Welcome to the Skull Session.
This is the Caleb Downs edit.
I think I found the best Caleb Downs edit on the internet right now. pic.twitter.com/okmBGqeO3Y
— SSN - Dallas Cowboys (@SSN_Cowboys) May 4, 2026
Have a good Wednesday.
MENTAL GYMNASTICS. USA TODAY columnist Blake Toppmeyer has the take of the offseason.
In an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, Toppmeyer addressed Kirby Smart’s comments on whether the Big Ten has surpassed the SEC in college football dominance.
"That takes some gold medal-level mental gymnastics to believe that the reason the SEC has a 3-year national title drought is because Arkansas is too good."
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 4, 2026
-@btoppmeyer not buying the argument that conference depth hurts SEC title contenders: pic.twitter.com/FRokOJQt5N
“I’m sorry,” Toppmeyer said. “That takes some gold medal level mental gymnastics to believe that the reason the SEC has a three-year national title drought is because Arkansas is too good.”
Super good take.
No notes.
You’ve already seen Paul Finebaum’s pitiful response in the clip, but now I’m very curious to hear what Smart has to say.
DOLLAR DOLLAR BILLS, Y’ALL. Duke made headlines last week when the Blue Devils and Amazon reached a multi-year agreement to televise three marquee nonconference games per season.
That deal prompted USA TODAY columnist Matt Hayes to ask an intriguing question: What if Ohio State did the same?
It’s a fair thought experiment — and one Hayes believes Ross Bjork and his staff will at least consider. Even with Ohio State receiving a conference-high $91.57 million from the Big Ten in fiscal year 2024-25, the Buckeyes could still be leaving money on the table in what Hayes describes as a “scary” time for college athletics.
Why wouldn’t Duke basketball jump in on this action? And here’s the scary part for the rest of college sports: When does Ohio State football make a move?
When do Alabama or USC or Texas or Michigan say, screw it, we’re tired of Mississippi State and Rutgers and Vanderbilt and Maryland riding our coattails. We’re going to take our media rights and find out just how much someone is willing to pay.
Don’t kid yourselves, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Apple — or any streaming service worth its weight in dragging, commercial-filled garbage — will throw millions upon millions upon millions for seven Ohio State home games.
Live sports is the only guaranteed winner in broadcast television and streaming. Live sports with Ohio State? A revenue-driving king.
And what’s the Big Ten going to do? Tell Ohio State you’re either with us, or you’re out of the league?
Four words: There will be suitors.
Ohio State's value in this environment is probably three times the $91.5 million the Big Ten paid the Buckeyes in fiscal 2024-25. The Ohio State-Michigan game alone is worth $100 million annually.
It would be fiscally reckless for the Big Ten to push Ohio State out of the conference when the current media rights deal ends after the 2029-30 season. So the next logical step would be a deal.
Welcome, everyone, to leverage in the free market.
Hayes argues this wouldn’t be unprecedented. It’s no different than agents floating a coach’s name for leverage in a high-profile job search, or shopping a player in the transfer portal to drive up NIL value.
Why should Ohio State’s brand and power be used to supplement the Minnesotas of the world? If you don’t think this is happening — and a lot sooner than you think — you’re the same person who thinks the player movement toothpaste can be put back in the tube.
That guy will be gone in two years. Ohio State football will be around — and thriving — decades after that.
Duke did the smart thing, the prudent thing. Then opened the door for every other university to follow suit.
If Ohio State crosses that threshold, it may feel like the end of the sport as we know it. It wouldn’t just change the math — it would change college football.
And sure, I want the Buckeyes to keep thriving. But at what cost? That’s the question I can’t shake. Because if the opportunity comes, will Bjork and his administration see the full picture or just the dollar signs? This is the same leadership that has already introduced round-up donations at Ohio Stadium and explored jersey patch sponsorships.
At some point, the risk isn’t just change. It’s erosion.
Erosion of the People, the Tradition and the Excellence that built Ohio State into what it is — the very foundation that makes those dollar signs possible in the first place.
And if that foundation starts to crack, the payoff might not be worth the price.
WHAT IS GOOD, GREAT, GRAND? I thought Ohio State had a really good offseason, but to the Worldwide Leader, “really good” apparently translates to No. 4 in the Big Ten — behind Indiana, Oregon and USC.
In an article ranking the offseason for every Power 4 college football team, ESPN’s Eli Lederman, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg slotted the Buckeyes behind the Hoosiers, Ducks and Trojans in the conference.
