Fox College Football, Gus Johnson Under Fire for Ohio State Game Broadcast

Fox play-by-play voice Gus Johnson is taking heavy criticism from college football fans after his low-energy calls during No. 6 Ohio State's 59-3 rout of Kent State in the Big Noon Saturday window on Saturday.

Fans pointed to his call on freshman receiver Chris Henry Jr.'s 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown early in the fourth quarter, when Johnson said in an unmoved, flat tone, "And he will record his first touchdown as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, 75 yards."

Gus Johnson's Chris Henry Jr. call

Fox College Football, Gus Johnson Under Fire for Ohio State Game Broadcast — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Backup quarterback Luke Fahey hit Henry with a short pass on the right sideline. Then the five-star freshman made several Kent State defenders miss and outran a safety to the end zone.

Johnson's line was also wrong, because Henry caught a 15-yard touchdown pass in the season opener against Ball State. So the Kent State score was his second as a Buckeye.

Fox analyst Joel Klatt pointed back to that Week 1 game during the replay.

"Obviously in Week 1, he was frustrated with a couple of drops," Klatt said. "One of them went for an interception. He could have had a touchdown and ended up scoring later."

Johnson stayed flat on the very next play, when 349-pound freshman defensive tackle Jamir Perez scooped up a Kent State fumble and ran it in for a touchdown.

"Gus Johnson is a shell of himself," one Ohio State fan page posted on X.

Why did Gus Johnson sound so flat?

Johnson's flat tone started with running back Ja'Kobi Jackson's opening touchdown run and carried into receiver Nate Roberts' first career touchdown catch.

He finally perked up on the last play of the first half. That's when quarterback Julian Sayin hit receiver Brandon Inniss on a 49-yard Hail Mary for a 35-0 lead.

Some fans blame the assignment, since Fox sent its Big Noon Kickoff pregame show to London's Wembley Stadium for Arizona State vs. Kansas. That game aired on FS1 at noon ET, while Kent State at Ohio State aired on Fox in the same window.

"The least energy I've ever heard on a Gus Johnson call," one fan wrote on X.

Gus Johnson's Big Noon Saturday history

Fans have called out Johnson before during an Ohio State blowout, including the Buckeyes' 45-0 win over Purdue in November 2024.

On Jack Sawyer's fumble return for a touchdown in that game, Johnson said with little energy, "And a fumble on the play, Ohio State is there, they pick it up and run it in for a touchdown. Jack Sawyer."

Fans floated a theory at the time that Johnson was protesting Fox for putting Ohio State in the Big Noon slot so often. In addition, the Purdue game was the Buckeyes' fourth Big Noon game that season.

Ohio State is now 2-1, and the Buckeyes open Big Ten play when Illinois visits Ohio Stadium on Sept. 26 at noon ET.

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