Ohio State hosts No. 10 Nebraska in its first and only primetime home game of the season Saturday night and Jalyn Holmes is doing everything he can to ensure a hostile environment comparable to what he's seen at Penn State and Wisconsin.
Holmes knows the atmosphere starts with Ohio State's official student section Block "O". He's been tweeting at the Block "O" Twitter account regularly, urging them to get loud on gamedays.
"I’m at their neck right now. I’m at their neck," Holmes said. "I’ve been to Wisconsin and it was a real loud crowd. Penn State – same with them. I feel like we can beat that."
"I’m tweeting them every week," Holmes said.
.@JayHolmes_ Ask away!
— Block O (@OSUBlockO) October 31, 2016
@OSUBlockO I need the shoe going crazy like no other on Saturday night fam
— QBKILLA (@JayHolmes_) October 31, 2016
Can't wait to talk to my fellow student body about this weekends game! Let's win this game TOGETHER! @OSUBlockO #HowSheGoneEat
— QBKILLA (@JayHolmes_) November 3, 2016
"when you know how lit the shoe gone be Saturday night" @OSUBlockO pic.twitter.com/4Pqd2HYUvX
— QBKILLA (@JayHolmes_) November 3, 2016
Holmes even went to the Block "O" meeting Thursday night, bringing Tyquan Lewis, Tracy Sprinkle, and Raekwon McMillan along with him to address the lackluster home environment.
The players cited the raucous crowds at Penn State and Wisconsin, believing that Ohio Stadium can and should top that.
They emphasized being loud on third down as well as staying amped up between quarters. At Wisconsin and Penn State, the hype doesn't stop when the ball isn't in play; in fact, the stadiums often get louder. In contrast, fans at Ohio Stadium typically sit down between quarters and watch the video board.
Of course, it's hard to get people excited when Ohio Stadium is basically a gigantic advertisement with scoreboard prompts and videos sucking the life out of the gameday experience – the players and the students know that – but the atmosphere can certainly be better, and Holmes has faith that it will be.
"I feel like if we come out and play hard, the crowd will be right behind us," Holmes said. "It should be a great atmosphere.”
