In honor of the playoff, over the next couple weeks I'm going to explain the four teams I think are going to wind up having a chance to claim the first national title in this system. While I may not necessarily believe the teams I talk about are the best four teams in the country, I do believe they will have the best shot of having the chance to go undefeated or have enough success to gain one of the four coveted spots. Today, because it will appeal to most of my readers and I think they have the second best shot of any team to reach the playoff, I'm going to start with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Last year on November 30th, things could not have been going much better for the Buckeyes. They had won 24 games in a row. They had just beaten Michigan, again. They were getting ready to play in the Big Ten Championship for a spot in the National Championship. Aaron Craft was still on the unbeaten Buckeye basketball team. But, oh how quickly things can change. By January 5th, Ohio State had failed to show up against Michigan State, had their secondary shredded by Clemson (Oh look! Sammy Watkins just caught another screen pass for 12 yards!), and had lost two straight games. Now more than ever, the national media has had more proof and reason to question the Buckeyes' strength of schedule. As a result, this year could be put up or shut up time for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes. Ohio State hasn't won a conference championship since 2009. They haven't won a bowl game since 2010 (I know these have been impacted by NCAA punishment, but still. For a program and fan base so accustomed to winning, it's been a while since they've actually won anything). Fear not though, Buckeye fans. This could be a very special year.
The Buckeyes' biggest advantage will be its schedule. Due to the addition of Rutgers and Maryland, Ohio State won't play a "true" Big Ten team until October 25th when they travel to State College to face Penn State. They open the season against Navy, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Kent State, Maryland, and Rutgers. While there are some recognizable names on that schedule, Ohio State's non-conference stretch reminds me of Maroon 5 songs- A lot of them end up being complete garbage (I'm talking about anything related these past couple years, especially Maps, Adam Levine), some are going to be decent, and one could have the chance become great and memorable (Maroon Five's first album is stellar). No matter what though, they all offer intrigue (Which for the sake of the continuity of this metaphor transferring over to the music world means they are commercially successful). Navy offers the triple option, Virginia Tech can make things close with Beamerball, and Cincinnati would love to play spoiler. At the end of the season, The Team Up North awaits like always. However, with Brady Hoke possibly coaching for his job, that could be just as interesting as last year. One game is going to stick out above all the rest: Michigan State in East Lansing in primetime. That game is circled on every calender in Meyer's office. Every game will be used as a measuring stick to see if the Buckeyes will be ready for that test. Every Buckeye who played in Indianapolis is going to have revenge on their mind come that cold, November night. And should the Buckeyes be able to walk out for a victory, a trip to the Big Ten Championship seems all but guaranteed. Wisconsin would seem the most likely team waiting. But unless Wisconsin can develop a quarterback to attack Ohio State's biggest weakness, the Buckeyes would seem to be a comfortable favorite in that match-up.
The Buckeyes second biggest advantage will be Sir Urban Meyer. Urban Meyer and DJ Khaled have something in common- All they do is win. Considering he lost his last two games in 2013 and DJ Khaled hasn't won on the charts since that song came out, look for Meyer to light a fire under this team early and keep it burning, so he will never have to be reference with DJ Khaled again (A far more endearing comparison would be the one that follows). One of my favorite Robin Williams (Felt compelled to work some reference in here regarding the late Mr. Williams. Consider me one believer that words and ideas can change the world) characters will always be John Keating in Dead Poets Society. Keating knew how to connect with his students and pass his passion along to them. Meyer knows how to do the same thing. It shouldn't be hard to rally your troops when they have such a sour taste in their mouths, but if there is one man who is able to handle this task better than any other, it would have to be Meyer.
