OSU comes into the new 12 team playoff style format with history on its side.
The College Football Playoff Committee unveiled their final rankings for the new 12 team playoff bracket during ESPN’s selection show on Sunday. In a year packed with surprises, one of the biggest came when SMU (11–2) snagged the final at-large spot over Alabama, a three-loss powerhouse. Despite SMU’s ACC Championship Game loss to Clemson, their impressive resume was enough to edge out the Crimson Tide. Ohio State (10–2) was given the 8th seed and will play 9 seed Tennessee (10–2).
The final rankings before the playoffs are as follows:
- №1 Oregon (13–0, made playoff)
- №2 Georgia (11–2, made playoff)
- №3 Texas (11–2, made playoff)
- №4 Penn State (11–2, made playoff)
- №5 Notre Dame (11–1, made playoff)
- №6 Ohio State (10–2, made playoff)
- №7 Tennessee (10–2, made playoff)
- №8 Indiana (11–1, made playoff)
- №9 Boise State (12–1, made playoff)
- №10 SMU (11–2, made playoff)
- №11 Alabama (9–3)
- №12 Arizona State (11–2, made playoff)
- №13 Miami (10–2)
- №14 Mississippi (9–3)
- №15 South Carolina (9–3)
- №16 Clemson (10–3, made playoff)
- №17 BYU (10–2)
- №18 Iowa State (10–3)
- №19 Missouri (9–3)
- №20 Illinois (9–3)
- №21 Syracuse (9–3)
- №22 Army (11–1)
- №23 Colorado (9–3)
- №24 UNLV (10–3)
- №25 Memphis (10–2)
All of that being said, this playoff is already a foregone conclusion. Ohio State is destined to win it all. So, why should you be taking out a second mortgage and putting all your money on DraftKings right this moment?
Our story begins in 2002 when a powerhouse Miami team ran through the college football world on their way to a perfect regular season record. They were coming off a 2001 perfect season encapsulated by a National Championship, beating Nebraska 37–14 in the Rose Bowl. Going into the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, the Miami Hurricanes had a 24–0 (14–0 Big East) record over the past two seasons. For what is widely considered one of, if not the, best college football team ever assembled, the only thing standing in the way of the team that would eventually send 38 players to the NFL was an underwhelming Ohio State Buckeyes team under first-year head coach Jim Tressel.
The Buckeyes were coming off a 7–5 season the year prior, and coming into the season with 2 time All-American safety Mike Doss, sophomore wide receiver/cornerback Chris Gamble, and Freshman sensation Maurice Clarret at running back, the preseason outlook was good but not fantastic. We were expected to finish second in the Big Ten behind Michigan. Some of you are old enough to remember beating 8th ranked Iowa and 16th ranked Penn State, the 4th-and-1 37 yard bomb to wide-out Michael Jenkins from quarterback Craig Krenzel against Purdue, and of course, Michigan, who had killed our perfect seasons 3 separate times in the previous 10 years. But those teams paled in comparison to Miami, a team even at the time believed to be one of the best ever.
The Hurricanes were heavily favored in The Fiesta Bowl (11.5 points), but the Buckeyes surprised the Hurricanes, going up by 10 in the 3rd quarter. Non-Buckeye fans remember the controversial pass interference call on Gamble in overtime but conveniently forget the missed pass interference (and altogether missed call) also on Gamble that went in Miami’s favor in the 4th quarter which ended up sending the game into OT in the first place. In any case, Miami had one last possession to tie the game, however Ohio State forced a lame duck throw out of the hands of quarterback Ken Dorsey, killing Miami’s national title hopes.
Now, why is 2002 so significant? 2002 was the first year the National Championship was decided by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system, deviating from its traditional conference matchups and instead hosting the top two teams determined by the BCS rankings. Before this change, the BCS rotated the championship game across different bowl games whose matchups were decided more so by conference champions instead of ensuring the top two teams in the nation played each other.
The next major shake-up with respect to deciding the national championship? 2014, the first year of the College Football Playoff National Championship. The BCS system was — thankfully — done away with and the playoff era officially began.
You don’t need a history lesson to know what happened that year, but I’ll give you one anyway: Ohio State destroyed Wisconsin 59–0 in the Big Ten Championship game, then shocked the №1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 42–35, followed by a thorough dismantling of Oregon in the National Championship 42–20.
Most of you have figured it out by now. The last two significant changes to the National Championship Game have been immediately followed by a surprising Ohio State victory in that year’s title game.
I can almost hear the groaning from the fans of TTUN, and rightfully so. Ohio State played their worst game of the year against our hated rivals. Ryan Day listened to his detractors too much, and wanted so badly to prove his team was tougher than theirs, he seemingly forgot the most important part about the game: the scoreboard. We have the best Wide Receiver room year in and year out at OSU, and yet we continually ran the ball time and time again when it was clearly not working. A less than one-dimensional Michigan team beat us in our house, an absolutely soul crushing defeat.
With that incomprehensible loss, Coach Day has now found himself where no coach with his record has ever found himself, the hot seat. As crazy as it sounds, there is precedent for firing a winning head coach simply because he couldn’t beat Michigan. If Day wishes the John Cooper comparisons to stop, if he wishes to ensure without a doubt he has a job here next season, he is well aware the easiest way to accomplish that feat is by coaching his heart out (the 2022 Georgia game comes to mind), get this team ready, go out, and, in the immortal words of Jake Taylor in Major League, “win the whole f*cking thing.”
Ohio State stands on the cusp of another transformative moment in college football history, and their track record of thriving in eras of change positions them as a dangerous dark horse in this year’s bracket. With a balanced roster and a program steeped in championship pedigree, the Buckeyes are primed for another historic run. While other contenders like Oregon, Georgia, and Texas bring impressive resumes, Ohio State’s knack for exceeding expectations could be the X-factor that propels them to the top. Their path may be daunting, but the Buckeyes’ ability to shine when it matters most makes them a team no one should overlook. Will history repeat itself? If so, Ohio State could very well add another championship banner to their storied legacy.
So there you have it: our very expert, completely professional opinion that you should absolutely go and drain your bank accounts for. Bet it all on scarlet, scarlet and gray.
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