Ryan Shazier goes bold with Ohio State vs. Georgia prediction

The Ohio State Buckeyes have made the College Football Playoffs this year for the third time under head coach Ryan Day. The Buckeyes jumped from a No. 5 to No. 4 ranking following USC‘s Pac-12 Championship loss, which have some saying that they backed themselves in to the CFP. Former Pittsburg Steeler and Ohio State alumni Ryan Shazier defended his alma mater Wednesday on the Up & Adams Show.

“To me, it’s crazy how people say we backed in. When Alabama did it, when Georgia did it they didn’t say they backed in. But hey, at The Ohio State University there’s always a little bit of hate, the reason I feel like we deserve to be in there is because we lost to the number two team in the country and we were the number three team,” Shazier said.

The Buckeyes’ loss to the Wolverines is one of the best you can have on your resume, but Shazier believes their win over Penn State should also be accounted for as well regarding their No. 4 ranking, with the Nittany Lions finishing the season ranked No. 9 in the final CFP rankings as one of the best two-loss teams in the country.

“And then pretty much everyone else on our schedule we have beaten up on them and we have a better win than anybody else that is after us, a quality win vs Penn State whose only two losses are to the number two team in the country and the number four team in the country,” Shazier explained.

The current playoff picture does have the Buckeyes set up for a rematch with Michigan if both teams win their semifinal matchups, which would be a historic moment with two of college football’s biggest rivals squaring off on the biggest stage possible.

With that potential matchup looming, Shazier sent a message to Michigan alumni Taylor Lewan, and also made a bold proclamation about the Buckeyes’ matchup with the undefeated defending National Champions.

“Taylor was talking a little bit of smack on our podcast, we talked before we figured out Ohio State was gonna make it in or not, and all I gotta say is how you like that?” Shazier smiled and said. “I definitely think we’re going to beat Georgia, I know nobody thinks that, but I think we really have a shot to beat them, we have the team to beat them, and I hope they make it there as well.”

The Bulldogs are currently 6.5 point favorites over Ohio State, having won their last 15 consecutive games heading into their matchup. Seeing part two of ‘The Game’ in the National Championship would be captivating, but the Buckeyes should have their full attention on their semifinal game on December 31 first.