On January 12th, the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Oregon Ducks 42-20. The Buckeyes were able to capitalize despite having their first or second string quarterback.
This season has been a season in which the Buckeyes have truly overcome adversity. At the very beginning of the season, they had a player that many people thought would win the heisman. Quarterback Braxton Miller went down early this year, keeping him on the sideline for the remainder of the season. From then on , the baton was passed to J.T Barrett.
On the second game that Barrett started , the Buckeyes suffered their first defeat against a mediocre Virginia Tech team. At this point, many had written the Buckeyes off as college football playoff hopefuls. After that game, Barrett and the Buckeyes never looked back. J.T Barrett ( a freshman) went on a rampage! For the rest of the season, Barrett had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 6:1. Barrett was able to carry the team all the way to the forever huge rivalry game between the Ohio State and Michigan. In that game, Barrett injured his leg. From then on, the baton was passed to Cardale Jones.
Jones' first start for the Buckeyes was in the Big Ten Conference Championship game. What a way to begin your starting campaign. Jones has had previous experience, but that is not equivalent to stage that he was about to be placed on. With that being said , Cardale handled the pressure very well. In the conference championship game, Jones threw for 3 touchdowns and 257 yards. Cardale's next challenge took place against the college football modern day golden child, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Battling against the Crimson Tide, the Buckeyes were able to will their to a 42-35 victory. At this point, Jones has been battle tested and has stepped up two games in a row. Needless to say, Cardale was able to get the last and most important game of the season: the College Football Playoff Championship Game.
Ohio State did a great job of overcoming adversity. There were able to be successful without two of the better players on the team. In order to overcome such adversity in college football, it takes two major qualities: determination and a good team.
Determination
Too many times in any sport, once a great player goes down, teams are deflated. When this occurs, the will and want to win must become even greater. It is almost guaranteed that those Ohio State players were even more motivated for a couple of reasons. 1) They were the last team selected to the College Football Playoffs. 2) With their teammates injured, they want to win it all out of support for them. The level of determination that Ohio State displayed proved that with the right attitude, things can be accomplished.
Good Team
While determination can really take a team to another level, it takes a certain level of skill to even be in the position to compete for a national championship. The Ohio State Buckeyes were not only talented in the quarterback position, but they were also talented in every other position. Running back Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 249 yards and 4 touchdowns. The defense held the high scoring Oregon Ducks to just 20 points. Ohio State out played the Oregon Ducks in every aspect of the game.
