Skull Session: The CFP Title Game Brought Pain For Ohio State Fans, C.J. Stroud Wins Our Good Guy Award and Cade Stover's Return is a Massive Boom

By Chase Brown on January 10, 2023 at 5:00 am
C.J. Stroud
Brett Davis / USA TODAY Sports
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There's a different reality in the multiverse where Ohio State won the national championship on Monday.

I wonder what the Eleven Warriors website looks like in that universe (if there is one at all).

In this reality, Georgia won it all... by 58 points (read: fifty-eight... fif-tee-ate...)

That sucks.

The team Ohio State had on the ropes ended up winning the whole dang thing. A national championship for the Buckeyes was right there for the taking. Instead, the coaches and players watched the game on TV from Columbus.

Yeah, that sucks hard.

Still, let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?

 THE MOMENTS. If there is any consolation to Ohio State's Peach Bowl loss to Georgia, it's that the Buckeyes lost to the eventual CFP champions. Georgia defeated TCU, 65-7, to win its second consecutive playoff, becoming the first college football program since Alabama (2011-12) to claim back-to-back national trophies.

I know losing to the national champs is not a great consolation, as the Buckeyes very well should have been the team to play TCU in Los Angeles and curb-stomp the Horned Frogs as the Bulldogs did on Monday, but it's what we can take away from this past season for Ohio State now that the 2022 season has officially ended.

Well, that's not entirely true.

I don't mean to be the happy-go-lucky scarlet-colored-glasses-wearing person. However, there is a lot more than consolation that we have to live with from this past year, such as C.J. Stroud cementing his legacy as one of the great Ohio State quarterbacks, Marvin Harrison Jr. emerging as the best wide receiver in college football and Tommy Eichenberg becoming one of the best linebackers in the sport, among others moments and storylines.

To remind us of the season the Buckeyes put forth in 2022, the program's assistant director of creative media, Ethan Miller, created a showreel that documents the last five months of Ohio State football. Here are the memories we take with us from another fall for the men in the scarlet and gray:

The 2023 season starts in 235 days.

 THE 11W MEDIA GOOD GUY AWARD. Until this season, I was unaware that beat reporters from various NFL teams annually vote for a player to receive the Pro Football Writers Association "Good Guy Award," which is presented to a player who handles media responsibilities with cooperation, honesty and thoughtfulness (i.e., qualities that help the team's reporters cover the team for their respective audiences).

This season, two Buckeyes were named Good Guys by their team's beat reporters: Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker and Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who claimed his third consecutive Good Guy Award dating back to the 2020 season.

While Ohio State football is not of the professional ranks, the beat team at Eleven Warriors –Dan Hope, Griffin Strom, Garrick Hodge and me – believed it would be fun to present “The 11W Good Guy Award” to a current Buckeye who shared a great relationship with the media and spoke with honesty and thoughtfulness throughout the season.

The winner? Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV.

Our list of nominees included Stroud, Paris Johnson Jr., Marvin Harrison Jr., Steele Chambers and Tanner McCalister, but we ultimately chose Stroud for a few reasons:

  •  He spoke with the media after every game this season, regardless of how Ohio State played or if the Buckeyes won or lost. While this usually is an obligation for a team's starting quarterback, Stroud never treated it as such and was always willing to field questions from the media, whether they were easy or difficult to answer.
  •  He made himself available for several midweek press conferences, including sessions after the following games: Notre Dame, Arkansas State, Toledo, Michigan State, Iowa and Northwestern, and during bowl practices before the Peach Bowl matchup with Georgia. Those 20+ press conferences were by far the most we received from any player this past season.
  •  He always gave what we call a “good quote.” I think we can agree that when a story has good quotes, it becomes exponentially better. Whether Stroud was breaking down a play, telling us about how his teammates played or something entirely random, he was always quotable, leading to better articles for everyone who reads Eleven Warriors to consume and appreciate.

That said, congratulations to Stroud for winning our completely made-up award.

Stroud

If he accepts the honor, we will have to make him a plaque that will undoubtedly be placed on his mantle next to the two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and two Quarterback of the Year awards, the all-conference and All-American selections and all many other awards – all that good stuff.

This Good Guy Award is just as good, right?

... right?

 CADE STOVER RETURNS. After many years moving between defensive end, linebacker and tight end, Cade Stover finally found his home at Ohio State while playing the third position mentioned for the Buckeyes this season.

On Monday, Stover announced he would return for another year at Ohio State in 2023 as he looks to continue his development as a tight end – news that comes as a massive BOOM to Buckeye Nation.

So let's run it back, Farmer Gronk. Please show us what you got.

 TALKING SENSABAUGH. I'm pretty proud of the wordplay in this section's title – I have to admit. Talking Sensabaugh... Talking Sense-Abaugh... Get it?

Forgive my dry humor. I only have one more section, so I will see myself out after that.

Anyway, Brice Sensabaugh is really good at this basketball thing. Yes, he has some work to do regarding his defensive presence and his ability to rebound and pass the basketball, but as far as pure scorers go, the Ohio State freshman may be the best in his class.

Through the Buckeyes' first 15 games, Sensabaugh leads the team with 16.7 points per contest. He's done that on 52% shooting from the field with a 43.3% mark from behind the arc. That's about as efficient as efficient can be from a scoring perspective, especially for a freshman in the Big Ten.

It's been so good that several people involved with college basketball have started to notice. Even NBA superstar Kevin Durant sees it.

I think you know where all of this is heading. Sensabaugh is good, and he probably won't be in Columbus past this season. With Ohio State at 10-5 with a 2-2 record in the Big Ten, Chris Holtmann and his staff must make some noise in the postseason. Otherwise, we will see Sensabaugh's talents be used all for naught when it comes to the Buckeyes and their team achievements.

As of now, this Basketbucks team has some work to do. Let's see what Holtmann, Sensabaugh and Co. are made of as we head into the dark days of winter in January.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” by U2.

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