Buckeyes near full strength for CFP game vs. Tennessee
COLUMBUS — The stage is set for the College Football Playoff first round. Ohio State will take on Tennessee with a trip to the Rose Bowl to face No. 1 seed Oregon on the line.
The Buckeyes will face the Volunteers with as clean of a bill of health as they can have. Left tackle Josh Simmons is out, of course, with the knee injury he suffered on Oct. 12 in the loss to Oregon. Center Seth McLaughlin, the Rimington Trophy winner as college football’s top center, suffered an achilles injury in November. He’s out, of course.
Ohio State is fully healthy otherwise.
And the Buckeyes are going to take their best swing against Tennessee, because it’s now win or go home in the first 12-team College Football Playoff.
“Once you get into the playoffs, it’s a brand new start,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Monday. “And I think that’s what our guys have recognized now, the fact that they’ve earned the opportunity to play in the playoffs. That’s it. They have two top-five victories, and we have 10 wins. And there’s a lot of teams across the country that aren’t in the playoffs. So the bottom line is we are in the playoffs. Every team is going to have their issues and deficiencies, and the teams that can address those the best are going to win this thing, and that’s it. It’s a new era. It’s a different time. And I think our guys recognize that.”
Top 10
- 1Hot
Kirk Herbstreit
Shot fired at First Take, Stephen A. Smith
- 2New
Ohio State vs. Oregon odds
Early Rose Bowl line released
- 3
Updated CFP Bracket
Quarterfinal matchups set
- 4Trending
Paul Finebaum
ESPN host rips CFP amid blowout
- 5
Klatt blasts Kiffin
Ole Miss HC called out for tweets
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
The full availability report is below, noting that Ohio State doesn’t differentiate between injuries and disciplinary matter on the report.
Questionable
No Buckeyes are listed as questionable for the College Football Playoff first-round game against Tennessee.
Out for Ohio State
RB TC Caffey (Season)
QB/RB Mason Maggs
C Seth McLaughlin (Season)
LT Josh Simmons (Season)
