Jim Tressel was nominated as the next lieutenant governor of Ohio on Monday, and it drew a reaction from one of his former star players while he coached at Ohio State.

Terrelle Pryor, who was the quarterback for the Buckeyes from 2008 to 2010, had a two-word show of support for Tressel.

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"My guy," he wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories on Monday.

Pryor passed for 2,772 yards and 27 touchdowns in his final season with the Buckeyes in 2010. It proved to be Tressel’s last season with the Buckeyes as well.

Tressel and Pryor were both caught up in an improper benefits scandal. The NCAA, after an investigation with the FBI and the Justice Department, determined Tressel, Pryor and other Buckeyes players violated the organization’s policies over impermissible benefits. Players were accused of receiving tattoos or cash for autographs.

Tressel was accused of withholding information in the investigation and resigned before the start of the 2011 season. Pryor left the school before his final year.

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Pryor went on to play wide receiver in the NFL and put together a solid career. Tressel never coached in the collegiate ranks again. Instead, he served as Youngstown State University’s president from 2014 to 2023.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine nominated Tressel for lieutenant governor after Jon Husted replaced Vice President JD Vance in the U.S. Senate.

"Jim Tressel is Ohio values. He’s a hard worker and shares that vision (I have) for the future of Ohio," the Republican governor said Monday at a news conference. "He has the ability to pull people together. He has the ability to lead. He will enable me to be assured that if something happens to me, he can walk in and be governor that day and that would be seamless."

Tressel expressed his admiration for DeWine.

"I want to study a little bit about what Jon Husted has going on, and so I want to learn the business, if you will," he said. "And then it’s up to when you sit down with the team and the staff and everyone else trying to figure out who plays what position best. And I’d be more than happy to help wherever I can."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as the next U.S. Secretary of Defense late Friday and might feel a bit like Ohio State quarterback Will Howard. 

Vance, an Ohio State alum, celebrated Hegseth's confirmation with an anecdote that referenced his alma mater's recent 34-23 national championship victory over Notre Dame. 

"As I learned with the Buckeyes just a week ago, when you win the championship, it doesn't matter what the score was. We won the championship on this one. We've got a great Secretary of Defense. We're proud of him, and he's going to do a great job," Vance said. 

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Vance has been on a roll with sports analogies lately. 

After former President Joe Biden falsely insisted the Constitution had been amended to include the the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th amendment, Vance mocked that notion with a baseball comparison.

Vance responded to Biden's declaration in a post on X, joking that Biden should put the late disgraced MLB icon Pete Rose in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

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"Hey Joe if we’re doing fake s--- on the way out can you declare Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame?" Vance wrote, in reference to an infamous baseball debate. Rose, MLB's all-time hit leader who died in September, was banned from the sport for life for illegally betting on games. 

Vance, meanwhile, got to witness the Buckeyes' first national title since 2014 the same day he and President Donald Trump were inaugurated. Vance has been a proud, vocal Ohio State football fan throughout his political career as a former senator from the state. 

Vance even joked about skipping Monday's inauguration to watch the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in Atlanta. 

"Hopefully everyone is cool with me skipping the inauguration so I can go to the national title game," Vance joked in a post on social media. 

During the campaign, Vance revealed he told Trump his loyalty to the Buckeyes might affect Trump's chances of winning the key battleground state of Michigan.

"When he first asked me to be a VP, I was like, 'Well, you know, hopefully we don't lose Michigan by like 900 votes, because you're going to regret it. 'Cause it's probably just a thousand p---ed-off Wolverine fans who wouldn't vote for a Buckeye," Vance said during an appearance on OutKick's "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show." 

"But I think that most Michiganders are going to be able to put sports rivalries aside and put the country first, which is what, of course, all of us believe is the most important thing."

The Democratic National Committee attempted to exploit Vance's connection to Ohio State with a campaign strategy in Michigan in early September. The DNC flew a plane over a Michigan football game Sept. 7 with a banner that said, "J.D. Vance [loves] Ohio State [plus] Project 2025." 

However, the Trump-Vance ticket ended up easily carrying Michigan.

Hegseth, 44, a former Minnesota National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, secured the role to lead the Pentagon after weeks of intense political drama over his nomination and public scrutiny of his personal life. 

