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Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich react to Jeremiah Smith’s promise to beat Michigan
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich are ready for full-blown talking season as we gear up for the 2025 college football slate, and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith tossed a nice nugget into the fire this week.
During a sit-down interview with The Athletic, Smith loudly and proudly vowed that he was done losing to Michigan in The Game. He promised that, for the next 2 years, the Buckeyes would not lose to TTUN to end the season.
On Friday, the popular ESPN duo tackled that proclamation in a joint appearance on “Get Up.” For Finebaum, he said he was glad to see someone on the Buckeye roster put some weight behind their words:
“I’m glad to see somebody on the Ohio State lineup maybe do something more than just mouthing words. Because Jeremiah sounds serious,” said Finebaum. “Ryan Day has promised after every loss not to lose again, and he continues to lose again, but you said it a minute ago. They are the defending national champion, so even clowns like me on the 4th of July are not going to call for the firing of a coach because he loses one game. But that is a game he has to deal with at some point.”
Meanwhile, Dinich admitted Day needs to finally get the job done against Michigan, comparing it to the track record of her favorite NFL team:
“Ryan Day needs to beat Michigan as badly as my (Pittsburgh) Steelers need to win a playoff game. Let’s go people. At some point, you’ve got to get the job done, because that’s what you’re getting paid to do as a head coach,” Dinich said. “Am I right?”
In spite of their feelings about The Game, ESPN’s personalities were not ready to say Ohio State will win the Big Ten this fall. Harry Douglas picked “the field,” specifically Penn State, to win the league, and Finebaum also said he doesn’t like Ohio State to win the league this year, predicting the Buckeyes to struggle.
“I think the Buckeyes are going to lose in the opener against Texas, and they are going to struggle to make the Playoff, much less win it all,” predicted Finebaum.
Regardless of Finebaum’s thoughts, Ohio State maintains a co-favorite to win it all this fall, tied with Texas atop the national title odds at BetMGM. Both teams are +500 at this juncture, and fans can check out the latest odds through the Ohio sports betting apps.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.