The season that was nearly written off after the second game now lives as arguably the most memorable in the Buckeyes 125-year football history.
Coming in at number five in the 2014 AP preseason rankings and with a solid schedule, Ohio State was an early favorite to fill one of the four slots of the inaugural College Football Playoffs. But that all changed when your Buckeyes lost their starting quarterback before the season even kicked off. And a loss in week two to unranked Virginia Tech all but sealed their fate of missing out on the playoffs. Then momentum shifted. Your Buckeyes found their form and put together nine straight wins to steadily climb back up the rankings. Alas, during the final game of the regular season, another devastating blow: Ohio State’s second-string quarterback suffers a season-ending leg injury. Without flinching ahead the Big Ten Championship, Ohio State called on the next man up, a redshirt sophomore, and the team delivered a 59-0 rout to Wisconsin to send them into the playoffs as the fourth and final team. With the same playbook from the Big Ten Championship, your Buckeyes dominated #1 seed Alabama in the semis and #2 seed Oregon in the final to become the first Football Playoff National Champions, bringing their tally to eight national championships. Pay homage to the incredible comeback season, and gear up for the grind for nine. O-H!