Caleb Downs and Ohio State rolled to a 27-9 win over No. 19 Michigan last weekend at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes stayed perfect on the season at 12-0 and all but secured a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the PFSN College Football Playoff Meter. The Buckeyes will now shift their focus to Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game with No. 2 Indiana, where a win over the Hoosiers would lock in the Buckeyes’ top playoff seed.
Caleb Downs Shares Police Directive to Ohio State Players in the Michigan Game
With last weekend’s victory over Michigan, Ohio State finally ended a four-game losing streak against the Wolverines. Since their 56-27 win in 2019, the Buckeyes hadn’t been able to top Michigan, making this latest win a crucial moment for Ryan Day’s program.
On his “Downs 2 Business” podcast with his brother Josh Downs, Caleb described the electrifying atmosphere on the field after the game.
“When the game was over, all of our coaches, staff were trying to get everybody to the end zone,” Downs said (26:20). “And then right when the game ended, everybody ran on the field. They were on the field for at least 10 minutes, just like nah, like it’s not happening. I know a couple of our players were they were they talked about it but I don’t know if they were going to do it or not.
“But Coach Day definitely wasn’t going to let that happen. So we sent them back to the locker room, but they did not leave through the little walkway where both locker rooms went. They were sitting in the walkway like come back. They were trying to make sure, like when they left the field, that we didn’t go to him. So they were sitting there waiting, and then yeah, the police officers had to keep telling them to go back to the locker room.”
On the field, Downs was instrumental in limiting Michigan’s five-star freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood to just 63 passing yards. He finished the rivalry game with three total tackles (two solo) and a pass breakup.
Downs remains a cornerstone of Ohio State’s defense, earning both the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and the Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year honors. He is only the second player to win the Big Ten’s Defensive Back of the Year award twice.
Pro Football Focus has given Downs an overall grade of 87.2 this season, ranking him third in the conference at his position behind USC Trojans’ Bishop Fitzgerald and Oregon Ducks’ Dillon Thieneman. Ohio State will be counting on him to maintain this high level of play in their upcoming game against Indiana. The Buckeyes are facing the Hoosiers for the first time since their 38-15 win in the 2024 season.
