Cardale Jones and Ohio State went down in history in 2014 as the first national champions of the 4-team College Football Playoff. To get there, the Buckeyes beat Alabama, the No. 1 seed in the field that season, in the semifinals.

The following year, Ohio State and Alabama looked like the best teams in the country once again, but it was the Crimson Tide hoisting the trophy when it was all said and done. The Buckeyes? They missed the final Playoff field altogether, and Jones says Alabama is lucky to miss that Ohio State squad.

The former Ohio State QB recently appeared on Greg McElroy’s “Always College Football” show to discuss various topics, and McElroy himself even admitted the 2015 Ohio State team stands out to him as one that would have greatly benefitted from a 12-team system. Jones adamantly agreed, claiming the Buckeyes “would’ve killed” the 2015 Alabama champs led by Nick Saban in the Playoff.

“100%, 100%. I say this with all due respect to I think Alabama won it that year: We would’ve killed you guys. We would’ve killed you,” Jones proudly proclaimed.

Jones went on to say he was drafted alongside Crimson Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland, and the two often discussed what would have played out in a hypothetical 2015 showdown:

“I was really good friends with Reggie Ragland, we got drafted to the Buffalo Bills together, and we laughed so much about the 2014 game,” explained Jones. “I said ‘Reggie, oh, you’re lucky we didn’t catch you in ’15. What we would’ve did to you in ’15 would have set your program back.'”

So, why did the 2015 matchup never happen? Ohio State spent the majority of the season as the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the country but was stunned — at home — by Michigan State in a 17-14 loss late in November. A game that continues to haunt the Buckeyes, Ezekiel Elliott was held to 33 yards rushing and Ohio State had just 132 total yards of offense as MSU kicked a walk-off field goal as time expired.

Ohio State would end the season with blowout wins over Michigan and then over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl but would not get a shot at Alabama. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide eviscerated Michigan State 38-0 in the Playoff and won a CFP final thriller 45-40 over Clemson for the title.

So, would Ohio State have destroyed Alabama in that Playoff? It’s a bold claim, but one we will unfortunately never know.