The Senate was deadlocked at 50-50 with three Republicans — Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — joining the Democrats in opposing Hegseth's confirmation.

The stalemate forced Vance to cast the tiebreaking vote, securing his confirmation.

"It's not the first time the headline reads, ‘Junior enlisted Marine bails out junior Army officer,'" Hegseth, a former Fox News host joked, referencing Vance's previous service in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

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In the days following Ryan Day walking off the field in Columbus following Ohio State's loss to Michigan to end the regular season, his family’s safety was the main priority after they received death threats from a lunatic fringe of Buckeye fans. 

There was obviously a monster fallout in Columbus after the loss, with fans calling for Ryan Day to be fired after Ohio State lost its fourth straight game to the Wolverines. But what some folks have not heard is how everything spiraled out of control from a safety standpoint for Ryan Day and his family. 

Speaking with the Columbus Dispatch, Nina Day, the wife of Ryan Day, spoke about the terrible events that came in the aftermath of the Michigan loss. The situation behind the scenes for the family had turned, in a dangerous manner. 

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"The time between the Michigan game and the Tennessee game was as low and dark as you could possibly imagine. Extremely negative. Unprecedented hate," Nina Day explained. 

When Ryan Day was eight years old, his father died by suicide. So, when fans somehow got hold of Nina Day's cell phone number in the days following the Michigan loss, unfathomable messages started to pour in at a constant rate, before Nina decided it was best to just disconnect her phone. 

"They told me multiple times to have Ryan follow in his father's footsteps and kill himself," Nina noted to the Dispatch. 

On the outside, Ryan Day continued to push forward, holding his weekly press conference, while waiting to see who his team would play in the first round of the college football playoff. But inside the family, things were starting to get out of control when it came to their safety. 

According to Nina Day, their 16-year-old son, RJ, started to receive death threats on social media, while the family’s address was also posted, leading to Ryan Day hiring armed security guards to protect his family at their house. There was also a thought from Nina that she should take her kids and leave Columbus during this time, not knowing what the next month could bring. 

"I think he, at times, second-guessed his decision to get into this and be in the spotlight that we're in. He felt responsible and just felt bad that he had put us in this position. He promised us he'd get us out of it," Nina Day mentioned about the conversations with her husband. 

There are fans across all sports that take things way too seriously, and this is another instance of something that could not be controlled. There was no reason that the Day family needed to fear for their lives over a football game, I don’t care how much you’re paid, or what your job title is. 

This is obviously the ugly part of sports, and it's not as if this is the first time we've heard of coaches having to deal with these types of situations, and it won’t be the last. 

"He fought like hell and got us out of a very dark place that we were in five weeks ago because of his resilience, because I don’t think anybody really thought this was going to end the way it did," Nina Day mentioned. "Everybody thought the season ended in November. 

"All he kept telling me was ‘I want to bring you guys peace. I just want to bring you guys peace.’ And he knew that for us to feel any type of peace, he had to win it all."

All of this over a football game. A family fearing for their lives, needing armed security to guard their house, just to get a peaceful night of sleep and feel safe. 

While Nina Day mentioned that you cannot label an entire fan base as the ‘lunatic fringe’, there are certainly a number of people who should be held accountable for their actions towards the Day family. 

As I watched Ryan Day celebrate with his family on the field Monday night, hugging each member of the family, there was certainly more to the story than just a head coach who was dealing with outside noise. 

Emotions were high for everyone who had their team playing in the college football national championship on Monday night, even on the ESPN broadcast team. 

Kirk Herbstreit, who played his college football at Ohio State as a quarterback from 1989-93, could not contain his emotions after watching his Buckeyes win the school's ninth national title, this time over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. 

The 34-23 victory for the Buckeyes led Herbstreit to be reflective on this resilient group that went on a dominant playoff run following a tough loss to their rival Michigan Wolverines. 

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As Herbstreit was explaining overcoming adversity next to his play-by-play colleague Chris Fowler, his eyes began to well up with tears, and he could not hold them in. 

"Oh, don’t start with me, man," Herbstreit, who grew up about an hour away from Ohio State in Centerville, told his ESPN colleague Scott Van Pelt during the postgame show. "I’m a little emotional. I’m just fired up for these guys.

"When I call these games, I’m incredibly objective. You know, I love all these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy."

