Sports

Grambling State Coach Mickey Joseph Hilariously Accepts Impending Fate Against Ohio State

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Grambling State Tigers Football

© Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times / USA TODAY NETWORK


The Grambling State Tigers football program travels to Columbus to take on the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday.

And, while the phrase “any given Sunday” exists to imply that any team is capable of beating any opponent, there is a reason that is does not say “any given Saturday.”

The Tigers will not beat Ohio State. In fact, if Grambling State stays within 50 points, it would be a minor miracle. The Tigers went just 5-7 in the FCS Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2024 under first-year head coach Mickey Joseph.

The year prior, the Tigers lost 72-10 to the Jayden Daniels-led LSU Tigers in Death Valley. And Joseph is well aware that a similar beatdown is likely in store on Saturday.

Mickey Joseph Knows Ohio State Is Going To Destroy His Grambling State Tigers

Joseph met with members of the media during a weekly press conference ahead of the game, and rather than hype his team up, he’s already accepting defeat. However, he did so in hilarious fashion while acknowledging the realities of modern college football.

“Well, first of all, they got a great band. We have a great band, and we’re going to compete as a band,” Joseph said with a smile. “I’m just joking right now.

“We understand what we’re getting into. We understand what’s gonna happen,” he continued. “We understand it’s not balanced in the scholarships, not balanced in what they have resources-wise and what we have resources-wise. We all know why we’re playing the game.

Joseph also realizing just how good the Buckeyes are.

“We know, right now, they’re probably going to be (the) number one team in the country. It’s a great opportunity. You know, they’re a well-coached football team. You don’t win games like that, win a national championship on that level and not be good. (Running through people is) what this team is going to do this year, you know, with the talent that they have. Like I said, they’re well-coached. Coach Day does a great job with those players because, sometimes, when you have a talented group, they’re harder to coach than a non-talented team. So, he has a talented group, so he’s done a great job with his coaches and with his players to get where they’re at. And they had a great showing against Texas.”

Mickey Joseph Is Setting Attainable Goals For Grambling State Against Ohio State

Joseph has no delusions of grandeur. Instead, he just wants his team to avoid embarrassment.

“I spoke to the coaches today and said the game better be clean. It better be clean. And, clean to me is that we don’t have nine people on the field, we don’t have thirteen people on the field. It’s clean,” Joseph said. “We play within the system and we swing, you know. We swing and we fight every play.

“I want to be clean. I want to have the correct personnel in. I want to line up right. And, if you get beat because there’s a man-on-man and he beats you? Like, I want you to get back up the next play and I want you to fight again,” said Joseph. “It’s not how many times you’re going to get knocked down. It’s how many times you’re going to get up, you know.”

Some people may tell you that’s a losing attitude. But I’ll contend otherwise.

There’s a reason no sportsbooks are posting a line for the game. It’s important for a rebuilding program to find positives. Those aren’t going to come from the score at the end of Saturday’s game. So it’s good for the coach to set goals that his team can actually achieve.

Ohio State will pay Grambling State $1M for their efforts. That kind of money is important to keep small programs like the Tigers’ running. So no, it won’t be pretty. But at least Joseph has some perspective, even if it sounds funny to hear.