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Ohio State Football: Buckeyes Among Teams Favored to Make Playoffs

By Thomas Scurlock

Oct 24, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer prior to the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer prior to the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports /
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Are the Ohio State Buckeyes ready for another run at a national title?

Alabama, USC, Florida State and Ohio State.  These are the four teams favored by most to make it the 2018 College Football Playoff.

Chances are slim that all four get in and possibly none will.  I think the best bet is two teams out of this group will get selected.

The obvious eliminator might occur on September 2 when the Seminoles and Crimson Tide clash in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game at the new Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The loser of this heavyweight battle is not out of the race, but their room for error becomes razor-thin.

Both are safe regardless of outcome if the game is close.  A blowout would be difficult to erase from the Playoff Committee’s minds just as Oklahoma’s loss to Ohio State and USC’s loss to Alabama were last year.

I think Alabama wins this game, but despite playing in all three playoffs and owning the SEC for the better part of 10 seasons, it will not make it back to the playoff for a fourth consecutive year.

The Crimson Tide’s losses on defense will be too much to overcome in an improved SEC. Their bitter rival Auburn will knock them out in week 12.

The Seminoles have an advantage because the ACC can make a strong case that it is the best conference right now.  Clemson is the reigning champion and the conference went 9-3 in bowl games. It took a while for the ACC to finds its rhythm as a football conference, but it has proven to more formidable since 2013.

Florida State is the favorite, especially with Clemson’s losses to the NFL.  Should the Seminoles beat Alabama, they will be in the driver’s seat.  I don’t think that will happen and I doubt they go through the ACC without a loss which would kill their chances of making into the playoff.

USC finished 2016 red-hot behind the arm of Heisman hopeful Sam Darnold.  With the sanctions in the rearview mirror, and depth on both sides of the ball dramatically improved, the Trojans are poised to win their first Pac-12 title since 2008.

The schedule sets up favorably as their tough games are at home.  Stanford, Texas, Utah and UCLA all visit in the Coliseum.  The only difficult road game is at Washington State.

The Pac-12 title game will be the deciding factor.  USC will face another undefeated team in Washington.  The Trojans will prevail and earn their first playoff trip.

The Big Ten East won the 2016 regular season mythical toughest division in college football debate and then proceeded to go 0-5 in bowls, culminating with Ohio State’s 31-0 blowout loss to Clemson.

I wonder if that letdown will linger into this season for the Committee? It shouldn’t, but the Big Ten has flopped in the last two playoff semifinal games.

I know if I were a coach of a team with potential in another conference, I would be dropping that nugget every week.

The Buckeyes may not be defending champions, but they are the favorite to win the conference this year.

With a new offensive coordinator, J.T. Barrett returning for a fourth season and a defensive front seven that is the best in the country, Ohio State is loaded to make another run.

Penn State fans can groan all they want about lack of respect, but there is no denying that the team caught a couple of breaks in its 24-21 comeback win over Ohio State last year.  They were hardly dominant.

Regardless, Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley will keep the Nittany Lions in the hunt all season.

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I give the edge to the Buckeyes as the game is in Columbus this year, not Happy Valley, and the Buckeyes have the bye week while Penn State plays Michigan the week before.  That should be enough for the Ohio State to earn a decisive win and take back the East.

The Big Ten scheduling is a little more kind for the Buckeyes this year too.  Although they travel to Nebraska, Iowa and Michigan, but there are no back-to-back road trips.

The Nittany Lions’ divisional crossover games still includes Iowa, but Purdue and Minnesota are replaced with Nebraska and Northwestern.

The Buckeyes talent level is matched by no other team in the conference.  We’ve seen that this is not enough to overcome one bad game costing them a Big Ten title.

Will they avoid the flop and win the Big Ten for just the second time under Urban Meyer?

Two years without a title is too long a draught and that will fuel their focus and determination.  They will win the East and play Wisconsin again in the Championship game.

Next: Who wants to coach the Buckeyes?

USC and Ohio State will earn spots in the playoff. The other two teams will be Louisville and Auburn.  The Big 12 will be left out again after its best team, Oklahoma, loses to the Buckeyes on September 9.

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