Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State with 3rd best odds to win national title in 2020 according to BetOnline

BetOnline has come out with its national title odds for the 2020 college football season, and Ohio State has the 3rd best odds.

Ohio State came achingly close to traveling to New Orleans to play in the national title in 2019. As the No. 2 seed, it outplayed the Clemson Tigers but didn’t take advantage of opportunities in the red zone, and got a slew of breaks and calls go against it. So, the Buckeyes sat on the couch and watched LSU dismantle Dabo Swinney and his crew.

Now — as is the case with every college football season — there are defections and losses due to graduation, early NFL declarations, and transfer portal shenanigans to deal with. Ohio State must replace and reload the talent it lost at key positions.

But there’s a lot back to like as well. A healthy Justin Fields will be slinging the ball around the field to some highly touted wide-receivers, the offensive line has a ton of talent and experience back, and the front seven on defense is deep and talented again.

It’s enough to think Ohio State could make another run at this thing. And we’re not the only ones that think so. The wise-guys in Vegas also believe OSU is going to be one of those teams that have a great shot at making it to Miami next year to have a shot at winning one on South Beach.

According to BetOnline in fact, the Buckeyes have the third-best odds to win the national championship for the 2020 season. Ohio State (+450) is just behind Clemson (+225) and Alabama (+350), and ahead of LSU and Georgia. Sounds like some usual suspects in there again.

Now, before you celebrate or throw vitriol the way of BetOnline (depending on which way you think), we must remind you that LSU was an afterthought in these sorts of things around this time last year. The Tigers were barely inside the top ten, but that was before a kid from southeast Ohio became the gunslinger he is today.

Seven months and counting …

LOOK: Ohio State basketball’s win over Nebraska in stunning photos

Ohio State put an end to its losing streak, controlling the game against Nebraska throughout. Here are some stunning images of the action.

The Ohio State basketball team finally got its first win of the new year, taking it to the Nebraska Cornhuskers from start to finish in an 80-68 win Tuesday night. It was a much better showing for a Buckeye team that had fallen on hard times.

The action was more decisive, intent, and purposeful for Ohio State and we’ve captured a lot of some of the memorable moments from Tuesday night in the Schott in stunning photos.

Take a scroll down through sixteen high-resolution images that capture the night Ohio State got back on the winning track. Hopefully we’ll be able to encapsulate more images of winning moments in the near future.

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Four teams given better grades than Ohio State by USA TODAY for 2019 college football season

Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY graded all 130 college football FBS teams. What grade did he hand out to Ohio State?

The college football season is over. We’ll pause for a moment and let the tears stop flowing.  Okay, we must move onward, so we will.

It’s now time to reflect on the season that was, and Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY has done so by dishing out grades for all 130 FBS teams from 2019. It must be noted that teams are graded on a curve based on expectations. For example, Minnesota’s season is graded differently than Alabama, who failed to make the College Football Playoff for the first time.

So where is Ohio State? The Buckeyes weren’t thought to be a threat to the College Football Playoff by many because of a year of transition. One that saw the loss of head coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Dwayne Haskins, among several other significant unknowns.

But instead of taking a slide back, the Buckeyes and new head coach Ryan Day went undefeated in the regular season and made the College Football Playoff. It ultimately ended in frustration and despair with a loss to Clemson that felt like highway robbery in the desert, but still — it was a fantastic season.

Myerberg gave Ohio State an A, but failed to peg it with an A+, probably largely because of the historical expectations heaped on the program. There were only four teams graded out with an A+. Those teams were LSU, Clemson, Baylor, and Minnesota.

There were six other teams he gave an A to. Those include Air Force, Appalachian State, Florida, Memphis, Navy, and SMU.

It’s fun being a fan of a program like Ohio State, but it sure makes it tough to blast through such high expectations. This is one example. Of course the Buckeyes could have beaten Clemson and won a national title, but with what Ryan Day was dealing with, it’s hard to think of a better coaching job in America aside from what LSU’s Ed Orgeron did down in Baton Rouge.

By the way, Michigan received a B-. Who’s got it better than them?

Where is Ohio State football on USA TODAY’s early top 25 for 2020?

USA TODAY has come out with its early college football top 25 for 2020. Where is Ohio State? Reactions will probably vary.

Ohio State has to find a way to deal with some key departures from its 2019 team. Guys like Chase Young and J.K. Dobbins are off to bigger and better things at the next level, but for the team coming back in 2020, it’s time to turn the page and look ahead.

