Ohio State’s biggest road block to a national championship might be the coronavirus pandemic

In a year where the Ohio State football team is expected to contend for a national title, the biggest roadblock might be COVID-19.

The Ohio State football team has its eyes firmly set on competing for and winning a national championship. Guys like Shawn Wade and Wyatt Davis decided to forgo NFL millions for a chance to sit on the college football mountain top. But who is going to pose the biggest threat to the Buckeyes national title hopes?

In conference play, Penn State comes to mind. Although going to Happy Valley without the presence of a white-out doesn’t seem as intimidating. Sparty has rained on the Buckeye parade in the past. And of course, in a rivalry game as big as The Game, anything can happen when Michigan comes to town.

Then there are the usual suspects nationally in Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and maybe a few others. Talent-wise, the Bucks can hang with any of them. However, I’d argue that there is a bigger obstacle awaiting when Big Ten play begins in late October… COVID-19

I know, I know… we’ll all tired of coronavirus, but with the Big Ten protocols in place, Ohio State is going to need the stars to align for it to make a title run.

I’m not all that worried about the Buckeyes taking proper precautions. From everything we’re seeing, the team knows it has a chance to do something special this year and is making sure to follow every mandate — and then some. As we shared a few days ago, even the coaches are taking the extra steps to do everything in their power to stay healthy.

But… what incentive to other teams have to take the extra measures of safety? If any team on Ohio State’s schedule reaches greater than a 5 percent positivity rate, that team has to shut down practice and competition for a minimum of seven days. And with the conference schedule not allowing for any bye weeks, theoretically, Ohio State could lose out on a game or more of competition.

So the question becomes, would a 7-0, or even a 6-0 Ohio State get an invite to the College Football Playoff? I believe the Buckeyes would, but it wouldn’t be as much of a slam dunk as before. The Big Ten did itself no favors by starting so late and not having built-in bye weeks that could potentially be used as makeup dates.

Let’s just hope everyone stays healthy and OSU takes care of its conference schedule. Nothing would change our outlook completely on 2020, but it sure would provide a positive spin on a year to remember with Ohio State being crowned king of the college football world.

 

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