Josh Pate's college football playoff prediction features Ohio State, but has the season ending disappointingly yet again.
It's way too early to be talking about the College Football Playoff, but here we are.
Ohio State's training camp began on Thursday, and the Buckeyes' season is officially off and running. The journey begins with the hope that it culminates in a trip to Las Vegas for the National Championship Game.
There is a lot to do between now and then, but there's no reason why we can't look ahead. Our college football playoff prediction on the channel is coming up in a week's time, but Pate got the predictions going, along with some absolutely absurd predictions from the On3 Network.
As many are wary of, the Buckeyes' schedule is one that is going to have an impact on what happens in the postseason. Ohio State's schedule is a gauntlet, and many would be surprised if they make it through unscathed.
However, Pate believes that the Buckeyes will run the table. Maybe they don't post a perfect record, but he believes that they will win the Big Ten and be the No. 2 team in the country heading into the Playoffs.
In his scenario, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one, Miami is three and Georgia is four.
Ohio State's first game of the Playoff is against Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers. LSU checks in as the 10th seed and defeats BYU in the first round.
The Buckeyes take care of business against the Tigers and move on to the semifinals against their newest rival, the Texas Longhorns. This would be shades of 2024 when the Buckeyes faced Oregon in the regular season and then again in the Playoffs.
However, unlike how that season ended and how that game has ended the past couple of times, the Longhorns get the best of the Buckeyes and move on to the National Championship game against Notre Dame.r, unlike how that season ended and how that game has ended the past couple of times,
That would set up a very fun National Championship between two brands that rarely see each other. In Pate's world, the Irish get the job done and get back on top of the sport.
This would be another disappointing ending to the Ohio State season. Whether it be a blessing or a curse, the Buckeyes are such a successful program that even a semifinal appearance would feel like a disappointing end to the year.
Ohio State's season is going to be a beast, and if they are good enough in the regular season, they may run out of gas in the Playoffs. It all begins tomorrow as the Buckeyes get to work to try to prove Pate and many others wrong.
