‘The Horseshoe Is Soft’ — Michigan Booster Dave Portnoy Roasts Ohio State for Continued Ban on ‘Barstool College Football Show’

‘The Horseshoe Is Soft’ — Michigan Booster Dave Portnoy Roasts Ohio State for Continued Ban on ‘Barstool College Football Show’

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‘The Horseshoe Is Soft’ — Michigan Booster Dave Portnoy Roasts Ohio State for Continued Ban on ‘Barstool College Football Show’
Dec 14, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dave Portnoy stand son the sidelines before the game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at Commanders Field. © Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Dec 14, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Dave Portnoy stand son the sidelines before the game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen at Commanders Field. © Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Dave Portnoy has spent years telling Ohio State that Michigan broke the Buckeyes. Ohio State has now given him another piece of evidence for the prosecution.

The Barstool Sports founder is in Columbus with Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” for Saturday’s Ohio State-Illinois game, but the “Barstool College Football Show” is not making the trip with him. According to Portnoy, Barstool asked to bring the show to campus and was told it still was not allowed.

For a Michigan diehard who treats trolling Ohio State like a second job, this was never going to pass quietly.

Dave Portnoy Takes Another Shot at Ohio State

Portnoy addressed the continued standoff while discussing Barstool’s absence from Columbus, eventually boiling his opinion down to four words: “The Horseshoe is soft.”

He also said Barstool had asked about bringing its college football show to Ohio State and was again turned away.

That is almost too perfect for Portnoy. He gets to appear on Fox’s set in Columbus, Ohio, still gets its national pregame spotlight, and the one guy most likely to spend the morning calling the Buckeyes soft now has a fresh reason to do exactly that.

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The dispute dates back to 2025, when Portnoy said Ohio State had barred him from entering Ohio Stadium for the final portion of “Big Noon Kickoff” and had also kept Barstool’s college football show off campus. Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork disputed the first part, saying Portnoy’s stadium absence was tied to Fox’s main-desk setup rather than a school-issued ban.

The Barstool-show issue never disappeared so neatly. Portnoy said this week that they asked again, and the answer was still no.

Ohio State Keeps Feeding Portnoy’s Favorite Bit

There might not be a college football personality better equipped to turn a campus-access dispute into rivalry content.

Portnoy’s Michigan allegiance has become a regular part of his Fox appearances, and hisOhio State feud has survived coaching debates, rivalry wins, a Buckeyes national championship, and enough insults to fill an entire Saturday pregame show.

Barstool, meanwhile, has taken its college football show on the road plenty of times. It broadcast from Bloomington for Indiana’s Week 1 game and from Ann Arbor for Michigan’s Week 2 game against Oklahoma. This week’s edition was recorded in the studio instead.

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None of that means Ohio State has to roll out a welcome mat for a Michigan booster whose favorite hobby is mocking the program. Rivalries are allowed to be petty. In fact, college football would probably be worse if they were not.

The problem for Ohio State is that telling Portnoy no is basically handing him a microphone and asking him to be more annoying about it. So Portnoy will still be in Columbus with Fox. Barstool’s show will not. And “The Horseshoe is soft” will now get another few laps around the internet.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

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