There’s a very real chance that the Ohio State Buckeyes could be in for a rough time down the stretch of the season. Despite the fact that Day and the Buckeyes managed to beat the defending national champs earlier this season, suffering losses to the Texas Longhorns and now the USC Trojans could sour the season for Ohio State.

And really, so much of that centers around whether or not the Buckeyes will make it to the College Football Playoff this season. So much of the cause for concern surrounding Ohio State’s chances of making this season’s CFP has to do with the fact that quarterback Julian Sayin is out with an injury.

As we saw against the USC Trojans (a team definitely not known for having a great ability of slowing opposing offenses), Ohio State’s offense really wasn’t able to do much of what it hoped to accomplish without Sayin at quarterback.

To be clear, the Buckeyes still moved the ball. That wasn’t an issue for Ohio State at all. But it took over 80 plays for Ohio State to gain 464 yards and all that yielded for Day and the Buckeyes was a grand total of 18 points. That’s not sustainable for a team with national title aspirations. 

How will Ohio State do down the stretch of the season?

There are a few interesting games coming up that will test just how good Ohio State can be and if the Buckeyes drop one (or more), people will be quick to dismiss them given Sayin’s injury. 

The home stretch of the season starts with a home game against the Oregon Ducks, who have been having all sorts of struggles of their own thanks to quarterback injuries this season. But Oregon just found a way to get past a surging Northwestern team. Right now, ESPN’s Football Power Index is giving the Buckeyes an 83.1 percent chance of winning against the Ducks. And there’s no doubt that playing in Columbus gives the Buckeyes a bit of help in their hopes of getting past Oregon this weekend. 

On Saturday, Nov. 14, Ohio State will host that aforementioned quirky Northwestern Wildcats team whose offense, led by Chip Kelly, is always something fun to keep an eye on. Ohio State has an 86.2 percent chance of coming out on top then, according to ESPN’s FPI.

After that, the Buckeyes head to Lincoln, Nebraska to face a cursed Cornhuskers team on Saturday, November 21 and close out the regular season at home against Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 28. At the moment, the Buckeyes have a 75.2 percent chance of beating the Huskers and an 89.6 percent chance of beating Michigan.

That’s not bad. But checking ESPN’s FPI, the Buckeyes are being given a 35.1 percent chance of winning out. But more importantly, FPI currently believes the Buckeyes have a 74.2 percent chance of making the CFP.

That's huge!

But I'm a little skeptical. I'm not sure how valid that actually is if the Buckeyes can't generate more than 18 points with Sayin sidelined. 

There's a logjam at the top of the Big Ten race

Should the Buckeyes somehow stumble and lose one of those games, then it's going to get increasingly more difficult for Ohio State to sneak into the College Football Playoff. 

Not impossible, but difficult.

And a lot of that would have to do with Ohio State’s chances of getting into the Big Ten Championship Game. Right now, Ohio State is in a decent spot with a 4-1 Big Ten record. 

But Ohio State is behind UCLA (5-0) and Indiana (5-1) and just a hair ahead of USC (4-2). The Buckeyes have a tiebreaker with the Hoosiers should they end up tied there, but just remember that Ohio State just lost to the Trojans. 

So if the Buckeyes find themselves on the bubble and needing another data point to give them an entry to the CFP, they might not have that. 

Overall, Ohio State sits at No. 11 in the AP poll. If the CFP selection committee views them in a similar light, they'll be on the edge of being able to get in unless things really get chaotic in the Big Ten over the next month.