Pat Elflein took a deep breath, dripping in sweat after Ohio State practice Wednesday. The Buckeye right guard — one of 19 players named to All-Big Ten teams — doesn't have a game to prepare for in the immediate future for the first time all season.
Instead, Elflein and the No. 6 Buckeyes are going to be left at home to watch the Big Ten Championship Game Saturday night between Iowa and Michigan State. Left out, left to wonder what could have been and left to question if they're better than the Hawkeyes and Spartans.
"I'm sure it's gonna happen, but all we can do is hope and pray that it all works out for us," Elflein said.
Ohio State is 11-1, pasting arch-rival Michigan, 42-13, in the regular season finale to end its slate of 12 games on a high note. That came one week after a dud in the home finale against the Spartans, where it fell, 17-14. Mark Dantonio's club is No. 5 in the College Football Playoff picture and set to represent the Big Ten East in Indianapolis against the No. 4 Hawkeyes and Big Ten Coach of the Year Kirk Ferentz.
"I hate that we don't control our own destiny right now, because we obviously want to make the Playoff," left tackle Taylor Decker said. "Whether that happens or not, that's out of our control and it's our fault that it's out of our control.
"Because regardless who we play we're going to go win that game."
“I'm going to be happy with whatever happens because we're going to get to play in a great bowl, I'm sure. But if we get lucky enough to play in the Playoff, which I do think we deserve to be in, I'm going to be really happy.”– Joey Bosa
The loss to the Spartans prevented Ohio State to have one last ditch effort to enhance its Playoff résumé this weekend, but could sneak into the top-4 teams if chaos ensues before the final rankings are released Sunday. Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa would be in if the season ended today; three of those teams play Saturday.
It's a pretty safe bet to think the Sooners and Big Ten Champion will make the Playoff field, but that leaves two remaining spots. Ohio State needs Alabama to lose to Florida in the SEC Championship Game, Clemson to fall to North Carolina in the ACC Championship and for good measure, Stanford to drop the Pac-12 title game to USC.
If the lower ranked teams win Saturday, the Buckeyes will be in the conversation for the fourth and final Playoff spot. If not, they won't.
Either way, there's nothing they can do about it.
"We did this to ourselves type of deal," J.T. Barrett said. "(If) we beat Michigan State, then the Team Up North, we're not even having this conversation, you know what I'm saying?"
Barrett's correct, but for now, he and his teammates are left waiting with a bit of a sour taste in their mouths. An 11-1 record is nothing to gripe about, but the objective at Ohio State is to compete for championships. An attempt at achieving that goal was failed as far as the conference is concerned due to the loss to Michigan State.
"A lot of stuff is out of our control. I would never say that this season is a letdown or a disappointment, because we won 11 games," Decker said. "There's some kids that go to college and they don't win 11 games their whole career. We're fortunate to be able to do what we do here."
Ohio State's talent isn't in question, but because it lost a game hurts its chances at competing for the national title for the second straight season. That much is a fact.
"I'm going to be happy with whatever happens because we're going to get to play in a great bowl, I'm sure," All-American defensive end Joey Bosa said. "But if we get lucky enough to play in the Playoff, which I do think we deserve to be in, I'm going to be really happy. We'll see what happens this weekend."
Seven conference championships are set to get decided Saturday, and the Buckeyes don't have a hand in any of them. They could have a hand in the final say of who the best team in the country is come January, but it all depends on if the chips fall in their favor.
"We want chaos," Joshua Perry said. "The good thing for us is I think we showed what everybody wanted to see the last time we were on the field when we beat a team that was top-10 at the time on their home turf. Our offense did some some things to them that people weren’t supposed to do, they had a top-five defense or something. At this point, all we can hope for is chaos."
