It’s a rivalry so nice, they might do it twice. Don’t look now, but Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day might just get a chance at redemption against Michigan in the College Football Playoff.
It’s by no means a slam dunk, but USC losing to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday night, combined with TCU’s overtime loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game sets up a scenario that might allow the Buckeyes to jump from No. 5 to No. 3. Couple that with Michigan remaining at No. 2, and it would mean a matchup between the Buckeyes and Wolverines in Glendale, Arizona, in the Fiesta Bowl.
For that to happen, Georgia might need to hold serve against LSU in the SEC Championship game, and Michigan might need to handle its business in Indy vs. Purdue. If all of that holds — and it’s a fairly good bet — the CFP committee might look at Georgia (1), Michigan (2), Ohio State (3) and TCU (4) as the four teams.
That would mean “The Matchup” in “The Game” for the second time in one year, a first in the rivalry’s history. And hey, why not? Duke and North Carolina met in the Final Four for the first time in the NCAA Tournament in the spring, so why not keep flipping the American sports landscape on its head?
If it were to happen, you can bet Ohio State fans, players, and coaches would relish the opportunity to have another shot at Darth Vader (after all, Michigan was Ohio State’s “father” a little over a week ago).
It would also most likely be ratings gold. According to Nielsen ratings, the first game between the two old rivals set an all-time record for regular season viewership on Fox and the highest on any network since No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 LSU in 2011. “The Game” averaged 17 million viewers on Fox, beating the second most-watched game of the year — Georgia-Tennessee (13.1 million).
.@FOXSports' record-breaking weekend continues!
Michigan-Ohio State was the most-watched regular season CFB game EVER on FOX with 17 million viewers
– Most-watched regular season CFB game on any net since 2011
– Peaked at 19.6 million viewers
– Up +3% over 2021's matchup on FOX pic.twitter.com/DdZglhNJqP— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) November 27, 2022
There’s still a chance — and a very good one at that — of TCU remaining at No. 3 which would likely mean a trip to Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against No. 1 Georgia for Ohio State. And … we have to also mention that the CFP committee could do something way out of left field and leave the Buckeyes out entirely, but that seems like a very unlikely scenario at this point.
Either way, keep your eyes and ears open for the live CFP selection show on ESPN at noon ET Sunday, and root for a massive matchup between the colors of scarlet and gray vs. maize and blue in the desert.
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