To start, I would like to thank the readers of Skull Session and the Eleven warriors community for their support over the past two years and change. Working at 11W has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I cannot express my gratitude enough for reading my Skull Sessions. It is truly an honor to work and write for you!

Today, make sure you tell someone that you love them and that you are grateful for them. We could all use a little love and compassion, so show that to someone else as often as possible. Make that part of your daily routine. Imagine how that could change the trajectory of each day!

Thanks again. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A million times, thank you. You are all the best Ohio State fans out there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HE JUST GETS IT. I’m grateful to Will Howard, who wins me over every time he sits behind a microphone. Howard had one great answer when asked to describe the meaning of The Game last Saturday. He gave another one on Tuesday.

“Just feeling how much this rivalry means and how deep it goes and how deep it cuts,” he said. “From the moment I got here, it was just different. It was like, you don’t wear blue in the building, you don’t say the M word, like all these things. I thought, ‘Okay, this is different.’ It’s not really a rivalry. It’s more of a way of life.”

Then, just like on Saturday, Howard shared that he wants to win gold pants this weekend for Ohio State veterans and Ryan Day.

“I want to get this done for them. I haven’t been working on it that long. “I’ve only been here a year, so I only know what I know, but what I do know is that I love my brothers and they came back and wanted this,” Howard said. “They felt the pain the last few years. of years. Coach day felt it. Coach Day took a chance on me when he didn’t have to. …I owe that man a lot. I want to get this done for him.”

The last part of that comment reminded me of an article I posted shortly after Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal on December 4. In that article, I looked at possible transfer quarterbacks that Ohio State could pursue this offseason. The list included Cam Ward, Riley Leonard – oh, my god – DJ Uiagelelei (!), Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore as the top five options. And then there was Howard.

While Ward, Leonard and Gabriel have had excellent seasons (potential Heisman Trophy seasons for Ward and Gabriel), I’d rather have Howard than all of them. Yes, he’s a Heisman candidate in his own sense, but he also just gets it.

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity that I had here,” Howard said Tuesday. “It couldn’t have turned out better. I love it here. I love my boys. I love everyone in the building. I love this place. I love this city. It’s been all I care about can ask, and more.”

He later added: “We still have plenty of things to take care of. We’re not done yet.”

Gold pants. Big Ten Championship. College Football Playoff title.

Lead them to greatness, Will!

“Noted.” I’m thankful for Jermaine Mathews Jr., who called out Lane Kiffin earlier this season, and some Wolverines this week. The latest case occurred Monday when a video of Michigan used wide receiver Semaj Morgan colorful words to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Ryan Day, appeared on Matthews’ timeline.

Noted https://t.co/kZVr4kobd2

—Jermaine Mathews Jr. (@Jr2Maine) November 25, 2024

The video, which appears to be a screen capture from Morgan’s Instagram Live after The Game in 2023, came in the middle of a season in which Morgan collected 22 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. However, since he decided to talk trash, the 6-foot-1, 174-pound receiver has recorded 23 catches for 134 yards and one score — as seen in fractions of the production by Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate.

That reminds me of what Justin Frye said at the Indiana Skull Session.

“I learned a long time ago from my father that those who talk and keep their mouths shut usually know nothing. And those who shut their mouths, close their mouths and go to work are the ones to fear the most” , says Frye. said. “Do you want to take a fight? Do you want to come to Columbus at the end of November and take a fight with the best damn fans in the country? No. Do you want to take a fight with the best damn band in the country? Don’t Let me start on this one men, you are not going to argue with these men.”

Morgan did it.

And on Saturday he will be humiliated.

I warranty you that.

TEAR IT OFF! I am grateful that the Ohio State football team took down the sacred banner of the M Club in Michigan in 1973.

In the video below, Michigan announcer Bob Ufer says, “They’re taking down Michigan’s coveted M Club Banner!” However, that’s not all Ufer said after one of the now iconic moments in The Rivalry. Actually, it’s far from all he had to say about the Buckeyes’ act of war.

“They’re taking down Michigan’s coveted M Club banner! A cowardly fate awaits them here! There isn’t a Michigan man in the stadium that wouldn’t love to go out there and scalp those Buckeyes right now! They had the audacity – downright audacity – to tear down the coveted M that Michigan will run from underneath!

When I watch that video and hear Ufer’s words, I think of the legendary Ron Burgundy. “Well, that escalated quickly,” I quote when Ufer claimed that every Michigan fan in the Big House would love to scalp the players on Ohio State’s team and have the Wolverines make the Buckeyes pay for their actions.

But the Wolverines didn’t make the Buckeyes pay.

In fact, Michigan may have had the worst-case scenario after that event. The game ended in a 10-10 tie that year, meaning the Big Ten athletic directors would choose the conference’s Rose Bowl representative. And despite the precedent that a Big Ten team cannot play in the Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons, the ADs chose the Buckeyes.

Hilarious.

Ohio State defeated USC in Pasadena, California, 42-21, on New Year’s Day 1974 behind a combined 246 yards and four touchdowns from Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson. Meanwhile, Michigan was not invited to a bowl game despite an undefeated record of 10-0-1.

Also hilarious.

I bet the Wolverines had so much fun watching the Buckeyes win the Granddaddy of Them All.

HOW DO WE GET HERE? I’m thankful for this Ohio State football season so far. From the season opener against Akron to the top-five win over Indiana, the Buckeyes have developed over thirteen weeks of the 2024 college football season. Much of that evolution has been covered in detail through the lens(es) of Ohio State’s football media team. Shall we end the Skull Session with a walk down Memory Lane?

Akron

Western Michigan

Marshall

State of Michigan

NOTE: For some reason, Ohio State has removed the Michigan State Recap from all social channels. I replaced what would have been their video with one from the Big Ten Network. Don’t shoot the messenger, please!

Iowa

Nebraska

Penn State

Purdue

Northwest

Indiana

Each of the past eleven games has led us here: Ohio State-Michigan.

I can’t wait for Saturday.

SONG OF THE DAY. “Thanksgiving Song” – Adam Sandler.

CUT TO THE HUNT. FOX selects Nate Smith (?) as musical guest for Big Noon Kickoff… Some of those Ocean Spray cranberries come from a swamp in Massachusetts… NBC honors John Madden on Thanksgiving by bringing the original Madden Cruiser one last time to take. .. Auroras may be visible in the US on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.