Ohio State football: Will there be a College Football Playoff?

With each conference setting up their own plans on how to continue college football through the national pandemic that was caused by COVID-19, the question is raised on if there will be a College Football Playoff and if there is will the Ohio State Buckeyes be able to participate.

It looks as if Ohio State would be one of the frontrunners to win the title this year with Justin Fields returning after the devastating loss against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl wanting to exact his revenge on the Buckeyes opponents more than ever. However, with the Big Ten choosing to play only interconference games this season, will he and the rest of the Buckeyes get their shot to even play for a title?

January is quite a ways off and a lot of medical breakthroughs could be made between then and now to make a playoff possible. But with the Big Ten saying that they would only have conference play during the season does that effectively end any chance at the Buckeyes playing in a title?

Right now, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the second-best odds to win the title standing at 3/1 odds only behind Clemson who has 9/4 odds. Meaning that if they survive the gauntlet of an all Big Ten conference schedule and are allowed to partake in a playoff system this season, they have the talent and coaching to make a real run at the title.

Currently, when looking at other sports leagues around the country, the current NBA bubble is going very well as of now. There have not been any outbreaks of the virus inside the confined area and with the way it is looking, they will be able to carry out the rest of their season and playoffs as normal.

It is possible that the NCAA could adopt a similar plan with the four teams that make the Playoff? With the championship being played at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens Florida, there would be enough space to clear out a few hotels for two or three weeks and allow the players and teams to stay there and carry out the playoffs as we have seen done with the NBA.

Also, by this time, we will have seen how the NFL will go about handling COVID-19 while continuing their season and the NCAA could possibly use some of the ideas that they implement.

Ohio State will have learned how to operate with COVID

The safety of the players must come first and should be the first priority on the minds of the heads of the NCAA. It does seem possible that there could be a very safe way for them to carry out a playoff and get all conferences and teams involved on board.

This will be one of the most interesting seasons of college football that we have seen along with one of the toughest for the Buckeyes. With the Big Ten being one of the toughest conferences in all of college football, surviving a season facing only Big Ten opponents with a perfect or one-loss record could push Justin Fields and the Buckeyes to their limits.

If the NCAA does not plan on having a playoff this season, it will also be very interesting to see how they will handle crowning a national champion, if they will at all.

Lastly, this could be the year that we see the NCAA possibly turn back to the computer-based BCS type system to either name a champion or name the final two teams to play in a championship game to reduce the risk of COVID-19 being spread.

Hopefully, for Ohio State fans and college football fans alike, we will be able to see postseason play this season and the Buckeyes will live up to the hype that they have this season and come home NCAA champions for the first time in 6 years.