Death, taxes, and Desmond Howard expressing clear bias against Ohio State.
Before the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener against Michigan State in East Lansing, Howard took aim at Ohio State’s non-conference schedule, claiming it was weak, during his appearance on ESPN’s College Football Live on Friday.
“While prepping this week, I told Marissa, ‘Can you look something up for me?’” Howard explained. “I was checking the top 25 college football teams and noticed that Ohio State hasn’t faced a Power Four team in the last four weeks. She confirmed I was right. So, it seems like Ohio State took the entire first month off, and now they’re finally up against Michigan State.
“Now they’re finally facing a Power Four team,” he added. “They’re going on the road to play a Michigan State squad that leads the conference in sacks and tackles for loss. Keep an eye on the battle in the trenches. I need to check in with Pete [Thamel] later, though, because Michigan State has lost at least three wide receivers early this season and I’m not sure about their status. But Ohio State is finally stepping into the 2024 college football season up in East Lansing against Sparty.
“I’m just saying, it’s Week 5 and they haven’t played a single Power Four team. That’s wild.”
There’s no denying that Ohio State’s non-conference schedule was fairly easy. ESPN ranked their schedule through Week 4—with games against Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall—131st out of 134 FBS teams.
Originally, the Buckeyes were set to face Washington as part of a home-and-home series for this season and 2025, but they canceled that matchup and opted for a home game against Marshall instead, resulting in no Power 4 non-conference opponents this year.
In contrast, Michigan played Texas in Ann Arbor during Week 2, which was a significant non-conference game for them. However, over the past two seasons, Michigan’s out-of-conference schedules have been quite similar to Ohio State’s this year, with their opponents—including Colorado State, Hawai’i, UConn, East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green—all being Group of 5 teams.
After Howard’s remarks, Pete Thamel highlighted this comparison, prompting Howard to ask, “Are you defending the Buckeyes, Pete?… We’re discussing 2024.”
Kudos to you, Pete Thamel.
Howard has been known for provoking Ohio State fans, particularly in the past year. He described Ryan Day as “thin-skinned,” insisted that the Buckeyes had “no excuses” going into last year’s Michigan game after Connor Stalions’ dismissal, and criticized the Big Ten’s handling of the controversies involving Michigan’s football program.
Nevertheless, Ohio State has successfully navigated their non-conference games and is now focused on tougher challenges ahead, starting this Saturday night in East Lansing, with kickoff against the Spartans set for 7:30 on Peacock.
Looking ahead, the Buckeyes have arranged to face stronger non-conference opponents in the coming years, including Texas in 2025 (home) and 2026 (away), Alabama in 2027 (home) and 2028 (away), and Georgia in 2030 (away) and 2031 (home).
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