Ohio State had another great opportunity to buck its recent trend in The Game. A win against Michigan would have sent the Buckeyes to their first Big Ten Championship Game since 2020 and a rematch vs. Oregon.

Unfortunately, that was not meant to be with Ohio State playing its worst game of the season in a dreadful 13-10 loss. However, Ryan Day and his squad now have some new life in the 12-team Playoff.

According to ESPN’s Rece Davis, he met with the team ahead of the first round, and one major theme dominated the conversation with multiple players. Redemption:

“The word redemption came up often in talking with the Buckeyes and the players in terms of redeeming the season,” Davis explained. “They had a pretty spirited meeting it sounded like after the Michigan game in which they tried to address what went wrong in that and how they can keep that from cratering their chances of winning the Playoff.”

Davis also indicated the Buckeyes are focused on a 4-game push, what the team will need to win the national championship. It all starts with Tennessee, a team that Ohio State has respect for, but it doesn’t change the ultimate goal.

“Then, to a man, they all referred to 4 games. Not that they were looking past Tennessee, they have great respect for Tennessee,” said Davis. “But their goal was still to win the national championship, and they feel like they’ve all admitted… they probably underachieved this year in terms of losing 2 games.”

Ohio State’s trip toward redemption begins Saturday night where the Buckeyes will be a 7.5-point favorite over the Vols per bet365. Fans can use our favorite Ohio sports betting promos for the best offers.