COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Buckeyes are hours away from hosting Tennessee in the first-round of the College Football Playoff as fans are ready to "Scarlet The Shoe."
Eight-seeded Ohio State will welcome the nine-seeded Volunteers with almost its entire squad healthy and ready to go. The Buckeyes are only missing four players for the 8 p.m. kickoff, three of which suffered season-ending injuries during the regular season.
Offensive linemen Seth McLaughlin and Josh Simmons will both be out again, forcing Day to re-organize the five-man unit for Saturday night's game.
This will be just the second meeting between the Buckeyes and Vols. The lone time these two schools previously played came in 1996 at the Citrus Bowl, when Peyton Manning led Tennessee to a 20-14 win over an Eddie George-led Buckeyes squad.
Saturday's winner will advance to the playoff quarterfinals to take on No. 1 seed Oregon at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. If the Buckeyes win, they would secure their first playoff victory since 2020 and first Rose Bowl appearance since 2022.
A loss to Tennessee will extend an OSU losing streak against Southeastern Conference teams to four and mark the first three-loss season for the Buckeyes since 2011.
