5 Reasons To Root Against Ohio State In The National Title Game

My father told me a long time ago that when it comes to politics and professional sports – which to him were one in the same at times – you aren’t necessarily rooting for a team or politician as much as you are rooting against the opponent.

Now that I have children myself, the comment makes complete sense as I root for my Seminoles to win on a weekly basis, but more than anything this past season, I was rooting for the opponent to collapse in the final quarter to preserve perfection for a team that was quite mediocre.

Yes, I said that, stand by it and believe that FSU lost a game last week it could never win. But that is not the focus of this article.

On Monday, Oregon and Ohio State meet for the right to claim the College Football Playoff national championship. The Buckeyes were the last team to be added to the four-team dance, but has proven every bit as formidable as any team in the country.

Oregon appears to be an offensive juggernaut with Marcus Mariota at the wheel of a very explosive offensive and a defense that all but shut down FSU in the Rose Bowl.

I picked Ohio State to win this game, but a case can be made why Ohio State should not be champion. And like all college teams and their fans, there are reasons to just not like Ohio State.

Here are five reasons to root against them come Monday night.

The two faces of Urban Meyer

OK, bear with me on this one. From a Gator Nation perspective, Urban Meyer may have brought the program two national titles, but he also is considered a liar and unsavory. Meyer claimed he was ill, and allegedly faked illness to retire from the game and leave Gainesville, only to stay away from the game for a year and then return to Columbus where he dreamed as a little boy of becoming his idol, Woody Hayes.

Last time I checked, Hayes wasn’t a class act, either.

TCU is a better team

After the assault the Horned Frogs put on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl, there is little doubt that they belonged in the playoffs. Maybe they were the ones who should have knocked FSU out. But of the one-loss teams, TCU still looked like the one that should have gotten in between themselves, the Buckeyes and Baylor.

You are a Michigan fan

Don’t need to say too much more about this one.

They are a Big Ten team

The Big Ten was supposed to be poor conference this season. For the most part, it wasn’t very good. But Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State all won bowl games. I guess that dispels the myth. Maybe that is all the more reason to dislike them.

Because Oregon is the better team

Plain and simple, Oregon is a better product. While the media will try to put as much spin on this game that it can, sizing up opponents could be as simple as one team is better than the other. Ohio State’s defense may be better, but no one has really stopped Marcus Mariota all season. The Ducks passing game is superb and the running game is better than we think. It may just be a case that Ohio State is inferior to the Pac 12 team.