After watching a scoreless half unfold between two teams who have never been in the College Football Playoff before, the Ohio State Buckeyes should be licking their chops. While the Texas A&M Aggies and Miami Hurricanes have talented rosters, neither of which should really pose a threat to the Buckeyes in the upcoming Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve. Ohio State may cake walk in that one.
Of course, games are won and lost on paper, as anybody can get anyone on any given Saturday. That being said, Ohio State just seems to be far more composed then either of these teams playing in the No. 7 vs. No. 10 first-round game. Truth be told, one of them is going to advance, and will be playing indoors to ring in the new year. The wind has been a major factor in this one over in College Station.
Right now, Ryan Day and his coaching staff may not need to open up the playbook all that much offensively. As long as Matt Patricia's defense is able to hold up its end of the bargain, Ohio State could be on easy street, awaiting whoever comes out of Georgia's quadrant of the bracket in the Fiesta Bowl between the Bulldogs, the Ole Miss Rebels, or maybe even the Tulane Green Wave?
Yes, Ohio State can expect the winner to play better vs. them, but they are light years ahead of them.
Ohio State may not need to worry about Miami-Texas A&M winner a ton
Ohio State has one of the most loaded rosters in the College Football Playoff field. It served them in the non-conference and through Big Ten play, all the way up until the Big Ten Championship defeat at the hands of the Indiana Hoosiers over in Indianapolis. Simply put, this team is talented, but should be playing with a chip on its shoulder. Ohio State is one of a few teams who could win the national title.
In pretty much every department, Ohio State is as good if not better than what either Miami or Texas A&M could throw at them. This is usually the case when you consistently have a top-three team in the sport, year in and year out. Now that Day has a national championship victory under his belt, he and his staff can coach with a quiet sense of confidence neither Mario Cristobal or Mike Elko can show.
Ultimately, you only need to beat your opponent by one point to advance. Somebody has to win this windy one between the Hurricanes and the Aggies from College Station. Ohio State should still respect its upcoming opponent, but may not need to empty the chamber until the face either Georgia, Ole Miss, or Tulane in the Fiesta Bowl. Having a first-round bye is a huge help for Ohio State.
Yes, we could chalk this up to first-game jitters, but this level of play is not comparable to Ohio State.