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Desmond Howard mocks Buckeye’s weak schedule

Desmond Howard mocks Buckeye’s weak schedule

Five weeks into the 2024 season, Ohio State is expected to face its first Power Four opponent of the year when it travels to East Lansing on Saturday in a match against Michigan State. The Buckeyes went through a non-conference slate that included Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall, which they defeated by a combined score of 157-20.

According to ESPN, Ohio State University’s schedule – which also included an early bye in Week 3 – ranks 131st out of 134 FBS teams through the first four weeks. During an appearance on “College Football Live,” former Michigan star, Ohio native and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard poked fun at the Buckeyes’ schedule ahead of their trip to Michigan State.

“During the week I was preparing and I said, ‘Hey, Marissa, you need to look something up,'” Howard said. “‘I look at the top 25 teams in college football, and I look at Ohio State. Are they the only team that hasn’t played a Power Four team in four weeks? And she said, ‘Yeah, Desmond, you’re right.’ So Ohio State basically took the whole month off – the whole first month – and now they’re playing Michigan State. After all, they are playing against a Power Four team. They go on the road and play a Michigan State team that leads the conference defensively in sacks and tackles for loss.

“The trenches, look at the battle in the trenches.” I’m not sure – I’ll have to ask Pete [Thamel] later because Michigan State lost at least three wide receivers to start the season. I don’t know who’s coming back. … But Ohio State, finally welcome to the 2024 college football season in East Lansing against Sparty.”

Michigan Wolverines football: Desmond Howard points out the Ohio State Buckeyes' weak 2024 schedule

January 2, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; ESPN broadcaster Desmond Howard before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Utah Utes in the 109th Rose Bowl game at the Rose Bowl. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While the former Wolverine certainly has personal reasons for mocking Ohio State’s schedule, he’s far from the only college football expert to have criticized the Buckeyes’ early lineup. Former OSU head coach Urban Meyer, who is still closely associated with the program, made a similar comment before the season began.

“Their schedule is kind of a joke to begin with,” Meyer said on his podcast “The Triple Option” in late August. “I mean, they’ll be 50-point favorites in the first three games. They have a bye week and then they play Michigan State, which is just a shell of itself right now.”

Howard got some pushback from the College Football Live panel, which included ESPN’s Pete Thamel, “Stanford Steve” Coughlin and Jen Lada, but the former Michigan wide receiver leaned on the facts about Ohio State’s schedule.

“All I’m saying is they didn’t play anyone,” Howard said. “Week 5, and they didn’t play a Power Four team. That’s crazy.”

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