Tanner McCalister thought it was over. He wasn’t the only one.
“Maybe a New Year’s Six bowl,” the Buckeye safety thought, but surely not a College Football Playoff berth. Not after a 22-point loss to Michigan in the final game of the regular season, and in Columbus no less.
Ronnie Hickman “definitely didn't think we were gonna be able to come back” from that catastrophic loss, which cost Ohio State a chance at a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game, where a win would’ve ensured the Buckeyes’ spot in the CFP beyond a shadow of a doubt.