End of discussion. Big Ten champ Ohio State is in the College Football Playoff
The question that college football fans are asking — especially those in Columbus and College Station — is, did Ohio State do enough?
The answer probably depends on whether you reside in Columbus or College Station, but to neutral observers, the answer should be, “Yes.” Saturday’s performance against Illinois doesn’t illicit an all-caps “YES” or even one that deserved to be topped off with an exclamation point, but it’s “yes” nonetheless.
The 4th-ranked Buckeyes most certainly did enough to remain in the top 4, ahead of Texas A&M, after beating No. 14 Northwestern 22-10 in the Big Ten Championship Game. That’s because all Ohio State needed to punch its Playoff ticket was a win.
The only way Texas A&M (8-1) could have leaped Ohio State (6-0) is with Northwestern pulling the upset. If the Buckeyes have been ahead of the Aggies the whole way, why would that change after Saturday? Ohio State beat the No. 14 team in the country by 12 (and it could have been 19 if the Buckeyes could’ve punched it in at the end), while Texas A&M beat a 3-7 Tennessee squad by 21, aided with a second-half burst. The Committee has had some puzzling rankings over the years, but dropping an undefeated Ohio State would after winning the Big Ten would take the cake.
If we’re supposed to take these midweek rankings that the CFP Selection Committee has been rolling out each Tuesday night seriously, that’s the end of discussion. How could beating a 3-7 team trump beating a top-15 team?
Sure, it took a record-setting performance from running back Trey Sermon (29 carries, 331 yards, 2 TDs) to push the Buckeyes, who were favored by 16.5, over the top. But so what? Ohio State still has had just a single 1-possession win over a Big Ten team since Justin Fields has been the starting QB, a span of 16 games.
One of the big selling points of Ohio State’s candidacy, besides the undefeated record, was the “eye test.” The Buckeyes, despite having played fewer games than other contenders, have just looked like a Playoff team. With all due respect to Northwestern (a program that deserves plenty of it), Ohio State didn’t really look like a Playoff team for most of Saturday afternoon. There’s no doubt that Ohio State was on the ropes for about 3 quarters. Fields had the worst game of his career in completing only 12 of 27 passes for 114 yards, 2 interceptions and no touchdowns. He was nursing a right thumb injury, but who knows how much that affected his performance. Northwestern, to its credit, kept the Buckeyes defense guessing early on by changing formations and using tempo, never letting Ohio State get set.
But it’s also important to remember that Ohio State was down 20 players due to COVID on Saturday. That’s the second straight game the Buckeyes have been significantly impacted by positive tests and contact tracing, as they were down 23 players 2 weeks ago against Michigan State. And it’s not like it was the same guys who were out. This was a mostly new batch, featuring star wideout Chris Olave, starting safety Marcus Hooker and starting linebacker Baron Browning. Olave, who had gone over 100 yards in 4 of 5 games this season, is Fields’ most-trusted receiver. Browning had the team-lead in solo tackles. That’s at least part of the reason Ohio State looked out of sorts.
Is all of that enough to penalize Ohio State? It shouldn’t be. The Selection Committee has held Clemson at No. 3 the whole way despite the Tigers losing to Notre Dame when it was decimated by COVID positive tests. Just because the Buckeyes weren’t their normal, dominant selves (they entered third in the country among Power 5 teams in margin of victory), doesn’t mean they aren’t 1 of the 4 best teams in the country. At full strength, they are.
Does Ohio State have to get better? And healthier? Yeah, of course. The Buckeyes will have nearly 2 weeks to get those guys back in the fold. I haven’t heard any pundits mention how difficult this season must have been for the Buckeyes given the late start and just how few games they’ve actually had their entire team on the field. It’s a credit to Ohio State to be able to overcome that sort of adversity. Shuffling the lineup isn’t easy.
Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher tried to make his case after the win over Tennessee, saying, “No 1-loss SEC team has ever missed the Playoff. If we can’t play in this league and be in the Playoff, something’s wrong.”
Well, no undefeated Power 5 champion has ever missed the Playoff, either. Despite Ohio State’s limited schedule, this isn’t the year to start.
End of discussion. Big Ten champ Ohio State is overrated, barely beat Northwestern, and has no business in the playoffs. They just don’t.
I agree with you 100%.
Wow a Dawg agrees with a Gator!
If we as Georgia and Florida fans can’t agree that Ohio State (and Notre Dame) are perpetually overrated, then what hope does the world have.
Amen brother. Preach it.
If it weren’t for those dagged gum shoes..
Totally agree.
I’m glad you’re on the committee Scribe.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Ohio State never did anything to belong in the top four.
I agree. Notre Dame too. But every preseason there they are, sometimes with Michigan too, overrated and facing an easy schedule. In the SEC those teams would have 2 to 4 losses every year.
It’s the main steam media that always has Notre Dame preseason Top 10.
They’ve barely played 4 games lol.
If this is the last bullet on their “resume” it wasn’t very convincing.
Ryan O’Gara must be an Ohio State alumni.
Scribe, I think he must be the brother of the “feature” writer of this site Connor O’Gara. I quickly googled where Connor is from and it looks like he’s from Indiana. So they have that B1G bias I’m sure.
Yup. Makes sense.
The committee will punch tickets for Alabama and Ohio State. Period. If the Clemson lead over Norte Dame holds up, there are your other two. Aggie fans gotta hope ND can come back.
If Clemson and Notre Dame both keep up how they’re playing, I don’t see Notre Dame getting in. If Clemson keeps absolutely crushing them, they won’t get in because they’ll just say they beat Clemson the first time because of injuries and Trevor Lawrence.
I thought that was why they beat clemson the first time
ND is in.
No way ND is in after that performance. A&M has much stronger SOS, same record, and their blowout loss to Bama was much less one-sided than ND’s blowout loss to Clemson.
Yea. Who would’ve thought nd was the same choke artist as always!?
Says the guy that said ND would beat Clemson.
I think if Clemson blows out ND that makes the asterisks of Clemson’s top players being out previously much bigger. Which might make the committee question ND a little more.
I agree man.. I just posted same think 20 seconds after you.. Roll tide
Thing
I sure hope so. Sucks they get to play that independent crap each year and still have high chances of cfp. Hopefully they stay in the acc and actually add a challenge for clemson
This year they played an ACC schedule. It was easier than their usual schedule, because, well ACC.
Not saying it’s right, just telling you what’s gonna happen with the committee. I don’t know that Lawrence could have performed any better than Uiagalelei in that ND loss – he threw for well over 400 yards and 2 TDs. A&M was annihilated by Bama. Even if ND is blown out by Clemson, they still have that win over them on their resume. That will be the committee’s logic. That, and they do not want to put two SEC teams in the playoff again.
You claim A&M was annihilated by Bama, but choose to ignore the fact ND just got annihilated by Clemson far worse. Unless you try and make the argument Clemson is better than Bama your logic makes no sense here. That first win is absolutely in question based on this dismantling. The committee puts much more emphasis on today than it does the beginning of the season. That means A&M’s loss and ND’s win early on both count far less than what we saw today from both teams.
Sorry but A&M threw for almost 500 yds against Bama that game as well.
Read again. Not my logic; the logic I expect the committee to use. They will use ND’s win over Clemson as the final arbiter.
True enough, they used that logic, but not as a reason, just an excuse. They absolutely know A&M is the better team, but they are too cowardly to do the right thing.
Still think tamu has a chance.. What y’all think if clempson blows out Notre Dame by 30 points? Still think Notre Dame is a lock? I don’t
Yeah, a 28+ point loss lessens the only true black eye on our season.
