On media: Dave Portnoy on Big Noon Kickoff creates a precarious situation for Fox and Ohio State

Fox’s pregame show aired Saturday morning from Iowa State, featuring more of Dave Portnoy and less of Dave Portnoy in equally appropriate amounts.

The Barstool founder, who joined the Big Noon Kickoff extravaganza this season, received plenty of airtime inside and outside Jack Trice Stadium throughout the two-hour broadcast. But he avoided the outright animus directed toward a particular school in Scarlet and Gray that defined his appearance last week in Columbus.

Yes, the Michigan alumnus offered a few jabs at the Buckeyes. During a segment in which he fielded questions from social media, for example, Portnoy used a one-liner to mock Ohio State’s academic standards.

But that was the extent of the Buckeye baiting. Perhaps his tempered approach was simply the result of the change in geog