Dave Portnoy mocks Ohio State QB Will Howard for the strange reason he wasn’t allowed on stage after the Oregon win

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard became the target of Dave Portnoy’s trolling following Wednesday’s victory in the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoffs.

The Buckeyes sealed a stunning Rose Bowl quarterfinal triumph over No. 1 seed Oregon on New Year’s Day, setting up a semifinal showdown with Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

However, Howard, who threw three touchdowns, was unable to celebrate the 41-21 victory with his teammates on stage.

The person calling the signal was prohibited from entering the stage to present the trophy and was forced to watch the ceremony from the stairs at the back.

And of course, Portnoy, a famous Michigan fan, took the opportunity to mock his rivals’ superstar.

“For anyone who thinks the Michigan game won’t take Ohio down. They didn’t even let Will Howard on stage because he choked like a dead dog in the match against Mich.Unreal,” the Barstool founder wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a video of the incident.

The 47-year-old was referring to the rivalry matchup between his home states Michigan and Ohio State that took place earlier this season.

The Wolverines won 13-10 against Ohio State thanks to a field goal in the last minute of the game.

As a result, Michigan rattled off four straight wins over their Columbus rivals, and there were shocking scenes on the field when a post-game melee broke out over the placement of a Wolverines flag in the OSU logo.

But after Wednesday’s result, the Buckeyes may need to send Michigan State a letter of thanks for this wake-up call.

OSU outscored the Ducks 13-0, and Howard threw for 319 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, making his onstage snub even more brutal.

Video shared with X by 10TV presenter Adam King shows an employee standing at the top of the stairs leading to the stage, shaking his head and preventing Howard from getting onto the platform.

Multiple off-camera voices tried to tell the official that Howard was the team’s quarterback, while teammate Tyleik Williams also tried to intervene and urged the star to climb up.

Williams was then seen laughing and joking while pretending to block the stage while Howard tried to find another way to the stage.

It later emerged that the incident occurred because there was a weight limit on the stage and Howard’s participation would have exceeded the maximum.

However, he finally managed to step into the spotlight when he was finally spotted on stage and even sealed the win with a kiss with girlfriend, Lauren Leiker.