Ohio State dropped out of the top-four following their early season home loss to Oregon, which, at the time, drastically impacted their chances of reaching the College Football Playoff.
But all hope isn't lost. According to ESPN's Playoff Predictor, the seventh-ranked Buckeyes have a 98-percent chance of making the playoff if they win out and defend their Big Ten title. And Big Ten Network analyst Howard Griffith believes that the college football world shouldn't sleep on the possibility.
"They're absolutely still a threat. When you start to look at [past CFP] teams, they're averaging probably 43-45 points or better. This Ohio State team can score those kinds of points, in all phases," Griffith told The Zach Gelb Show on Thursday. "They've had some struggles on the defensive side. I think they'll continue to get better. I don't think anybody else in the Big Ten will expose them until they get into the championship game or the playoff.
"They're as talented as anybody out there, if not more... It's just a matter of being able to protect [quarterback] C.J. Stroud. He sat out last week, came back, looked really confident in the pocket. And I really liked his demeanor over the last week or so, where the game has seemed to slow down a bit for him. If that's the case, the rest of the Big Ten is going to be in trouble."
Stroud, who sat out Week 4 due to a shoulder injury, silenced his critics last Saturday, completing 17 of 23 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns in Ohio State's 52-13 road win over Rutgers. The redshirt freshman also recorded a perfect passer rating (158.3) on 10 throws of 10-plus yards.
Through five games, the Buckeyes' offense ranks second in the country in average yards (555.6), eighth in passing yards (336.2), and fourth in points (45.0). According to the William Hill Sportsbook, Ohio State currently has the third-best odds (+1100) to win the national championship and the best odds (-125) to win the Big Ten title.
The entire college football conversation between Griffith and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.