Welcome to the Skull Session.
*sighs*
Iowa becomes the latest Big Ten school not named Michigan to vacate victories following an NCAA probe into 2023 tampering by Kirk Ferentz and an assistant. https://t.co/wMq2inyI7i
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 14, 2026
Can anyone make it make sense?
Have a good Wednesday.
THE NO. 1 BUCKEYES? Soon after confetti fell in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium to celebrate Indiana’s national championship, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach released his first preseason top 25 poll for 2026.
His first instinct?
Ranking the Buckeyes at No. 6.
Fast forward three months, and Schlabach has course-corrected. In his second preseason poll, Ohio State has claimed the No. 1 spot, leapfrogging a powerhouse top five that also includes Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas. The rest of the top 10 features Indiana, Miami, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M.
Schlabach’s pivot centers on a roster loaded with returning elite talent and a coaching staff bolstered by NFL experience.
With quarterback Julian Sayin, tailback Bo Jackson and all-world receiver Jeremiah Smith returning, the Buckeyes should be back in the national championship hunt. OSU's offense is going to be difficult to stop, especially if its offensive line improves. Coach Ryan Day hired former NFL head coach/offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to replace offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. That recipe worked on defense, as former NFL defensive coordinator Matt Patricia has turned OSU's unit into one of the sport's best. Ohio State will have to navigate one of the most demanding schedules in the FBS, including games at Texas, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and USC.
While the talent is undeniable, the path to the postseason remains a minefield. Schlabach’s own rankings highlight just how dense the Buckeyes' schedule is, featuring six opponents currently in his top 20:
| DATE | OPPONENT | SCHLABACH RANK | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 12 | Texas | No. 5 | Away |
| Oct. 3 | Iowa | No. 19 | Away |
| Oct. 17 | Indiana | No. 6 | Away |
| Oct. 31 | USC | No. 20 | Away |
| Nov. 7 | Oregon | No. 2 | Home |
| Nov. 28 | Michigan | No. 14 | Home |
The 2026 schedule is a true gauntlet. However, if Ohio State can navigate this slate — even with a single “quality loss” (to anyone other than Michigan!) — they will have more than earned their status as the best team in the country. Seeing this squad attempt a wire-to-wire run at No. 1 would be a rare treat for Buckeye fans.
THE ABSOLUTE BEST. Ohio State freshman wide receiver Brock Boyd has made his presence felt this spring. The story of his arrival in Columbus is one of hard work, persistence, and a childhood dream.
In a recent appearance on the Juck on Bucks podcast, Brock’s father Chris shared the inside story of his son’s recruitment. Below is a transcript of his conversation with Juck in which he detailed the high-stakes decision to decommit from TCU and the specific reasons Brock felt he needed to prove himself at Wide Receiver U.
“He had a lot of offers,” Chris said. “The only two offers that he received that were not at a camp or in front of coaches were Tennessee and Ohio State. Every other offer was at a camp or in front of coaches, and every one of them was committable. Oregon, Oklahoma, Ole Miss — there were so many — but he felt comfortable at TCU. But I’d ask him periodically after he committed to TCU, ‘Is there any school that would make you pause?’ He said Ohio State. I never worried about it because–"
“Well, hold on,” Juck interrupted. “He said Ohio State?”
“Yes, he said Ohio State,” Chris said. “That was his dream school. It had always been his dream school. The first time I asked him, I was thinking he was gonna say one of the schools that had already offered him… I asked him a month later, and he said the same thing.”
Chris said Ohio State offered Brock after he recorded video game numbers as a junior at Southlake Carroll: 111 catches for 1,875 yards and 19 touchdowns.
“My wife and I were about to go to Cabo, and he said, ‘I just got an offer from Ohio State.’ And I didn’t believe it at first,” Chris recalled. “I said, ‘Brock, somebody is jackin’ with you.’ He said, ‘Dad, Coach Hartline was in the office with me.’ I said, ‘Hart was?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, here’s his number. He wants you to call him.’ So I called Hart and it was for real. He said, ‘Hey, Coach Day wants a Zoom with you and your wife when you get back.’ We had a Zoom, and I still wasn’t concerned about Brock leaving TCU because there’s committable offers and then there’s offers, and I didn’t know if Ohio State’s offer was committable. But we had a great conversation with Coach Day.
“We planned a trip over spring break, and he said on Zoom, ‘I don’t let anybody commit until they’ve at least visited here once. I don’t want them to commit and the first visit is after they committed.’ So we went there, and we went into Coach Day’s office, and it was one of the best hours in the history of hours that I’ve ever had. We talked about so many things other than football. He was just a dude. It was so fun. Like, I really wanted to stay in there another hour. I wanted to get Dana and Brock out. It was awesome. We talked about everything. When you dust it all off — like everybody, he, me, you — we’re just human, we’re just down to earth. It was so fun. It was nothing like what I expected. I really didn’t know what to expect.
