Category: Buckeyes Wire

Ohio State stays at No. 2 in final regular-season Amway Coaches Poll

The Ohio State Buckeyes held on to the No. 2 spot behind the LSU Tigers in the final regular-season Amway Coaches Poll of 2019.

The Ohio State Buckeyes stayed at the No. 2 spot in the final Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports of the 2019 regular season.

The margin to No. 1 LSU increased a little this week. Last week, the Buckeyes received 17 first-place votes and trailed LSU by only 29 points. The voters were apparently more impressed with LSU’s domination of Georgia than with Ohio State’s comeback win over Wisconsin, as the Buckeyes received only 14 first-place votes this week, and trail LSU by 43 points. One of Ohio State’s first-place votes went to No. 3 Clemson, which picked up five first-place votes.

Despite the lopsided loss, Georgia only fell one spot, from No. 4 to No. 5. Oklahoma, the clear choice for No. 4 of the CFP selection committee as well, came in at fourth in the poll.

Wisconsin fell one spot, from No. 10 to No. 11, for its loss. That drop was only due to Pac 12 champion Oregon jumping all the way to No. 6. The Badgers stayed ahead of No. 12 Penn State, which bodes well for Wisconsin’s Rose Bowl dreams–especially if the selection committee does the same.

No teams fell out of the rankings this week, as Virginia managed to hold on to the No. 25 spot even after being demolished by Clemson.

The Big Ten leads the way with six ranked teams, followed by the SEC with five. The Pac 12 and American Athletic Conferences each had three ranked teams, while the ACC, Big 12, and Mountain West each had two. One Sun Belt team (No. 20 Appalachian State) and one Independent (No. 14 Notre Dame) were also ranked.

Ohio State is the best basketball team in the country according to KenPom

The Ohio State Buckeyes are now the top team in the country according to the widely-respected Pomeroy rankings.

According to the widely-respected Ken Pomery ratings, the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team is the top team in the country. The Buckeyes were No. 2 behind Louisville after thumping North Carolina last week. Now, though, after another decisive victory over a solid team (KenPom has the Nittany Lions at No. 26 currently), the Buckeyes are the top team in the country.

Pomeroy has the Buckeyes as the fifth-best offense in the country (opponent-adjusted efficiency) and the second-best defense. The Buckeyes are the only team in the Top 5 in both metrics, and trail only overall No. 10 Virginia in defensive efficiency. (It should not surprise anyone that Virginia is the best defense in the country, and by a decent margin.) It’s might be a mild surprise to Ohio State fans, but KenPom does think that the Buckeyes play one of the slowest paces in the country–as his ratings have Ohio State outside the Top 300 in opponent-adjusted Tempo.

The Buckeyes still trail Duke in ESPN’s BPI ratings, though that should change shortly as well. Ohio State was No. 6 in the human rankings coming into this week, but it will be shocking if the Buckeyes are anything less than No. 2 (potentially behind Louisville) when the new polls come out in a few days.

Ohio State’s next major test is against KenPom No. 7 Kentucky in Las Vegas on Saturday, December 21st.

Watch what Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst said about Ohio State postgame Big Ten Championship

Wisconsin HC Paul Chryst met with reporters after the Big Ten Championship Game and had complimented Ohio State. Here’s what he said.

Ohio State went to Indy with one thing in mind: Win another Big Ten Championship. Wisconsin also had the same goal, and looked pretty motivated to make it happen in the fist half. It came out more aggressive, executed a fantastic game plan, and went into halftime up 21-7.

But then something kicked in for the Buckeyes after the break. In a roll reversal, Ohio State found the physical brand it needed to move the ball on offense, and made some critical adjustments defensively to shut down Jonathan Taylor and the Badger offense.

At the end of it all, the Buckeyes took home another Big Ten Championship and are now headed to the College Football Playoff.

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was no doubt disappointed his team couldn’t finish the deal, but he still met with the media to face the music and provide comments and answer questions about what transpired.

He complimented the skill, talent and coaching of Ohio State, and talked about the pride he had for his team. If you missed those comments, we have it for you thanks to the Wisconsin Badgers’ YouTube account.

Just click on the below and have a listen at how gracious Chryst is in defeat.

