Eddie George is no stranger to Ohio State in big games after playing for the Buckeyes and capturing the 1995 Heisman Trophy with the program. Now the head coach at Tennessee State, George made an appearance on ESPN to break down the title matchup.

While George expressed a lot of mutual respect with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, George couldn’t avoid picking his alma mater on Monday night. The former running back pointed to a super hot Buckeye squad under Ryan Day and the ability to use multiple playmakers when the No. 1 threat is taken away.

“I’ll say this: I’m going to go with Ohio State because they’re hot right now. They believe, they’ve weathered every storm, they’ve answered every which way,” said George. “We saw last week when Texas took away their playmaker in Jeremiah Smith and they had different answers. TreVeyon Henderson, Will Howard made plays. The defense has really been the star of the show throughout the Playoff. They’ve been playing lights out.”

While George is rolling with Ohio State, he’s not quite on board with a blowout prediction. The Buckeyes are an 8-point favorite per bet365, and fans can grab the best offers with our Tradition’s Ohio sports betting promos.

“It’s not going to be a blowout, I don’t see that at all. It’s going to be a hard-fought physical battle. One where it could be a 27-24 win with Ohio State winning it,” George predicted. “I think that’s going to be a close one. I’m not buying what Vegas is selling.”

Analysts have been split across the board on Monday’s outcome. FOX’s Joel Klatt is also riding with the Buckeyes, but he sees it approaching blowout status with his final score prediction of 35-17.