Notre Dame isn’t winning against clempson
At this point in the acc game tamu need to hope clempson keeps scoring and blotted this thing out.. 30 points might do but a 40 point blowout I think bama plays the aggies again
No it is not the end of the discussion and no they did not do enough. But the committee is probably going to do the same thing the BIG10 has done and will do again if OSU gets in. Make a special allowance for Ohio State, because they can make it on their season.
OSU is in. Accept it. The real question is does Clemson embarrass ND enough that A&M gets the decision over the Irish.
I’d put A&M in easily over ND. A&M has a better loss, but ND has a better win. However, A&M is a much more talented team with a better defense and offense
5 games plus a conference game is not enough. Hence PAC 12 was never in the discussion. Feel the same way about canceling sched games to ensure your teams dont take an unexpected loss. OSU shouldnot be in playoffs. Period
Anyone who writes “End of discussion” in a headline is likely a journalism major. Politics and college football: Perfect together.
It’s like seeing “Fact!” Or “Educate Yourself” in an internet argument.
Notre Dame is like Slowhio State. Overrated preseason, weak schedule, beat a decimated Clemson team at home, and is now getting smoked by Clemson. They – like Slowhio State – do NOT belong in the playoffs.
I’m glad you’re on the committee Scribe.
Lame.
You are living in the past with that comment. Most of OSU’s recruits are from the south. They have had first-round talent for the past half-decade. The Buckeyes the past 7 years are different than the 2006 and 2007 teams.
This is true – Ohio State is basically an SEC team in exile that pulls of struggle-wins against midwestern intramural teams.
What a poorly reasoned, illogical argument you make here Ryan brother of Connor.
You’ll fit right in as an SDS “writer” along with other luminaries like Chris Wright.
At no time do you actually provide even the barest shred of evidence as to why the Suckeyes deserve a spot in the Playoffs. It may be your opinion, and granted, it’s an opinion shared by more than just you, but you know what they say about opinions.
I would’ve loved to hear an actual, rational argument for why a 6-win tOSU team that barely beat Northwestern and Indiana and played the dregs of the B1G “deserves” or has “earned” a spot in the Playoff.
We saw today that Justin Fields is the most overrated QB in CFB. You get a rush in his face and he makes terrible decisions (almost like he can’t read coverage) even in an offense that’s been completely geared to hiding almost all of his weaknesses. Like accuracy. Fields is not accurate. Definitely not NFL-accurate. Sure, he can loft a pass downfield to a wideopen WR against a crap team like Purdue, or hit a man open with 15 yards of space around him with an off-target pass, but against even a decent defense, outside of running the ball, he’s overrated as a QB.
So tell us Ryan, given that, why does tOSU “deserve” to be in the Playoff?
I agree. I couldn’t decide who was a worse passer, Fields or the Northwestern quarterback. At least the Northwestern quarterback wasn’t hyped as the preseason Heisman favorite.
I can’t wait to read what diarrhea mouth Herbie has to say.
Notre Dame sucks!!!
He will talk about how Clemson and Oh St deserve to be in the playoff…as usual.
Ohio State should be in…hope they get their a$$ kicked and people remember. lol
A&M needs to destroy whoever they play in their bowl game and throw the middle finger.
Lets hope for a better 2021. It is what it is. f*ked up.
All Ohio St needs to do is play- meet the conference’s pre-established six-game threshold during 2020 season, despite the weakness of that schedule.
Oh wait! No they don’t! Five games is enough. This is Ohio ST!
Too bad the other play-off teams had to prove themselves 10 times. Those are the breaks…
Like so many years before, Ohio St is getting “in” based on nothing more than being the only good team that the weak B1G has to offer.
They don’t deserve it…
Ohio St will have to prove it now. We’ll see….
They may not even be able to get past the covid protocol to play, so maybe Northwestern will come to the rescue. lol
I thought Ohio State’s stock went down today. They struggled terribly against an average at best team today.