Here’s what the trio wrote about Ohio State:
Biggest coaching move: The Buckeyes will have a different offensive coordinator for the fourth consecutive season as Arthur Smith, the former Atlanta Falcons coach and NFL coordinator, will direct the unit this fall. Smith, who called plays for both the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers in between his Falcons stint, gives OSU coach Ryan Day the freedom to oversee the whole program. Smith has spent almost his entire career at the NFL level. The Buckeyes also hired new special teams coordinator Robby Discher from Illinois and Cortez Hankton, a longtime SEC assistant, to coach Jeremiah Smith and the wide receivers.
What went wrong: Ohio State is replacing the stars of its defense for the second straight year as Downs, Reese and Kayden McDonald all skipped their final seasons of college eligibility, and the team also lost Sonny Styles. The team also lost offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, who has overseen a historic stretch of elite wide receivers and been among the nation's top recruiters, to a head coaching role at South Florida. Ohio State had several notable transfer departures on offense, from guard Tegra Tshabola (Kentucky) and running back James Peoples (Penn State) to emerging wide receivers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter, both ESPN top-65 national recruits, joining Notre Dame. Tight end Max Klare declared early for the draft, and defensive backs Faheem Delane and Aaron Scott also transferred out.
What went right: Smith had his deep-pocketed suitors, but Ohio State retained the All-American, who will complete his college career in scarlet and gray. Day also retained his most valuable assistant in defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who coordinated a historically stingy defense in 2025 and will log a second season in Columbus. Arthur Smith's hiring should give Day comfort to step away from schematic minutia. Ohio State made several portal gains, including Smith and Russaw, both coming from Alabama, safeties Little (Florida State) and Terry Moore (Duke), Northwestern tight end Hunter Welcing, and productive UTSA receiver Devin McCuin. The Buckeyes retained Henry as the jewel of a recruiting class that ranked No. 9 nationally and included seven top-100 prospects.
So, the “what went wrong” section mostly boils down to expected, unavoidable departures — ones Ohio State anticipated and addressed. Got it.
It feels like the Buckeyes are being docked for losing four top-11 picks, three second-rounders and four more draft selections — and for Brian Hartline leaving to become a head coach. That’s the cost of success, not failure.
But sure, it’s not like Ohio State returns the best player in college football, a Heisman finalist quarterback, a breakout freshman running back, an experienced offensive line and a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator. And it’s definitely not like the Buckeyes supplemented all of that with portal additions or hired an NFL head coach to run the offense.
It’s a strange way to evaluate an offseason: penalize Ohio State for developing too much NFL talent and losing a coach good enough to land a head job, while downplaying everything it did to reload. The Buckeyes didn’t just survive the churn — they leaned into it, retained elite talent, upgraded key spots and positioned themselves for another title run. If that only amounts to the fourth-best offseason in the Big Ten, then the bar for “success” in Columbus is doing exactly what Ohio State just did — and somehow getting less credit for it.
UNTIL IT DOESN'T. There was an English teacher at my high school who had a trademark phrase: until it doesn’t.
A dove means peace — until it doesn’t.
A red rose means love — until it doesn’t.
A skull means danger — until it doesn’t.
I couldn’t help but think of ol’ Mr. Miller when I read Ravi Bellamkonda’s Friday interview with The Columbus Dispatch’s Sheridan Hendrix, during which the new Ohio State said he’s committed to maintaining all of the school’s 36 Division I sports teams — until he isn’t?
“We are very committed to the Olympic sports, beyond all of the revenue sports and such,” he said. “But like any good leader, you have to be open to other possibilities, but I don’t see any reason to go away from that mission unless we have to for some reason.”
Hendrix immediately noted that hundreds of Division I athletic programs have either shuttered or consolidated since House v. NCAA. Recently, many colleges have cut their tennis programs to fund other sports and athletes' payments.
“As long as we’re able to compete and take care of all these sports and do well, our intention is to try to continue to do that,” Bellamkonda said.
So, yes — Ohio State will have 36 Division I sports.
Until it doesn’t.
NEW DUBCAST. Today's Eleven Dubcast welcomes back 11W deputy editor Dan Hope to discuss the decision by Ohio State to send the Buckeyes' whole offensive coaching staff to visit 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges. Hope also joins for an Across the Shield segment to discuss a pair of recently drafted former OSU players currently featured in articles on the site.
SONG OF THE DAY. "The Winner Takes It All" - ABBA.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Male coyote swam 2 miles to Alcatraz Island, twice as far as biologists had expected... Matthew Perry’s "Friends" keepsakes and artwork go up for auction for foundation named for him... Astronomers believe they’ve detected an atmosphere around a tiny, icy world beyond Pluto... After front office changes, Maple Leafs win draft lottery... No more Miami Super Bowls? Why there may not be any in coming years.
