On Saturday afternoon, Ohio State faces off against Northwestern for the Big Ten title and a shot at the College Football Playoff on the line.
The Buckeyes currently sit at No. 4 in the playoff rankings. A win over the Wildcats this weekend would likely put the Buckeyes in the playoff, though former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy isn’t a fan of Ohio State’s schedule thus far.
“I have the utmost respect for Ohio State,” McElroy said. “It’s not their fault the Big Ten decided to shut things down at the beginning of August.”
“As a result, they’ve played only five games and will have their sixth game on Saturday. But they should be penalized for not having put themselves at risk as many times as other teams.”
"We're not rewarding teams for what they've actually accomplished, we're rewarding teams for what we think they are." -Greg McElroy weighs in on Ohio State vs. Clemson vs. Cincinnati for the #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/8ag2UD4TOK
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) December 17, 2020
“We’re not rewarding teams for what they’ve actually accomplished, we’re rewarding teams for what we think they are,” he went on to say.
The ESPN college football analyst also made it clear he doesn’t think Clemson should be in line to make the playoff with another loss to Notre Dame.
McElroy isn’t wrong. The College Football Playoff committee’s latest rankings left college football fans scratching their collective head – especially with Florida coming in at No. 7.
However, to suggest Ohio State should be penalized for playing the schedule laid out in front of the team is a bit much.
The Buckeyes are very much in “win and you’re in” territory heading into the Big Ten title game.
