And so we’ve arrived at the national championship game, with many expecting Ohio State to waltz its way to the title.
Is Ohio State the strongest team in the nation, or did the Buckeyes simply catch Oregon on the right day? To steal a line from Miss Kelsea Ballerini, two things can be true.
When Notre Dame can’t get an early lead and Riley Leonard has to lead the Irish back, they’re far less effective. Just as the previous two games did, this matchup seems to be playing right into Penn State’s hands.
It’s time for the NFL playoffs, which means it’s time for the worst rule in the NFL to rear its ugly head again. No, not the ridiculous rule of an unrecovered fumble out of the opposing end zone being a touchback — although we’ll probably see that too during the playoffs. This refers to the NFL’s ridiculous insistence on giving division winners automatic home games.
Michigan State doesn’t have a big road win yet, as Minnesota is the only true road game it has played. Getting a win in Columbus would make a big statement.
At this point, the only one more excited for baseball season than John Fredericks is ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. The league has been through a nightmare year of football, culminated by a total faceplant in bowl season.
Instead of a quarterback showdown between outgoing senior Jaxson Dart and underappreciated Maalik Murphy, we get Dart vs. Henry Belin. Belin has made all of one start in his career and was relegated to third-string duty this year at Duke.
Is Butler going to do anything in the Big East this season? If the Bulldogs hope to do anything this year, a win here is mandatory. Butler comes in on a five-game losing streak, which has been filled with one of the widest range of outcomes in the nation.
Oregon beat Ohio State by a point in Eugene, the first of two losses this year for the Buckeyes. And everyone expects that on a neutral field, Ohio State will show that it’s the superior team and should have gotten the chance to play in the Big Ten title game.