Coming off a grueling 14-7 win against Texas to open its season, Ohio State now turns its attention to Grambling State, which is anticipated to be … less grueling.
The Buckeyes and Tigers kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET. Though both teams sit at 1-0, the favorite is clear. The matchup itself is so lopsided sportsbooks don’t even have a spread posted. The last time Ohio State played a historically Black college or university (HBCU), it defeated Florida A&M 76-0 in 2013.
For those in the north, it may be unclear as to where Grambling State is located. A member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the Tigers can be found in Louisiana. Their last game against a team of Ohio State’s caliber was against LSU, which defeated Grambling State 72-10 on Sept. 9, 2025.
Grambling State coach Mickey Joseph has had a sense of humor about the matchup, saying if Grambling State were to pull off arguably the most monumental upset in college football history, he’d be looking for a lifetime deal before he got back to Louisiana.
“My agent would be here before I got here, and we’d want a deal for life,” he told media this week.
Where is Grambling State University?
Grambling State can found in the eponymous Grambling, Louisiana. It’s located in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, a small city between Shreveport and Monroe in North Central Louisiana.
It’s about a 3 1/2-hour drive from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home of the LSU Tigers down toward the boot, and 4 hours and 45 minutes from New Orleans.
As of the 2020 census, Grambling has a population of 5,239.
World-Famed Tiger Marching Band
The World-Famous Ohio State Buckeyes are hosting another global sensation Sept. 6: The World-Famed Tiger Marching Band.
Grambling State’s marching band is one of the most famous in the country, and has performed in Las Vegas, Houston, and Washington, per its page. It has played the Super Bowl more than any other marching band in the country, including Super Bowl I.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Where is Grambling State? What to know of Ohio State’s Week 2 opponent
Reporting by Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY NETWORK / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
