Sweet 16: Hypothetical 16-team College Football Playoff
By Brad Weiss
The Ohio State Buckeyes came into the Sweet 16 flying high, as they were fresh off their home victory against Michigan in The Big Game. The double-overtime victory against the Wolverines gave the Buckeyes an 11-1 record, though they had been struggling to score points as of late. Ohio State scored 62 points in two straight games prior to the Michigan State contest on November 19 and was definitely happy about playing somebody outside of the state of Michigan.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett struggled to move the ball through the air against the Wolverines, and that was the case against the Auburn Tigers as well. The Tigers defense shut down the pass against the Buckeyes, but failed to do anything against the run. While Barrett could not get it going with his arm, he certainly made plays with his feet, rushing for over 100 yards against a very good Auburn defensive line.
Auburn came into the game with the 21st ranked rush defense in the country, but the three-headed monster of Barrett, Curtis Samuel, and Mike Weber Jr. proved to be too much for the Tigers. The real story was the play of the Buckeyes defense, who were able to keep the running back tandem of Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway at bay for most of the game. Pettway scored the only touchdown of the game for the Tigers, whose inability to throw the ball enabled the Buckeyes to stack the box against the Tigers in this one.