Why Ohio State will remain in playoff hunt without Braxton Miller

Ohio State was favored to win the Big Ten as recently as Monday morning. 

With the news of Braxton Miller's injury, the Big Ten picture was turned on its head, but don't write off the Buckeyes entirely.

Ohio State remains very much alive in the conversation for the four highly-coveted spots in the inaugural College Football Playoff.

In reality, Michigan State was probably the true favorite to win the Big Ten to begin with, having defeated these very Buckeyes in the Big Ten title game last season.

Now, with the two programs in the same division, their meeting in East Lansing on Nov. 8 is effectively a one-game playoff to decide which team will represent the East in the Big Ten Title game.

Beyond that, there isn't much in the Buckeyes' path. They draw Virginia Tech in their second game, but that's in Columbus. Games at Maryland and at Penn State won't be cakewalks, but won't be overly challenging either. The team also avoids the three big dogs in the West - Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa.

As for what they'll be sending out onto the field, head coach Urban Meyer has been praised for his recruiting ability in recent years, and now it's time for those skill players to be put to the test.

The roster is deep at the offensive skill positions, and that will lighten the load on J.T. Barrett, who gets thrown into the fire with plenty of talent around him. The redshirt freshman is the kind of dual-threat that excels in Meyer's quarterback-friendly system.

On defense, the Buckeyes will be an improved group with a defensive front that has the potential to be dominant. The defensive secondary was exposed by Michigan State last year, so that's an area the coaching staff has worked hard to improve.

As eye-popping as Miller's stats were, he was far from a complete quarterback. His loss hurts, but there's still plenty of talent in Columbus. Let's see Barrett take a snap before writing the Buckeyes off.