Desmond Howard on Ohio State struggles: 'They got a false impression of how great they are'

Michigan football legend Desmond Howard will probably have a ton of Ohio State fans in his mentions after the former Heisman Trophy winner offered his assessment of the Buckeyes so far in the 2024 season.

Things started off well for Ohio State as the Buckeyes won their first five games with ease. However, Iowa and Michigan State were the most difficult opponents for OSU. They weren't tested until the Oregon game and once again, Ryan Day's team came up small in a big moment.

If that wasn't bad enough, the Buckeyes should have lost to Nebraska last week. They were lucky that the officials were on their side -- the Big Ten even had to issue a statement about maybe the worst spot in college fooball history, which of course benefited the Buckeyes as did a bunch of questionable calls against Nebraska.

Even with all that, Ohio State needed a late touchdown to beat the Huskers who held their vaunted offense under 300 yards (64 rushing) -- one week after Nebraska gave 56 points (over 500 yards) and five rushing touchdowns to Indiana.

"They got all these stars but they didn't know what they had," Howard said on ESPN. "You get a false impression of how great you are when you're going up and down the field against inferior opponents."

The Buckeyes play at Penn State this week in what's a must-win game, at least if they want to win the Big Ten championship. Beyond that, if the Buckeyes lose on Saturday, a playoff berth isn't even guaranteed. OSU would need to win out, because with their schedule, as it stands now, they would only have a single win over a top-25 team (Indiana) unless Michigan football is ranked again and the Buckeyes end their losing streak.

But after watching Nebraska, with a freshman quarterback out-play Ohio State in the Shoe, it makes you think the Buckeyes aren't so invincible.