NEW ORLEANS — It was no more than 30 minutes after Ohio State had stunned No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl when Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Bennett channeled his inner Bart Scott when asked about the challenge of facing Oregon on Jan. 12 for the national championship.
“I can’t wait,” Bennett said emphatically.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer seemed a little less enthusiastic when he found out not just that the Ducks had won the other national semifinal earlier Thursday, but how they won.
“Oregon won by 40?” he jokingly asked in response to a reporter’s question at the post-game press conference. “I’ve gotta go. We’ve got to go get ready for that one.”
Thus is the life in the new era of college football where there is a playoff system.
The Buckeyes had just won a game where they entered as a nine-point underdog. They got on a stage in the Mercedes Benz Superdome and were presented with a trophy and some hats and T-shirts. It would have been the end of the road for Ohio State’s season had this been a previous season.
But those T-shirts the Buckeyes sported on the Superdome stage displayed a message that summed up a win in the national semifinal perfectly.
'WON NOT DONE'
The season is not finished. Not yet, anyway.
In Oregon, Ohio State faces an offense that is very much its equal. The Ducks average 47.2 points and 552.9 yards per game. In their 59-20 win over Florida State in the Rose Bowl, Oregon recorded 639 yards of total offense.
And oh yeah, they’ve got a guy named Marcus Mariota at quarterback, who just happens to be this year’s Heisman Trophy winner.
“Oregon is a very good team,” Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell said. “They’re fast tempo and they’ve got that thing where they go very fast. We’ve got to be in shape and think quick because they go up-tempo a lot.”
It’s likely Meyer hasn’t seen much of the Ducks. The only game he’s probably watched Oregon play all year was when it beat Michigan State 46-27 back on Sept. 6 considering the Buckeyes and Spartans played each other this year, too. He just doesn’t have the time to watch other teams which aren’t on his schedule, but he's well-aware of what Oregon can bring to the table.
But his players, they’ve seen more of the Ducks. When Ohio State isn’t playing games itself, the team will watch other college football games around the country.
With what they’ve seen so far, it seems like the Buckeyes are quite impressed with the College Football Playoff's No. 2 seed. But that doesn’t mean they don’t think they have a shot.
“They’ve got the whole package, but I feel like we do too,” Bennett said. “I feel like it’s going to be a heck of a game and we’re going to do everything we can do shut him down and he’s going to do everything to score.”