Finally, for Ohio State to make it into the College Football Playoff, they are going to need to be able to find somebody, or employ multiple somebodies, to replace Carlos Hyde. The prime candidate for this looks to be Ezekiel Elliott. Bad news for Ohio State fans? It's going to be hard to find such a dependable bruiser as Hyde, and Elliott just recently underwent a wrist surgery that could become problematic later in the season. Good news for Ohio State fans? Elliott wears #15. Urban Meyer has a good track record with players who wear #15. Am I saying Elliott is going to win a Heisman, lead his team to a national title, become a first round draft pick, preach about his religion and start debates on how important Christianity should be in society, be worshiped by ESPN, lead an NFL team to an unprecedented playoff appearance and subsequent win, and then be out of the league and working as a studio analyst all within the next five years? No, but it wouldn't be bad if a couple of those first few happened. If Elliott can simply become a workhorse and dependable back, the Buckeyes are going to have an even better chance to do something special this year. Even if Elliott doesn't pan out, the Buckeyes have more weapons available in their arsenal than a 14 year old does with his sixth prestige profile in Call of Duty. Pair that with Braxton Miller, and it doesn't matter how bad your secondary is. You're going to win a lot of football games. Now if the Buckeyes can finally win the important ones? That's the million dollar question.
Projected Record: 13-0. College Football Playoff Seed: 3.
J. Nave
P.S. Recently, I was challenged to complete the #ALSIceBucketChallenge. Instead of sharing a video with all of you readers today, I would like to inform you I have made a donation to Compassionate Care ALS. Watching these videos spread awareness for the cause has been incredible, but since I don't have a helicopter and couldn't think of any new and creative way, I have decided to go this route.
The Buckeyes second biggest advantage will be Sir Urban Meyer. Urban Meyer and DJ Khaled have something in common- All they do is win. Considering he lost his last two games in 2013 and DJ Khaled hasn't won on the charts since that song came out, look for Meyer to light a fire under this team early and keep it burning, so he will never have to be reference with DJ Khaled again (A far more endearing comparison would be the one that follows). One of my favorite Robin Williams (Felt compelled to work some reference in here regarding the late Mr. Williams. Consider me one believer that words and ideas can change the world) characters will always be John Keating in Dead Poets Society. Keating knew how to connect with his students and pass his passion along to them. Meyer knows how to do the same thing. It shouldn't be hard to rally your troops when they have such a sour taste in their mouths, but if there is one man who is able to handle this task better than any other, it would have to be Meyer.
Finally, for Ohio State to make it into the College Football Playoff, they are going to need to be able to find somebody, or employ multiple somebodies, to replace Carlos Hyde. The prime candidate for this looks to be Ezekiel Elliott. Bad news for Ohio State fans? It's going to be hard to find such a dependable bruiser as Hyde, and Elliott just recently underwent a wrist surgery that could become problematic later in the season. Good news for Ohio State fans? Elliott wears #15. Urban Meyer has a good track record with players who wear #15. Am I saying Elliott is going to win a Heisman, lead his team to a national title, become a first round draft pick, preach about his religion and start debates on how important Christianity should be in society, be worshiped by ESPN, lead an NFL team to an unprecedented playoff appearance and subsequent win, and then be out of the league and working as a studio analyst all within the next five years? No, but it wouldn't be bad if a couple of those first few happened. If Elliott can simply become a workhorse and dependable back, the Buckeyes are going to have an even better chance to do something special this year. Even if Elliott doesn't pan out, the Buckeyes have more weapons available in their arsenal than a 14 year old does with his sixth prestige profile in Call of Duty. Pair that with Braxton Miller, and it doesn't matter how bad your secondary is. You're going to win a lot of football games. Now if the Buckeyes can finally win the important ones? That's the million dollar question.
Projected Record: 13-0. College Football Playoff Seed: 3.
J. Nave
P.S. Recently, I was challenged to complete the #ALSIceBucketChallenge. Instead of sharing a video with all of you readers today, I would like to inform you I have made a donation to Compassionate Care ALS. Watching these videos spread awareness for the cause has been incredible, but since I don't have a helicopter and couldn't think of any new and creative way, I have decided to go this route.
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