@dartha, the risk of injury is of course a concern; and fatigue is a factor, but when you have two weeks to rest up before the cfp, it's not as much of a concern. from the third game of the 2020 season, Ohio State never played two weeks in a row. they beat rutgers, and then the maryland game was cancelled. they beat indiana, and then the illinois game was cancelled. they beat xichigan state, and then the xichigan game was cancelled. the veteran players probably didn't mind the rest - Justin Fields was probably just fine with it, but the underclassmen and first time starters missed those invaluable live game snaps. their development was set back because of all of those cancelled games. the impact of those missed games was obvious in the 2021 season too. you could tell the younger players were just too inexperienced early on. they were much better as the season progressed, and they should be much better in 2022.

@dcdawg, yeah it's frustrating. i'm guessing saturday tradition is managed by a xichigan alum. they suck. i've contacted them several times about it, but have never gotten a response. at least big 10 fans can still come over here and talk football. i love talking football with other fans who love the game as much as i do. helps make the offseason go by faster.

before the final cfp poll, Ohio State was 12-1. tcu and baylor were both 11-1. right there alone gives Ohio State the better record, and the Buckeyes' 59-0 win over #13 wisconsin in the b10 title game was better than any win by either of them. further, both baylor and tcu played fcs opponents, Ohio State did not. so against fbs opponents, Ohio State was 12-1, while baylor and tcu were 10-1. by any measure, Ohio State deserved that cfp slot in 2014 over tcu and baylor.

that rule conflicted with a much older rule. that being the team with the best record goes to the championship game. Ohio State had the better record, and they beat indiana on the field. so the long standing rule took precedence over the hastily conceived, and ill considered last minute rule.

you're right bayou, it is an open forum - unless you use the c-word, that is. i called 2020 the 'c-word season', and my comment was not published. so i guess it's a mostly open forum. but mostly open is better than what happens at saturdays down south's big 10 sister site - saturday traditions. for whatever reason, they do not allow comments over there. so if you want to talk football, you have to come over here.

i don't much care what the big 10 as a whole does in the cfp. i enjoyed watching 2015 xichigan state and 2021 xichigan getting stomped. what matters to me is what Ohio State does, and they are 3-3 in the cfp. in regard to 2020, playing more games is better. live game snaps cannot be replicated in practice, and that is the best vehicle for player development. Ohio State's younger players did not get the experience that comes with a full season, and it really showed in that game against bama.

in 2022, Ohio State will be winning their 5th big 10 title of the last 6 years. the week before the big 10 title game however, the things they're going to do to xichigan will be unspeakable. don't let your children watch that game, because it's going to get ugly. it's going to be so brutal, that xichigan might do to jim hairball what usc did to lane kiffin - kick him off the team bus, and tell him to find his own way home.

free year of food? hello chipotle!

just to be clear tidefan, the big 10 threw that hastily conceived and ill-considered rule in at the last minute to prevent a team from reaching the big 10 title game with a 2-0 record. the minimum number of games was 6, and the Buckeyes were 5-0, and they had 2 teams cancel on them. one of the teams Ohio State beat on the field was the big 10 east runner up, indiana. why should Ohio State have been punished when they beat the team that was in second place, and two of their opponents canceled on them? other teams canceling were beyond Ohio State's control, and they should not have been penalized for it. if indiana had gone to the big 10 title game, it would've been by virtue of a technicality. a technicality that would've been unfair to the only undefeated team in the big 10 - Ohio State. and it seems you're missing a comma. that, or you're mistaken about Ohio State's cfp appearances. Ohio State was first to win a cfp national championship, and the first to get in without winning their conference, but those two events did not occur in the same season. the former was in 2014, and the latter was in 2016. and just to be clear, in 2016, Ohio State was co-champions of the big 10 east. they were 8-1 in the conference, and tied with penn st. the nits got to go to indy by virtue of the tie breaker. that being the head to head victory. none the less, Ohio State still earned their cfp invitation in both of those seasons. in 2014, they had a better record than the teams in fifth and sixth place. and in 2016, they had victories over three top 10 teams. including baker mayfield's big 12 champion oklahoma team in norman. they earned both cfp berths.

if i really have to explain to you why a fan would want their team to beat their biggest rival, especially after losing to that rival the year before, then maybe team sports aren't for you. maybe you should check out competitive bass fishing or something.

