From January to August, we talked about those seniors who postponed their professional careers for another chance to beat Michigan, win a Big Ten championship and win a national title. We talked about the transfers, too: Will Howard, Julian Sayin, Quinshon Judkins, Seth McLaughlin, Will Kacmarek and, last but not least, Caleb Downs. Oh, and Jeremiah Smith, the 18-year-old freshman who became the team's best offensive weapon as soon as he arrived on campus. We talked about him, as well.
With all that talent, Ohio State seemed destined to cruise through its regular season. I wrote in the Season Preview that, like a college student in the fall semester, the Buckeyes had midterms at Oregon and Penn State and a final exam versus Michigan while all other opponents were the tests and quizzes in between. That's how it worked out for the most part. Ohio State passed all the tests and quizzes, failed its midterm in Eugene, passed its midterm in State College, passed a surprise midterm (!) versus Indiana and - I can't believe I have to write this - failed its final exam in The Game.
Even when Ohio State "passed," its performances varied from 60 percent to 99 percent. A 21-17 home win over Nebraska befits the former, while a 45-0 home win over Purdue befits the latter. Victories over Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall, Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern and Indiana fall somewhere in between.
I mention that not because I expected perfection from the Buckeyes this season; rather, I expected more dominance than often occurred. The loss at Oregon, while hard to swallow, was understandable. The loss to Michigan - ah, I don't need to explain it. But in Ohio State's 10 wins, including two over top-five opponents, the Buckeyes seldom looked like the "national championship or bust" team we talked about for eight months.
As Ohio State has prepared to face Tennessee in the College Football Playoff, Ryan Day admitted as much.
"I think you've definitely seen throughout the year, whether it's on offense, defense or special teams, very good play," he said. "But then you've also seen times where it hasn't been that way."
Day understands that the expanded 12-team CFP is the reason his team can still compete for a national title instead of facing Tennessee in a meaningless New Year's Six Bowl. This week, he said the Buckeyes need to make the most of their second chance with a "complete game" against the Volunteers. His quarterback agreed.
"I've been playing college football for five years now, and this is all I have left," Howard said. "I have four games max left in my college career, so there's no other option than to empty the tank and leave it all out there."
There's no reason Ohio State cannot make a run for a national title. Even with Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin out for the season, it's hard to find a CFP team with more talent than the Buckeyes. Like Ohio State, all other CFP teams have issues, be it bumps and bruises, personnel or schematics. Day has said several times in the past two weeks that whoever addresses and fixes those issues the fastest will have the best chance to win it all - even if that means defeating the likes of Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Georgia to do it.
Thus, the national championship or bust mindset has returned for Ohio State, albeit with a much different connotation than it had since January.
"We can't go out any other way than winning it all," Howard said. "That's the way I see it. I want this for this team so bad."
The road to a national championship starts in 15 hours.
Ohio State 27 - Tennessee 20
THE MENU. Indiana and Notre Dame kicked off the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff on Friday, with the Irish defeating the Hoosiers, 27-17, in South Bend. The postseason tournament continues on Saturday with matchups between SMU at Penn State, Clemson at Texas and Tennessee at Ohio State.
The Menu also includes two NFL matchups because commissioner Roger Goodell committed a football-on-football crime and sabotaged his league's feeder system by placing Texans at Chiefs and Steelers at Ravens on Saturday - the traditional day for college football.
MY PICKS. Yeah, here we goooooooooooo.
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. The Columbus Zoo and Zoo Knoxville have agreed to a friendly wager before Ohio State and Tennessee face off in the College Football Playoff.
On Friday, Columbus Zoo CEO Tom Schmid responded to the challenge from Zoo Knoxville president Bill Street. Both posted videos on social media to announce the bet, which revolves around donations to both zoos' red panda conservation efforts.
"I am all in," Schmid said in the video. "When the Ohio State Buckeyes take down Tennessee, I'll be happy to see you decked out in scarlet and gray while your zoo donates to one of our incredible conservation programs. But on the off chance the Vols pull off an upset, which I wouldn't bet on, I will wear the Tennessee orange, and the Columbus Zoo will donate to your efforts for Zoo Knoxville's 'orange' pandas. ... It's all about team spirit, friendly rivalry and, most importantly, making a difference to wildlife. May the best team win. O-H!"
The Columbus Zoo has had red pandas since 1974, according to its website. Meanwhile, Zoo Knoxville is the unofficial red panda capital of the world, as more than 110 red pandas have been born there since 1977, the highest number of any zoo in the world.
Red pandas have black stomachs and limbs and white marks on their heads. They are acrobatic animals that spend most of their time in trees. Their natural habitat is in the Himalayas and China, but the animals also thrive in Ohio and Tennessee's climate.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Sabotage" - Beastie Boys.
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