Ryan Day is in a fix again! A “unique situation” presented itself for Ohio State ahead of the highly-awaited playoffs. The Buckeyes rounded up a winning record of 10-2 this season, securing the No. 8 seed in the first 12-team playoff format. But their playoff roster could be impacted by the looming transfer portal period. 

The CFB transfer portal period begins on December 9, giving players 20 days to transfer before it closes on December 28. Ohio State isn’t exempted from this transfer pandemonium, as several Buckeyes players have already announced their decision. But the question is whether they’ll play in the playoffs while sitting in the portal, and Ryan Day gave the answer in his press conference posted by WBNS 10TV on December 9. He said, “It’s not their fault. It’s just the way it’s designed that they have to make decisions while we’re getting ready to go play in the playoffs. So very, very unique. To answer your question, we’ll make decisions on individual basis.”

Ohio State currently has four players who announced their decision to enter the transfer portal. Two WRs, Kojo Antwi and Jayden Ballard, LB Gabe Powers, and QB Devin Brown, are the latest to join the portal. Ryan Day had proposed a case-by-case analysis for his players’ playoff chances. But is it a possible scenario? 

Most players in the transfer portal move on, but this scenario isn’t new for Ohio State. In 2022, they had a former LB Teradja Mitchell who entered the portal weeks before the playoff. But he was present for their semi-final playoff game against Georgia. So it’s not unexpected that a similar pattern would follow. After all, they need the best players with them when they face No. 9 Tennessee in the first playoff round. 

Ohio State set to face Tennessee in first-round playoff

Again, not unexpected! The final CFP seeding had Ohio State locked with Tennessee in the first-round. The Buckeyes will be hosting the playoff game on December 21 for the first time in Ohio Stadium in Columbus. An excited Ryan Day stated, “I think when you looked at it last week, you could kind of sort of project out where you might be. This was one of the projections we saw. So we’ve been looking at these guys and a couple other opponents. But we’re fired up. We’re obviously excited about playing the first ever playoff game in Ohio Stadium.”

After winning the national title in 2014, Ohio State has since appeared in four playoff appearances. They enter their fifth playoff game as a 7.5-point favorite over Josh Heupel and the Volunteers. The winner of the first round will face No. 1 Oregon in the quarterfinals. If they win, it’s going to be a big pressure, as the Ducks were one of the two teams that dominated the Buckeyes this season, the other one being Michigan in the big rivalry game. 

OSU and Tennessee only met once, and the Vols held superiority with their 20-14 victory in the Citrus Bowl in 1995. But this season could be poised to churn out a different result. Still, the playoff is a very uncertain situation, and a lot can change with one single game.