Ohio State Football: What an Alabama loss means for OSU and Michigan
What it means for Ohio State
Buckeye Nation has seen this movie before, correct? A non-conference champion gets the nod over an arguably “more deserving” conference champion. Ohio State has been on both ends of the spectrum in that debate with a Part III potentially ensuing in less than a month.
Tuesday night, Ohio State checked in at No. 10, again, in the playoff rankings and appear to need a good deal of help to make the final four. If the Buckeyes can take care of their business down the stretch, then an invitation to the playoff is not all that far-fetched.
Assuming Ohio State does so, they will have notched wins away from home against TCU (quickly losing its worth), Penn State, and Michigan State as well as a home win against a Top-4 Michigan team. How can the committee leave that caliber of a resume out of the playoff? Would there be any comparisons to last year?
Here’s the breakdown:
2017: Ohio State was a 2-loss Big Ten Champion who held bad losses to Oklahoma at home as well as to Iowa on the road. The Buckeyes got boat raced by the Hawkeyes which ultimately, was the deciding factor in selecting 11-1 Alabama, who did not even win the SEC West.
2018: This year, the Buckeyes will be a 12-1 Big Ten Champion with three quality wins as opposed to non-SEC Champion Alabama who only holds two quality wins. The Buckeyes, however, have a few blemishes on their resume.
Ohio State has not passed the eye test in recent weeks, but if they can manage to look good down the stretch of a tough November slate of games it could be enough to elevate them into the playoff. The Buckeyes also got beaten badly by Purdue in West Lafayette so the committee will also have to evaluate the weight of the anchor.
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Alabama on the other hand has passed the eye test beyond measure this season, so a late stumble may not be enough to recuse the Tide of another playoff berth. Due to the amount of teams in contention this year, all things considered, if Alabama loses and wants to get into the playoff it has to be close.
The Tide cannot lose by double digits in the SEC Championship game and expect to ride the coattails of the first thirteen weeks of the season. If that does end up being the case, Alabama’s resume would consist of diminishing wins over Mississippi State and Auburn, a huge win over LSU, and then a loss to Georgia.
Essentially speaking, the Tide basically would have only won one of their two biggest games which adds fuel to the “Alabama has not been tested” argument.
The committee should include the Big Ten (East) Champion into the playoff. The East will have proven to be arguably the best division in college football and, unlike last year, the stage is not set for a second team from any conference to be in the playoff.
Next. 4th and Short, questions for Week 11. dark
Last year the Big Ten Champion had two losses, this year Ohio State or Michigan will only have one and should be included in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes or Wolverines will have earned a well deserved selection.