Virginia Tech Loss Fueling Ohio State While Hurting Its Playoff Hopes

How can something help and hurt you at the same time? That oddity—coming in the form of a 35-21 upset loss to Virginia Tech—is currently working its magic on Urban Meyer and Ohio State.

The 13th-ranked Buckeyes (4-1) entered fall camp as one of the handful of teams expected to compete for a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Those aspirations took a huge hit, though, when superstar quarterback Braxton Miller was lost for the season after re-injuring his shoulder in August.

Ohio State's postseason aspirations suffered an even bigger blow in Week 2, when the Hokies invaded Columbus and confounded the Buckeyes with a unique—and on that night, unbeatable—defensive look. The Buckeyes plummeted from their No. 5 ranking to No. 22, and it appeared as though they were out of the playoff race.

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But a trio of consecutive blowouts over Kent State, Cincinnati and Maryland, along with numerous upsets to higher-ranked teams, have given Meyer and Ohio State a flicker of hope. 

The Buckeyes' recent surge is the result of improved play from the offensive line, which is opening holes for running back Ezekiel Elliott and giving quarterback J.T. Barrett the time he needs to get through his progressions. The defense, which is running an aggressive 4-3 scheme, is starting to click under new co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash. 

But as a whole, the team is drawing motivation from the 14-point loss it suffered in Week 2. That was the message delivered by safety Tyvis Powell on Monday, according to Doug Lesmerises of The Cleveland Plain Dealer:

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What [the Virginia Tech loss] has done is make everybody become more aggressive, on offense, on defense, the offense is scoring, the defense is playing better. Basically show the people who are going to pick the (playoff teams) that you deserve to be in that game.

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That has certainly been reflected on the field. Ohio State has outscored its last three opponents by an average of 38.7 points and outgained them by an average of 337.7 yards. The Buckeyes were on such a roll that Meyer considered their recent bye week a hindrance to the team's building momentum.

Ohio State will return to the field this Saturday for a home matchup against Rutgers—hoping to add to that budding momentum.

"You have to come out and try to dominate every opponent now that we have suffered a loss," Powell said, via Lesmerises. "If we just were just barely beating people, they might say we're not good enough, so now we're trying to dominate every opponent that we play."

That may not be good enough. Paired with the Big Ten's perceived weakness, Ohio State's loss to Virginia Tech will serve as an anchor around the team's neck as it tries to climb the polls. 

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That's because the Hokies slipped after their big win over the Buckeyes. Virginia Tech was defeated in back-to-back games against East Carolina and Georgia Tech in Weeks 3 and 4—losses that dropped Frank Beamer's squad from the Top 25. 

Other one-loss teams such as Auburn, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma have better standings in the polls because their losses came against highly respected teams.

Because of that, there are seven one-loss teams ranked ahead of the Buckeyes.

That loss to Virginia Tech may be motivating Ohio State to play better on the field, but its ultimately hurting them in the race for the College Football Playoff. 

All stats via NCAA.com. All rankings via ESPN.com.

David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.