Even the most ardent Ohio State football fan has to agree that Alabama has been holding the college football world hostage over the last decade or so. As good as the Buckeye program has been, no single program can hold a candle to what Nick Saban has cooked up with sweet tea and grits recently.
Seemingly every season here as of late, the season begins with the Crimson Tide at preseason No. 1 and ends with ‘Bama in the College Football Playoff. And it’s the same this season. Alabama is again expected to be the team to beat as the preseason Alpha Dog in both major polls.
So, OSU will be playing second fiddle yet again. But is there really that much separation between the Tide and Buckeyes this year? Ohio State returns some dynamic playmakers on offense, not the least of which is one of the Heisman frontrunners, quarterback C.J. Stroud. He has plenty of playmakers around him. And there’s high optimism that the defense has retooled and figured things out with the athletes on the field and the hire of Jim Knowles.
But what does the national media think? Moreover, what does one of the most recognizable SEC mouthpieces think about comparing the two programs?
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich tackled that very subject this past week on the morning show “Get Up.” Maybe somewhat surprisingly, the two agreed that Ohio State may even be better than Alabama this season. Or at least, on even footing.
Watch the segment below and listen to Dinich and Finebaum discuss how good the Buckeyes might be this season and what a game it might be if OSU and Alabama match up in the CFP.
Is Ohio State on equal footing with Alabama this season? https://t.co/cXE7jzeM4x
— Buckeyes Wire (@BuckeyesWire) August 22, 2022
Let’s hope these two are correct. This sure feels like a special Ohio State team, but you have to prove it on the field and even get some breaks on the field to reach the potential of what’s there.
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