Ohio State is clearly the best football team in the state
By John Buhler
We’ve seen enough. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the best team in football in Ohio. They’re better than the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns.
The evidence has been collected. We’ve assessed the damages and we can make a strong conclusion at this time. The best football team in the state of Ohio does not reside in Cincinnati or Cleveland, it lives in the state capital of Columbus.
Yes, the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes are clearly better than both the winless Cincinnati Bengals and the dysfunctional Cleveland Browns.
Surprise! I thought you all knew that. Quite frankly, one could make a case that the Bengals are the second-best American football team in Cincinnati behind the AAC’s Cincinnati Bearcats, who are the favorite to win the Group of 5 and reach the College Football Playoff. If we’re counting all football teams, then the Bengals are third in Cincinnati behind the Bearcats and FC Cincinnati.
The Bengals were the first team to clinch a losing record this season, as Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens ran all over them. By starting rookie Ryan Finley over a perfectly healthy Andy Dalton, you knew the Bengals had no chance to get a win at home on this fine early November Sunday. They don’t care about winning, as they are focused on the 2020 NFL Draft.
Seemingly every year, somebody will argue that the best team in college football could be the worst team in the NFL. Usually, they’re so wrong about that, but not this year. Ohio State is 9-0, having eviscerated the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday. It was that bad. If the Buckeyes don’t reach the College Football Playoff, something went totally wrong with Ryan Day’s football team.
On a neutral-site, let’s say FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, the Bengals will lay a field goal, you know, because they’re professionals and all. Well, do you really think that Zac Taylor’s team will have an answer for the dual-threat playmaker in quarterback Justin Fields? He’ll be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. What about defensive end Chase Young? He’s a top-five pick now.
Maybe Young AND Fields will be playing in Cincinnati in two years? Young might be the first player off the board if the Bengals don’t go quarterback No. 1 overall. Fields projects as a top-10 pick in 2021, so that’s totally in play for the Bengals to land some Buckeyes to attempt to magically make their football team not terrible anymore. Good look with that.
Next: NFL: 15 Biggest Draft Busts Of All-Time
At the end of the day, those fine Southern Ohioans who spent their hard-earned money to watch a football game on Sunday were better off giving that money away to charity. They would have felt better about themselves, as well as write it off for tax purposes. Instead, you gave octogenarian Mike Brown more money he’s not going to spend and reaffirming he’s doing a great job. Neat!