You ever feel like college football in 2025 is just straight-up scripted for chaos? No. 1 Texas rolling into Columbus to face No. 3 Ohio State in a Week 1 banger feels like Hollywood cooked it up. But nah, this isn’t movie — it’s a revenge sequel. Texas is the top dog, yet somehow the underdog, and Ohio State’s rolling out a $7.5 million investment to make sure Steve Sarkisian doesn’t get his lick back. And Caleb Downs, the Buckeyes’ defensive heartbeat, just stamped it.

On August 27, Caleb Downs sat down with the presser and got hit with the money question: how the hell do you stop Sark, the nation’s most dangerous play-caller? Downs didn’t sugarcoat it. He pointed right at Ohio State’s $7.5 million offseason pickup, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia: “[Matt Patricia] coached against Sark before, so I mean that. And then he’s—Matt Patricia has been doing this a long time, more than any of us here. So, I believe in that.” No lie, it was confidence dipped in receipts.

Receipts that go back to October 22, 2017. Sark was calling plays for the Atlanta Falcons, Patricia was dialing up chaos for the Patriots. The game? A Super Bowl rematch on Sunday Night Football. Sark had Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, and Matt Ryan — a whole buffet of firepower. Patricia held that crew to seven points. Seven. Ryan got just 233 yards, no rhythm, and Julio was boxed out of the end zone despite stacking 99 yards. That night, Patricia’s Pats beat Falcons 23-7 and made Sark look ordinary, and that’s what Downs is betting on in big 2025.

Let’s not forget Patricia’s crown jewel: the 2016 Patriots defense. They led the NFL in points allowed at 15.6 per game, locked up the run at just 88.6 yards per game, and gave Tom Brady the platform to pull off the infamous 28-3 comeback in Super Bowl LI. Patricia’s squad froze Atlanta’s offense in the fourth quarter and overtime, holding them 1-for-8 on 3rd downs. That’s situational mastery, and that’s exactly what Ohio State just bought for $2.5 million a year for 3 years back in February. Bag well spent.

So yeah, Texas is No. 1. They’re literally stacked with players like Anthony Hill Jr., Arch Manning, Colin Simmons, and Michael Taafe. They want payback after Ohio State smacked them 28-14 in last year’s CFP semifinal. But Vegas isn’t buying it. For the first time since 1978, the top-ranked team is an underdog in Week 1.

Caleb Downs pulled a legendary prank on Ryan Day

Of course, Caleb Downs being the voice of confidence in Columbus is already wild when you remember Ohio State whiffed on him in high school. Alabama scooped him up, and Ryan Day had to sit there salty with second place. Fast-forward: Nick Saban retires, Downs hits the portal, and Ohio State finally gets their shot. But before he put pen to paper? Downs had a little fun at Coach Day’s expense.

Ryan Day himself spilled the tea on Downs’ Downs 2 Business podcast with his brother Josh. “What you didn’t tell him,” Day laughed, “is then, as he’s coming out of the portal, he then calls me and says, ‘Coach, I hate to do this to you again.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s doing it again!’ He goes, ‘Nah, I’m just messing with you, I’m coming to Ohio State.’ I threw my phone against the wall. I was happy.” That’s not just a prank, that’s trauma comedy.

Day had already lived through the pain of losing Downs once. To hear those words again — “hate to do this to you again” — man, that’s the kind of line that makes a coach’s stomach drop. But then came the switch-up. Downs let him sweat, then locked in. Phone against the wall, relief in the air, and Columbus had itself the best defensive player in college football.

Now, here we are in 2025. Downs is a junior, projected top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the soul of a defense looking to go back-to-back in titles. Ohio State doesn’t win the Cotton Bowl last year without him. They don’t touch the natty without him. He’s not just good — he’s generational. And that prank on Ryan Day? Just a reminder that even the baddest dudes in the sport know how to play games off the field too.