You ask, we answer. Sometimes we ask, others answer. And then other times, we ask, we answer.
Throughout the Ohio State football season, we will be asking and answering questions about the team, college football, and anything else on our collective minds of varying degrees of importance. If you have a question that you would like to ask, you can tweet us @LandGrant33 or if you need more than 280 characters, send an email HERE.
Playtime is over, friends, as the Ohio State Buckeyes are about to journey forth into the stretch of games that will determine how this season is viewed for all of history. Will this be remembered as a season of redemption and even resurrection, or will it be the final disappointing straw that broke the camel’s back? Obviously, I am rooting for the former.
For this week’s fan survey, we are asking you to fast-forward a few weeks and to predict where the Buckeyes will be seeded — if at all — in the College Football Playoff, and then we will return to the present and ask you to predict the winner and margin of victory for the top-five matchup between the No. 2 Buckeyes and No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday.
Check out the questions here in the article and then vote in the survey beneath them. If you want to add any context to your vote or write in an option that we didn’t include, feel free to do so in the comments at the bottom of the page.
Question 1: With two or three big games left, where do you think Ohio State will be seeded in the College Football Playoff?
Ohio State will play either two or three games before the College Football Playoff committee announces the seedings for the inaugural 12-team bracket. If Ohio State wins against both No. 5 Indiana and unranked Michigan, it will play No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten Championship.
Should the Buckeyes win that game, they will almost assuredly be the top seed in the playoffs. However, if they lose any of those games, they could fall anywhere else in the pecking order and potentially out of the CFP altogether.
If you had asked me before 7:30 p.m. ET last night, I would have easily picked OSU to be the No. 1 seed, but with the news that starting center Seth McLaughlin has torn his Achilles tendon, I’m really not sure what to make of the Buckeyes’ chances. I still think that they will beat Indiana and Michigan, but against the Ducks and potential CFP opponents, I am in a wait-and-see mode.
Question 2: What will the margin of victory be in Saturday’s game against Indiana?
When the FanDuel Sportsbook opened up this game for betting, it installed the Buckeyes as a 10.5-point favorite and the gold-standard college football analytics model SP+ projects Ohio State to win by a score of 31-19.
There have been times in recent memory when the Hoosiers have given the Buckeyes a run for their money, even when IU wasn’t nearly as good as they are this season. I will reserve my prediction for the “Tailgate Podcast” and official predictions article that will be posted on Saturday morning, but even with McLaughlin’s injury, I am still going to take the Bucks, but by how much is still to be determined.
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Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Ohio State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.