Ohio State Might be in Trouble
It’s hard to imagine Ohio State being left out of the playoff picture, but it may just happen. The Buckeyes seemed to be about as much of a lock as you could find, as a program that has consistently played at or near a championship level and always seems to get a lucky bounce or two whenever they are in a jam.
However, they were on the opposite side of the lucky bounces against USC. The Trojans were able to keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone until the fourth quarter,
helping preserve the 30-18 victory and Lincoln Riley’s first top-5 win since joining USC. Ohio State’s offense wasn’t completely listless with quarterback Julian Sayin out of the lineup. They averaged over 5 yards a carry and true freshman Luke Fahey made some exceptional throws. It just did not produce the results needed as the Buckeyes continually settled for field goals in the red zone, and were plagued by dropped passes, untimely penalties (including a false start about two inches from the end zone that ended up as a field goal), a key fumble, and inefficiency on third downs.
Fahey certainly could improve over the next few weeks now that he has his first start under his belt. But the road will not be easy, as the Buckeyes don’t have any automatic victories the rest of the day. Oregon comes to town this Saturday, followed by match-ups with Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan to close out the regular season. The margin of error is awfully slim for the Buckeyes, which is not something we are not accustomed to.
The Coaching Carousel Spins Faster
Florida State finally parted ways with Mike Norvell after years of hot seat chatter. It was clear things would not be getting better following a 3-5 start and likely the third consecutive losing season for the ‘Noles.
Florida State now joins Baylor, NC State and Maryland as programs seeking a new man at the top. It’s been an uneventful carousel ride thus far compared to recent seasons, but things may speed up quite rapidly as other teams see their playoff hopes fade away. Perhaps some additional openings at Oklahoma, Michigan or Texas could really bring the annual chaos of the coaching carousel back into play.
Indiana is Missing Fernando
The Hoosiers could very well repeat as national champions. They are a few inches from being undefeated on the year behind a stifling defense. However, there are some trouble signs with their offense that can no longer be ignored. In fact, the defense has basically saved them from a current four-game losing streak.
Indiana nearly lost its first game a week prior to the Buckeyes, but were able to survive after a couple explosive plays in the fourth quarter for a comeback win over Nebraska. Outside of two long passes though, the offense did little against the Huskers all afternoon. The offense was then unable to reach the end zone against Michigan in regulation, but were bailed out by a slew of Wolverines mistakes that cost them the upset, as Indiana was able to clinch the game in overtime. Then on Saturday, the Hoosiers needed a 60-yard field goal on the last play of regulation to tie the game 16-16 at home against Minnesota. Once again, the Hoosiers were able to come away with the overtime victory, mostly thanks to a goal line stand by the defense that keeps coming up big to bail out the offense.
Indiana closes the regular season with USC, Washington and Purdue, giving them a likely path to return to the playoffs. It just seems that the day when the defense can’t do it all by themselves is coming soon.
