The day before a team rarely mentioned by name plays for a championship whose recognition by the CFP may well be withdrawn down the road, we look to a couple less heralded sports where the Buckeyes may well win — and keep it. Women's ice hockey: They don't draw many headlines, but in 2022 the women's hockey team won the title, in 2023 they were beaten in the final, and now they are ranked #1 again. Still to come, though, is the bulk of the slate in the highly competitive WCHA, including its own tournament before the national one in March. It was another WCHA team, Wisconsin, that beat the Buckeyes in that final last year — and the Buckeyes are at Wisconsin right before the WCHA tournament.

Wrestling: Ohio State is not Penn State or Iowa, so it's not really a favorite to win the team title. But the stock is rising after big wins over two consecutive top -10 opponents — NC State to win the Collegiate Duals and then Cornell at home. Among individuals, Jesse Mendez at 141# and Ryan D'Emilio at 149# are ranked in the top 5 of there weight classes, and Mendez has beaten top-5 opponents, so they should be in the mix for individual championships. Like the WCHA in hockey, the Big Ten here will offer plenty of top-tier matchups to test these rankings.