it's funny that you should say that, because that's exactly the way the rest of the world feels about the sec. watch, "we know bama is great, because they beat #12 ole miss. and we know ole miss is great, because they beat #13 arkansas. and we know arkansas is great, because they beat #7 texas a&m. and we know texas a&m is great, because they beat #1 bama." the sec is like one big circle jerk. and when you watch gameday, or college football final, or college football live, it feels like espn spends about 75% of the show hyping up the sec. it's like "and oh yeah, there's the other conferences over there. we'll glance at them for a second after we do a deep dive on vanderbilt football." there's a reason why outside of sec country, they're called secspn. let me guess, the year you're referring to, when they were discussing if the big 10 was the best conference, was 2017. am i right? what happened in 2017? the big 10 went 7-1 in the bowls. among those 7 victories were three ny6 bowls - the cotton, fiesta and orange bowls. the sec went 5-6 in the bowls, and 3 of those were from uga and bama. the rest of the sec was 2-5. big 10 champion Ohio State was shut out of the cfp, in favor of a team that didn't even win their own division - bama. espn's coverage was extremely biased in favor of bama. the committee members don't have time to watch every game, so they fill in the gaps with espn coverage, and espn was all aboard the bama hype train. the result was big 10 champion out, sec west runner up in. then espn does what it does best, stir the pot, by positing that the big 10 might actually be better than the sec, due in part to that 7-1 bowl record. they knew big 10 fans, especially the massive and vocal Ohio State fan base, was fired up about being left out of the cfp. they wanted ratings, so they threw some red meat to crowd. that being said, a good argument could be made that the big 10 was better than the sec that year. i kid you not. i don't disagree that notre dame is overrated, because they are. they're always highly rated, and they never follow through on it. they haven't won a major bowl since the 1993 cotton bowl. but that's not Ohio State. the Buckeyes live up to the hype. it's why they have as many major bowl victories (bcs/ny6/cfp) as oklahoma and clemson combined. Ohio State has 13 major bowl wins, while florida and lsu added together have 14. the Buckeyes earn the hype. when they're highly ranked, it's because they're really good.

while the pac 12 hasn't had a national title contender in recent years, they've fielded some very solid teams. and it wasn't all that long ago that the conference did feature some national championship level programs. not sure how old you are, but as pointed out by realusc, pete carroll's usc teams were nick saban's bama, before there was a nick saban's bama. chip kelly's oregon teams were also very good. if wins over 6 pac 12 champions was all that was on Ohio State's resume, it'd still be a pretty good resume. but that's not the only thing on there. all of that other stuff i mentioned above is also on there. it's not just wins over the pac 12 that have earned respect for Ohio State. it's the whole package. a really good argument could be made that Ohio State is at worst the second best program of not just the modern era, but college football history. calling them over hyped and over ranked just displays an ignorance of how consistently good Ohio State has been. and what rules have been changed to keep Ohio State on top? if you're referring to 2020, the rule in question was added in hastily right before the season started, to prevent a team from going to the b10 title game with a 2-0 record. Ohio State was undefeated, and beat indiana on the field, and at 5-0, was just 1 game shy of the number stipulated in the rule. the Buckeyes had two teams cancel on them (including xichigan, because jim hairball knew his team was in for a curb stomping). why should the Buckeyes have been punished for other schools cancelling on them? i mean, xichigan knew they couldn't stop Ohio State from getting to the title game by beating them on the field, so they did it the only way they could stop them - by cancelling the game denying Ohio State its 6th game. if indiana had gotten to go to the title game, it would've been by virtue of a technicality. that being they had less teams cancel on them, than the Buckeyes had. and like i said, Ohio State beat them on the field. Ohio State earned their way to title game. no technicality necessary.

xichigan is getting way too much love from the pre-season polls, but not as much love as what's waiting for them in Columbus. there's a whole lotta love waiting for jim hairball and the skunk weasels in the 'Shoe next season.

