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College Football

Ohio State continues to roll, but it cannot slip up from here on out after a wild Saturday

Garrett Kroeger

By Garrett Kroeger

Published:

Yes No. 10 Ohio State’s lone loss this year is to the No. 3 the Oklahoma Sooners. And yes, the Sooners did lose to the Iowa State Cyclones an hour before the Buckeyes took the field to take on the Maryland Terrapins.

Everyone will argue and say that Ohio State’s playoff chances are slim to none because Oklahoma loss to Iowa State. In the playoff era, it is all about the resume a team possesses. So, arguing that the Sooners’ losing to the Cyclones devalues the Buckeyes lone loss is valid. However, with the way Ohio State rolled Maryland, 62-14, it looks like its season is shaping up like the 2014 season.

Everyone knows about how the Buckeyes’ fared in 2014. They lost to an unranked Virginia Tech team, 35-21, in The Shoe. Then after that defeat, Ohio State rolled a majority of its opponents on its way to a National Championship. And ever since the loss to Oklahoma, the Buckeyes have breezed by the opposition.

Ohio State ran past Army (38-7), crushed UNLV (54-21), and made Rutgers (56-0) and Maryland look foolish.

Against the Terrapins, the Buckeyes’ offense and defense were clicking from start to finish. The offense amounted 584 yards and the defense only allowed 66 yards. Now, some may say that Maryland is currently on its third-string quarterback. However, Terrapin signal caller Max Bortenschlager played well against the Minnesota Golden Gophers last week. And Minnesota seems like the second best team in the B1G West.

Plus, ever since that loss to Oklahoma, Ohio State’s playmakers have continued to grow.

Quarterback J.T. Barrett, who received heavy criticism after that loss to the Sooners, has played phenomenally. He has thrown for 1,026 yards, 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the last four games. On defense, the Buckeyes’ secondary has seen tremendous growth as well. The most they have let up during this four game stretch has been 92 yards to Rutgers.

While Ohio State has looked dominant ever since Week 2, it cannot afford a mishap moving forward. If the Buckeyes slip up, their playoff chances become zero.

Two weeks from now, Ohio State faces off against the Penn State Nittany Lions. As our own Connor O’Gara pointed out, Penn State looks way more dangerous than it did last year. But with the way the Buckeyes have been playing, granted it has not been against the greatest competition, they look like they have shot to defeat the Nittany Lions. However, Ohio State cannot slip up, which could be a possibly next Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Yes, I know, Nebraska has been less than spectacular this season. Remember, they lost to Northern Illinois. However, the game between the Buckeyes and the Cornhuskers will take place in Memorial Stadium, which is hard place to play.

Currently, like Ohio State, Nebraska has gradually looked better and better (I write this before the Wisconsin game, so I could be totally wrong). So it could the Buckeyes can face challenge in the Cornhuskers next Saturday. So, Ohio State cannot overlook Nebraska, which could be easy because of the Penn State game.

With the way the B1G has looked through half a season, Penn State looks like the heavy favorite in the East and Wisconsin looks like the unquestionable leader in the West. But with the way the Buckeyes been playing lately, plus the game against the Nittany Lions is at home, their chances to win the B1G still looks plausible.

Ohio State and coach Urban Meyer has been in this situation before. They know how to handle this. However, the 2017 Buckeyes are not the 2014 Buckeyes. However, this year’s Ohio State squad could possibly have more talent then the 2014 roster.

Yes, the Oklahoma loss is devalued now. But the loss to Virginia Tech also loss its value as the season progressed, as the Hokies lost six games that year.

So it is plain and simple after this weekend: If Ohio State slips up after this Saturday, no playoffs. If the Buuckeyes win out, they have a chance to make the Final Four and possibly win another National Championship.

Garrett Kroeger