Ohio State Football: Buckeyes, Tigers headline 2020 CFP race
The Ohio State football team and Clemson Tigers are poised for a rematch in the CFP, but this time it could be on the sport’s biggest stage in Miami.
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers met in this past Fiesta Bowl which was the epic collision the college football world was waiting for all season. The Buckeyes and Tigers gave us the game of the season filled with memorable moments, heart wrenching calls and a tribute to the 150th year of the sport with the game unfolding like a heavyweight boxing match.
The ending is something we all know and won’t soon forget, but Ohio State may get its chance at revenge sooner than you think. Justin Fields is back and that in and of itself is enough to bolster the Buckeyes into the CFP discussion.
However the Buckeyes return more than just Fields and will be the odds on favorite to win the Big Ten and represent the conference in the CFP again.
Ohio State’s schedule is more spread out compared to last year’s compact, grueling end of the season stretch, but it still presents tough challenges each month. In September the Buckeyes travel to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks as a precursor to a brutal October.
Ohio State faces Iowa, Michigan State (away), Penn State (away) and Nebraska all in a row before Indiana. Then the Buckeyes face That Team Up North. The schedule does the Buckeyes no favors, but Ryan Day emphasized weekly focus and avoided looking ahead in the schedule which is a great sign for his group and Buckeye Nation heading into year two.
Even if the Buckeyes were to slip up with a loss, strength of schedule should not be a problem as it is among the most difficult in the country and they should still find their way into the CFP. Per usual, the showdowns in Happy Valley and Columbus will be the headliners of the season against Penn State and TTUN respectively.
Keeping pace with Ohio State, only on an easier path, Clemson should be right back as well. The Tigers do have Notre Dame on their schedule in South Bend in early November, so major CFP implications will surround that game.
But aside from that matchup it should be smooth sailing for Dabo and company barring an unforeseen upset bid.
Trevor Lawrence will be in his junior season and locked in a battle to become the top quarterback in the country with Justin Fields. The size and arm strength of Lawrence give him the slight edge, and they will be far and away the two best next season.
In fact, even looking this far out it appears they’re on a collision course to meet again in the CFP.
Only this time Lawrence and Fields will have a quick stop in New York City first and then meet on an even bigger stage a month later under the Hard Rock Stadium lights in Miami. Chapter three of Ohio State vs Clemson in the CFP looks to be more promising than the previous two for the Buckeyes as they will not have forgotten what had happened just a year prior.
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The 2020 season will be here before we know it and hopefully Ohio State is able to make things right with Clemson when the two teams meet in the CFP. It hasn’t gone the Buckeyes’ way in either semifinal, so maybe they’ll have better success in the National Championship Game this time. Time will tell, but this upcoming season looks to be everyone chasing the Buckeyes and Tigers.