define your terms. what do you mean by hyped of overranked? in the last 20 seasons, Ohio State has had double digit wins 17 times. the other three seasons? one was 2020 where they went 7-1, won the big 10 title and played for a national championship. 2004, they went 8-4, after losing 14 players to the nfl draft, but they still won the alamo bowl over les miles' oklahoma st team. and 2011, after losing their coach, and almost their entire offense because those players sold their own personal property. something that is common place today. despite all they lost before the 2011 season, they still beat the team that won the big 10 title that season, and won enough games to go to a bowl since the beginning of the bcs era, Ohio State has won 13 bcs/ny6/cfp games. more than any other program, including bama - who is second with 12 wins. during that time, they won 13 big 10 titles, and two national championships. they're one of only three programs that have won both a bcs national championship and a cfp national championship. they've finished the regular season unbeaten 5 times. during that time, they've beaten the big 12 champion 3 times, the pac 12 champion 6 times, and also an sec and acc champion. that's 11 wins over other conference champions. they've also beaten defending ncaa champions twice. i don't know your definition of a team that is appropriately hyped and ranked, but if it's not what i described above, then what is it? you must have some extremely high standards, none of which your own team lives up to.

2022, the year of the Buckeye!

nothing else going on that night? um, hello, monday night raw.

@the g fan, we're slummin'. i'm not sure who truegrit is, but i was talking about 2022, not 2014 or 2021. honestly though, i think the Buckeyes could've given bama and uga better games than cinci or xichigan did. would they have won? no telling, but i think it would've been pretty exciting games. i mean, we saw what bama did to uga with a healthy metchie and williamson. makes you wonder what Ohio State could've done with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. guess we'll never know. but relax g fan, your school's title is safe. no one is going to take it from you. no matter how many Buckeye fans comment on the article that takes a shot at Ohio State. take a breath, unclench and enjoy it. 2022 will take care of itself, and no matter what, you now have two tapes you can pop into your vcr, instead of watching two other teams play for a title next season.

Never fear America, The Ohio State Buckeyes will save college football from the sec cabal in 2022. O H!!!

winning the big 10 correlates to being big 10 champion. the big 10 is generally accepted to be the second best conference. if the big 10 is overhyped, who would you say is better? if xichigan had lost to cinci, that would've been pretty great. as it is, they still hear about app state all the time. i think some teams should be glad for a flu outbreak and a snow storm. because of those two things, Ohio State was in the rose bowl, instead of the cfp. this national championship game might look a whole lot different if it weren't those two things.

@tidefan8x5 define wilt. he's been a head coach for all of three seasons, and has sugar and rose bowl trophies on his resume. he's got two big 10 championships. he's 2-0 in big 10 title games. he's 14-4 against ranked opponents. he's 14-1 in road games. he's 23-1 against conference opponents. if that's your definition of wilt, then what's your definition of success?

seriously? you're all questioning Ryan Day? the man is 34-4 at Ohio State, 23-1 in the big 10. he's won two big 10 titles in his first three seasons as a head coach. he's won a sugar and a rose bowl. he's developed the three most prolific offenses in Ohio State history. he's a good defensive coordinator away from winning a national championship, and he just hired one. how about giving the man a little credit for what he's accomplished before writing him off. just for the sake of comparison, saban was 19-16-1 in his first three seasons at michigan st, 26-12 his first three seasons at lsu, and 33-8 his first three seasons at bama. sure saban got a title at the end of that third season at bama, but it was his 5th stop as a head coach. Day just finished season #3 as a head coach, so how about cut him some slack. and speaking of struggling, do i need to mention the florida, lsu, auburn, and arkansas games? how about that loss to a subpar texas a&m team? before criticizing Day, how about looking in a mirror first. congrats on the uga win. it's the first time bama looked good all season. got a feeling though, bama/uga part 2 is going to look a whole lot different.

if you think the Buckeyes only run basic deep routes, then you indeed haven't watched much Buckeye football this year. JSN, Wilson and Olave often weren't the fastest guys on the field, but they ran crisp routes. JSN and Wilson had over a thousand yds, and Olave was just 64 yds shy of that mark. they didn't reach that by just running in a straight line really fast. in regard to Williams, he was a member of an absolutely loaded wr room, full of future nfl players. add in some very talented running backs, and no one was getting the ball as much as they wanted. you're starting to wonder about Day's future in columbus? the three most prolific offenses in Buckeye history have happened under Day's leadership. Day's future in columbus is secure.

