Ohio State Buckeyes Star Doesn't Hold Back About Doubting Fans

An Ohio State Buckeyes' star fired back at all the fans of the team who were doubting them.

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) celebrates a touchdown by running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes took care of business in their College Football Playoff opener against the Tennessee Volunteers. When the final whistle blew, they ended up winning by a final score of 42-17.

After weeks of being doubted, Ohio State is once again being respected as a national championship contender.

Following the game, Donovan Jackson, the team's star offensive lineman, had some things to say.

Jackson clearly heard all of the negative things being said about the Buckeyes by the media. He also heard the negativity being spread by the Ohio State fan base.

He fired back at those fans and all of the doubters after the big win.

"For three weeks, everyone in the world was telling us we suck," Jackson said. "Half the fan base was telling us we sucked. Almost every analyst and expert and anyone with a podcast was telling us we sucked. So we took it personal. We're like, 'That's not how we're going to go out. We know we're better than this.' Sure, we're down a couple guys, but all the guys in this room can go. ... We just wanted to go out there and play with our hair on fire."

While he is the first current player to speak out about how the fans turned on the team, Kirk Herbstreit also noted it during the broadcast of the win against Tennessee.

"The lunatic fringe at Ohio State is as powerful as anywhere in the country," Herbstreit said. "It used to be 8-10 [percent of the fan base]. I think it's grown now to about 15-20. So I don't know. I'm sure they'll be happy tonight — be fired up about what the Ohio State team did. But God forbid they lose to Oregon. They may want to fire [Ryan Day] again."

Being frustrated about a loss to Michigan is one thing. Taking it to the next level, calling for jobs, and spreading constant negativity is another.

Clearly, the Buckeyes heard all of it and they weren't happy. It's good to see a player speak out and fire back against all of the fans tht turned their back on the team.

Hopefully, Ohio State can continue making the negative fans and media eat their words with a huge win on New Year's Day against the Oregon Ducks. It won't be easy, but people aren't counting them out like they were before the win over the Volunteers.