Ohio State Buckeyes AD Ross Bjork put the ball in Alabama Crimson Tide AD Greg Byrne and Co.'s court with his publicly declared assumption that the two teams will play in 2027 and 2028. USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer just further put Alabama on the spot about not ducking Ohio State.
Toppmeyer essentially pre-bullied the Crimson Tide by suggesting that the Indiana Hoosiers' 38-3 Rose Bowl beatdown en route to IU's CFP title win may have "broken" them.
Toppmeyer all but simulated a flapping chicken wing motion and mockingly clucked at Alabama for even thinking about not battling the Buckeyes and taking away yet another marquee early-season non-conference game.
"That’s what Ohio State says it wants. That’s what TV partners that finance this enterprise would want. That’s what Alabama fans paying big bucks for tickets should want, too, unless they’ve become so broken by Indiana they believe the Tide would have little hope of making the playoff if they host the Buckeyes instead playing of a feeble foe. Anytime, anyplace. That’s what tough guys say," Toppmeyer wrote.
"Is Alabama still that program? Is the SEC still that conference? Ohio State just threw down the gauntlet. Is Kalen DeBoer the type of coach who’s OK with an athletic director from enemy territory saying opponents “should be afraid” to play Ohio State? Or, will Alabama’s coach take that challenge, pin it to the bulletin board, and build a squad that’ll knock Brutus’ block off?"
The 'Bama Standard' will not recover from the Tide cancelling the Buckeyes
If the Tide do the unthinkable, but seemingly inevitable, and cancel the Ohio State 2027/2028 home-and-home, the phrase "Bama Standard" ought never come up again in polite conversation while discussing College Football's creme de la creme.
Alabama in the year 2026 is looking unrecognizable from the ship Nick Saban was running during his 17 years in Tuscaloosa. Saban would've rather chewed out his players for losing a big game than accept the narrative that his team is scared to play tough non-conference opponents. Under Saban, the Tide actually kept its promise to play the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Is this all on Kalen DeBoer? No, but most of it is. Alabama is no longer invincible, but instead of being a step below Saban, it's a different genre of culture altogether. There's clearly little faith in him getting the "Bama Standard" back up, or the Crimson Tide finding someone who can contend with Ohio State by fall 2027.