“About halfway through, and we weren’t even talking football, and he said, ‘You know, Brock, it would make it a lot easier if you would just commit before you left.’ And when he said that, then it got real.”
Juck asked if Brock committed on the spot. Chris said he did not.
“I wouldn’t let him,” Chris said. “I wanted him to get back. I didn’t want anything impulsive. I wanted to make sure he knew exactly what he was getting into, and this isn’t just a fantasy love story that he dreamed about when he was a kid. I wanted to make darn sure that it checked every box that you want. We sat on it for about three weeks or four, maybe a little bit longer, and Coach Hart said, ‘Look, we have one commit, and we want Brock. We will tell you if and when we get down to one or two just to keep you guys in the loop.’
“There was a point where just Brock and I talked, and I said, ‘OK, tell me—are you still feeling the same?’ He said, ‘Absolutely.’ I said, ‘Tell me why.’ He said, ‘First of all, I want to be the best. Second of all, the only way I’m ever gonna know that is if that’s where I go. Third of all, there’s no guarantees no matter where you go. And fourth of all, I want zero regrets.’ He said, ‘I want to go where there’s the most pressure, where there’s the biggest stage. When all the dust settles, I just want to know where I am because I want to be the absolute best. That’s the stage I want to do it at.’”
Chris said he had Brock call TCU’s coaches to tell them he was decommitting and planned to attend Ohio State.
The rest is history.
I can’t wait to see Brock be the absolute best.
“IT’S PRETTY NUTS.” This week, Fox Sports color commentator Joel Klatt welcomed NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah on his podcast to discuss the 2026 NFL draft class — namely, Ohio State’s absurd pool of talent with Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, Caleb Downs, Carnell Tate and Kayden McDonald.
“It’s pretty nuts,” Jeremiah said. “The only thing I can compare it to is just the Miami run that they were on in the early 2000s. It was a period of almost every year where you’re seeing four first-round guys and then running that depth all the way through.”
Jeremiah noted that he is impressed by more than just the sheer quantity of Buckeye prospects; it’s the immediate impact they're making at the professional level.
“They’ve had dudes. This is another year where they’ve got guys — and you mentioned the four top-10 players — but these guys are having success at the NFL level, too,” Jeremiah said. “It’s not like this is some overhyped group or a program living off reputation. These guys are getting drafted high and rightfully so. They’re playing really high at the next level.”
Klatt pointed out the historical context, citing Miami’s five first-rounders in 2002 and six in 2004, Alabama’s six in 2021 (including three in the top 10) and Georgia’s five in 2022.
“But,” Klatt laughed, “we’re talking about the first time in the modern draft era — the second time really in the common draft era since ’67 Michigan State that we could see four in the top 10.”
That is pretty nuts.
HE AIN’T DO NOTHING BUT STEP BACK. The College Football Playoff dropped a new logo on Tuesday. New means almost identical: They just changed “College Football Playoff” to “CFP.” The social reactions to the CFP’s “refreshed brand identity and logo system” did not disappoint.
Every detail is intentional.
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) April 14, 2026
Heres a closer look into the CFPs refreshed brand identity and logo system. pic.twitter.com/ff6mykCarT
— Jack (@j_deucker) April 14, 2026
— Jenna Nighswongers No1 Fan wants Arteta OUT (@mrtoothpasteeee) April 14, 2026
— Coop Ledford (@CoopLed) April 14, 2026
— The State of Buckeye (@StateofBuckeye) April 14, 2026
X can be a total wasteland, but moments like this make it impossible to hit delete. For every toxic post, there’s someone in the mentions ready to roast a multimillion-dollar rebrand for free. That’s priceless.
NEW DUBCAST AT 8 A.M. ET. Today's Eleven Dubcast welcomes back Kyle Jones to discuss the recent survey sent out by Ohio State to season ticket holders asking questions about renovations to the Buckeyes' stadium as well as what such an endeavor could mean for fans and visitors alike.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Starting Over” - Chris Stapleton.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Raffle winner left stunned after scooping a $1 million Picasso with a $117 ticket... Money and tech have closed the gap between NCAA baseball and MLB. That’s good news for coaches... Decades ago, a Maryland sailor burned his winter socks. Now it's a spring tradition... The NIL market for college basketball is now up 65% from last offseason. And there's a certain player type that's being overpaid.
