What Ohio State Fans Should Make of Virginia Tech's Loss to ECU

Fresh off of a 35-21 defeat at the hands of Virginia Tech, Urban Meyer described Ohio State's 66-0 thrashing of Kent State on Saturday as "just what the doctor ordered." But even after taking their medicine, the Buckeyes were admittedly still dealing with symptoms stemming from their first loss of the season.

"You still have a sick feeling in your stomach about last week," Meyer said.

If that's true, then Ohio State's nausea likely only increased upon learning that its tormentors a week ago had just finished suffering an embarrassing loss of their own. After catapulting back into national relevance, the Hokies followed up their big win in Columbus with a 28-21 home loss to East Carolina on Saturday, in a game that saw Virginia Tech fall behind the Pirates, 21-0, in the first quarter.

Transitive property may not relate to football, but any argument the Buckeyes had that their lone loss of the season thus far wasn't that bad likely just went out the window. The Hokies may be talented, but Saturday showed that they're still a flawed team—and yet they remain just one week removed from outplaying Ohio State on its own home turf.

That shouldn't sit well with the Buckeyes, who did everything that they could to put last weekend's loss in their rearview mirror. Quarterback J.T. Barrett tied a school record with six touchdown passes while spearheading an offensive attack that accumulated 628 yards, as the Ohio State defense held the overmatched Golden Flashes to 126 yards on the day.

And yet there the Buckeyes were in postgame interviews, still being asked about Virginia Tech and what the Hokies' loss on Saturday means for Ohio State. At least one Buckeye admitted to keeping an eye on Virginia Tech, before offering perspective on what the Hokies' loss this week means to the Buckeyes.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

"A lot of people fail to realize that matchups are a big deal in the game of football," OSU linebacker Joshua Perry said. "Whatever happened with them is what happened, but you can't just say that, 'OK, Virginia Tech lost to East Carolina, so Ohio State is whatever they are. We beat such and such, so now we're this.' You just gotta play every week."

And to be fair, Perry has a point.

Who's to say that the Hokies didn't empty their gun with last week's surprise 46 Bear defense against the Buckeyes, or that ECU's Air Raid offense isn't a better counter to it from an X's and O's standpoint? Yes, Virginia Tech just beat Ohio State and then were beat by the Pirates, but that doesn't necessarily mean that ECU would have similar results against the Buckeyes.

And then there's this: While its name may not carry much weight in perception—directional schools rarely do—East Carolina isn't a bad football team. The Pirates went 10-3 a season ago and returned senior quarterback Shane Carden this season, where ECU's lone loss has been a 10-point defeat at the hands of South Carolina.

Not too shabby for a team that just joined a Group of Five conference in the American Athletic Conference. Yes, as unlikely as it may seem, the Pirates could theoretically have access to the College Football Playoff, which is really what this is all about anyways.

Don Petersen/Associated Press

Because when it comes to those four playoff selections, perception will matter, and the Buckeyes could use all the help in that department that they can get. While the chances of a one-loss Big Ten team making it to the final four were already slim, Ohio State's odds took an additional hit on Saturday, as it will no longer have a chance to point to their loss to Virginia Tech as a quality loss, if there even is such a thing.

And for the Buckeye players, that's just fine. Last week's loss may still sting, but they insist that they remain focused on the remainder of their season and aren't interested in scoreboard-watching with the Hokies—or anybody else.

"For a lot of us, it's behind us. They came in here hungry and aggressive with what they wanted to to do," Barrett said of Virginia Tech. "With them losing, that doesn't have anything to do with us. We're past it now."

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.