The Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Fiesta Bowl but it should have been so much for Urban Meyer’s team.
Ohio State won at least 12 games for the fourth straight year with a 44-28 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl as the senior class got their 50th win, but it must be difficult to celebrate this win knowing they should be playing one more game in the College Football Playoff.
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The Buckeyes had their chance to get in the playoff and have only themselves to blame for not making it after losing to the Michigan State Spartans on a field goal as time expired. They played down to their talent level all season until they got their wake-up call vs the Spartans and suddenly looked like the team we thought they would be in wins against Michigan and Notre Dame.
Urban Meyer mentioned in the postgame interview with Todd McShay on ESPN that “nothing is ever good enough” for this team, and he’s not wrong. Ohio State has the best roster in college football. A roster that’s deeper and more talented than the one that won the national title over Oregon last year, but they didn’t even win their division in the Big Ten.
If Ohio State played Michigan State 10 times, they’d probably win at least seven of them and the Buckeyes had to be kicking themselves when they watched the Spartans get boat-raced against an Alabama team they beat in the semifinals last year. That could have been Ohio State playing Alabama, not Michigan State, and Ohio State may have won and had a chance to repeat as national champions.
"That loss hurts even more now"
It was another reminder of what could have been for Ohio State this year. Sure, there is plenty to celebrate, like Ezekiel Elliott setting a Fiesta Bowl record with four rushing touchdowns, Michael Thomas looking like he could be the first receiver taken in the NFL Draft and the career of Joey Bosa who could be the No. 1 overall pick.
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Unfortunately, Bosa was ejected early in the game for targeting and he didn’t get the proper send off he deserved. Before the ejection ESPN broadcaster and former Buckeye linebacker, Chris Spielman called Bosa the second best defensive player in Ohio State history behind Antoine Winfield. It’s too bad he doesn’t get another game to show off his skills.
Same goes for quarterback J.T. Barrett who for some reason sat on the bench most of the year behind Cardale Jones. He will be back next year and won’t be in a quarterback controversy with Jones headed to the NFL and he could regain his Heisman candidacy next year, but it would have been nice to see him one more time.
If Bosa is the second best defender, then certainly Elliott is the second best running back in program history behind Archie Griffin and ahead of Eddie Georgie. He doesn’t have a Heisman like the other two, but his dominance of the last two years, especially in the postseason has Buckeye nation kicking themselves now that the season is over.
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Meyer was right, nothing is ever good enough, expectations are often unfair and unrealistic, but when it comes to this Ohio State team it’s hard not to feel disappointed despite the number of impressive accomplishments.