Agreed
Who has ohio state played?? Seriously? Notre Dame deserves it after beating Clemson earlier. They didn’t have lawrence but look what the backup did. Wasn’t much of a drop off. Ohio State? No, haven’t played anyone and big ten changed the rules just for them. Let a&m in our hell, even cincinnati. Why not?
Cincinnati resume is just as good as Ohio State so if your thinking to put ohio state in you need to look at cincinnati. Otherwise, a&m need to be in.
I think Oklahoma will be in the CFP’s discussion, even with two losses.
I think they will to, I actually think committee will favor both them and A&M over ND at this point, but A&M should end up on top of that decision.
too*
They don’t deserve it
I say go ahead and let Clemson and Alabama play the national championship. The others aren’t at Alabama and Clemson’s level so why waste the time.
Probably because that’s not really accurate.
He’s right. Outside of the 2015 Sugar Bowl, the 2018 Rose Bowl, and the 2020 Fiesta Bowl, the semi games are nothing more than blowout fests.
I’d actually use this as the year to let a Group of Five team in. Let Cincinnati take the L and nip that discussion in the bud going forward. There just isn’t a non-embarrassing fourth team this year, so find a way to take advantage of the situation.
actually pretty good idea… let Cincinnati play against Bama… I’d say they’ll get pretty good rest for Mac, Najee, Devonta, and the rest… Bama wins by 45+
Ryan O’Gara appears to be one of those record and stat hounds that never actually watches a game from start to finish. Forget who is ranked where and just watch the games, the committee puts considerable emphasis on the eye test as well, and OSU failed that eye test today, A&M did not. That being said it shouldn’t matter, we shouldn’t be talking about OSU getting in over A&M. What we should be talking about is OSU getting in over ND with A&M taking the 3rd or 4th spot.
Could have been 19 if they pushed it in. Or they could have fumbled and NW could have run it back and they won by 4. What does winning 16 games in B10 have to do with this year? They had to change the rules so they could even play in the conf championship. Beat 1 team with a winning record.
They may be the fourth best team in the country but they haven’t had to show it.
And the Tigers will spank their scarlet butts again.
Please do. I love Alabama tears
That’s the DieselNova I’ve known!
Referring to of course Alabama being upset they gotta play and lose to Clemson again
Reading is fundamental. The Tigers will spank their scarlet busts again. Now explain why any Tide fan would cry when Clemson beats OSU. You’re so bitter you can’t read through your tears.
Yeah I’ma have to disagree…. A&M, Florida (even after their loss tonight), or even Georgia have a better case for being put in the playoff. Any of these teams will get exposed in the first round by either Clemson or Bama though, so it really doesn’t matter.
Wonder why you put “with the second half burst” for A&M’s win and not “last 5 min burst” for OSU lol. Did you not watch the game?
Doesn’t fit their narrative…
I hate Notre Dame, but how do they not go in over OSU? 10-1 with that loss being to Clemson is better than 6-0. You gonna put in a team that played 5 less games!?!? Ridiculous
Ohio State opponents finished with a 24-24 record. Indiana and Northwestern were the two best opponents. As for A&M, its opponents finished with a combined record of 41-50 including, Alabama at 11-0 and Florida at 8-3. It beat Florida. The Buckeyes played only two teams with winning records. A&M played three teams with a winning record and one team that finished at 5-5. Your writers are well aware playing nine or 10 games in the SEC is a hell of a lot tougher than playing 10 games in the Big Ten. And they didn’t. OSU played only six games, including today’s game that was pathetic. The Buckeyes do not deserve to be in the CFP, period. You should not get in just because your school’s name is Ohio State. Sorry, but I am sure the committee will hit its knees tomorrow and roll out the red carpet for them.
Ohio State should not earn a playoff spot playing only 6 games. That’s on their incompetent conference.
Ohio State and N.D. are still better than the Aggies.
You’re not too bright are you? You must be a troll, Bama fans tend to actually understand the game.