COLUMBUS, Ohio – LSU won its title and lost Heisman quarterback Joe Burrow to the NFL. The Tigers peaked. Clemson and Heisman Trophy nominee Trevor Lawrence won their title in Lawrence’s freshman season two years ago. Those Tigers peaked. Alabama has five titles under Nick Saban, and if the Crimson Tide has to wait a year before attempting to add a ring to Saban’s other hand, they will survive. They have a highlight and highlight and highlight.
Georgia? The Bulldogs have a transfer camp at quarterback and some questions. Oklahoma? The Sooners have a redshirt freshman first-year starter at quarterback and some questions. Oregon? Florida? Texas? Has not been at the top for a while, and could still consider themselves on the way up, even with a season burnt down.
Mar Ohio State?
That is the only university football program in the nation that was there right now as a national candidate for 2020; that expects to play at the highest level, but has not experienced a peak as recently as it would like; and that players will now go out with unfinished business that always remains.
The Big Ten canceled fall football on Tuesday, and the conference for now talks about trying to play in the spring. If that season happens, you can imagine multiple Ohio State picks who are unlikely to play, starting with quarterback Justin Fields and cornerback Shaun Wade. Preparing for a pick in the first round of the NFL, and then trying to play two football seasons in a calendar year – college in the spring and as a pro in the fall – seems unbearable.
That every spring season is an enormous axis. And if that happens, the Buckeyes you’ll see will not be the Buckeyes you’ve seen this fall.
This fall, they were able to win it all.
Well, they will not play, and other conferences may. No other Power 5 conference has yet decided on a drop ball yet, and the SEC, ACC and Big 12 remain planning to wait it out and try to play.
The idea of Ohio State absent this fall while Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma occupy the field? it’s hard to humiliate, even if it’s the right, safe choice for the Big Ten … and there’s going to be plenty of time to debate that.
Instead, the memories of that last Clemson loss in the Fiesta Bowl will last a while longer, with no fresh victories to shove them aside. No other program lost a heartbreaking playoff semifinal last season, a game in which the Buckeyes thought they were the better team. The only assurance, while experiencing the fear of a final interpretation and realizing that stars like Chase Young, Jeff Okudah and JK Dobbins would not return, was the belief in the stars to return.
And now they will not.
Fields, a home team Trophy favorite and sure-thing NFL Draft first-round pick, is unlikely to play for the Buckeyes again. Same for Wade, who does not get his shot to move from slot corner to outside corner in college.
The list of what-ifs is long enough to get a first down, from Baron Browning moving to linebacker outside; to Wyatt Davis, Josh Myers and Thayer Munford leading a veteran offensive line that would have been among the best in the nation; to receiver Chris Olave, who broke his route on that last interception, undergoing his season of resurrection and redemption.
There are no years of “up” or “reconstruction” for Ohio State. Every year there is enough talent to challenge for the playoffs and enough reasonable hope to talk about a national title. That the Buckeyes will be back … but you’ll talk about Fields’ missing season forever.
When Fields and Ryan Day made forces, it changed the course of this next era of Ohio State. First-year quarterback and first-year head coach led the Buckeyes through an unlimited regular season of 2019, looking like a star and a guru, and that was just the beginning. It looked like 2020 would promise even more, and now it’s gone.
If you’ve worried about the Buckeyes, you know this, so why am I IN it? DO I?
I think so. I do.
Some of you have suffered real losses since the beginning of the pandemic. From a loved one, from a job, from a sense of security, from a clear view of the world … and this is not that. Let me tell you, if you love Ohio State football, the Buckeyes will be OK. They will be back. Fields will have its chance of success in the NFL, Day will have another chance for a title at Ohio State, and the no. 1-rank 2021 recruiting class is a great way to cheer yourself up. (Check out some TreVeyon Henderson highlights.)
But this stinks. It stinks more for Ohio State fans than other fans because the Buckeyes were an obvious supporter in 2020, and the final title in 2014 continues every day. Alabama and Clemson have recent rings, and everyone else has lower expectations.
So sad this, knowing you love it but knowing it’s just football. It really is, but it is not as serious as other losses that have suffered too much. Let no one tell you that sport does not matter, because we know that is not true. Ohio State will not get this shot back, and you will talk about it for the rest of your life.
But there will be a shot again. That opener Thursday night at Minnesota in 2021 could be a test. And who will be the quarterback – CJ Stroud, Jack Miller or Kyle McCord?
Actually, it’s too soon for that. Let this sink in for a few days and stink. Tell your friends it’s worse for you because this was Ohio State’s year.
In Columbus, there is always a following. But this was now set as one heckuva.
Face masks for sale in New Ohio State: Here you can buy Ohio themed face mask for coronavirus protection. A 3-pack is available at Fanatics for $ 29.99.
Fanatics has released Ohio State Buckeyes Adult Face Coverings. These 3-pack adult masks, sell for $ 29.99.
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