The loss was, naturally, heartbreaking for Ohio State, which felt as if it had a handle on Georgia throughout. C.J. Stroud turned in a Herculean effort, throwing for four touchdowns and scrambling on the final drive to put his team in position to win.
MORE: Ryan Day defends taking ball out of C.J. Stroud’s hands late vs. Georgia: ‘I wouldn’t change that call’
Ultimately, things didn’t break the Buckeyes’ way. Losing star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. in the second half to a concussion didn’t help.
The Ohio State-to-NFL pipeline is one of the freest-flowing in the league. The Buckeyes are tied with LSU for second with 56 active NFL players (Alabama leads with 64). Some of those players have evolved into stars in the pros.
MORE: Late TD sends Georgia back to national championship game
The Buckeyes-to-Saints pipeline is especially alive and well. New Orleans drafted wide receiver Chris Olave 12th overall in 2022. He, predictably, was disappointed with the loss Saturday night.
Olave still has a very strong connection to the Buckeyes. So does teammate Michael Thomas, who tweeted his disappointment in his usual blunt way.
“Man that’s so fake lol,” he said.
MORE: Watch the College Football Playoff national title game live with fuboTV (free trial)
Bradley Roby, yet another Saint who played ball in Columbus, expressed his frustration with the ending.
Bengals cornerback Eli Apple, an ex-Saint who feels the added sting of playing in Ohio, found himself tweeting through it.
Colts wide receiver Parris Campbell employed a different strategy. His last tweet and the 11:55 timestamp tell a pretty clear story.
Outside the NFL world, Buckeyes mega fan LeBron James was gutted by the final result.
MORE: LeBron James cheers Marvin Harrison Jr., ‘best WR in the country,’ during CFP semis
