COMMENTARY | Even though the Ohio State Buckeyes have won 22 straight games, they likely won’t get a chance this season to play in the one that matters the most — the BCS national championship game. The rise of the Florida State Seminoles has crippled OSU’s odds of appearing in the national title game on January 6. FSU and, to an extent, Baylor, stand in the way of the Buckeyes getting a shot to take on the most dominant team in college football over the past half-decade — the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is the second year in a row that an undefeated OSU team could lose out on a chance to take down the Tide, after sanctions locked the Buckeyes out of the postseason in 2012. The thought that these two titans of college football aren’t likely to meet anytime soon is sad enough, but it’s made even worse because OSU would give Alabama a run for their money. These are four reasons why the Buckeyes could beat the Crimson Tide: OSU’s Offense Would Provide Alabama With Its Toughest Challenge Yet While the SEC has many solid teams, it is primarily a defensive league, which is a major reason why the Crimson Tide are only allowing an FBS-best 10.2 points per game this season. The best offense that Alabama has faced in 2013 was on September 14 against the Texas A&M Aggies, and the Tide defense was torched in that game. Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel put up 562 yards of total offense as Texas A&M barely came up short in a 49-42 loss. If the pass-happy Aggies can put up those types of numbers, the more-balanced OSU offense could potentially score a ton of points in a matchup against Alabama. After all, the Buckeyes haven’t scored less than 31 points in any game this season. Alabama Hasn’t Faced Many Real Tests This Season Aside from the Texas A&M game, the Crimson Tide have only faced two opponents ranked in the Top 25 this season. Alabama dispatched No. 21 Ole Miss by a score of 25-0 on September 28, and beat No. 13 LSU 38-17 on November 9. Both games were at home, and despite the somewhat lopsided final scores, neither one was a blowout by any means. OSU has the type of football team that will not fold up in the second half as the Rebels and Tigers did in their losses to the Tide. That alone could spell doom for Alabama. Alabama QB A.J. McCarron Could Have A Long Day Against OSU’s Defensive Front McCarron is putting up another good year for the Tide, having posted a quarterback orating of 162.2 so far in 2013. A major reason for McCarron’s success is the fact that he almost never gets sacked. In 10 games this season, McCarron has only been sacked nine times
Continue Reading: Four Reasons Why Ohio State Could Beat Alabama (Yahoo Contributor Network)
