With Tennessee matchup set, Buckeyes turn focus to ‘electric’ first-round home game

COLUMBUS — Ohio State already knew it was going to the College Football Playoff, even after its rivalry loss to Michigan last week. The Buckeyes figured they were in line to receive a home game in the first round of the CFP following the penultimate rankings release on Tuesday night.

But once the Buckeyes watched as a team as their name was called, it became official. Not only is Ohio State in and hosting a game, but the Buckeyes will be hosting an SEC opponent — Tennessee — in the Horseshoe for an 8 p.m. kickoff on Dec. 21.

Yes, after a string of six straight Noon games on FOX and Big Ten Network to end the season, TV executives at ESPN looked at Buckeyes vs. Volunteers and couldn’t help but slot it in primetime in late December.

Bundle up, Buckeyes fans. The CFP is coming to Columbus, and Ohio State coach Ryan Day expects Ohio Stadium to be rocking for the first-round matchup. He even used the word ‘electric’ three different times to talk about what he expects from his home crowd.

Now that the matchup is set, anticipation can build for this team, this program and this fanbase.

“Last week it was a mixed bag of identifying the things that didn’t go well, working through. You don’t just move on after a day or two,” Day said about the mindset of his team post-rivalry loss. “We know that, but now that we have a target. We said, “Listen, we’re going to flush that out.” We got back on the field. We got into the weekend and said, like, “Okay, we’ve got to learn from it. We got to fix with the problems.” But that’s not going to do us any goos looking back on that. We’ve got to learn from it and move on.

“The guys have a good look in their eye. We were up there at noon watching the Selection Show. There was a great energy up there. They want to play. They want to get back on the field and get a win.”

Ohio State has been in a big of a holding period for the last week and change. Following the loss to Michigan, the Buckeyes took a few days off instead of preparing to play Oregon in the Big Ten title game. They practiced a couple of times late last week, knowing they would be in the CFP at 10-2 with wins at Penn State and against Indiana, both top-10 teams.

But there was no clear opponent, even if the Buckeyes began doing some prep for a potential Tennessee matchup early last week.

Now with a Buckeyes vs. Vols matchup official, Ohio State has a target.

“Absolutely. When you have a target, you’ve got a mission,” Day said. “That’s where your focus goes. Until then, you’re a little bit in limbo. You know it’s coming, but you don’t know. We kind of felt like this may shake out like this. So we’ve had an idea, but now, now we’re in it. So now you know exactly what it is. Now you’re really diving into it. And I’m telling you right now our guys are excited about it. You could feel it up there at the training table, and we’re going to have a great week of practice this week. And the coaches are excited. So here we go.

“This is an opportunity that we’ve got to go jump on right now. And I just think back to what this game could be, a Saturday night game, eight o’clock, first playoff game ever in the Horseshoe. It’s going to be electric. It’s going to be where the fans feed off the players, the players feed off the fans. And again, a historic game. So a lot to be excited about in this game.”

This will be historic. Ohio State hasn’t hosted an SEC team in the Horseshoe since 2017, when Oklahoma came to Columbus (and the Sooners were in the Big 12 at the time; does that even count?). Beyond that, the last time was 1998 when Missouri came to Columbus — as a Big 12 member — and then in 1988 against LSU.

Add in the fact that it’s the first ever College Football Playoff to feature 12 teams — and on-campus games — and this will be an all-time night in the Horseshoe.

Now that it’s set, Ohio State can officially begin preparing for the massive win-or-go-home showdown against the Volunteers — and begin getting over that disappointing rivalry loss to Michigan from last week.

“Night game, eight o’clock, it’s going to be electric,” Day said. “Our guys are going to be excited about this. And so as we head into our preparation, it’s going to be on us fast — two weeks. Getting this first win will be critical in building momentum as you head into the the the teeth of the playoffs.

“And when you look at tournament play, you look at playoff play, we all know that that first game is very, very important. So it’s not bowl prep. It’s very different. It’s a quick turnaround. And all of our focus is on these guys.”

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