College football analyst Josh Pate says the quiet part out loud regarding why so many people hate the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State’s National Championship run this past season was one of the best college football has ever seen. It would have never happened without an expanded College Football Playoff format.
The Buckeyes didn’t let the loss in the final game of the season to Michigan end things for them. After that, they went on to defeat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame.
As perhaps the biggest brand in college football, the Buckeyes received a lot of flack, as much as they did love. College football analyst Josh Pate hit the nail on the head with why people don’t like the Buckeyes.
“The reason I think enough people nationally hate Ohio State is because they win, obviously,” Pate said on a recent airing of “Josh Pate’s College Football Show”. But also, I gathered through my correspondence with my audience, that everyone respected the run they just made in the playoff, but not everyone respected that they lost two games and then still got that shot. A lot of people viewed Ohio State as this huge beneficiary of the new format, which they were, but I don’t hate them for that. A lot of you do hate them for that.”
Pate is correct, Ohio State would have never gotten that shot if it weren’t for the expanded format. However, that is today’s college football landscape and the format will only expand from here.
The Buckeyes brought in a loaded roster in 2024, but they didn’t necessarily buy it. Ohio State returned a bulk of its roster to accomplish the exact goal they did, winning a National Championship. Ohio State went out and got Caleb Downs, Quinshon Judkins, Will Howard, and Seth McLaughlin — but that is just a part of the puzzle for the team.
“Yeah I put Ohio State up there too because they made a run, they won a title. You got folks out there, and this part of the argument I don’t buy into, but there are a bunch of folks who say, ‘Well, I could win a title if I bought a class.’ Yeah, you couldn’t. And they didn’t in that way. In the way that’s suggested, they didn’t.”
Ohio State’s roster won’t be as loaded in 2025 and they’ll have to replace up to 15 draft picks potentially. Still, it is Ohio State and they churn out talent every single year. They’ll again have a shot to win it all in 2025.
