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Buckeyes not releasing availability report ahead of Cotton Bowl semifinal

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•about 9 hours•

SpencerHolbrook

Ohio State Helmets
Matt Parker | Lettermen Row

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ohio State hasn’t been required to put out a Big Ten availability report in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes did, however, release one for the first round against Tennessee and quarterfinal Rose Bowl against Oregon.

They won’t be releasing one for the Cotton Bowl semifinal against Texas.

A Big Ten spokesperson telling Blue-White Illustrated earlier this week that Penn State wouldn’t have to submit one for the Orange Bowl semifinal against Notre Dame, a game the Nittany Lions lost to the Fighting Irish on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes were required to release one by the conference two hours before kickoff during the regular season, per Big Ten rules. After submitting one for publication before its first round matchup with Tennessee and again against Oregon in the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes will opt out of an availability report for this semifinal vs. the Longhorns.

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“Even though PSU submitted a report for the opening round against a nonconference opponent, they chose to not submit a report for the quarterfinal against a nonconference opponent,” the Big Ten said in a statement released to Blue-White Illustrated earlier this week. “Both PSU and OSU have the same choice for the upcoming semifinals against nonconference opponents.”

Both Penn State and Ohio State took the liberty of not releasing one for the semifinal matchups.

Ohio State had a clean bill of health for the Rose Bowl — and it destroyed Oregon in the Rose Bowl with a 34-0 lead and a 41-21 win in the end.

The Buckeyes, of course, are playing without star center Seth McLaughlin, the Rimington Trophy winner. He tore his achilles in November and hasn’t played in each of the last four games. They’re also playing without star left tackle Josh Simmons, who went down with a torn ACL in the loss to Oregon on Oct. 12.

Other than those two, Ohio State has been healthy for most of the season, especially on the defensive side of the football. So the availability report hasn’t hasn’t been revealing to anyone since the regular season concluded in November.

Now the Buckeyes are declining to release one altogether since it’s not required.

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