College Football 2020: 3 potential trap games with CFB Playoff implications

3. Ohio State at Illinois

Ohio State is no stranger to trap games. In back-to-back seasons, a top three ranked Buckeyes team got blown out by an unranked team, putting their College Football Playoff hopes in jeopardy.

In 2017, they fell at the hands of a solid Iowa team by a whopping 31 points. The team and fans moped for a little while, but eventually bounced back to being the dominant program in the Big Ten. All seemed well going into 2018 until they were once again trounced by a lesser opponent in Purdue by a staggering margin of 29 points.

To get even more specific, the Ohio State Buckeyes are not unfamiliar with a devastating loss to the subject of this slide, the Illinois Fighting Illini. In 2007, Illinois took down a No. 1 ranked Buckeyes squad in one of the most devastating losses in OSU history.

Will history repeat itself in 2020?

The Buckeyes play in Champaign in a late-season matchup the week before The Game. They’ll be wanting to focus on an improve Illini team, but will likely have their sights set on their biggest rival the following week.

I think at the very least, they’ll be given a tough challenge this week by an Illinois team lead by former Michigan quarterback Brandon Peters. He’s Lovie Smith’s first full-time returning quarterback during his tenure at Illinois, and his squad will be motivated to get a huge win, keeping the momentum going after a strong bowl season.