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Maryland Terrapins at #1 Ohio State Buckeyes
12:00pm ET/9:00am PT, FOX
The 2017 Buckeyes beat four teams that were ranked at the time OSU played them including #2 Penn State, #4 Wisconsin and #8 USC. They lost to #5 Oklahoma, but it was their 24-55 loss to Iowa in early November that kept them out of the playoffs as the committee preferred two one-loss SEC teams in Georgia and Alabama...who ultimately met in the championship with Alabama freshman QB Tua Tagovailoa coming in for a waning QB Jalen Hurts powering the Tide to another trophy.
The 2018 Buckeyes beat teams at the time they played them ranked #4 (Michigan), #9 (Penn St.), #9 (Washington), #15 (TCU Horned Frogs), #18 (Michigan State Spartans) and #21 (Northwestern Wildcats). Yet thanks to a 20-49 loss to Purdue in late October OSU was ranked sixth in the final playoff rankingsbehind a two-loss Georgia team that slipped in the SEC Championship as an injured QB Tua Tagovailoa ceded way to a heroic QB Jalen Hurts entrance.
I’m not saying OSU is going to lose today though the absence of potential 2020 NFL Draft #1 overall pick EDGE Chase Young certainly hurts. I am saying that if there’s a template, it sure as hell makes the most out of games like today for OSU moreso than the PSU or Michigan games or the Big Ten Championship ahead.
Good opportunity for Los Angeles Rams fans to get a look at Ohio St. defenders LB Malik Harrison and CB Damon Arnette.
#4 Penn State Nittany Lions at #17 Minnesota Golden Gophers
12:00pm ET/9:00am PT, ABC
Look. If Minnesota and their Big XII counterpart #12 Baylor Bears want to legitimately be in the hunt in the playoff race, they’re going to have to win these games. Not the ones they’ve gotten to this point.
Rams can get a look at two linebackers of note here in Penn St. LB Cameron Brown and Minnesota LB Kamal Martin.
#2 LSU Tigers at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide
3:30pm ET/12:00pm PT, CBS
Our God is an awesome God.
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