After Ohio State beat Wisconsin to capture the Big Ten title nearly four weeks ago, it looked like the Buckeyes might have a shot at a College Football Playoff berth on the strength of wins over the Badgers, Penn State and Michigan State but it was not to be as one-loss Alabama claimed the fourth and final spot.
Forced to digest the reality a 31-point loss to Iowa was the fatal blow, Urban Meyer's outfit has said all the right things leading up to tonight's date with USC in the Cotton Bowl.
Of course, the Buckeyes said all the right things leading up to their trip to Iowa City so we'll have to take that with a grain of salt.