Ohio State may have the most difficult schedule in the country. In fact, there likely isn't much of an argument to make when talking about it being one of the most difficult schedules in recent memory.
But a team with high aspirations will make no excuses and for Ryan Day and the rest of the Ohio State program, playing deep in the College Football Playoff is the expectation. And, this is a team that will be tested early and often.
"This year, based on the way our schedule looks and the way it's laid out, we're going to get some early feedback in these games," said Day at Big Ten Media Days. "We're going to have to play well down the stretch in the fourth quarter ... Every year is different. I'd like to sit here and tell you that last year is similar to this year because of X, Y, and Z, and that will be the solution, but it's not the same because it is a different group of guys. There are things in place that we've identified that we always want to improve on."
That early feedback will be against Texas, Illinois and Iowa all before the midway point of the year. But that's not the defining stretch.
"Regardless of what happens in Week 2 at Texas, the Buckeyes have a key stretch during the heart of the season that could make or break their playoff hopes," ESPN ***** yst Heather Dinich wrote. "It starts Oct. 17 at Indiana, followed by another road trip to USC on Halloween before hosting Oregon on Nov. 7. That should be three straight top-25 opponents. If Ohio State can go 2-1 during that stretch, it should be a CFP team regardless of what happens at Texas."
#ohio #make
But a team with high aspirations will make no excuses and for Ryan Day and the rest of the Ohio State program, playing deep in the College Football Playoff is the expectation. And, this is a team that will be tested early and often.
"This year, based on the way our schedule looks and the way it's laid out, we're going to get some early feedback in these games," said Day at Big Ten Media Days. "We're going to have to play well down the stretch in the fourth quarter ... Every year is different. I'd like to sit here and tell you that last year is similar to this year because of X, Y, and Z, and that will be the solution, but it's not the same because it is a different group of guys. There are things in place that we've identified that we always want to improve on."
That early feedback will be against Texas, Illinois and Iowa all before the midway point of the year. But that's not the defining stretch.
"Regardless of what happens in Week 2 at Texas, the Buckeyes have a key stretch during the heart of the season that could make or break their playoff hopes," ESPN ***** yst Heather Dinich wrote. "It starts Oct. 17 at Indiana, followed by another road trip to USC on Halloween before hosting Oregon on Nov. 7. That should be three straight top-25 opponents. If Ohio State can go 2-1 during that stretch, it should be a CFP team regardless of what happens at Texas."
#ohio #make
20 days ago
