Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan travels to games throughout the country each season to visit teams he thinks could end up playing in the game he presides over that year. His first trip this fall was to Ohio State’s home game against Wisconsin during the fourth week of the season.
Stokan spoke with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith during that visit, and they had a conversation that would prove to be foretelling of what would happen a little more than two months later when the College Football Playoff field was selected.
“I knew pretty early that Ohio State was going to be in the mix.