Three more sleeps and a wakeup.
Hittin the road
Purdue
Saturday, Oct. 14
West Lafayette, IN
12:00 pm ET
Peacock pic.twitter.com/iPgm9jm2H0
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB)
Let’s have a good Wednesday, shall we?
“THEY HAVEN’T WON MUCH LATELY.” Washington will not become a Big Ten school until the 2024 college football season. However, based on comments from new athletic director Troy Dannen, the Huskies aren’t afraid to call out their future conference opponents, namely Ohio State.
In an appearance on 93.3 KJR in Seattle, Dannen called out Ohio State and Texas for their massive sports budgets, which he said haven’t translated to athletic success for the Buckeyes and Longhorns.
New UW AD Troy Dannen: “If budgets won championships, Ohio State and Texas would win everything — and they haven’t won much lately.” Says it’s about the people.
— Mike Vorel (@mikevorel)
Ohio State is out here catching strays!
Dannen’s seemingly random shot at Ohio State came amid an interview focused on name, image and likeness and his belief that Washington must embrace NIL to build its athletic department. As the conversation expanded, Dannen referenced a 2022 USA TODAY revenue and expense report, which revealed Ohio State and Texas recorded the most expenses among 232 NCAA schools. Hence, the name drop for both.
Still, it was a… choice… for the new Washington AD to call out a top school in the Huskies’ future conference. The decision becomes even more curious when his assertion that Ohio State “hasn’t won much” is inaccurate.
The Buckeyes have failed to beat “That Team Up North” and win the Big Ten championship in back-to-back seasons. That much is true. However, since 2015 – when Dannen started his current role as athletic director at Tulane – Ohio State has won four Big Ten championships, made four College Football Playoff appearances and played for one national championship.
And that’s just football.
Across the other 35 varsity sports at Ohio State, the Buckeyes have won countless conference championships and 12 national championships in men’s volleyball (2016 and 2017), pistol (2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023), women’s ice hockey (2022) and synchronized swimming (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023).
But, no, “They haven’t won much lately.”
Buckeye Nation will keep receipts, Mr. Dannen.
Ohio State football faces Washington in 2025.
GROWING PAINS. Wednesday marks the six-month anniversary of Tony Petitti as Big Ten commissioner. Those six months have consisted of several changes in the conference and the college sports landscape.
“I feel absolutely privileged to have the job. I really do,” Petitti told Scott Dochterman of The Athletic at Big Ten Basketball Media Days. “It’s an incredible responsibility. You see it and feel it every time you’re on campus.”
However, Petitti and Dochterman’s conversation included more than one quotable line. In fact, the commissioner and reporter discussed 10 topics at the Target Center in Minneapolis, including future football schedules, Peacock, future conference championship locations and more.
With more information and quotes from Dochterman’s article, here is a breakdown of the three topics named above:
Future Football Schedules
The Big Ten unveiled conference football opponents from 2024 through 2028 last week, and Petitti basked in the way it was arranged. For him, the confluence of implementing an equitable conference-wide schedule while maintaining traditional rivalries in an unorthodox fashion made the entire operation a win.
Every Big Ten team will play the other 17 at least twice over the next five years. There are 12 protected annual rivalries, ranging from Iowa keeping three to Penn State with none.
“The real art was the fact that they were able to salute competitive balance and tradition at the same time,” Petitti said. “The way they did that was by doing something that probably wasn’t the first place you would go. We’re having not every school (with) the same number of protected matchups. Your first instinct in scheduling based on my experience would have been to try the same structure all the way across, but that’s not what happened. That was incredibly smart because it allows you to get to the competitive balance. And then it has a third thing that’s really important, which is that it allows you to see everybody more frequently. So, to me, it’s really well done.”
Championship Locations
Indianapolis has hosted the Big Ten football championship game since 2011 and has a contract through 2024. Chicago and Indianapolis mostly have split the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, but Madison Square Garden in New York, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and the Chicago suburbs also have staged the tournaments.
With USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon joining officially next August, the Big Ten’s valuable postseason properties have a chance to find new future homes. Petitti was non-committal on locations but encouraged communities to bid on those events.
“I think what’s more important is the process, which is to encourage as many places, if they have interest, to express it, and to put them in position to put together meaningful bids for our tournaments and championships,” Petitti said. “That’s what we’re doing now. And we do have a pretty wide geographic area of interest going forward.”
With the Big Ten’s new media rights contract, nine football games will stream on Peacock, which forces consumers to pay a subscription beyond their traditional cable or satellite bill. Ohio State, for instance, plays Purdue on Peacock this week, the first time since the mid-1990s that the Buckeyes will not appear on linear television.
“There is no doubt that we’re asking fans to be in multiple places if they want to watch everything,” Petitti said. “We want them to watch everything. So we want them to be everywhere.
“I think what we can do is express the fact that we always want it to be as simple as possible for our fans, and that’s what we emphasize. Promote it properly and tell them how to find it. Make it as easy as possible.”
