The online trash talk between Ohio State and Notre Dame fans has already started in earnest.
Eight days from now, the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes will meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship. On Saturday, Ohio native and former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire stoked the flames with a tweet bashing current OSU quarterback Will Howard, who is on the verge of leading the program to its first national title in a decade.
To put it nicely, Zaire doesn’t think that Howard, who transferred in from Kansas State last offseason, measures up favorably against other recent Ohio State quarterbacks.
“All the great QBs Ohio State has had the last 15 yrs and Howard is def the worst one by far and ostate fans are trying to convince me that he’s gonna lead them to the chip?!?! Lmao ok I’d even take the OG Jalin Marshall at QB before Howard!!!!!!!!” Zaire wrote.
Not surprisingly, Buckeyes fans found Zaire’s tweet and have been voicing their objections–loudly.
“I always thought they only let smart, intelligent individuals into Notre Dame, but my god. I must take it back, if this MF got into ND, I could get into ND,” one Ohio State fan said.
“Save note don’t block bum,” another OSU fan added.
“Malik Zaire really does not like Will Howard,” a third Buckeyes fan said.
“He’s better than [former Ohio State QB Kyle] McCord,” a fourth chimed in.
“Buddy has bill collectors calling,” a fifth Ohio State supporter said.
In three College Football Playoff games, Howard has thrown for 919 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. On the season, he’s passed for 3,779 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 10 INTs.
Howard suffered a rather gnarly-looking hand injury in the win over Texas on Friday, but it’s not expected to prevent him from playing against the Irish.
Ohio State and Notre Dame will meet at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Jan. 20. ESPN will broadcast the game, with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the call.
Related: Former Notre Dame Quarterback Trashes Ohio State’s Will Howard