Desmond Howard Takes Shot At Ohio State’s Schedule During ESPN’s College GameDay

Howard believes Michigan has played a tougher schedule, though ESPN's College Football Power Index disagrees.

ESPN analyst and former Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard hasn’t been afraid to use his platform to take shots at Ohio State in the past. Take last year’s Heisman Trophy ceremony, for example, when he mentioned the Buckeyes’ offensive line play during the 42-27 loss to the Wolverines in front of the finalist, including quarterback C.J. Stroud.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Howard was critical of Ohio State’s early-season schedule during a segment on ESPN's College GameDay this morning, ignoring Michigan’s lackluster schedule in the process.

“When do we welcome Ohio State back to college football?” Howard said. “After Notre Dame, they played Arkansas State, they played Toledo, they played Wisconsin – who just fired their coach, that’s how bad they are – they played Rutgers and now (Kirk Herbstreit) is calling their game against Michigan State today. First game on the road.”

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Fellow ESPN analyst and former Georgia linebacker David Pollack responded by asking Howard when they get to welcome the Wolverines to the college football season, as well.

“Michigan has played Iowa, a tough game for them,” Howard said. “Maryland as tougher. Is Maryland not tougher than Wisconsin and Arkansas State? And historically, Michigan has struggled on the road in Iowa, so that was a good win for that team.”

For what it’s worth, ESPN’s College Football Power Index ranks Michigan’s strength of schedule of games already played at 96th in the country. The Wolverines hosted Colorado State, Hawai’i, UConn and Maryland and played Iowa on the road, with those teams having a combined record of 11-15.

Ohio State’s opponents, which Howard listed above, had a combined record of 12-13 through the first five weeks of the season, meanwhile. That includes Rutgers’ loss to Nebraska last night, which puts the Buckeyes at No. 89 in terms of early-season strength of schedule.

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