Ohio State Football: Holiday Wishlist for the Buckeyes

If time machines existed, Ohio State's top wish would be to transport back to November 21 and hand the ball to Ezekiel Elliott a few more times. 

That, of course, was the night the Buckeyes lost a stunning 17-14 upset to Michigan State and were knocked out of College Football Playoff contention. After trouncing rival Michigan 42-13 the following week, Ohio State was pitted against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, setting up one of the most intriguing matchups of the postseason.

Since time travel is off the table, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes would settle for these three wishes.

A Functional Passing Attack

The Buckeyes were expected to fly high this season with a pair of championship-caliber quarterbacks on the roster, but the passing attack never found any consistency bouncing back between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.

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The Buckeyes enter the postseason ranking a miserable 103rd nationally in passing offense, averaging 187 yards per game. But with the 15 practices allotted to bowl participants, Barrett and a loaded wide receiver corps have the opportunity to take a big leap. That'll help the Buckeyes' chances, and they'll need all the help they can get, because Notre Dame allows only 195.9 passing yards per game, which ranks 28th in the country.

A Good Bill of Health

The 15 bowl practices are a blessing for every team looking to improve, but they can also be a curse if the injury bug shows up.

That bug has already infested Ohio State. Last Thursday, Meyer revealed that starting defensive tackle Tommy Schutt was dealing with a foot injury.

“Tommy Schutt hurt his foot,” Meyer said, according to Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I don’t know how bad yet. But we’ve got depth issues inside right now on defense.”

The depth issues go beyond the potential loss of Schutt. Ohio State will also be without the services of star defensive tackle Adolphus Washington, who was suspended after his unfortunate run-in with the law earlier this month.

The Buckeyes have dealt with a lot of injuries this season—most notably at wide receiver with the loss of Noah Brown and Corey Smith—so they can't afford to lose anyone else before the New Year's Day showdown.

More NFL Talent Postponing Their Professional Careers

Ohio State has a ton of NFL talent on its roster, and a lot of that talent will have eligibility remaining for the 2016 season.

Stars such as Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Thomas are surefire early entrants to the NFL draft, but a number of other elite underclassmen will have decisions to make. The Buckeyes got great news last Friday, though, when guard Pat Elflein announced that he was returning for his senior season.

There are a handful of non-seniors who could spurn the NFL and return to help Ohio State in another playoff run next year. Cornerback Eli Apple, safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell, linebacker Darron Lee and receiver Jalin Marshall all have NFL talent, but they could return for another year with the Buckeyes.

Meyer and Ohio State will want those players to make the best decision for themselves and their families, but if any of them decide to return, the Buckeyes' playoff hopes in 2016 would spike dramatically. 

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.