Ohio State haters! Please wake up and smell the coffee. Ryan Day and the Buckeyes broke off Tennessee Volunteers in a terrific 42-17 in their first-round game of the playoffs. The team that looked like a piece of failure against Michigan a week back turned their fate as an epic national title contender. Yes, they are. If you understand football, you can never deny that their massive playoff win heavily turned the odds in their favor. Ryan Day shook up his issues from the Michigan upset, turning it into a rewarding wake-up call. Where do they now stand in an evaluated national title prediction front?

The harmonious connection between Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and receiver Jeremiah Smith commanded over the Volts, with the signal-caller throwing for 311 yards and two touchdowns. That wasn’t all. If you didn’t watch the game, just get on some highlights. See the number of dimes Howard threw to his wide receivers. Two touchdown passes to Smith were the real deal. Any flaws he showed against Michigan are long forgotten now. The win earned a Rose Bowl ticket for the Buckeyes, but most importantly, next-door odds to Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns in the looming national title race.

Everyone thinks it would be Texas vs Oregon’s power struggle in the final stretch, but the ever-changing playoff outcomes have been shifting the reality faster than the blink. Three ESPN analysts, Matt Simms, Skubie Mageza and Sam Ravech, can’t sleep on the storied Ohio State squad and held them up as the serious potential national championship winner.

”We’re going with the Ohio State Buckeyes after what we have seen, the amount of weapons and the amount of money that they got in that roster. How can you not? Jeremiah Smith looked dominant, and those two running backs, Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson looked dominant. Chip Kelly called a great game,” Skubie Mageza justified their stance.

The current top three title odds look like Texas: +350, Ohio State: +380, Oregon: +400. Texas and Ohio sit very close, and it is more than feasible for Ryan Day’s squad to beat that gap via another win in their path. They just have to beat Dan Lannings’ Oregon in the quarterfinals. One of the two juggernauts, Ohio State and Oregon, will be sent home from the bracket on New Year’s Day, while the Longhorns get to face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils. It’s not far-fetched, and Ryan Day will give it all to make a last desperate call to solidify his job at Columbus.

But the question is, can Longhorns write a perfect finish to their nearly perfect season amidst the Arch Manning Quinn Ewers controversy?

Steve Sarkisian Arch Manning-Quinn Ewers conundrum can invite a tragedy

Steve Sarkisian has been living a long-standing dilemma with two of his strongest weapons, Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers. Ewers, despite being a classic talent in his own right, failed to tackle Georgia twice. It certainly put a doubt on his caliber. You can surely turn to his elbow injury and put the blame on like Sarkisian did, it can’t rub out the grain of salt whatsoever. The prodigy got an excellent season stat to flex, but not without the world seeing his limitations. On the other hand, Manning aced his much awaited chance in the absence of Ewers and showed to the world that the Longhorns’ future belongs to him and him only.

We agree that the future belongs to him. But since it’s the future and not the present, then using him in a package of running plays might prove to be a death trap for Sarkisian.

Coach Sark has faced criticism for persisting with Ewers. As we had guessed, he put Ewers over Manning at the starting gig against Clemson. It was not a wrong call, either. But Sark’s confusing playcalling can get the better of the team in the next round of the playoffs.

Quinn Ewers threw for 202 yards, one touchdown and an interception. That was all they needed for a particular point in the second half. But Sark turned several times to Manning. He did well in the first play, but his other two went in vain, resulting in a fumble on a late fourth-and-one. Sarkisian really needs to be more careful and steady with his decision! It’s high time as Ohio State lurks behind to take up their top spot.