Ohio State thrives off underdog role, ‘we have something to prove’ against Georgia

Ohio State's first defining game of the year didn't go well. The Buckeyes were outscored 28-3 in the second half by Michigan to lose their rivalry game for the second year in a row, suffering a 45-23 defeat that kept them out of the Big Ten Championship Game for the second straight season. Had that loss also knocked Ohio State out of the College…

The College Playoff Semifinal kicks off on New Year's Eve and plenty of eyes are focused on the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl matchup of Ohio State vs Georgia. It's a clash of titans as the Ohio State Buckeyes and Georgia Bulldogs battle for a spot in the CFP National Championship. It's familiar territory for both storied programs. Georgia crushed…

Ohio State's blueprint for winning the College Football Playoff championship will be staring the No. 4 Buckeyes in the face when they play No. 1 Georgia in a semifinal game at the Peach Bowl on Saturday in Atlanta. The Buckeyes (11-1) are coming off a 45-23 thrashing by second-ranked Michigan on Nov. 26 in Columbus, Ohio. They are only in the…

The last time bettors saw Ohio State's football team, the Buckeyes were being steamrolled in the fourth quarter on their home field. But don't believe the recency bias, according to two handicappers who side with the Buckeyes in Saturday's Peach Bowl against top-seeded Georgia. Ohio State is a consensus 6½-point underdog at Las Vegas sportsbooks,…

What if the Ohio State-Georgia game on Saturday? What if underdog Ohio State upsets No. 1-ranked Georgia in that NCAA football semifinal matchup and advances to the Jan. 9 national title game against the Michigan-TCU winner? The answer: Ohioans soon would get to bet legally on the Buckeyes. Legal starts Sunday when the clock strikes midnight at the…

The Buckeyes aren't favored against unbeaten Georgia, but they're not remotely playing with house money, either. Ohio State has its normal wardrobe that rarely deviates. Then it makes the College Football Playoff and gets to dress up as an underdog. This is the Buckeyes' Halloween, the one time when they can step out of Big Ten behemoth…

Ohio State has its normal wardrobe that rarely deviates. Then it makes the College Football Playoff and gets to dress up as an underdog. This is the Buckeyes' Halloween, the one time when they can step out of Big Ten behemoth character. They have been favored in 98 of their last 104 games. The only exceptions have been Playoff games: Alabama and…

ATLANTA - Ohio State isn't often an underdog when it takes the field, and the Buckeyes seem to be embracing the fact that defending national champion Georgia is a betting favorite to beat them in Saturday's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The No. 1 Bulldogs opened as 6 ½-point favorites, according to Caesars Sportsbook,…

ATLANTA (WCMH) - Ohio State finds itself in an unfamiliar place going into its Peach Bowl game against Georgia on December 31. "I always thought it was Ohio against the world, even before this game," OSU receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said during a press conference Tuesday. Harrison was referring to the Buckeyes being 6.5-point underdog to the…

The College Football Playoff is less than two weeks away. We have a returning participant in the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines. The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs look to become the first repeat champions of the CFP era and the first since the Alabama Crimson Tide did it a decade ago (2011-12). The top-seeded Bulldogs will take on the No. 4 Ohio State…

ATHENS - C.J. Stroud is a winner in most all respects, but the results of the past two games against Michigan have left the Ohio State star with an unsettled legacy. Stroud knows better than anyone what a win over No. 1 Georgia - and another shot at the Wolverines - could mean for him and his program. The No. 4-ranked Buckeyes play the Bulldogs at…

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Sports books are already taking bets on a potential Ohio State football vs. Michigan national championship game - and you might be surprised by who is favored. Max Meyer of Caesars Sportsbook said the site has already posted spreads on all four possible national championship matchups. As of Thursday afternoon, Ohio State was a…

Sports Betting Dime provides exclusive sports betting content to cleveland.com, including real-time odds, picks, analysis and sportsbook offers to help bettors get in on the action. Please wager responsibly. Thanks to the NCAA, the next time the Ohio State Buckeyes take the football field, Ohio sports bettors won't be able to place legal and…

Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State will play for the national championship after being chosen for the College Football Playoff on Sunday. After not playing in a conference championship game, the Buckeyes (11-1) moved up one spot following USC's loss in the Pac-12 title game Friday to give the Big Ten two playoff teams for the first time in the…

The window has been opened for Ohio State to reach the College Football Playoff this season. In fact, it seems like a certainty that the Buckeyes will now be part of the four-team CFP field. On Friday night, USC fell to Utah 47-24 in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It was the Trojans' second loss of the season, both…

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - It's one of the biggest weekends in college football with conference championship games Friday and Saturday. But for the second year in a row, Ohio State will be on the sideline. With the Buckeyes ranked No. 5 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, they are within reach of qualifying for the program's fifth…

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - It's one of the biggest weekends in college football with conference championship games Friday and Saturday. But for the second year in a row, Ohio State will be on the sideline. With the Buckeyes ranked No. 5 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, they are within reach of qualifying for the program's fifth…

Back just a few months ago over the summer, there weren't many who believed Michigan was capable of reaching this year's College Football Playoff. The Wolverines were coming off a 2-4 season and showed no signs of closing the gap on Ohio State in the Big Ten, forget providing a hint that they could beat the Buckeyes and compete on the national…

ATLANTA - For Ohio State, it is an unfamiliar feeling. For the majority of Buckeyes players, it is an unprecedented one. When Ohio State plays Georgia in Saturday night's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl, the Buckeyes will not be favored to win. Not since losing to Alabama two years ago in the CFP championship game has Ohio…

Georgia and Ohio State meet in a College Football Playoff semifinal Saturday night at 8 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Peach Bowl. Here are five things to know about the matchup: Georgia seemed secure with a playoff spot in November with the way it was handling opponents en route to an unbeaten regular season. Ohio State was living on the edge…

Traveling back in time is not yet possible, or I wouldn't be writing this. Trust me on that. But if it were, I would be enjoying a cocktail on some tropical island, admiring my multiple diamond-encrusted Super Bowl rings. Turns out I invested in Apple stock in the 1980s, bought the Cleveland Browns and hired Bill Belichick and drafted Tom…

The Ohio State football team is two wins away from claiming a national championship, but that is easier said than done. To win that championship, the Buckeyes would need to beat the reigning national champion, Georgia (in Atlanta), and then beat either high-powered TCU or their biggest rival, who has beaten them in their their two meetings,…