 15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball on Saturday, Johnson and his color commentator, Ohio State legend Jim Jackson, discussed the job Ryan Odom has done in Charlottesville — especially after Tony Bennett’s unexpected departure before the 2024 season.
“What a job Coach Odom has done with this roster for Virginia,” Johnson said. “When Coach Bennett decided to retire, everybody jumped in the portal. And then Coach Odom came in, and he got seven guys quickly. And some European cats as well. And right now, they’re No. 15 in the country.”
“Seven of their nine rotational players are new,” Jackson added. “And to be able to have this kind of success?”
— The Comeback NCAA (@TheComebackNCAA) February 15, 2026
Then Johnson made the comment that caught my attention.
“The difference between UVA and Ohio State is that UVA paid for it,” he said. “Ohio State, they’ve given all the money to Ryan Day.”
“And that’s the challenge you have at a lot of football schools, is the distribution of cash,” Jackson continued. “Now, how many times do you go to the same donors is the question as well, and this is an evolving question for all of these schools, especially a school like Ohio State. If you want to compete, you’ve gotta pay nowadays.”
“I’m going to have to call (Ohio State) president (Ted) Carter and ask him if he can show some love in the pocketbooks for the Buckeyes’ basketball team,” Johnson added.
I can’t confirm what the Buckeyes paid for their 2025-26 roster, but there are whispers that Jake Diebler’s squad sits outside the top half of the conference in NIL spending. If that’s true, Ohio State’s 16-9 record makes a little more sense.
It doesn’t excuse some of the team’s late-game struggles, though. I’m not convinced a few more dollar bills would have prevented the Buckeyes from failing to execute down the stretch in losses to Pitt (67-66), North Carolina (71-70), Nebraska (72-69) and Virginia (70-66).
To me, that’s about coaching and effort — not paychecks.
We’ll see if Ohio State improves in those areas down the stretch as the Buckeyes face Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue, Penn State and Indiana to close out the regular season.
LOSE THE BATTLE, WIN THE WAR? I wrote in the Friday Skull Session that I expected Ohio State wrestling to lose to Penn State — but I didn’t expect it to happen like that.
The second-ranked Buckeyes fell 36-5 to the top-ranked Nittany Lions on Friday. Ohio State was without No. 6 Ethan Stiles (149), No. 1 Brandon Cannon (157) and No. 5 Carson Kharchla (174), which had something to do with it, but not everything, Tom Ryan told reporters after the dual.
“We knew coming in that, with three starters out, it’s going to be a tough task, but there were a lot of matches that we were positioned to win and didn’t win,” Ryan said. “You’ve got to win the war. When you have more opportunities than your opponent, you’ve got to win them. We had a couple, and we got beat later in a couple. A tough opponent. Just got to be better.”
Twelve-time national champion head coach Cael Sanderson praised Ryan’s team for its performance before a record-breaking crowd at the Bryce Jordan Center.
“Tom Ryan is an incredible coach. Always has a great team. They always come to compete. They just do everything right,” Sanderson said. “They recruit well. They train their guys well. Wrestle in the big matches. They wrestle well in the postseason. We have a ton of respect for them as a program and what they do. Even coming into this match, you’re thinking, ‘Alright, hey, this is just round one.’ We’re going to see them in a couple of weeks, and then again a couple of weeks after that.
“It’s all preparation and practice and just trying to get better as we move along here. They’re an awesome program. I don’t have anything bad to say about them in any way. They do the same thing we do. Their kids want to win. Their families want their kids to win. Their coaches want to win. I mean, they’re locked in and dedicated, just like we are.”
It could come off as sour grapes, but Ohio State’s loss at Penn State doesn’t really matter. What matters is how the Buckeyes perform at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships. With everything still in front of them, Ohio State has multiple paths to challenge Penn State for the team titles: beating the Nittany Lions’ behemoths head-to-head or letting other competitors wear them down along the way.
That said, after Ohio State ended the regular season with a 29-16 win at Maryland, I’d like to see the Buckeyes get healthy before traveling back to State College for the conference championships March 7-8!
COME AGAIN FOR JUDGE FUDGE? Ohio State women’s hockey sent 12 representatives to the 2026 Winter Olympics. Eleven of them will play for Olympic medals.
Ohio State is the lone NCAA program represented on every team in the women's hockey semis:
— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) February 15, 2026
Jenn Gardiner, Sophie Jaques, Emma Maltais, Natalie Spooner
Mira Jungaker, Sofie Lundin, Jenna Raunio, Hilda Svensson
Andrea Brandli
Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, Joy Dunne
Note: Ohio State did not include Sofie Lundin in its press release.
Re-read the first line of that post: Ohio State is the only NCAA program represented on every team in the women’s hockey semifinals. That’s incredible.
Buckeyes were instrumental in helping the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland reach the semifinals in Milano. Hannah Bilka (2023-24) has been the American sniper, scoring four goals in five games for the United States. She notched her fourth in a 6-0 quarterfinal blowout of Italy. Joy Dunne (2023-present) added an assist in the win, her third of the tournament, while Cayla Barnes (2023-24) is still searching for her first points.
Canada reached the semifinals with a 5-1 win over Germany. Sophie Jaques (2018-23) and Emma Maltais (2017-23) each recorded a point. Canada has the most Buckeyes on its roster — four — with Jenn Gardiner (2019-23) and Natalie Spooner (2008-12) joining Jaques and Maltais.
Hilda Svensson (2025-present), Ohio State’s leading goal scorer this season as a freshman, assisted on the game-winning goal and added an empty-netter to help Sweden upset Czechia 2-0 in the quarterfinals. Mira Jungåker (2024-present) and Jenna Raunio (2025-present) are also representing Sweden in the tournament.
Switzerland’s Andrea Brändli (2018-22) stood on her head in the quarterfinals, recording 40 saves in a 1-0 win over Finland. Replacing Saskia Maurer in the net, Brändli gave Switzerland a shot at a medal for the third time in the past four Olympics.
The United States and Sweden will face off at 10:40 a.m. ET on Monday, while Canada and Switzerland will meet in the other semifinal at 3:10 p.m. ET. The bronze medal game is set for 8:40 a.m. ET on Thursday, with the gold medal game to follow at 1:10 p.m. ET later that day.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Someone New" - Hozier.
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