Skull Session: Forever | Eleven warriors

On By Littum

Welcome to Skull Session.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the 2024 college football national champions.

This is Ryan Day’s America.

Have a good Tuesday.

WELCOME TO FOREVER.

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One more, then forever.

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One more, then Forever.

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Welcome to Forever, 2024 Buckeyes.

A WELL-WENT TROPHY. Last offseason, 11 Buckeyes decided to return for another season at Ohio State instead of entering the NFL draft: TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, Donovan Jackson, Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton, Cody Simon, Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom.

Each wanted hardware before their college careers ended.

A pair of gold pants. A Big Ten Championship. A national title.

After Nov. 30, it appeared the Buckeyes would leave Columbus without those accolades. The loss to Michigan sent the program crashing to the bottom. Battered and bloodied, Ohio State had the choice to submit. Instead, in keeping with their program motto, the Buckeyes lifted themselves off the ground and proceeded to fight.

Over the next six weeks, Ohio State defeated Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame en route to a national championship.

Talk about hardware.

A Rose Bowl trophy. A cotton bowl trophy. A College Football Playoff trophy.

I know there were no gold pants.

I know there was no Big Ten championship.

But I don’t care.

Ohio State won it all, cementing this team’s legacy as one of the greatest teams in school history.

“We finished the season the right way. We grew. We built. We responded in tough times. Man, that’s what life is about. These guys learned a lot of life lessons,” Ryan Day said of the 2024 team and its seniors. “They will go down in Ohio State history as one of the best teams to ever play at Ohio State. After all the things that have been said throughout the year, these guys will be cemented as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams ever.

“Only nine (Buckeye) teams have ever (won a title) — three in the last 50 years. These guys right here. There weren’t a lot of people that had that vision, but these guys did and they saw it through. Ohio State might not be for everyone, but it is for these guys. I’m really proud of them.”

I am also a coach. So am I.

THE HARDEST ROAD EVER. It’s hard to fathom how difficult Ohio State’s road to becoming national champions was.

According to College Football Playoff seeds, Ohio State beat No. 9 Tennessee, no. 1 Oregon, no. 5 Texas and no. 7 Notre Dame to claim the program’s ninth title. But according to the College Football Playoff top 25, the Buckeyes beat No. 7 Tennessee, no. 1 Oregon, no. 3 Texas and no. 5 Notre Dame to win the first 12-team tournament.

There has never been a more difficult path for a team to win a championship.

Ever.

The Miami teams of the 80s didn’t have to beat four consecutive top-10 teams to win it all. Neither did the Nebraska teams of the 90s, the Florida teams of the 2000s, the Alabama teams of the 2010s (and later), the Georgia teams of the 2020s, or single title winners like 2005 Texas, 2010 Auburn and 2019 LSU. I left out several teams there, but I think the point is clear. Ohio State’s title run is unprecedented; therefore, we must regard the championship with due reverence.

To make Ohio State’s accomplishment more impressive — something I didn’t think was possible until I remembered the team’s stacked regular-season schedule — the Buckeyes faced three top-five opponents before the postseason began. Ohio State lost to then-No. 3 Oregon, 32-21, in Eugene, but beat then-No. 3 Penn State, 20-13, in State College and then-No. 5 Indiana, 38-15, in Columbus.

Ha.. that reminds me: Remember when people said Day couldn’t win the big games? Quick math tells me Ohio State went 5-1 against top-five teams and 6-1 against top-10 teams this season. How do you like them apples?

Cheers, COACH FREEMAN. Attitude reflects leadership. Notre Dame’s attitude in the second half showed me the leadership Marcus Freeman brings to the Irish.

After an 18-play, 75-yard scoring drive on Notre Dame’s first possession, the Irish went three-and-out on back-to-back possessions before halftime. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s offense marched up and down the field, scoring on its opening three drives via a Jeremiah Smith touchdown and two Quinshon Judkins touchdowns.

With Notre Dame down 21-7 at halftime, the players could have folded. Instead, the Irish rallied behind their coach, who has inspired them to fight with their backs against the wall ever since the team’s unforgivable loss to Northern Illinois in South Bend. In the final 30 minutes, Notre Dame outscored Ohio State 16-13. It wasn’t until Jayden Fielding made a 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left that the Irish’s chances of winning dwindled to zero.

“We didn’t play the way we needed to get the result we want, but like I said to the guys in the locker room, there’s not a lot of words to say when everybody’s hurting,” Freeman said. “I’m just proud of them and proud of what they’ve done. I’m proud of who they are and the way they represent themselves. It’s just an honor to be on this journey with them. There will to be a lot of seniors that were their last game with Notre Dame football, but they’ve left this place a better place and I’m very grateful to be on the journey with them.”

If Ohio State didn’t already have the best coach in college football, I would love to have Freeman lead the Buckeyes. He’s great, and I hope he’s successful at Notre Dame for years to come — except when the Irish face the Buckeyes, of course.

SONG OF THE DAY. “Carmen Ohio” – TBDBITL.

CUT FOR ME. Ohio State students storm Ohio Stadium to celebrate national championship… Ohio State will host a national championship celebration at Ohio Stadium Sunday noon… A look at Ohio State’s past eight national titles… Will Howard breaks Ohio State’s single -season completion percentage record.

It’s almost 5 in the morning, also known as the time Skull Session comes out. There is a chance that I will be awake when the clock reaches that point, which would allow me to post the article manually. However, I plan to get a few more minutes of sleep before a press conference at 9 and a nine-hour drive home to Columbus, where I will dedicate time to another Skull Session and other work-related activities.

None of it feels real.

Neither does the fact that Ohio State won a national championship.

But it did!

It happened!

Incredible!

I will talk to you all tomorrow.