Ohio State got molly-whopped on Saturday when they made the trip to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes, and like the plot to Inception, I’m as confused as you are. Not just because the imposing Buckeyes lost to unexpected Iowa, but also because they were defeated so handily. When the clock finally reached all zeros, the scoreboard read 55-24 Iowa, and star QB J.T. Barrett found himself quickly making his way through a stampede of Hawkeye fans en-route to the locker room.
Barrett threw four interceptions in what was a rare loss for the Buckeyes under head coach Urban Meyer, who have now experienced two losses in nine games of the 2017 campaign.
Now with a pair of defeats, most prognosticators have pegged the Scarlet and Gray to fall short of earning a spot in the College Football Playoff. No two-loss team has ever qualified for the four-team tournament, that is, until Ohio State does this year. I am aware that I’m in the very, very slim majority when I make this argument, but the Buckeyes were vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff before the loss to Iowa, and I still believe that they are supremely capable of making the playoffs now.
As a diehard fan of the Michigan Wolverines, I almost enjoy seeing Ohio State lose more than seeing my own team win. Seeing the Buckeyes not only lose, but be shellacked by the insignificant Hawkeyes put an evil smile on my face that would’ve made you think I knew something. Except I didn’t. Virtually nobody saw this coming. I picked Ohio State to win that game easily.
When I decide to root for them, they let me down. Every time I root for them to lose, they defy me. So instead of following most people’s ideas that Urban and company will fall short of the playoff, I am going against projections.
That’s mostly what Ohio State has done anyway. They defy conventional expectations. When you think Penn State has them beat, they come back and ruin my Saturday night. This is the school that opened at number 16 in the first CFP rankings of the 2014 season, then promptly kicked everyone’s behind through the tournament. So when most people predict Ohio State to fail in their quest for a national championship, qualifying for the playoffs is exactly the sort of thing they would do.
All the Buckeyes have to do is win the remaining three games on their regular season schedule, get help with a Penn State or Michigan State loss, and qualify for the Big 10 Championship in which they would beat presumably Wisconsin. So simple.
Think of my prediction like the scene in Step Brothers when Derek agrees to put Brennan in charge of the Catalina Wine Mixer. It’s is a win-win for me. If I’m wrong, I simply have to admit as much and embrace the mockery of people who told me I was crazy. Being wrong also means I’ll probably have seen another Buckeye loss this year.
“Darn,” he said sarcastically.
If I’m right, however, I look like a genius to the board (the board in this case being people on Twitter).
Much to the annoyance of my many friends and family that root for the Maize and Blue (or anyone that roots for Ohio State to lose), I am still not ready to disregard the Ohio State Buckeyes as potential College Football Playoff participants. They have always surprised people and this time is no different. Unless they lose. Of course, they would lose. Urban Meyer always finds a way to prove me wrong.