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Ohio State beats Wisconsin in Big Ten Championship Game: 5 things we learned

Ohio State battled back to take control in the second half of the Big Ten Championship Game to beat Wisconsin. Here’s 5 things we learned.

Ohio State went to Indianapolis, got punched in the face, and had to punch back. It was really the first time this team has had to play from behind with a ton of adversity.

Nothing seemed to be going right for the Buckeyes in the first half, and many left this team for dead. But it didn’t matter. Ohio State stayed within itself and made the necessary adjustments to reel the game back in and take full control late to enjoy all the confetti falling.

At the end of it all, the program secures its third-straight Big Ten title, and likely punched its way to a top two seed in the College Football Playoff.

All credit to Wisconsin for playing tough and having a great game plan, but it wasn’t enough. Here’s three things we learned from what we saw Saturday night in Indianapolis.

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The Ohio State defense is not completely unflappable

This is now the third week in a row where we saw some leaks in the Buckeye defense. Things won’t always be perfect of course, but there are ways to move the ball against this team, and you’ll see other try to replicate some things Wisconsin, Michigan, and Penn State did against what had been the best defense in the country all year.

Now, it’s still a very good defense that’ll make stops, but there’s a little bit of concern on some communication and tackling issues that need to be addressed. It was great to see that unit buckle down in the 2nd half, but there needs to be a little improvement before the College Football Playoff hits.

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Next … Dobbins the grinder

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Ohio State’s step-by-step journey to a 13-0 season

Ohio State ran its record to 13-0 with a victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship.

Ohio State has run the table through the first 13 games of its 2019 season. A look at how the Buckeyes kept their mark unblemished and demolished a series of opponents in the process.

Ohio State 45, FAU 21

Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Fields, who saw limited action as a freshman last season sitting behind Jake Fromm at Georgia, threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score in his first game for Ohio State, leading the fifth-ranked Buckeyes over Florida Atlantic. The Buckeyes score on their first four possessions, including a 51-yard run by Fields.

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Ohio State beats Wisconsin, wins Big Ten Championship and heads to College Football Playoff

Ohio State had to work for it, but it found a way to come back against Wisconsin and outlast the Badgers to win the Big Ten Championship.

It wasn’t as easy as the games leading up to this point, but Ohio State found a way to punch through adversity and claw its way back into the game in the second half and outlast a motivated Wisconsin team.

With the win, Ohio State takes home its third-straight Big Ten Championship, and punches its way into the College Football Playoff. What seed it receives will be debated and then announced by the CFP Committee Sunday.

For awhile, it looked like Wisconsin was going to be able to pull off a shocker in Indy. It came out with a lot of emotion and fire behind a solid game plan that had the Ohio State offense baffled, and the defense looking for answers.

The Badgers raced out to a 14-0 lead, and despite the Buckeyes getting a score before the half to cut it to 14-7, Wisconsin made some big plays to find a way to score another touchdown with under a minute to go before the break to lead 21-7.

And all Ohio State fans had white knuckles and churning stomachs.

The second half was a different story however. Ohio State played with more purpose, the coaching staff made some adjustments, and OSU scored 24 unanswered points to go up 34-21. From there, it was all a matter of closing it out.

And close it out the Buckeyes did. Wisconsin needed a couple of touchdowns in under four minutes and just didn’t have enough in the tank to get it done. Neither team put another score on the board.

Now we wait to see where the scarlet and gray will go for a semifinal matchup in the College Football Playoff.

Final 2019 College Football Bowl Projections

Finally, with all of the college football games (aside from Army-Navy) complete, we can look ahead to the bowl season. Teams will find out where they’re going bowling at some point on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to tell you where …

Finally, with all of the college football games (aside from Army-Navy) complete, we can look ahead to the bowl season. Teams will find out where they’re going bowling at some point on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to tell you where every team will be going. We’ve been patiently tracking rumors and conversations about who will be going where. After patiently dealing with all of the rules and regulations for each conference, here are my best guesses as to every bowl matchup.

Remember: Nowadays, bowl projections are more of an art than a science. Most conferences no longer allow the bowls to select teams in order, but instead provide “pools” of teams for certain tiers of bowls. The Group of 5 conferences essentially have no selection order preference. The conferences then work with the bowls to determine which team goes where. Anything can be the cause for this–geography, fan interests, matchup quality, whether the conference thinks its team is more likely to win, or any other reason. Therefore, at the end of this article, I will provide a list of which conference pools would be tied to which bowl. That way, you have as much information as possible when figuring out where each team could be headed.

