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Ohio State still in prime position to make CFB Playoff push
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It’s beginning to feel a lot like…2014.
For over a week now, we’ve picked apart Ohio State in just about every way imaginable since an embarrassing 49-20 loss to Purdue. The troubles inside the red zone, the ineffective rushing attack, the missed tackles — so many missed tackles — and the health and well-being of Urban Meyer have all been talking points over the past 10 days.
Those are all the excuses we’ve created to exclude the Buckeyes from joining hands in our College Football Playoff circle.
On Tuesday night though, there was Ohio State, sitting at No. 10 in the selection committee’s first poll release of the season. Not an immediate challenger to one of the top four spots, but within striking distance if and when the teams in the first nine spots slip and fall.
For whatever reason, we’ve already decided to omit the Buckeyes from Playoff contention.
“For me, I walk out of [Ross-Ade] Stadium thinking ‘not only did Purdue knock off Ohio State, but Ohio State has much bigger issues than what happened last year against Iowa,” Kirk Herbstreit said after the Buckeyes’ loss to the Boilermakers. “This is a team that’s not executing well. They’re one-dimensional on offense. It’s strictly Dwayne Haskins and the passing attack.”
Herbstreit wasn’t wrong in his critique of the Buckeyes, especially with the way they closed out the month. Performances against Indiana, Minnesota and Purdue to finish the October schedule weren’t exactly Playoff worthy. But do we really believe that Meyer — one of the smartest coaches in college football history — isn’t going to make the adjustments to put his team in a championship position?
Ohio State looked pretty bad in that 2014 loss to Virginia Tech in Columbus early in the season. The Buckeyes then rattled off 10 straight regular season wins and bullied Wisconsin in the B1G Championship Game, squeaking into the fourth spot in the College Football Playoff after starting at No. 16 in the initial poll.
We all know what happened after that.
The Buckeyes looked pretty dreadful in last year’s loss to Iowa, a drubbing similar to the one they suffered a few weeks ago in West Lafayette. After being dismantled by the Hawkeyes, OSU won the next five games, including victories over No. 13 Michigan State, No. 3 Wisconsin (B1G Championship Game) and No. 8 USC (Cotton Bowl).
Even though it was denied one of the four bids, Ohio State didn’t have so much as a hiccup in its next five games, even against really good competition.
Meyer knows how to make adjustments and it’s been evident during his tenure in Columbus. And he’s won when it’s been most important, posting a 22-2 record in the month of November in six seasons.
Call me crazy, but it seems like some have disregarded Ohio State a little too prematurely.
This is still a team loaded with talent at every position. Dwayne Haskins is still having a Heisman-caliber season and can stretch the field as well as any quarterback in college football. There aren’t many backfield duos you’d rather have than J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber. The defensive line, anchored by Chase Young and Dre’Mont Jones, is a nightmare combination for anyone under center.
Were some of Ohio State’s issues eye-opening in that loss to Purdue? Sure. But the problems aren’t anything unfixable. Meyer and his staff have spent hours trying to perfect those glaring holes.
“I can’t tell you the amount of hours we’ve spent on that,” Meyer said of trying to correct the red zone woes. “When you get four red zone opportunities and get two field goals, that’s a whole different ball game if you get in the end zone.”
Knowing how well Meyer’s teams have responded after a loss, it’d be a huge surprise if the Buckeyes don’t make a more conscious effort to boost its rushing attack and try to power its way across the goal line when it gets in scoring territory.
Ohio State has had the lingering taste of that awful defeat on its taste buds for over two weeks. And, for once, the Buckeyes aren’t the target in the B1G. That title belongs to rival Michigan, who was tabbed as No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night.
Even though the Buckeyes are still in the top 10, there’s a sense that they’re not qualified to be in the Playoff discussion. They have the opportunity to play a spoiler role right now, similar to 2014.
Ohio State has a favorable schedule in the final month. It’ll be favored in games against Nebraska (2-6), Michigan State (5-3) and Maryland (5-3) before taking on Michigan in what will likely be a winner-take-all heavyweight bout in the B1G East. But it won’t have the pressure of trying to maintain its status in the ranks of the Playoff poll.
For the first time in five years, the pressure is on another team in the B1G, at least relatively speaking.
Mentality is a funny thing in college football. Perhaps being viewed as an outsider will relieve some of the pressure that comes with being an elite program in this sport. If Ohio State feels like the underdog, maybe it allows its stars to play with a little more freedom.
There’s still a month of football to be played and plenty to be determined. The Playoff rankings have officially been released, but there’s still a lot we don’t know.
But what we do know is that every time we’ve counted the Buckeyes out, they seem to surprise us. First it was 2014 after the loss to Virginia Tech. Then it was 2016, after blowing a lead to Penn State. Both years, Ohio State crawled into the College Football Playoff.
Now, everyone is doubting Meyer and Co. again after the loss to Purdue. Don’t be so shocked when they’re in the conversation for one of the four bids at the end of the season again.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB