Former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones is so grateful for the Utah Utes breathing life into the College Football Playoff hopes of his alma mater that he joked about going to Salt Lake City to get a postgraduate degree.
Jones, of course, was referring to the Utes' massive 47-24 win in the 2022 Pac-12 Championship Game over the USC Trojans. The Trojans walked into that meeting as the favorite and with the No. 4 spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. But they can kiss that No. 4 ticket goodbye because of that upset loss to Utah. At the same time, Ohio State football is smiling ear to ear after witnessing USC lose, especially since the Buckeyes likely are on their way back to the CFP picture as the potential replacement of USC in the top four.
Ohio State most recently suffered a 45-23 defeat to the Michigan Wolverines at home on Nov. 26, which took them out of the CFP picture. Fortunately for Ohio State football, losing to a likely CFP-bound Michigan softened the blow to the Buckeyes' playoff aspirations.
That's not to mention the fact that the TCU Horned Frogs just lost Saturday to the Kansas State Wildcats, which means that the Buckeyes' chances of moving up from their current No. 5 position in the CFP rankings have further improved.
Going back to Jones, he's definitely no stranger to college football success and would love nothing more to see the Buckeyes win it all again this season. He was part of the Ohio State football team that won the College Football Championship in 2015.