Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes heavily favored to make third-straight playoff appearance

On3 imageby:Spencer Holbrook08/18/21

SpencerHolbrook

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Buckeyes heavily favored to make third-straight playoff

Ohio State has made the last two College Football Playoffs. The folks in Las Vegas believe the Buckeyes will make their third-straight Final Four this season.

Clemson (-700) has the best odds to make the College Football Playoff. Alabama (-400) has the second-best odds. Then it’s Ohio State (-250) and Oklahoma (-225). Those are the only four teams with negative odds to make the four-team bracket. All other teams have positive odds, according to BetOnline.ag.

The Buckeyes have plenty of holes to fill after nearly winning the national title last season. They must replace their starting quarterback, running back, top offensive linemen and defensive playmakers. But the roster is talented enough to compete for another championship.

And oddsmakers are buying in on Ohio State being a threat for college football’s crown.

New Tim May Podcast

Tim welcomes on his co-pilot, Lettermen Row senior writer Austin Ward, on the show to break down the latest they are hearing from Ohio State training camp as it enters a pivotal week. The Buckeyes held a massive scrimmage Saturday, and the fallout from it will have implications on how the Big Ten’s best program heads into the regular season.

Tim and Austin dive into the quarterback competition that appears to be winding down. Second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud seems to be taking the lead in the battle, but Kyle McCord and Jack Miller are still trying to make up ground.

Oh, and the No. 1 overall player in the 2021 class, Texas native Quinn Ewers, just arrived on campus over the weekend to make the quarterback room even more stocked with intrigue.

They also made sure to talk about the biggest remaining question marks heading into the third week of camp, who is standing out in camp and how the Buckeyes might fare early in the season on the road.

Who is going to be the starting quarterback for Ohio State on Sept. 2 at Minnesota? Who will emerge as the backup quarterback? What can Quinn Ewers do to impress in his first couple of weeks on campus with the Buckeyes?

Find out all of the answers and plenty more on this episode of the Tim May Podcast.

The Tim May Podcast.

J.T. Tuimoloau learning quickly for Buckeyes

Five-star freshman J.T. Tuimoloau just arrived at Ohio State last month. But he certainly has been quick in his ability to learn the Buckeyes culture and way of playing.

Lettermen Row’s Austin Ward has more on Tuimoloau’s progression and how he has learned so rapidly for the Buckeyes. Part of that can be found here:

The pictures scrolling on the video board in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center paid tribute to all the Champion grades in the critical scrimmage Ohio State had on Saturday. And it included a somewhat surprising addition of a true freshman who hasn’t even been on campus for two months yet.

Yes, it sure seems like J.T. Tuimoloau is proving to be a quick study as the five-star tries to break into the rotation and provide an instant impact for the Buckeyes.

READ: What We Learned as Larry Johnson builds another elite defensive line

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