For all the key members moving on, there’s still a lot to like. Namely, Ryan Day is still pulling the strings with quarterback Justin Fields coming back to lead what should be an explosive offense.

Now that LSU has capped off one of the best seasons in college football memory, there are several folks dissecting what 2020 might look like in the fall across the entire landscape of the college football universe.

One of those is our friend Paul Myerberg at our mother-ship USA TODAY. He has come out with his early top 25 for next year and Ohio State is high up on the list.

According to Myerberg, he has the Buckeyes at No. 3, just behind Clemson (1) and Alabama (2) once again. Here’s what he says about Ohio State.

There are going to be several key holes to fill, notably with the departures of stars Chase Young, J.K. Dobbins and Jeff Okudah. But the Buckeyes are in steady hands in second-year coach Ryan Day and quarterback Justin Fields, and very likely motivated to leave no doubt after feeling robbed by officiating during the Fiesta Bowl loss to Clemson.

We’ve already argued that Ohio State could get a look at N0. 1. It’ll probably be compared most closely with Clemson since both have their starting quarterback returning, as opposed to teams like Alabama that must replace a starter under center.

Either way, you’re really splitting hairs with teams like Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama. The Buckeyes should be dynamic and be in the running for the College Football Playoff again in 2020.

 

WATCH: Head coach Chris Holtmann Nebraska postgame press conference

Ohio State rolled Nebraska Tuesday night to put a stop to a 4-game losing streak. Here are four things we learned.

Ohio State got the monkey off its back. Finally, after a four-game losing streak that dated back to the West Virginia game on December 29, the Buckeyes got back into the win column — its first since the turn of the new year.

OSU did it by shooting the ball much better, making better passes, and by not turning the ball over as much. Head coach Chris Holtmann was in a much better mood when he met with the media following the game Tuesday night, and thanks to the Columbus Dispatch’s YouTube channel, you can listen to his entire comments below.

Click and listen to Holtmann discuss the status of the suspension of Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington, his team’s better offensive performance, the challenge of playing against Nebraska, and more.

Ohio State’s next game is Saturday against Penn State. It’ll be a challenge. They all are in the Big Ten.

Ohio State basketball beats Nebraska. Three things we learned.

Ohio State basketball got back in the winning column Tuesday night as it rolled over Nebraska at home. Here are 3 things we learned.

The Ohio State basketball team finally experienced the sweet taste of victory in 2020. It had lost four games in a row and looked like a shell of itself against West Virginia and once the Big Ten teams started elbowing their way into the schedule.

What’s a bit ironic is that the Buckeyes did it as a shell of itself — with two starting guards missing from the lineup. Both Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington, Jr, were suspended prior to the game for “failure to meet program standards and expectations.”

The team responded and hit the Cornhuskers on the chin with the Buckeyes separating early and rolling the rest of the way through the remainder of the game. It all led to an impressive 80-68 win in front of the home crowd.

Here are three things we learned.

Next … Better shooting

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Big Ten Bowl Impact: Michigan vs Alabama

We look back on the Citrus Bowl game between Michigan and Alabama and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

With the 2019 college football season officially in the books, it’s time to look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.

As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:

1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.

2020 Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs Alabama

The matchup

Michigan came into the Citrus Bowl as an underdog against Alabama. The Crimson Tide were coming off their worst season in almost a decade, but they were still a Top 10 team in both major polls. Alabama had a dominant offense and receiving corps, though the lack of injured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was a concern. Still, the matchup was obviously in Alabama’s favor. The Crimson Tide had more expected NFL players, better strength in the trenches, better skill position players (except maybe at quarterback), and a much stronger rushing attack. Honestly, it was a surprise that the line before the game was only one score.

What went right

I know this is an Ohio State site, but for the purposes of this series, I’m talking from the Big Ten’s conference perspective. So as a Buckeye fan, you might want to swap this section with the following one.

Basically, this game was a tale of two halves for Michigan. And it was the first half that went right for the Wolverines. Michigan clearly came in with a game plan on both sides of the ball that was meant to neutralize Alabama’s advantages. And while some Alabama receivers did get free, Michigan managed to keep all but Jerry Jeudy mostly in check throughout the game. Jeudy, though, was just unguardable. If Mac Jones had targeted him more in the first half, this game may not have been as close as it was.

