Are the Ohio State Buckeyes a playoff caliber team?

Ohio State is still undefeated, but do they have the talent to compete with the other teams that will be in the College Football Playoffs?

With Ohio State missing their second game of the season, hopes of the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoffs are starting to come into question. There is a very real chance that the Buckeyes have played their final game of the regular season and now hopes of playing again may rest on other people deciding if the Buckeyes are deserving enough.

Regardless of whether the Big Ten or College Football Playoff give Ohio State another chance – are the Buckeyes capable of hanging with one of the other college football bound teams?

Ohio State is a great football team but there have been some clear issues with the defense throughout the season and the running game is only just getting started, not to mention Justin Fields had the worst showing of his career last week.

These things are normal on any team and usually just require extra practice and gameplay to improve. The problem is that Ohio State could have played their last game for over a month if they do get the chance to play in the College Football Playoffs.

Alabama and Notre Dame are the favorites along with Clemson to make the playoffs. Ohio State lines up well with any of these teams on paper, but on a year where they may play less than half of the number of games than any of their opponents and go through a month or more without playing, the Buckeyes would be struggling to overcome their deficiencies.

Very rarely would Ohio State enter a game as an underdog, but with so many outside factors working against the Buckeyes, they might have their work cut out for them putting a competitive team together against some of the nation’s best.