COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeyes held the first of four practice sessions scheduled in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, the only facility among the College Football Playoff bowl games that allows teams to work out on the playing surface prior to the game.
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Number 4 seed Ohio State plays top-ranked Alabama in the second of two semifinal games at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Jan. 1 (8:30 p.m./ESPN). Second-seeded Oregon plays 3rd seed Florida St. in the Rose Bowl earlier in the day.
OSU (12-1) began their final week of preparation with a two-hour workout similar to a typical Tuesday practice in the Superdome.
The Buckeyes are underdogs to the Crimson Tide (12-1) with concerns about their quarterback position, which has been bitten badly by the injury bug and is currently being handled by third-stringer Cardale Jones, who will be starting only his second game in college. The redshirt sophomore from Cleveland led the team to a commanding victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game after taking over for J.T. Barrett who broke his ankle in the regular season finale against Michigan. Barrett, in turn, had played the season in relief of Braxton Miller, who aggravated a shoulder injury before the opening game.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman believes confidence will not be a problem for Jones. “He’s on the cover of two magazines. I liked it when he was the underdog…He’s doing great. He’s still Cardale, but it’s great that his confidence was put to the test and he answered the test.”
For his part, Jones has confidence in the other 10 players on offense.
“We have guys that can take a five-yard hitch pass 80 yards. We have guys that can take it out of the backfield and go 80 yards,” he said.
The Buckeyes returned to practice late Friday afternoon following a four-day Christmas break. The team arrived in New Orleans Saturday afternoon aboard “Buckeye 1,” a 747 with multiple levels, 350 seats and staffed by 15 flight attendants.