The cold, hard truth on Ohio State finishing its season by playing in the Rose Bowl is obvious: It’s not where the Buckeyes want to be.
Ohio State goes into every season with an expectation of making the College Football Playoff, which the Buckeyes failed to do this year. That failure is compounded by the Buckeyes’ loss to Michigan in the final game of the regular season, which also kept them out of the Big Ten Championship Game, preventing Ohio State from achieving any of its primary goals this season.
That said, it’s not as if Ohio State will be finishing its season in the Gator Bowl.