Grambling State Goes to Ohio State in 2025
A Matchup of Two of College Football’s Most Influential Programs
Basically, the only reason I choose to remain on Twitter is because it is still the best place to get up to date breaking sports news, so long as you follow reputable sources. Earlier this week, multiple outlets reported, and Grambling State’s official Twitter page confirmed that the Tigers would be taking on the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2025.
For people who have a helmet game kink, this is about as helmety as a helmet game can get.
Ohio State boasts the most times ranked in the AP poll since its inception in 1936. They also have 8 national championships, and a brand that is as big as it can get in not only football, but collegiate sports as a whole. Needless to say, Ohio State is objectively one of, if not the most consistently excellent football programs in the country.
Grambling State is a SWAC school that is so famous, people outside of the HBCU diaspora know even a little bit about them. From Coach Eddie Robinson to Doug Williams, Grambling has been at the forefront of HBCU and college football for decades. They were also part of the first collegiate football game played abroad in Japan in 1976, against another HBCU powerhouse Morgan State. Grambling also boasts 16 Black College National Titles and has a slew of professionals and hall of farmers that graced their hallowed grounds.
This will not be the first time Ohio State has played a HBCU, as they did host Florida A&M back in 2013. If rumors are to be believed and given what happened recently when Notre Dame played Tennessee State in 2023, Grambling will also be bringing their band to the Horseshoe in 2025. Objectively speaking the game likely won’t be close, but many spectators will be there to see the exchanges between the two band programs.
Whatever your feelings are towards Ohio State fans, they do love their band, and so does their football team.
I don’t think I would ever be able to afford going to this game, but I will have to make it a priority to do so. In an age where rivalries give way to “brand recognition” for conferences, this game is a throwback. Yes, the teams have never played one another, but it is also what college football is supposed to be about. It should be a treat and appointment viewing when Grambling State and Ohio State are on the same field. That was the appeal of out of conference or postseason bowls that would see the likes of Texas and USC playing one another, or any other program of that caliber. With so many conferences coalescing around brands rather than regional rivalries, helmet games are becoming par for the course, in the service of TV ratings.
That is why Grambling State vs. Ohio State is a game and experience that should be cherished for myriad reasons. In a weird way it’s a throwback. And for the band dorks out there, it’s a wonderful opportunity to see an exchange between two of the nation’s most famous marching bands too.
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