I already shared my opinion of the Big Ten’s future schedules in an earlier Skull Session. I’ll refer back to those here.
As for the possible location(s) of the future Big Ten Championship Game, I heard the San Gabriel Mountains are as beautiful in December as they are on New Year’s Day. I wouldn’t mind a Big Ten championship at the Rose Bowl. Like, at all.
And, lastly, on Peacock, I find the commissioner’s comments comical. He said the Big Ten strives to make watching football games “as simple as possible for fans.” If that were true, Peacock subscriptions would not be needed – all the games would be on cable TV! Alas, they are not, which means you, the fans, must resort to opening our wallets and for NBC’s streaming service to watch the Buckeyes. Isn’t that ridiculous?!
THE HARD TRUTH. Jim Knowles handed C.J. Hicks truthers another L on Tuesday. When asked about Hicks’ lack of reps in 2023, Knowles called Hicks “a great kid” with “excellent athletic ability.” Still, the Ohio State defensive coordinator said Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers will continue to receive the bulk of the snaps at the two linebacker spots with Cody Simon rotating in behind them.
“We are getting a lot of veteran knowledge and production at the position from the people that are in front of him,” Knowles said. “That’s a case of him being ready to go but understanding that there are guys who are really veterans in front of him. He is learning every day.”
I tweeted the above quote soon after Knowles spoke at his press conference. Immediately, the replies were filled with Hicks’ supporters, who seemed furious at Knowles’ decision to keep the sophomore off the field.
Is their anger justified? I have no clue. I have seen Hicks play… *checks notes*… 28 snaps at linebacker, where he has recorded two tackles. Until I see more from him – which will be hard for me to do because Knowles essentially said he faces an uphill battle for snaps – Eichenberg and Chambers and Simon it is.
WHOLESOME CONTENT. Former Ohio State men’s basketball star, future Ohio State-educated doctor, current Ohio State media member? Aaron Craft can do it all.
On Tuesday, Craft attended Big Ten Media Days, where he had a wholesome interaction with Chris Holtmann. As the Buckeyes’ head coach answered questions from the media in a televised press conference, a microphone was passed to Craft. The Ohio State legend introduced himself, announced his news organization and asked a question.
Aaron Craft. Baller, doctor, journalist? pic.twitter.com/5t6BeGvqIt
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops)
“Hey, Coach. Good to see you,” Craft said.
“What’s up, Aaron?” Holtmann asked.
“Aaron Craft, Beyond the Big 10. Just curious, going into an offseason after a season like you had, what were things you hoped to accomplish in the offseason, and was there anything in particular that you got excited about that happened this offseason?”
“Are you a member of the media now?”
“I have a credential today.”
Holtmann laughed.
“Dr. Craft here soon,” he said. “Aaron, thank you for the question. You know because you have been around, Aaron. When you go through a season like that, I think you are looking for the work of your guys and what that looks like. I think Bruce has led the way there. The consistency of his work and his approach has been a really good thing to see. it’s also been contagious.
“When you go through struggles like that, what you really hope is you have guys returning who have those scars, that scar tissue, and can remember those moments. I think that really provides beneficial things moving forward. That’s what we get to see this year.”
And that was it.
You have to love Aaron Craft.
For years, Craft offered his blood, sweat and tears to the Ohio State men’s basketball team. Across four seasons, Craft appeared in 148 games and made 113 starts for the Buckeyes, collecting 1,314 points, 694 assists, 492 rebounds and 337 steals. He was a four-time All-Big Ten Defensive Team honoree, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time Academic All-American of the Year. The dude did it all!
These days, Craft is in medical school at Ohio State and will soon be a doctor, specifically an ear, nose and throat specialist.
“I really enjoy the anatomy and pathology of the head and neck, doing surgery and patient follow-ups in the clinic,” Craft told The Ohio State Alumni Magazine in March.
As Craft completes his doctorate, he has also accepted a role with Beyond the Big 10 as a co-host for the CarXen’s Crew podcast, where he will discuss the Buckeyes men’s basketball team with former Ohio State hoopers Jared Sullinger and David Lighty and Columbus Dispatch beat reporter Adam Jardy.
Beyond the Big 10 was created by former Ohio State men’s basketball star Evan Turner and his NBA teammate Andre Iguodala, a former Arizona Wildcat and four-time NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors. According to its website, Beyond the Big 10 is “a network of podcasts that aims to be your go-to resource for Big Ten men’s basketball” and features a “lineup of hosts (who) are ex-Big Ten players, media, and insiders” to give fans an inside look at the Big Ten.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Dreamin” by Rayland Baxter.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Swans in Florida that date to Queen Elizabeth II gift are rounded up for their annual physicals… Gourd big or go home? Pumpkin comes in at 2,749 pounds, sets world record… The Calgary Flames have finalized an agreement to build a new, $880 million arena district… The top sheet vs. duvet debate just got more heated.
This content was originally published here.
