Ohio State wouldn’t have called ‘Coach Rob’ to play in the ’70s

Grambling State head coach Mickey Joseph didn’t shy away from the challenge awaiting his program when the Tigers travel to Columbus to face Ohio State this Saturday.

He framed the matchup as a meeting between two nationally recognized football names, though he was quick to point out the differences that separate the two programs today.

“I don’t know if Ohio State would have called Coach Rob back in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s and said, ‘Let’s play.’ He just had loaded talent. He had a loaded locker room,” Joseph said Tuesday during the SWAC’s weekly football coaches press conference. “[Grambling] is a national brand. Ohio State has a national brand. It’s going to be great for both universities to square off in the Horseshoe.”

“…We’re just on two different levels now. There’s levels to the game. It’s the $20 million level, and it’s not the $20 million level. We understand that,” he stated.

Joseph acknowledged the Buckeyes’ consistency over decades of success, well before NIL deals and shared revenue reshaped college football.

“Ohio State’s been winning before NIL and before the shared revenue,” he said. “Their program, their administration, their athletic department has been consistent for years, and that’s why you win.”

For Joseph, the focus this week is on execution and discipline against an opponent loaded with depth.

“It’s got to be clean,” Joseph said. “Having 11 people on the field, not 12, not nine. Compete one play at a time. Just give it everything you have, one play at a time.”

He said the goal isn’t to match Ohio State scholarship for scholarship but to maximize the opportunity.

“This is a great opportunity, a great memory for our kids,” Joseph said. “We’re just going to go in there and swing. That’s all we’re going to do.”

Building Off the Langston Win

The Tigers will enter Columbus coming off a dominant performance in their season opener against Langston. Grambling executed across all three phases and leaned heavily on its rushing attack, piling up over 200 yards on the ground.

“We changed our philosophy a little bit. It was a philosophy that I had for about the last five or six years. Throw to open up the run, Joseph said. “We’re going to run the ball to run the ball to run the ball to run the ball. And we’re going to use multiple backs. We’re going to bloody your nose every single time.”

Quarterback Czavian Teasett also impressed in his debut, completing 20 of 25 passes for 201 yards with poise and control of the offense.

“He put us in the right run plays, he had us in the right protection, he read it the way we wanted it to be read,” Joseph said. “He’s got a high football IQ, he’s a competitor, and we’re happy to have him.”