ARLINGTON, Texas — During what turned out to be a romp through the College Football Playoff last season, Ohio State players did not hide that they had an extra bit of motivation every time they took the field.
Not only were the Buckeyes looking ahead to the prospect of winning a national championship like every one of the 12 teams in the field, they were also doing a bit of looking behind. They entered the postseason fresh off an incredibly perplexing loss to Michigan that led to plenty of skepticism outside of Columbus, Ohio, about the team’s ability to win it all. Truthfully, judging by the number of fans who gave up tickets to their Tennessee counterparts ahead of the teams’ first-round meeting at the Horseshoe last December, there was some of that thinking inside the city as well.
