Malik Zaire, former Notre Dame QB, not buying into Ohio State football hype
Malik Zaire is not buying into the Ohio State hype.
The former Notre Dame and Florida quarterback took to Twitter, questioning the Buckeyes' strength of schedule heading into the 2022 season.
"All this chatter for a 'top' ranked Ohio state team that won't play on major TV after ND cause (their) schedule is full of bottom dwellers," Zaire tweeted.
All this chatter for a “top” ranked Ohio state team that won’t play on major TV after ND cause there schedule is full of bottom dwellers 😂 https://t.co/UldwJeEwkb
— Malik Zaire (@MalikZaire8) August 30, 2022
Zaire attached this message to a video of ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum responding to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman's comments on the Fighting Irish being a 17.5-point underdog to the Buckeyes in Saturday's primetime game.
"Everyone knows that Ohio State is one of the best teams we've seen in a long time, and Notre Dame is going through a transition," Finebaum said on ESPN's "Get Up." "So coach Freeman, we love you, but calm down."
Wednesday morning, Zaire doubled-down his comments about the Buckeyes.
"Ohio state fans get so hype but y'all wasn't even the best team in Ohio last year," Zaire said. "Lol (Cincinnati) was."
Ohio state fans get so hype but y’all wasn’t even the best team in Ohio last year! Lol CINCY WAS 🥱
— Malik Zaire (@MalikZaire8) August 31, 2022
Ohio State and Notre Dame each have Top 25 teams on their schedules
Ohio State has games against four preseason AP Top 25 teams during the 2022 season including No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 15 Michigan State and No. 8 Michigan.
Notre Dame has four preseason AP Top 25 teams on its schedule in 2022 as well, including No. 2 Ohio State, No. 25 BYU, No. 4 Clemson and No. 14 USC, along with matchups with Marshall, UNLV, Stanford and Navy.
In three seasons with Notre Dame, Zaire threw for 816 passing yards and eight total touchdowns in 15 games before transferring to Florida ahead of the 2017 season.
Zaire did not appear in Notre Dame's loss to Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.
In 2017 with the Gators, Zaire appeared in four games, completing 57.1% of his passes for 349 yards and an interception.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire unimpressed with Ohio State's schedule
