Ohio State is already 0-1 before kickoff but the Dave Portnoy drama could very well be manufactured nonsense

Ohio State vs. Texas in the Big Noon Kickoff should be the headline. Instead, the story is about Dave Portnoy being told he’s not welcome inside The Horseshoe for Fox’s debut broadcast with Barstool.

In a report from Front Office Sports on Monday, OSU reportedly barred both Barstool from campus and Portnoy himself from Ohio Stadium. Fox clarified later that their “main desk” crew would be the only ones inside for the last hour of the show, but Portnoy immediately called BS.

“They banned me from coming into their stadium. They banned our [Barstool’s] show from coming to campus. I feel bad because Fox is in the middle of it,” Portnoy said.

Now we’ve got Ohio State’s AD Ross Bjork saying “there was no ban,” OSU’s PR team insisting it’s all Fox’s call, and yet…Portnoy is still out. Former Buckeye linebacker Bobby Carpenter even admitted on local radio that plenty of people at OSU aren’t happy about the Michigan Man’s hiring at Fox.

Dave Portnoy…

https://t.co/ZltE91GVtn pic.twitter.com/uIsHT6D1CP

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 26, 2025

I want Michigan vs Ohio to mean something again. And I love the people of Columbus outside the football team they root for. Good clean hardworking people. So I am going to give Buckeye Nation free advice. Stop pointing the finger. Look in the mirror. Get better. Get tougher. https://t.co/ZltE91GVtn pic.twitter.com/MLmnMkZI4q

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 26, 2025

If OSU wanted to hurt Dave Portnoy, this was the worst way to do it.

You just gave him an easy million clicks, guaranteed Barstool will spin it into content all week, and made Portnoy look like the outlaw underdog going against the buttoned-up institution. That’s not punishment—that’s fuel.

This is the same school that outlawed “planting the flag” celebrations, and now they’re trying to keep out the one guy who lives to troll them. Truly soft behavior. The Barstool College Football Show will keep rolling, and Portnoy’s name will be all over Week 1 no matter what.

Fox knew this might happen. Ohio State fans might feel good about “keeping him out,” but all they really did was hand Portnoy more power.

The dust begins settle on the Ohio State vs. Dave Portnoy

As if Tuesday, the story looks a little different than what we first heard. If you’re keeping score at home, here’s what really happened.

• Fox launches its new Barstool partnership and announces Portnoy will appear with Big Noon.
• Rumors fly that Ohio State banned him from The Horseshoe.
• Portnoy himself leans into that story, saying he and Barstool were kept off campus.
• Bjork then publicly says the school had nothing to do with it.

Call me crazy, but is this all manufactured controversy?

Was this whole thing just one big dog-and-pony show to gin up attention for a product that desperately needs it?

“Big Noon Kickoff” is about as vanilla as college football programming gets. Most fans would rather watch literally anything else than sit through an entire morning of desk banter leading into a noon kickoff.

How do you fix that? You toss Portnoy’s name into the mix, start a public back-and-forth about whether he’s banned from the Horseshoe, and suddenly everyone’s talking about Big Noon in Week 1.

That’s how the Barstool machine works. Controversy drives clicks, and Dave Portnoy knows how to ride that wave better than anyone.

Whether Ohio State was truly uncomfortable with him or Fox just wanted to stage some fireworks out of the gate, we’ll find out as the season unfolds. But make no mistake, this little spat gave them more publicity than any promo campaign could have.

Either Way, Ohio State Still Loses

Even if this was a Fox production all along, Ohio State still looks soft. The fact that this turned into a national talking point before the Buckeyes even kick off against Texas is embarrassing. First, they stopped “planting the flag.” Now, they’re wrapped up in a media sideshow about a Michigan grad stirring the pot before the season starts.

So yeah, Ohio State already feels 0-1 before kickoff while Dave Portnoy and Michigan haven’t even started their season yet.

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