Josh Pate Predicts Disaster Finish to Ohio State's Season

Josh Pate has made a career and a livelihood out of takes. He has opinions on everything that has to do with college football, including the state of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

He joined the Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday and was asked to predict the finish to Ohio State's season. After beating the Indiana Hoosiers by literally just a toe, the Buckeyes have a very tough road ahead of them.

Pate doesn't see it going well for Ohio State. He believes that the Buckeyes will end the season with a 9-3 record and will unfortunately miss the College Football Playoffs.

The stretch that either Luke Fahey or Tavien St. Clair has to face is a diabolical one. It begins with a trip out west to Los Angeles to face USC in Primetime. Then it is a trip back home to face Oregon before going to Northwestern and Nebraska, with the final game being The Game.

It would have been a very tough stretch for Ohio State if they were fully healthy, but down their quarterback, it is going to be a gauntlet.

The engine that is going to make Ohio State go is clearly their defense. The defensive unit has to be nearly flawless for the rest of the way, and if they are, the Buckeyes are going to have more than just a chance. 

If the defense struggles and the Buckeyes find themselves in chase mode at any point over the final stretch, look out below because it is going to be tough. It's not going to be impossible, but it is just going to be really hard. 

Every single game for the rest of the way presents a very unique challenge, but a significant one.

The outlook for the Buckeyes certainly looks very grim. It quickly went from a season of so much promise to one that has just so much doubt and question marks to it. They had a legitimate chance to make a run to the National Championship, and now they are being questioned about even making the Playoff. 

It was an incredibly quick turn of events, but this is their reality now, and they have to figure it out. It is truly a spot where the Buckeyes have not been all that much in Ryan Day's tenure. It's been rare that the Buckeyes have been doubted and have had their backs this much against the wall, but here they are, and they have to respond.

Thankfully, Nick Marsh's toe landed on the boundary, or else the feel of the Buckeyes' season would be much, much different right now.