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When the cameras cut back to the broadcast booth, Herbstreit was spotted grabbing a handkerchief off camera to wipe tears away as Fowler continued to speak. 

Fans know all too well how it feels when their favorite teams win championships, as tears sometimes flow as a result. The same goes for alumni at schools. 

Herbstreit played football for the Buckeyes after being the school’s first player to commit after the hiring of John Cooper as head coach in 1988. Herbstreit was the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Centerville High School. 

He did not get real action until his junior season, when he was used sparingly over 11 games. However, Herbstreit was the starter throughout his senior season, when he threw for 1,904 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions over 11 games. 

Additionally, while Herbstreit discussed the adversity this team went through this season, he also faced some personal adversity through a big loss in his life. 

Herbstreit's beloved golden retriever, Ben, who was a consistent presence on ESPN’s "College GameDay," was put down after his battle with cancer. 

"This is really hard to write but so many of you have loved and cared about Ben that I wanted to let you know. We found out today the cancer had spread throughout Ben's organs and there was nothing left we could do – we had to let him go," Herbstreit wrote back in November. 

On the first "College Gameday" after the difficult decision to put Ben down, Herbstreit could not even speak as emotions poured over him discussing his beloved companion. 

Ben’s brother, Peter, has been along for the ride with Herbstreit as he continues to travel the country with one of his dogs by his side. 

There have been highs and lows for Herbstreit this college football season, and it ends with tears of joy. 

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The Buckeyes are back on top, as Ohio State took down Notre Dame, 34-23, to win the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday night. 

Ohio State has now won nine college football titles, tying them with USC for fourth-most ever among NCAA's officially recognized championships. 

This is also the first title since the 2014 season, which was the inaugural College Football Playoff. 

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The Buckeyes have been such a different team since losing to Michigan in their rivalry game. And after convincingly defeating Tennessee (42-17), Oregon in the Rose Bowl (41-21), and Texas in the Cotton Bowl (28-14), Ohio State used their high-octane offense to barrel its way past Notre Dame to win it all. 

But this game wasn’t like previous Ohio State wins during this playoff, as the Fighting Irish really made a statement on an opening drive that lasted 18 plays and killed over nine minutes of first quarter clock. 

And it was all thanks to the hard work by quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offensive line. 

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Leonard ran nine times for 34 yards and scored after picking up a fourth-and-1 on Ohio State’s five-yard line. ESPN even reported that Leonard ran to the sideline, threw up and stumbled a bit before sitting on the bench. He also appeared to tell teammates that he landed on the ball on one of the runs, which could’ve caused the upset stomach. 

However, the tides of momentum quickly shifted to the Ohio State sideline, as Will Howard and his group of talented weapons didn't just respond, but took over when they had the ball in their hands. 

The ensuing drive went 11 plays and 75 yards, as freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith capped the drive with a perfect play call that saw him act like he was running behind Howard on pre-snap motion but planting in the ground and walking into the end zone with no one in sight. 

Ryan Day’s group not only tied the game, but the defense turned it up a notch as they forced back-to-back three-and-outs on Notre Dame’s second and third drive. And the Buckeyes’ offense used that to their advantage with two more touchdown drives before the end of the first half. 

Quinshon Judkins, the explosive running back that splits time with TreVeyon Henderson, scored both of those touchdowns, the first of which being a nine-yard run where he fought through multiple tackles to get across the line. Then, he was wide open in the end zone on a rolling throw by Howard with 27 seconds left in the second quarter to put the Buckeyes up 21-7. 

And if that wasn’t deflating enough, Judkins scored his third touchdown of the night on the first drive of the second half – a one-yard run that was set up by his 70-yard run on the second play of the half to immediately get the Buckeyes first-and-goal. 

Judkins finished the game with 100 rushing yards on just 11 carries as well as his two catches for 21 yards.

There was some concern for Ohio State, though, when Notre Dame cut it to a two-score game after Leonard found Jaden Greathouse for a 34-yard touchdown and converted the two-point try to make it 31-15. 

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The concern was due to an Emeka Egbuka fumble after going 24 yards on a catch-and-run. It was the first Ohio State fumble since their game against Penn State on Nov. 2. 

Notre Dame used that turnover to drive downfield, and Leonard found himself knocking on the doorstep until an incomplete pass to Greathouse made it fourth-and-goal from Ohio State’s nine-yard line with 9:27 left to play in the game. 

