When national championship contenders are rattled off across national media outlets entering Week Eight of a college football season, it's not very often Ohio State's name doesn't appear as one of the top possibilities.
But if the recent wild weekends across college football have taught us anything, it's that this year is not like any other.
After an early-season loss to Virginia Tech back on Sept. 6, the Buckeyes' chances at making the first-ever College Football Playoff were slim to none. They looked like a young team which had miles to go to get back into one of the Top 10 teams in the country.
But as teams who are considered to be ahead of them keep losing, the Buckeyes have won three-straight games and have suddenly found a rhythm both offensively and defensively.
Still, Ohio State sits on the outside looking in when it comes to the national title picture.
“It kind of makes you angry. It really makes you angry and that’s why we’ve been practicing so hard lately because we wanna come back into that conversation," safety Tyvis Powell said Monday. "I would say that it is great motivation to the team to know that we’re not in the topic of conversation so it makes us come out and practice and work harder so we can be in that topic.”
The Buckeyes may be closer to being in that conversation than they think, however. It might sound simple, but the best way to stay in that conversation is to not lose.
Ohio State's schedule certainly could benefit it in that regard as the Buckeyes will be favored in every game they play, excluding a Nov. 8 trip to East Lansing to face Michigan State.
At the same time, the perception of the Big Ten could work against Ohio State. That remains to be seen.
"We obviously had our struggles early on in the season and I think we’ve done really well to correct the struggles we’ve had early on," wide receiver Evan Spencer said. "It’s weird, but at the same time we know that we’ve gotta go out and beat Rutgers and then take one game at a time and then if things happen to where we are one of the teams considered then more power to us, I guess."
Still, it's kind of shocking how this team has even put itself in such a position after the loss to the Hokies. On that night, Ohio State certainly didn't look like a team that could even contend for a Big Ten title, let alone be in the conversation for a shot at the national title.
“It was a big wake-up and it makes everybody hungry," middle linebacker Curtis Grant said. "Everybody comes in and is willing to work and the competition in each and every room on our team is so crazy that it makes us want to come out and get better each and every week so I guess it just takes over on the field on Saturday.”
It seems as if the mindset of the team has totally changed since that 35-21 loss.
"We’re a completely different team than we were against Virginia Tech," tight end Jeff Heuerman said. "I think it would definitely be a different outcome if we went back and played that game over just in how far we’ve come in these last few weeks.”
