Caleb Downs called Alabama more well-prepared for big games than Ohio State

Caleb Downs has a unique perspective on the difference between Alabama and Ohio State that many others may not have. Downs, who currently plays safety for the Buckeyes, originally took the field for the Crimson Tide before entering the transfer portal.

Downs recently had a conversation with former Alabama head coach turned national broadcaster Nick Saban, and was not shy about noting that he thought Alabama was more prepared for big-time contests than Ohio State is. That’s a bit bold, considering he’s still on the team he left Alabama for.

“I had an interesting conversation yesterday with Caleb Downs,” Saban said on College Gameday. “We were talking about the SEC and how many hard games we had. He said we were more well-prepared for games like that… When we went to Oregon, we had four easy games, or five easy games, so we weren’t really well-prepared to have to go play a 60-minute game against a good team, and win a good game and finish the game.”

Nick Saban on @CollegeGameDay: “I had an interesting conversation yesterday with Caleb Downs. We were talking about the SEC and how many hard games we had. He said we were more well-prepared for games like that (at Alabama). When we went to Oregon (at Ohio State), we had four…

— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 23, 2024

The two have had a chance to come back together this week with Saban on the set with the ESPN crew and Downs’ Buckeyes team preparing to face Indiana. It will be interesting to watch how things unfold with both teams set to kick off at noon ET for one of the most highly anticipated games of the season as the College Football Playoff race continues.