The Ohio State Buckeyes fanbase has something of a reputation nationwide for being, well, a little unhinged. And annoying. Demanding. Entitled. Filled with crazies. Lacking any sort of emotional center or sense of personal well-being.
The list goes on and on.
And for a good chunk of the Ohio State fanbase, that’s quite all right as long as the Buckeyes win. But trust me, as someone who lives in Central Ohio, there are actually normal, well-balanced people who consider themselves part of Buckeye Nation. A few of them even work at this website (As you may have noticed over the years).
So obviously, it pinged our radar when it was unveiled that very proud Michigan alum Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports would be forming a relationship with Fox Sports. At the heart of that relationship is not just a daily FS1 show each weekday morning, but Portnoy will now become a major part of Fox’s Saturday morning pregame show, Big Noon Kickoff.
In the emergency press conference video, Portnoy made it clear that he was there to fly the flag of the Big Ten, but more specifically, that of the Michigan Wolverines.
Emergency Press Conference – Barstool Sports is Proud to announce a new wide ranging partnership with Fox Sports. This is the 1st time in our illustrious and notorious history that we’ve got a Tv partner we believe in and believes in us. I can’t wait to see what we create… pic.twitter.com/vQ19c7brof
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 17, 2025
There is no shortage of former Ohio State stars in the college football media world. But unlike what we see from Portnoy or even someone like Mike Greenberg, who loves his New York Jets, the relationship is far more complicated.
Former quarterback Kirk Herbstreit is now persona non grata for scores of Buckeye fans due to his constant criticism of the “lunatic fringe” in the fan base. And while those criticisms and his neutral-at-all-costs approach definitely draw righteous indignation from fans, you can see where he’s coming from when he talks about death threats received by Ryan Day’s family and his need for personal security. Having said that, there are times when Herbstreit uses those unfortunate events to paint Ohio State fans with too broad a brush. And doing it during the middle of a College Football Playoff game was definitely the wrong place and time to do so.
Fox will counter with Portnoy bleeding maize and blue on the Big Noon Kickoff set with former national championship-winning Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. But Meyer is far from someone who is going to break out the scarlet and gray pom poms on set. And given his own ignominious departure from Ohio State, maybe it’s best to leave that all behind anyway, especially with Ryan Day matching his national title count.
Maybe it’d be one thing if Ohio State fans were happy with the Big Ten rights deal and the superstar treatment from Fox Sports. After all, Gus Johnson calling them the “world famous Ohio State Buckeyes” probably makes fans of all the other Big Ten schools want to puke.
But that is definitely not the case as Fox enters this season at an all-time low in its relationship with Ohio State fans.
That is because the Buckeyes have had to carry the flag for Big Noon Saturday as Fox has made the 12 p.m. ET kickoff its premier timeslot of the day. Make no mistake about it, the strategy has absolutely worked and put Fox college football on the map. But it’s come at the cost of agitating the fans of the conference’s top brand and television draw.
In fact, Ohio State ended the 2022 season with six straight noon games. Their massive season opener against Texas in a national semifinal rematch will also be a Fox noon kickoff, even though the school tried to move it out of the cursed timeslot. Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork has openly advocated for more marquee night games and flexibility from Fox and its other television partners. The backlash against Fox and Big Noon from Buckeye Nation is so intense that even state legislators are taking steps to try to limit its scheduling power.
You will rarely see as massive a fanbase as Ohio State as united about anything as they are against Big Noon Kickoff and what Fox Sports has done to the program by completely robbing it of any marquee primetime home games. Ohio State will play Texas at noon, while they will welcome Ohio University of the MAC under the lights in primetime two weeks later.
And as you may have guessed, Ohio State fans are definitely ones to hold a grudge. The name “Mark May” still draws a triggered reaction from anyone who is even a casual fan of the scarlet and gray. Ohio State fans have previously attempted to boycott ESPN and College GameDay due to their perceived SEC bias and alleged dislike of the Buckeyes.
And now they get to watch Dave Portnoy on Big Noon Kickoff each and every week. THIS Dave Portnoy?!?
This rant is for Michigan and Ohio State fans only? Does Ohio winning the natty erase the fact they are Michigan’s bitch? pic.twitter.com/UeEZBvzqTN
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 11, 2025
We are about to witness a generational, season-long hate watch. With Dave Portnoy on the pregame show leading into countless noon kickoffs, the Ohio State-Fox Sports relationship is about to become as toxic as Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. But the hate watch won’t just be from Ohio State fans who have no choice but to tune in and watch Big Noon all season long. The hate watch will also come from the rest of the college football world watching Ohio State fans watch Fox Sports and slowly go insane. But at least they will be entertained.