Given the score, one would think head coach Marcus Freeman wanted to try his luck at another touchdown, but kicker Mitch Jeter and the special teams unit ran out onto the field. And the interesting play call backfired, as Jeter’s 27-yard field goal attempt ran off the left goal post – he hooked it. 

The game wasn't over entirely after the defense forced a punt, and Leonard was able to find Greathouse once again, this time on a beautifully thrown ball and an even better catch from 30 yards out. Needing another two-point conversion, Jordan Faison took a handoff and it looked like Ohio State sniffed it out, but he threw it to Beaux Collins for the successful try. 

Now a one-score game, the Buckeyes had to dig deep with the Fighting Irish knowing a stop gave them a chance to make the comeback complete. 

Backed up with third-and-11, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly called a gutsy deep pass from Howard to Smith, and despite the freshman not having a single reception in the second half, he secured the dagger – a 57-yard catch to place the Buckeyes on the nine-yard line at the two-minute warning. 

The Buckeyes could run out the clock at that point with the Fighting Irish using all of their timeouts, and the celebrating ensued.

In the box score, Leonard was 20-for-29 for 240 yards with two touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-high 40 yards on 17 carries with his score on the ground. Greathouse had 11 yards on five receptions as well. 

For the Buckeyes, Smith led the way with his 89 yards on five receptions, while Egbuka had six catches for 64 yards. Howard finished the game 17-of-21 for 231 yards, and he also rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries. 

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Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Malik Zaire fueled the hype for the national championship game on Saturday with harsh criticism of Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.

Howard led the Buckeyes to a College Football Playoff semifinal victory over the Texas Longhorns, 28-14. Howard was 24-of-33 with 289 passing yards and a touchdown pass. He also had an interception.

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Zaire was unconvinced Howard would be able to do enough to get over the Fighting Irish on Jan. 20.

"All the great QBs Ohio State has had the last 15 yrs and Howard is def the worst one by far and ostate fans are trying to convince me that he’s gonna lead them to the chip?!?! Lmao ok," Zaire wrote on X. "I’d even take the OG Jalin Marshall at QB before Howard!!!!!!!!"

Zaire added that Ohio State’s loss to Michigan before the College Football Playoff started was more questionable than Notre Dame’s early season loss to Northern Illinois.

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"Ok let’s be honest, we got beat by NIU that was embarrassing. But yall got beat by Michigan for the 4th year in a row, at home as a 20+pt favorite, got the flag planted in the middle of yall field and beat up after the game while ya head coach watched….. lmao yall have nothing to tell me about this Ohio state team lmao," he added.

Notre Dame will be looking for its first national championship in the College Football Playoff era, but have to go up against a tough defense and an offense that has the ability to explode for big plays.

The Fighting Irish narrowly defeated Penn State in their semifinal matchup.

Howard has 3,779 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes this season. He transferred to Ohio State from Kansas State.

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Whatever Ryan Day said to his team after losing to Michigan obviously worked.

After calls to fire their head coach after Thanksgiving because of their fourth straight loss to the Wolverines – and this one easily the worst – the Buckeyes are off to the national championship after Friday night's 28-14 Cotton Bowl Classic win over Texas.

After Ohio State took a 21-14 lead with 7:02 to go (on a drive that included a huge 4th down conversion), Texas got down the field quickly in response, largely in part to a 34-yard catch by Gunnar Helm. After back-to-back defensive pass interferences in the end zone, the Longhorns had a fresh set of downs at the goal line. It was a matter of time before the game was tied, but then, a nightmare occurred for Texas.

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After getting stuffed on first down, Quintrevion Wisner lost seven yards on a second-down toss, putting Texas in trouble. The third down pass fell incomplete, and on fourth down, Ewers lost a fumble that was forced, and picked up, by Jack Sawyer, who took it 82 yards the other way for a touchdown.

In what seemed to be like another overtime game for the Longhorns, their season flashed before their eyes with the snap of a finger. In hopes of a miracle, Ewers threw a pick on their next drive, and just like that, it was all over.

The Buckeyes got on the board first, scoring a touchdown right after stopping Texas on 4th down. The Longhorns offense was stalled throughout the first half, but they tied the game with 29 seconds left in the half, and were ready to go into the locker room with the game knotted at seven.

