Ohio State great Cardale Jones and Michigan great Denard Robinson will headline the FOX36 Big Game Showdown on Wednesday, Nov. 25, a free fan event in Maumee built around college football’s biggest rivalry, FOX36 Toledo announced.
The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at Jim White Honda in Maumee and is presented by Kroger, according to FOX36. Fans of both teams are invited to meet Jones and Robinson, bring gear to be signed, and take part in an afternoon of food trucks, games and prizes.
Jones quarterbacked Ohio State through its run to the national championship in the first College Football Playoff, stepping in late in the 2014 season and leading the Buckeyes past Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon. He was back in Columbus just last week, ringing the Victory Bell at Ohio Stadium before the Oregon game, Eleven Warriors reported. Robinson, Michigan’s record-setting quarterback from 2009 to 2012, remains one of the most dynamic players in the rivalry’s history.
The Showdown is a returning FOX36 event — the station says it is “back” for another year — and it is designed as neutral ground where Buckeye and Wolverine fans can celebrate the week together before the teams meet on the field.
The timing puts the event in the heart of rivalry week, three days before Ohio State and Michigan renew The Game on Saturday, Nov. 28. Organizers bill the afternoon as free family fun for supporters of both programs, with Marsha’s Buckeyes among the groups inviting fans to join in, according to FOX36.
For northwest Ohio fans — where the rivalry splits households, offices and school hallways every November — it is a rare chance to meet stars from both sides of the rivalry in one room without making the trip to Columbus or Ann Arbor — and to get autographs from two quarterbacks whose names still start arguments at local dinner tables.
No tickets or registration were listed in FOX36’s announcement — fans simply show up at Jim White Honda in Maumee between 1 and 4 p.m. on Nov. 25 with whatever gear they hope to get signed.