Ohio State Buckeyes

All Big Ten Selections Could Strengthen Ohio State's Playoff Odds

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Could it make a difference in the playoff rankings?

Ohio State is almost guaranteed a spot in the college football playoff. Going into week 13 ranked No. 2 in the country, the Bucks took down the No. 3 Wolverines in a hard fought, smash-mouth rivalry game. Although they won’t compete for a conference title, why would they drop out of the top four after their impressive double-overtime victory? Well, if that’s not enough to make the playoff, perhaps their eight first-team all Big Ten selections will strengthen their playoff odds.

The young Buckeye defense has been solid all season. Proof of that came on Tuesday, as Malik Hooker, Tyquan Lewis, Raekwon McMillan and Marshon Lattimore were all named first-team All-Big Ten performers, and Gareon Conley received second-team honors.

The offense wasn’t too shabby either in this regard, as J.T. Barrett, center Pat Elflein, guard Billy Price and H-back Curtis Samuel are all unanimous first-team All-Big Ten performers, too.

As far as the defense goes, Malik Hooker leads the Buckeyes and is tied for fourth nationally with six interceptions this season through games. The last Ohio State player to have six interceptions in a single season was Vonn Bell back in 2014.

The hard-hitting safety has made the most of his interceptions, too, returning three for touchdowns. His most impactful one came against Michigan, which gave Ohio State a 10-to-7 lead late in the third quarter.

Lattimore is second on the team with four interceptions and returned one for a touchdown. And, possibly the best lockdown/cover, Conley has three interceptions on the season himself. Anyway, that’s just the story for the Buckeyes’ secondary. There’s more where that came from.

Linebacker Raekwon McMillan leads Ohio State with 87 total tackles. He led the Bucks in tackles last year as well, and this year he earned his second first-team All-Big Ten nod. Through twelve games he has recorded 87 tackles, five tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four pass breakups, and one sack this season.

Tyquan Lewis leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss and was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Lineman of the Year. That’s it on the defensive side of the ball on to the all Big Ten selections on offense.

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To no surprise, QB J.T. Barrett made the cut. His 24 touchdown passes were good enough for second in the Big Ten, and his nine rushing touchdowns give him more total touchdowns than anyone in the conference. The red-shirt junior has 2,428 passing yards and 847 rushing yards on the year.

Pat Elflein is a finalist for the Outland Trophy, given to college football’s top interior lineman, and he was named the 2016 Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year. He is quite literally a big reason for the success of Ohio State’s offense. Perhaps Curtis Samuel is a bigger reason, though.

Samuel’s the only player in college football this season to have at least 700 rushing and 700 receiving yards. In all, Samuel has 1,546 all-purpose yards this season, second only to Penn State’s Saquon Barkley for the Big Ten crown in that category.

As voted on by the coaches and media, freshman running Back Mike Weber made second-team All-Big Ten, and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year on Wednesday. The last player to do that was Braxton Miller back in 2011, and look at how spectacular his career winded up being.

The recognition of all of these players will bolster the Buckeyes’ playoff odds.

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