Ohio State, though, was not. Right after a touchback, Will Howard dumped a pass off to TreVeyon Henderson, who got some blocks up front and scampered 75 yards to the house, giving the Buckeyes a 14-7 lead into the locker room. It's rather easy to point at the two plays that cost Texas their season, with hindsight being 20/20.

Both teams exchanged punts for most of the third quarter, but with just over three minutes to go, Ewers found Jaydon Blue for their second touchdown connection of the night, tying the game. But then came the Buckeyes score to make it 21-14.

Prior to the game, it was revealed the Ewers said he expected to be playing in the NFL next season, so it will be interesting to see if his plans change.

Now, it'll be the eighth-seeded Buckeyes against No. 7 Notre Dame on Jan. 20 – score one for the expanded playoff. 

Just like Ohio State, the Fighting Irish suffered an embarrassing loss of their own this season, dropping a contest at home to Northern Illinois back in September. But, it's been 13 straight wins since then. 

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Will Howard played a huge role in Ohio State's 41-21 victory in the Rose Bowl, but his celebration was cut short.

After the eighth-seeded Buckeyes advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals, members of the team took the stage with roses in their mouths.

However, Howard was too late to the party and was never able to join his teammates and head coach Ryan Day.

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Several people, including some Buckeyes, tried to inform those in charge that he was the quarterback who had just thrown for 319 yards and three touchdowns. But a man blocking the entrance stood firm in not allowing Howard on board.

"They're blocking me over there," Howard said. "There's a weight limit, apparently."

The Buckeyes handed top-seeded Oregon its first, and only, loss of the season after getting out to a 34-0 lead.

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Howard was 17-for-26 and threw three touchdowns, two of which went to Offensive MVP Jeremiah Smith. Smith's two touchdowns were a part of his seven-reception, 187-yard performance.

Oregon had defeated the Buckeyes, 32-31, earlier in the season.

Ohio State is headed to the Cotton Bowl Jan. 10 to face No. 4 Texas for a berth in the national title game. The Longhorns barely advanced earlier Wednesday, holding off Arizona State 39-31 in a double-overtime Peach Bowl.

The fourth and final spot in the semifinals will go to either No. 2 Georgia or No. 7 Notre Dame after Thursday's Sugar Bowl. The contest was postponed a day after a terror attack in New Orleans, less than two miles away from the game's location, Caesars Superdome.

Fox News' Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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During his storied coaching career, Nick Saban rarely shied away from an opportunity to share his thoughts on college football-centric hot topics.

Saban and the rest of ESPN's "College GameDay" crew were in Indiana ahead of the 12-team College Football Playoff opener between Notre Dame and the Hoosiers. While the high-stakes game was the main topic during the pregame show, embattled Ohio State coach Ryan Day was also discussed.

Saban came to Day's defense and directed his ire at Buckeyes fans, suggesting they shoulder at least some of the blame for the cloud of negativity circling the program.

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Saban said the noise surrounding the program is a distraction to the coaches and players and also made it clear he respects Day and his program.

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"I think every coach has gotta define how he wants to do it, and I have a lot of respect for Ryan Day and how he’s tried to do it," Saban said. "For me, I always wanted to get every player in the organization to reach their full potential. It wasn't so much about the outcome, it was what you had to do to make everybody better.

"But a big part of that was insulating the players from external factors — criticism, internet. I used to tell the players all the time, ‘Why do you care about what some guy puts on the internet who’s a fat guy in his underwear living in his mother’s basement? Why do you care? Why does that mean anything to you? Why does that affect you in any way, shape or form? We should be focused on what we control and what we can do.’

"It’s the same thing for the fans. I would tell the fans the same thing. If Ohio State wants to beat Michigan, they need to be positive about their coach and their players. There’s nobody that wants to beat them worse than the players and the coaches. That's No. 1. No. 2, they have an opportunity to win the national championship. Everybody ought to be supporting the hell out of them so that they have the best opportunity to do it and quit all this negative bulls---."

While Day has compiled a 66-10 record at Ohio State, his Buckeyes have lost four straight to the Michigan Wolverines.

Day's underwhelming results against Michigan have drawn criticism and raised concerns about the coach's job security. Day's focus is on the Buckeyes' upcoming game against Tennessee in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes host the Volunteers Saturday.

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