Miami OH poised to make CFB playoff over Ohio State

The new landscape of college football has opened the door for every program to have a crack at the national title, not just the powerhouses of the Big Ten and SEC. In the new, 12-team playoff format, one Group of Five (G5) school is guaranteed to make the playoff field.

This year, there’s one program that the nation is definitely overlooking as a serious contender to be this season’s G5 representative: the Miami University RedHawks.

Miami University may be in the same state as the reigning national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, but a closer look at things shows that people may be wrong about which program could represent Ohio in the college football playoff this season.

It’s undeniable that the RedHawks have a much more proven quarterback. The Buckeyes have named sophomore Julian Sayin as the starting quarterback, and while he was a highly rated recruit, he’s never started at the collegiate level before. Meanwhile, the RedHawks will be rolling with Dequan Finn, who was named the MAC’s most valuable player last season after leading the Toledo Rockets to an 11-2 record and conference title with 2,657 yards passing and 22 touchdowns.

There are major question marks for the Buckeyes on the defensive side of the ball as well, as the Buckeyes were stunned by the sudden departure of standout defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to take the same role with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The RedHawks, on the other hand, have consistently had one of the top defenses in the country, as they sported the 15th and 8th best scoring defenses the last two seasons.

Of course, the most important determinant in making the college football playoff is record. The Buckeyes, quite frankly, are looking at a gauntlet of a schedule. They’ll open their season against the lauded Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns, and also have to face three more ranked teams in the Illinois Fighting Illini, Penn State Nittany Lions, and the Michigan Wolverines, whom Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has struggled with immensely.

RedHawks head coach Chuck Martin has a much easier go of things this year. If the Hawks can beat the Wisconsin Badgers, who seem to be sputtering under Luke Fickell, they’ll play a much easier schedule, with no preseason-ranked teams on the docket.

With Ohio State potentially going 8-4 if it loses all its marquee games, and the RedHawks having a very real path to going 13-0 with a conference championship, it’s not out of the question to think Miami University could get in over the Buckeyes, and have a puncher’s chance at holding the national championship trophy up in January.