Welcome to the Skull Session.
The Warden got paid. Again.
Denzel Ward becomes the NFL's highest-paid defensive back for the second time in his career by signing a two-year, $62.2 million extension with the Browns. https://t.co/wGvSINpgs3
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 28, 2026
Have a good Wednesday.
HOW ABOUT THAT? Ahem.
My name on Ohio State’s jerseys? pic.twitter.com/1xoGGW4iDA
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) July 28, 2026
I see this as an absolute win.
I also see an additional $17 million annually for Ohio State athletics as an absolute win. That’s nearly all of the Buckeyes’ projected $20 million revenue-sharing budget in 2025 and will go a long way toward helping Ohio State maintain its status as the biggest brand in college football.
CHICAGOOO, CHICAGOOO. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and players Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and Jaylen McClain will take the stage at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, and Eleven Warriors editor Dan Hope and I are in the Windy City to cover every comment and quote from the Hilton Chicago.
Here’s the schedule for their media appearances today:
- Ryan Day press conference: 12:15-12:30 p.m. CT/1:15-1:30 p.m. ET
- Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and Jaylen McClain breakouts: 1:15-1:30 p.m. CT/2:15-2:30 p.m. ET
- Ryan Day breakout: 1:45-2:30 p.m. CT/2:45-3:30 p.m. ET
Day’s press conference will be televised live on Big Ten Network. We’ll have videos of Sayin, Smith, McClain and Day at their podiums on our YouTube channel and social media platforms this afternoon, along with plenty of #content in a Big Ten Media Days Central post on our front page.
HOW DID WE GET HERE? Last week, ESPN’s Bill Connelly named the 100 games that explain college football in 2026.
“The games remain thrilling, and Saturdays remain immaculate. But it’s sometimes worthwhile to step back and ask, how the heck did we get here?” Connelly wrote. “With games broken up into key categories — from change agents (like tactical innovations and conference realignment) to the things that keep us coming back (like upsets and epic endings) — here are 100 games that explain college football in the year 2026.”
Connelly divided his list into categories like Making Legends, Innovations, Postseason Drama, Upsets, Frustrating Finishes, TV Rules, Realignment’s Effects and Classic Endings.
I have my own categories for Ohio State: The Triumphs and The Heartbreaks.
The Triumphs
6. Oct. 4, 1975: No. 2 Ohio State 41, No. 13 UCLA 20. In less than a decade, we'll celebrate the 100th birthday of the Heisman Trophy. Incredibly, only one person has won it multiple times to date. While Archie Griffin's best collegiate game was perhaps his second -- he rushed for 239 yards against North Carolina as a freshman -- he wasn't known just yet. But as a defending Heisman winner, he basically locked up a second win with a 21-carry, 160-yard performance against unbeaten UCLA.
...
65. Jan. 3, 2003: No. 2 Ohio State 31, No. 1 Miami 24. Another fourth-down pass broken up, another premature celebration. I will forever say that the pass interference call against Miami that extended the 2002 season's BCS championship game -- eventually won by Ohio State -- was a fair call. It was extremely physical coverage. But it was also a painfully late call and a particularly painful way to deny Miami a second straight national title and dynasty status.
The Heartbreaks
47. Nov. 22, 1969: No. 12 Michigan 24, No. 1 Ohio State 12. Woody Hayes' Ohio State was the defending national champion and a winner of 22 games in a row. Michigan was trying to reestablish its footing under first-year coach Bo Schembechler. The Wolverines scored an upset that started what became known as the Ten Year War, the peak of one of the sport's most celebrated rivalries.
...
98. Dec. 31, 2022: Georgia 42, Ohio State 41. A semifinal game that ends on a field goal that goes into the air in one year and lands in the next.
Ohio State has had plenty of triumphs and heartbreaks in its 135-year history. Thankfully, there's been far more triumph than heartbreak. But heartbreak is the shadow cast by greatness. Programs that don't compete for championships don't accumulate defining losses.
Four games can only scratch the surface. As one of college football's blue bloods, Ohio State has spent more than a century playing for conference titles, national championships and legacies. That's why so many Buckeye games have shaped not only seasons, but the sport itself.
“I HAD TO HEAR IT ALL.” The Columbus Dispatch’s Joey Kaufman wrote an excellent feature on Jeremiah Smith, providing an inside look at the star receiver’s love for the weight room, his desire to develop a stronger voice in the locker room and his motivations heading into a pivotal 2026 season for the Buckeyes.
I highly recommend reading the story in its entirety, but here’s an excerpt to get your jollies:
When the Buckeyes took a break for the Fourth of July, Smith spent the holiday visiting family and friends in South Florida.
The trip also allowed him to host a youth camp in Miami Gardens, a place that brought inevitable reminders of a stinging postseason loss.
Miami knocked Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff in December. Not only did the quarterfinal loss end the Buckeyes’ bid to repeat as national champions, but it was personal to Smith, who once considered signing with the Hurricanes as the nation’s top high school prospect in late 2023.
“A lot of little kids were like, ‘You should’ve stayed home,’” Smith said.
Smith took the banter in stride. He laughed as he recalled the scene.
“I had to hear it all,” he said.
It was not the first time over the past seven months.
“Any time I go back home, friends, family, talk about that game and brag about it,” Smith said. “I hear it a lot.”
Smith told Kaufman this offseason has been much different than the previous one.
In the summer of 2025, Ohio State was coming off a national championship, and Smith played a pivotal role in securing the title with 13 catches for 290 yards and four touchdowns across the Buckeyes’ playoff run against Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame. His heroics as part of “Third-and-Jeremiah” were front of mind all the time as he prepared for his sophomore season.
One year later, however, it’s a different play that has occupied his headspace: his missed block on Miami safety Keionte Scott that resulted in a pick-six and put Ohio State in a 14-0 hole in the first half. The Buckeyes ultimately fell to the Hurricanes, 24-14.
“That’s really something that haunts me a lot,” Smith said.
Smith is not short of ambition as he prepares for his junior year, beginning with a list of potential individual accolades.
He’d like to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver after finishing as a finalist last year. In a tight race with USC receiver Makai Lemon, his quad injury cost him a chance to pad stats down the stretch.
He’ll be a candidate as well for the Heisman Trophy, the sport’s most prestigious player of the year award.
“If I got to be a Heisman finalist, I would be satisfied with that,” Smith said. “I know that’s really a quarterback award.”
Smith’s individual goals for the 2026 campaign are lofty: break Ohio State’s all-time receiving records for receptions, yards and touchdowns, win the Biletnikoff and secure a seat at the Heisman ceremony. His team goals align with the program’s annual standard: beat Michigan, win the Big Ten and win a national championship.
With last year’s postseason failures still looming, Smith said the Buckeyes are as motivated as ever to accomplish all three goals in 2026.
“We’ve had a chip on our shoulder,” Smith said, “to not let that happen again.”
SONG OF THE DAY. “My Kind Of Town” - Frank Sinatra. (A lot of Sinatra this week, but that’s never a bad thing!)
CUT TO THE CHASE. Notre Dame has partnered with SoFi as its official jersey patch sponsor... Illinois has partnered with Busey Bank as its official jersey patch sponsor... Pizza (that's it — that's the title of the article)... This summer’s status symbol is a $3.99 glass bottle of water... Does the MLB Hall of Fame need a Steroid-Era redo?
