Ohio State might suffer rash of opt-outs

Now that Ohio State’s season is in jeopardy, many draft-eligible players could opt out of the season and leave the program with the cupboard empty.

Ohio State had been able to deal with COVID very well up to Wednesday. They hadn’t had a single positive test. That all changed extremely quickly, and now they won’t be playing Illinois today. This development could end the Buckeyes’ season prematurely.

Because of the Big Ten’s stupid rule that you have to have played six games in order to qualify for the Big Ten Championship, Ohio State more than likely won’t win a conference title. That could lead players to jump ship and start preparing for the NFL Draft.

The only reason why the Buckeyes wouldn’t have players opt-out is if the committee would show signs of putting a 5-0 Buckeyes team in the CFP without a conference championship. Because this Illinois game is canceled, there is a strong chance that they also can’t play Michigan State and even a chance they don’t play TTUN.

Players such as Justin Fields, Shaun Wade, Chris Olave, Wyatt Davis, and more could be out the door as soon as Monday if the program doesn’t get their COVID situation under control. Even if they can, it’s going to be up to the Big Ten to fix their rules, and we know how stubborn they are.

The biggest question is going to be from the CFP committee. We won’t know until Tuesday how they feel about the Buckeyes. If they think the Buckeyes are still one of the top four teams in the country, they will put them in despite them only playing four or five games.

We are in unprecedented times. The CFP could make an unprecedented decision to put the Buckeyes in the Playoff and give them a shot at a national title. That would keep these players in Columbus and keep them competing.