it's no mystery what Williams meant when he said the receiver room was crowded at Ohio State. it was crowded. his freshman year, there were three talented upperclassmen who had paid their dues, and were playing very well, KJ Hill, Bin Victor and Austin Mack. Not to mention, Chris Olave was coming off his outstanding freshman season. Add to that room, fellow freshman, Garrett Wilson. fast forward to the shortened 2020 season, and add two top 5 receivers in Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. then going into 2021 season, Ohio State adds even more wr talent in Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. and lets not forget that there were some very good running backs who wanted the ball too - JK Dobbins, Trey Sermon and Master Teague. there is only one ball, and when you have that much talent, no one is going to get all of the touches they want. Day didn't fail Williams, he prepared him for success. evidence of which was on full display this season, especially 4 days ago. wide receivers flourish in Day's offense. the Buckeyes were 64 yards shy of having three 1,000 yard receivers this season, and two of those receivers will likely be drafted in the first round this april. and despite losing that much talent, there won't be any dropoff next year, as JSN, Harrison, Flemming and Egbuka will likely have great seasons as well.

"However, fewer teams do more for player development than Michigan, which has sent more than three dozen players to the NFL since 2016 — the second-most in the nation behind Alabama." Ohio State has had 55 players drafted since the 2016 draft, including 16 first rounders, and 4 nfl defensive rookies of the year. tsun has had 39, 5 and 0 respectively. Go Bucks and muck fichigan.

eff tsun. 335 days until payback.

Ohio State lost two games because of poor defense, not because of CJ Stroud. Stroud played really well in both games. he threw for 878 yards and 5 td's (against only 1 pic) in those two losses. and he did put up big numbers against msu's poor pass defense, but to be fair, he put up big numbers against everyone, including those 5 top 50 pass defenses he faced. in those 5 games, he threw for 1,759 yards and 14 td's.

So, let me see if i've got this straight. Stroud should be penalized for having Wilson and Olave, but young gets a pass having biletnikoff finalist (and former Buckeye) jameson williams? williams is a biletnikoff finalist, while Olave and Wilson are not, so he's clearly the better receiver, right? so why aren't you penalizing young for having the better receiver? you said yourself that williams absence in the auburn game is why that game was so close. your heisman front runner young was there, but without williams, bama needed 4 ot's to beat 6-6 auburn. reading your evaluation, it seems to me like young isn't even the best player on his own team, let alone the country. despite not having receivers as good as young had, Stroud had more passing yards, td's, completions, and completion percentage per game than did young. not to mention a better qbr. and that's with Stroud sitting out a stats game against akron. both of them faced 5 top 50 pass defenses, but young also faced 5 pass defenses ranked 90 or worse. Stroud only faced 2 such teams. but young beat almighty georgia, you might say, but how good was georgia, really? going into the game against bama, uga faced only 1 top 50 passing offense, #39 florida. 8 of uga's 11 fbs opponents were ranked 66 or worse in pass offense - 66, 71, 73, 91, 95, 97, 103, and 104. so how good was uga's pass defense really? all things considered, CJ Stroud is more deserving of the heisman than bryce young. hopefully we'll see CJ Stroud bringing heisman #8 back to Columbus this saturday.

unless i'm mistaken, the standard the committee uses is, when the resumes are comparable, the head to head is a tie breaker. if the resume of one team is clearly superior to the other, the head to head result doesn't factor in the equation. is texas a&m a better team than bama? was auburn a better team than bama in 2017? how about ole miss in 2014 and 2015? they all beat bama, but i think most people would agree that bama was the better team, despite their loss to those teams. did you watch the Ohio State - oregon game? i ask, because when you say "OSU lost big at home", you're mischaracterizing the game. oregon won by 7, and Ohio State outgained them 612 yds to 505. oregon does not have another ranked team on the schedule, including the pac 12 title game, as no one in the pac 12 south is ranked. contrast that to Ohio State who will have 2 top 10 opponents, and another ranked opponent in the big 10 title game. if both teams run the table, Ohio State will have beaten 3-5 ranked teams, and oregon will have that 1 win against the Buckeyes. the ducks' schedule would be on par with cincinnati's. Ohio State's resume will be clearly superior, and the head to head likely won't be a factor.

i agree with most of what you wrote, except the part about Ohio State's offense shriveling. they put up 612 yds and 28 points against oregon, and 466 yds and 26 points against penn st. they did struggle in the red zone against psu, but that's something they can clean up. and you're right, it'll all work itself out in the end, as last weekend was just round 1 of the big 10 east round robin. don't count out penn st against sparty and the skunk weasels. the nits have the talent to beat both of them.

That was a fun game to watch. auburn should hold their head up, they played well. As a Buckeye fan, i can relate, whiteouts are intense. Ohio State has to do them every other year.