The New Year’s Eve curse for Caleb Downs’ Ohio State continued in a 24-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday. The upset knocked the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff and ended any chance of defending their national title.
Caleb Downs Rewrites Record Books Even As Ohio State Suffers Upset
In Wednesday’s game, Ohio State was held scoreless in the first half for the first time since its 31-0 loss to Clemson in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. By 3:01 of the third quarter, Miami had taken a 10-point lead, becoming the first team this season to score 17 points against the Buckeyes.
Despite the 10-point loss, Caleb Downs stood out with a historic performance. He forced a fumble on Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney just 10 minutes into the game, as Toney was trying to evade him. With four minutes left in the third quarter, Downs again dislodged the ball from Toney on a slant route.
Though Toney recovered both fumbles, Downs made history as the first player in College Football Playoff history to record two forced fumbles in a single game.
“Just announced in the press box: Caleb Downs is the first player in College Football Playoff history to have two forced fumbles in a game,” Eleven Warriors’ Dan Hope tweeted.
Downs also recorded eight tackles, including five solo, tying for the second-most on Ohio State’s defense. Since transferring from Alabama after his freshman season, he has exceeded expectations for the Buckeyes.
When the nation is busy talking about Ohio State’s upsetting loss, national scout Kyron Samuels is one of the few to praise Downs’ journey with the Buckeyes.
“Don’t give a damn about that game caleb downs is one of the greatest college football players of all time. what an insane career,” Samuels tweeted.
Downs capped an outstanding 2025 season with 60 total tackles (40 solo), five tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and two pass breakups. Over two seasons and 29 games with Ohio State, he has totaled 142 tackles (89 solo), 12.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and eight pass defenses.
OSU defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s words can perfectly speak volumes about Downs’ caliber.
“I think just in general with Caleb, just the amount of experience he has playing football is probably the most important thing,” Patricia said. “His professionalism and how he prepares are probably the best examples that I can point to for all the players.”
With an 84.1 score in the PFSN College Football Safety Impact Metric, Downs is preparing for the next stage of his career. CBS Sports draft analyst Ryan Wilson projects him to be selected by the Washington Commanders at No. 7 overall in his latest mock draft.