What went wrong

Michigan carried a lead into halftime, but it went away from its offensive gameplan in the second half. The running game was all-but abandoned. The offense only managed one semi-successful drive in the whole half. And as the offense got more desperate due to lack of success and trailing in the game, it just got less and less effective. The defense still stood up and didn’t give up too much, but there was no guarding Jeudy, and that was enough for Alabama to keep the game out of reach.

Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact

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Ohio State finishes at No. 3 in final Amway Coaches Poll

The Ohio State Buckeyes finished the 2019 college football season as the third-ranked team in the country.

The Ohio State Buckeyes finished the 2019 college football season as the third-ranked team in the country in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. LSU was a unanimous No. 1 after its impressive National Championship Game win over Clemson. Clemson, which beat the Buckeyes in a heartbreaking Fiesta Bowl two weeks ago, finished at No. 2. (It is noteworthy that two out of the 65 voters put Ohio State at No. 2 ahead of Clemson.)

The Buckeyes were the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the final rankings, but the conference put three teams in the Top 10. That trails only the SEC, which put four teams in the final Top 10.

Georgia and Oregon rounded out the Top 5, followed by Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama, Penn State, and Minnesota.

The Big Ten put six teams in the final rankings, one more than the SEC’s five. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan are the three other Big Ten schools in the final rankings, while Auburn made it in from the SEC. The American Athletic Conference followed with four ranked teams, while the Big 12, Pac 12, ACC, and Mountain West each had two. One independent and one team from the Sun Belt finish the tally of the Top 25.

Ohio State will face Oregon in Week 2 of 2020 in what is very likely to be a Top 10 (or Top 5) matchup. Of course, that’s assuming Oregon successfully navigates its Week 1 matchup against North Dakota State, which is never a given.

The Buckeyes also finished at No. 3 in the AP Poll.

Big Ten Bowl Impact: Indiana vs Tennessee

We look back on the Gator Bowl game between Indiana and Tennessee and see how it impacted both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

With the 2019 college football season officially in the books, it’s time to look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.

As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:

1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.

2020 Gator Bowl: Indiana vs Tennessee

The matchup

Indiana came into the game as an underdog. The Hoosiers were a solid team, but facing an improving Tennessee team that had better recruits, better skill athletes, and ended the season on a five-game winning streak. Indiana, meanwhile, did not beat a single team of note during the season, but also avoided bad losses. It was a huge opportunity for the Hoosiers, but they couldn’t take advantage.

What went right

Indiana punched well above its weight class for almost the entirety of this game. The Hoosiers had a brilliant offensive strategy, got precisely the quarterback play it needed, and had the defense hang with Tennessee’s talent all game long. Tom Allen and his team very clearly brought a perfect game plan, which they managed to execute almost to perfection. The longer the game went, the clearer it was that Indiana was the better-coached and better team. But the Hoosiers let Tennessee stick around.

What went wrong

There’s a lot I can point to throughout the game about this, but I’m only going to focus on the mistakes towards the end. In a terrible minute-long span, Indiana played horrible defense, wasn’t at all prepared for an onside kick, and then played terrible defense again. In the blink of an eye, a 13-point lead turned into a one-point deficit.

Indiana fans and the program should be all over Tom Allen for not being prepared for that onside kick. He coached an incredible game and season, but he couldn’t do the little things that were absolutely needed. This tweet sums it up better than I could:

Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact

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Archie Griffin selected as the No. 4 all-time player in college football history by ESPN

ESPN recognized former Ohio State running back and legend Archie Griffin as the fourth-best college football player of all-time.

There’s only one college football player that’s won the Heisman Trophy twice, and he’s a former Ohio State player. Of course you know the answer to that trivia question — Archie Griffin, No. 45 who played his entire career under Woody Hayes in Columbus.

Being that he’s the only college player to accomplish that feat, you’d think that he’d be pretty high up any list of greatest of all-time. Sure enough, ESPN has named Griffin the fourth-best college football player in the 150-year history of the game.

The top 11 of all-time was unveiled during halftime of the national championship game between LSU and Clemson. And you had to have a chill watching Griffin take his place among greats like Red Grange, Herschel Walker, Barry Sanders, and Jim Brown on the podium.

Here’s a look at Griffin along with the others recognized tonight as some of the best of the best in college football lore.

But here’s what a lot of folks don’t know; Griffin is an even better person than he was player. He will always be cemented as one of the best to ever play the game.

Here are the rest of the eleven that also took center stage tonight.