Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State listed among College Football Playoff favorites

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Ohio State near top of CFP odds

Ohio State has the fourth-best chance to win the College Football Playoff according to the latest odds released by the Westgate Superbook on Monday. The Buckeyes are listed at 10-1 odds, which places them behind Clemson, Alabama and Georgia. The Buckeyes have not made the playoff in either of the last two seasons despite winning the Big Ten title game both seasons.

Here are the odds for the top teams:

Clemson 2-1

Alabama 5-2

Georgia 7-1

Ohio State 10-1

Oklahoma 14-1

Michigan 14-1

LSU 25-1

Texas 25-1

Notre Dame 30-1

Justin Fields among Heisman hopefuls

Just because he’s new to Ohio State doesn’t mean people aren’t expecting big things out of sophomore quarterback Justin Fields. The transfer from Georgia has already worked his way close to the top of the Heisman Trophy odds. Here’s the Westgate Superbook’s latest Heisman odds, which were also released Monday.

Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama 5-2

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson 7-2

Justin Fields, Ohio State 8-1

Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma 8-1

Adrian Martinez, Nebraska 8-1

Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin 16-1

Sam Ehlinger, Texas 20-1

Jake Fromm, Georgia 20-1

Justin Herbert, Oregon 25-1

Ohio State checks out local defensive end

There’s another under-the-radar defensive lineman getting some Ohio State attention as well. Gage Keys, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end at Hilliard Davidson, has recently been hearing from Johnson and Ohio State. He’s Ohio’s 43rd-ranked player, but he is raw and relatively unseen to this point.

“It really seems like they’re interested in me much more than last year,” Keys told Lettermen Row. “I’ve gotten a lot better as a player. Coach Johnson came in to see me work out last Thursday. After that he said he was impressed and would like to get me down for a visit real soon. We are thinking about next Friday but not 100 percent sure yet.”

Keys has 12 early offers, including Rutgers and Indiana. He visited Ohio State last season when it hosted Minnesota. He’s a player who will have no problem coming to camp in Columbus this summer with an eye on earning an offer in person. He missed half of his junior season with a knee injury suffered midway through the year but is back to full strength.

For more on Ohio State recruiting, check out the Monday edition of Dotting the ‘Eyes.

Counting down

• Big Ten Media Days: 79 days
• Ohio State vs. Florida Atlantic (season opener): 123 days
• Ohio State at Michigan: 214 days

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