Buckeyes Pummel Ducks for CFP Championship

Put the glory boys on the back burner for a moment.

Ohio State beat down Oregon by outsmashing the Ducks in trench warfare.

Yes, Ezekiel Elliott is a piledriver. Cardale Jones is a demolition man.

But the overlying fact is those two physical specimens -- by virtue of their size, strength, and attitude -- are honorary members of the Buckeyes' offensive and defensive lines. This was their game.

And now, the clamor for rapidly expanding the playoff bracket will only get louder.

The national champion was a No 4 seed that, frankly, only got into the mix because the Big XII devoured itself. Ohio State was on the outside looking in because of a slip in Week 2 against a mediocre Hokie squad. It could be said that the CFP's Wise Ones got it right in the end, but really, who's to say that Texas Christian wouldn't have put up more of a battle than Oregon or Alabama?

The Horned Frogs have a better defense than the Ducks and a better offense than the Crimson Tide. Or so it seems. Woulda been nice for them to prove it directly instead of by obliterating the team that beat 'Bama and doing it by more than Ohio State beat Bama:

Just as Urban Meyer thanked Wisconsin for putting the Tide into perspective, he could just as easily have tipped his hat to former Buckeye coach Jim Tressel and Stanford's David Shaw for his game plan against Oregon. Big dudes. Body blows.

In the wake of it all, a few glory boys have decisions to make. Will Marcus Mariota really return for his senior year? Despite the title game where his o-line provided little help, could his draft stock be measurably higher than it is now? Guaranteed money is everything in the NFL. Guaranteed health in college is a capped insurance policy.

And would it truly be wise for Cardale Jones to make the jump now? Isn't the possiblity of his being another Robert Griffin III just too great? If he can't beat out two extremely talented QBs on his own college team -- and that remains to be seen -- is he ready for challenges in the NFL?

Whatever. If they don't realize it already, in sports, existentialism rules. This game's now history. And the show goes on.