That goes for the Cincinnati Bengals, Ohio State Buckeyes, every high school football team still playing and, heck, pretty much the Dayton Flyers basketball team, too.
Let’s take a closer look:
Bengals in spotlight for huge matchup with Chargers
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
At 4-6, the Bengals can probably afford to lose a maximum of two more games — and they still play the Steelers twice — so their game in Los Angeles on Sunday night is crucial for multiple reasons.
They enter the weekend 2.5 games back of the sixth-place Chargers in the AFC Wild Card race and one game behind the Denver Broncos for the seventh and final spot.
Winning this game would not only pull the Bengals closer to the Chargers but also give them the head-to-head tiebreaker, which is probably even more important.
Cincinnati also still gets to play Denver, so tiebreakers could be their saving grace despite their 0-3 start.
OK, so what are they up against?
Postseason implications aside, this is an interesting matchup because these seem to be closely matched foes with some yin-and-yang to their games.
The Chargers have been fattening up lately on bad teams, so this is a good test to see how much they have improved under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, who is a known program builder and also has a team with a diverse running game that will challenge opponents.
While the Bengals woeful run defense figures to have its hands full with former Ohio State star J.K. Dobbins, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert doesn’t have impressive weapons at his disposal. On the other hand, he might not need them against a Cincinnati secondary that is almost as bad as the front seven.
On the other side, the Bengals live and more often die with their offense, but the Chargers statistically have the No. 1 defense in the league so something has to give.
Can Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase put together another Herculean effort? Will it actually be rewarded if so?
We’ll find out Sunday night.
Another big week in the OHSAA playoffs
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Wayne and Centerville could renew their storied rivalry in a Division I regional final, but the Warriors and Elks must take care of business first against Dublin Coffman and Hilliard Davidson, respectively, tonight in the third round.
The locals are both the better-seeded teams, but is anybody bad at this point in the season?
Alter coach Ed Domsitz, whose Knights are on a four-game winning streak, told me there are not, and presumably he is correct. His squad is preparing for a trip to Fairfield to face Taylor in Division IV while streaking Bellbrook faces an undefeated Wapakoneta team that looks very tough on paper in Division III.
Speaking of potential rematches, we might also be headed for one in Division V if Region 20 No. 1 seed Greeneview takes care of business against Indian Lake. The undefeated Rams then would face either West Liberty-Salem or Waynesville, both teams they beat early in the regular season.
Dayton off to 3-0 start
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Meanwhile, coach Anthony Grant’s Flyers have done something notable already on the hardwood: They’ve both beaten a solid major conference team (Northwestern on Saturday night) and avoided a letdown (against Ball State on Wednesday night).
Those are almost equally important for a team trying to position itself for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after another sure-to-be grueling Atlantic 10 slate.
Ohio State ready for one last undercard bout
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Not to be forgotten because they have little margin for error, either, the second-ranked Buckeyes would be preparing for a potential trap game if not for the venue being at Wrigley Field.
Maybe that will add some juice to the matchup with Northwestern, who is not nearly as bad as last week’s opponent (Purdue), but is nowhere near as interesting as the last two on the schedule — Indiana and Michigan.
I want to hear from you. Reach out to me directly at marcus.hartman@coxinc.com with your questions and feedback on this newsletter.
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