79 teams are bowl-eligible this year, and there are 78 slots available in bowl games. Right now, I have Eastern Michigan being the unlucky team that will stay home, though it could definitely be Toledo or Kent State.

I will also update these for the next few hours Saturday night if any credible rumors come in.

College Football Playoff

Peach Bowl Sat, Dec 28, 4:00 PM LSU vs Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl Sat, Dec 28, 8:00 PM Ohio State vs Clemson

This is simple enough. No. 1 plays No. 4, and No. 2 plays No. 3. The committee will ensure that the No. 1 team is not given a geographic disadvantage, so LSU will get the Peach Bowl against Oklahoma.

The times for these matchups are flexible and not yet set, but given that Ohio State vs Clemson will by far be the bigger draw, I expect that to be the game given prime time billing.

Next… NY6 and other Big Ten bowls

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CFP Eliminator: LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma the Playoff four

We make our final eliminations of the year in the College Football Playoff race, leaving LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oklahoma as the Top 4

Welcome to the final edition of this year’s Eliminator. I explain the process behind eliminating teams in my Week 1 post. In short, I ask myself a simple question: “If this team wins out, will they have a chance at the Playoff?” I don’t assume that teams will lose–there’s no need to. The losses will come when they come; and when they do, I’ll eliminate those teams. Until then, they’re not eliminated. It’s that simple. I also track every eliminated team on this Twitter thread.

Now that we are at the end of the season, though, there are no questions about winning out. Now the question is if four teams have superior resumes to everyone else. Some years, we are left with a bubble after the conference championship games. This year, we don’t have one. Our four Playoff teams are very clear. LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, and Oklahoma will be in the Playoff.

Week 14 Eliminations:

Team: Notes:
Baylor The Bears lost a second game and the Big 12 Championship, which will keep them out of the Playoff. The Sugar Bowl is a good consolation though.
Georgia A blowout loss to LSU ends the Playoff dreams.
Oregon The Ducks were eliminated before the week started. The gap to the top contenders was just too much to overcome.
Utah The Utes are 0-2 against ranked teams now, which won’t get a Playoff bid.
Wisconsin The Badgers fought hard and impressed against Ohio State, which likely earned a Rose Bowl berth. Not enough to get into the Playoff, though.

Next… Eliminations from earlier in the season

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WR KJ Hill becomes Ohio State’s all-time reception leader

Ohio State’s KJ Hill, with a ten-yard reception in the third quarter, became Ohio State’s all-time receptions leader.

Ohio State came out of the gate scorching hot in the third quarter, and KJ Hill certainly helped.

On a drive where the Buckeyes eventually took the lead 24-21, Justin Fields completed a ten-yard pass to KJ Hill. That reception gave him 192 receptions which later taken up to 193 with the go-ahead touchdown.

Hill, who has been playing since he’s a freshman, took over David Boston’s record, who played just three seasons in Columbus in the late 1990s.

While Hill has had a relatively quiet career with Ohio State, he’s slowly become one of their most consistent threats. With that catch, Hill now has five receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown on the day.

Here’s the catch that gave him the record.

With over a quarter left to play, Hill will be looking to widen his lead as Ohio State’s receptions leader. He’s one reception, which will likely come in the fourth quarter, away from three straight seasons of 50-plus receptions.

WATCH: Ohio State’s Jeremy Ruckert makes one-handed touchdown catch

The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off the second half with a bang as Jeremy Ruckert pulled down a game-changing one-handed touchdown.

The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off the second half with a bang as Jeremy Ruckert pulled down a game-changing one-handed touchdown.

He did it just when Ohio State was in need of a huge play as well. Ruckert, a seldom-used option for a dynamic offense, found himself wide open down the middle of the field.

Fields, who had missed a couple similar throws on the day, threw it a bit high, but it was catchable. And catch Ruckert did just that as he hauled down arguably one of the best catches of the year.

Here’s a look at Buckeyes’ second touchdown of the game.

Ruckert came into the game with just 12 catches and 120 yards on the season. This one will be one for the highlight reels for years to come if Ohio State can come back in this one and hoist a the Big Ten Championship trophy.