A Dave Portnoy mention almost always has something to do with either praising Michigan football or poking fun at OSU football. This time, it’s not just the team up north, he also roped in an unsuspecting rival in the defense of his ride-or-die team. And, it just so happens to be caught up in an ugly drama, which should have also been in Michigan’s fate this year.

Buckeye fans have pretty much developed a thick skin when it comes to Portnoy’s attacks. But that didn’t stop him from launching another one, ahead of the OSU-UCLA clash. “The thing about Ohio State fans is they’re so bitter, because they haven’t beat us in so long,” he said in a November 15 episode of the Barstool College Football Show. “Everything, they’re obsessed with Michigan. It’s Michigan this, Michigan that,” he continued.

And, thanks to Ryan Day’s disappointing record against the Wolverines, Portnoy had more to brag about. “I wish we could play Ohio State every week. We’d never lose,” he added.  It doesn’t matter to him that Ohio State have won more Nattys than Michigan. There might be yet another one added to that tally after this season. But just because of Day failing to conquer the Wolverines, UM continues to have bragging rights over Ohio State. But will this year be the undoing of that edge as well?

This season’s clash between the age-old rivals has a lot of different factors. According to Stephen Means, OSU might be tapping into their psychological scars after losing to Michigan for 4 straight times. “I think this is a chance to reset it because part of the problem with the last three years losing to Michigan is it was guys who were just used to losing to Michigan and so all it took was for one thing to go wrong and you could almost feel everybody in the stadium starting to get tight,” he said on the Buckeye Talk podcast.

In a survey conducted by The Athletic, 64.9% of Michigan fans think that this edition of the rivalry might not be theirs to win. The Michigan O-line was a problem, and the defense took a backseat compared to last year. And, Ohio State will be equipped with Matt Patricia’s defense, which is one of the strongest in college football right now. In the same survey, 90.2% OSU fans are “optimistic” about the Buckeyes winning this one.

Will Dave Portnoy sing a different tune if the upset does happen? He’ll probably still continue to nitpick things at OSU, while still championing Michigan football. He did something similar to Michigan State, as it deals with a fresh crisis.

Dave Portnoy shames MSU in light of NCAA sanctions

Dave Portnoy never shies away from heralding Michigan football above everyone else. This time, he did it at the expense of a newly-sanctioned Michigan State. He went on to call them “sc**bags,” and that they “cheat and stink still.” The NCAA found that 3 ineligible players had played between 2022 and 2024, under Mel Tucker. Though the former HC wasn’t involved with the scandal, the NCAA still presented him with a 3-year show cause notice, as this unfolded within his responsibility.

The Spartans are forced to vacate their 14 wins from this period. This then became an avenue for Portnoy to once again paint Michigan as a hero. “If you actually look in the Big Ten, what schools have had wins vacated? Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State. How many vacated wins does Michigan have? Zero,” Portnoy said jubilantly. However, he was quick to be reminded by the other panelists that Wisconsin also didn’t have to forfeit any wins when it was sanctioned in 2025.

Fans are still at two ends about this latest takedown in the Big 10. It’s especially heightened since Michigan escaped with just a flick on the wrist for the sign stealing scandal. The Wolverines on the other hand just had to pay a fine, accept the NCAA’s decision to stay away from some games. The CFB community has long called for the NCAA to come up with a stronger punishment. Michigan still gets to keep its wins, and the 2023 National Title. If it weren’t so, would Dave Portnoy look at the MSU drama in a different light?