‘One of My All-Time Favorite Quotes From a Buckeye,’ ‘Absolute Freaking Banger’ — CFB World Reacts to Ohio State Star’s Savage Takedown of PFF

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Ohio State left guard Luke Montgomery was named to PFF’s Big Ten Team of the Week, but he made it abundantly clear that he doesn’t care.

The recognition followed the Buckeyes’ 31-14 win at Iowa on Saturday. Asked about it at Ohio State’s weekly news conference, the senior said he doesn’t look at such honors and questioned whether outside graders even understand offensive line play.

College Football Fans React to Luke Montgomery’s Dismissal of PFF Grades

“To be honest with you, I really don’t look at those things. I think it’s really dumb,” Montgomery said. “They don’t really know what they’re talking about… just being honest. I call PFF ‘pfft.’ That’s just me, though. I know they’re just doing their jobs, but I don’t know how they can know our scheme and stuff and understand, so I try not to look at that stuff.”

Montgomery stressed that he simply focuses on getting better rather than on outside evaluations, and his comments drew plenty of comments from fans and analysts.

“Hes got that energy where you know hes not even opening the app let alone reading the grades,” one fan wrote.

“Hell yeah Luke me too,” one fan added.

Montgomery, a 6-foot-5, 313-pound senior from Findlay, Ohio, has piled up accolades. He was a second-team AFCA All-American and second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2025, when he started all 14 games, and he is on the Outland and Lombardi watch lists this season. He made his first career start against Texas during Ohio State’s College Football Playoff run to the national title in the 2024 season.

Montgomery’s criticism of outside grading largely centered on how linemen are evaluated. He said judging linemen from outside a program can be hard because those doing the grading may not know exactly what each player was responsible for on a given play.

While Montgomery may not care, he is currently the No. 3 player in PFN’s metric-based OL Impact Score with a 96.9 grade, trailing only Miami’s Ryan Rodriguez (97.0) and Virginia’s Monroe Mills (97.0) in the metric.

SEE THE TOP LINEMEN:PFN’s CFB Player OL Impact Rankings

Some got a kick out of Montgomery’s comments, including analyst Ian Hartitz.

“Incredible quote,” added Ben Axelrod of Front Office Sports.

“Absolute freaking banger of a line,” wrote one fan, while another added: “One of my all time favorite quotes from a Buckeye.”

Montgomery described the line’s showing at Iowa as solid, though he said several mistakes still bother him, including a three-and-out early in the second half.

Ohio State outgained Iowa 484-238, ran for 160 yards to the Hawkeyes’ 39, and held the ball for more than 38 minutes without a turnover, though Iowa recorded four sacks.

Quarterback Julian Sayin completed 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns and was named a Manning Star of the Week. Receiver Jeremiah Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and 2 scores to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors.

BEST O-LINES RANKED:PFN’s CFB Team OL Impact Rankings

One Ohio State fan joked about what the next round of grades could hold for Montgomery due to his criticism, writing, “Someone is grading out poorly (on PFF) no matter what this week.”

Montgomery said the Buckeyes are still focused on getting better. Leaning on a comparison that head coach Ryan Day often uses, he joked that the version of Ohio State that beat Iowa was “Buckeye 5.0” and that the next one has to be “Buckeye 6.0.”

He also spoke on Tuesday about the challenge of facing Maryland’s defensive line. Ohio State (4-1), whose only loss this season came 24-23 at Texas on Sept. 12, will host Maryland at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

Despite the loss to Texas, PFN’s CFB Playoff Meter still gives Ohio State a 68% chance of making the College Football Playoff (the second-highest percentage of any team in the nation behind only Notre Dame’s 82.9%).

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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