COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State football players are learning the lyrics to “It’s Time for War” by LL Cool J, if they don’t know them already.
The song by the veteran rapper is played morning, noon and night at the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex, when players are waking, eating, practicing, trying to sleep. It’s head coach Urban Mayer’s way of reminding his players that Michigan Week is not just another game week.
“We just make a huge deal out of rivalry games,” he said. “I want the players to take ownership in the program, part ownership in the game. This is not another game. This is the game.”
Ohio State (10-1, 7-0) remained at No. 6 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and — to remain in the hunt for one of the four top spots — the Buckeyes need a dominating win, just as they appear to be a team that is having trouble dominating opponents.
The Buckeyes are 20-point favorites over the Wolverines (5-6, 3-4) but after rolling over opponents like Kent State, Maryland, Rutgers and Illinois, OSU has surrendered an average of 411 yards and 29.3 points over the last three games. More troubling is the fact that they are minus-5 in the turnover ratio over that stretch.
They have won all those games, but have not scored the kind of style points needed to be considered a likely candidate for that final four. Their margin of victory in their first five wins was 34.4 points per game; in the last five, it has shrunk to 16.4. Subtract the 55-14 shellacking of Illinois and it dwindles to 10.25.
Many observers have counted the Buckeyes out of the playoff, but they can inject themselves right back into the conversation with a lop-sided win over their arch-rivals.
It’s time for war.