The last two seasons have seen the Buckeyes narrowly miss out on the College Football Playoff. The reason for the lack of an Ohio State presence has been – for the most part – thanks to a pair of embarrassing performances in Iowa City and West Lafayette.
Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes checked in at No. 5 before the start of the 2017 bowl season and this past year they were slotted at No. 6. Even a close loss to Iowa (as opposed to a 31-point bloodbath) would almost certainly have had Ohio State in the top four of the playoff rankings.