Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Scarlet & Game, backed by Ohio State, labeled the matchup a "sure win", dismissing Grambling State.
- Phillip Riggs framed the game as a tribute to Eddie Robinson, while taking a jab at the SEC and Clemson.
- 247Sports and USA Today predicted a blowout, with Buckeyes favored heavily and the contest potentially "ugly" for Grambling State.
- Sports Illustrated beat reporter Matt Parker admitted he cared more about the Grambling State marching band than the game's competitiveness.
- Grambling State will receive about $1 million for the nonconference trip, highlighting HBCU financial and cultural stakes despite predictions.
It goes without saying that Grambling State will be a decided underdog when it plays at Ohio State this season.
While an official betting line or point spread has yet to be released for the Sept. 6 game, does there really need to be one?
Sifting through preseason predictions gives the Tigers little chance to topple the defending FBS national champions at Ohio Stadium.
How much is Grambling State being dismissed? Take the Ohio State-backed website Scarlet & Game, for example.
In a blurb about the Buckeyes’ 2025 schedule, Phillip Riggs wrote that the matchup would be “a sure win” for Ohio State and took a shot at the SEC in the process.
“I’m normally not in favor of Ohio State playing an FCS school, but I believe they’re doing it as a hat tip to Eddie Robinson, the Grambling, HBCU, and college football legend,” Riggs wrote for the Fan Sided website. “At least they’re playing them in September instead of late November like the SEC and Clemson do.”
Riggs was not the only football prognosticator to chime in on the David vs. Goliath matchup.
247Sports referred to Grambling as “not the household name of the Buckeyes” in an article about the game.
USA Today, which houses Buckeyes Wire, provided a score and a prediction.
“Grambling is a Football Championship Subdivision opponent and shouldn’t stand a chance against a still loaded Ohio State roster,” the website said in a game it suggested the Buckeyes win 54-13. “This one could get ugly and have fans in a celebratory mood early.”
Finally, Sports Illustrated provided no actual analysis of the game. Instead, Buckeyes beat reporter Matt Parker wrote that he hoped the game “won’t be much to remember,” but salivated over the prospect of watching the Grambling State marching band perform at halftime.
There you have it. These are all opinions about how Grambling will get beaten down while earning $1 million for the non-conference trip.
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