We’re starting to come down just a little from the elation of the Big Ten announcing the reinstatement of the fall football season, but reflecting on what some of the media personalities said about Ohio State afterward never gets old.
Take former Buckeye quarterback and current ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit for instance. While appearing on ESPN’s College GameDay last weekend, he welcomed Ohio State back and said the Buckeyes will immediately be a part of the national title chase.
“It means welcome to the national championship race,” Herbstreit said. “This is a team before games being delayed Ryan Day feels is better than he had last year. They’re always loaded with skill and they’ve got a chip on their shoulder. This team’s angry with the way last season ended.”
“If they can stay healthy and if they follow the protocols and keep their star players on the field, I’d be shocked in they don’t make the College Football Playoff.”
For the longest time, many felt like Ohio State had a big-time missed opportunity. One that would have seen Justin Fields in his second year in Columbus shoot for a Heisman Trophy, and one that could have also seen a very talented Buckeye squad make a run to a national title.
The Big Ten returns next month.
The crew give their latest playoff picks 👀 pic.twitter.com/RvNuMncW4a
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2020
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Now that things are back on, it looks like all those individual and team awards are back on the table. Whether Ohio State can navigate an eight-game regular season, a ninth championship week game, and whatever comes after that remains to be seen.
It’s clear though that Herbstreit is a believer. Let’s hope he’s right. The talent is there, but as we saw last year, there will need to be some of the right breaks at the right time too.
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