Nick Saban believes Ohio State’s loss to Michigan in November has made the team determined to win the national championship.

The No.8 Buckeyes have reached the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, where they will play No. 5 Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday. The other semifinal – the Orange Bowl – will see No. 6 Penn State face No. 7 Notre Dame on Thursday.

Ohio State has enjoyed a stellar year under head coach Ryan Day, achieving a 10-2 regular season record to earn the No.8 seed in the playoffs. Yet the Buckeyes could’ve received a higher seed if they had beaten rival Michigan in Columbus as expected.

Ohio State went into that November game as the favorite after suffering just one defeat all season to Oregon, the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Despite being the reigning national champion, Michigan struggled this season after losing both quarterback J.J. McCarthy and head coach Jim Harbaugh to the NFL, finishing the term with an 8-5 record.

Yet the Wolverines produced a shock by winning 13-10 in Columbus, securing their fourth consecutive win against the Buckeyes. The occasion was soured by a huge brawl breaking out after the game, with cops using pepper spray to restore the peace.

But Ohio State has been in stellar form since losing to Michigan. The Buckeyes enjoyed blowout wins against No. 7 Tennessee and No. 1 Oregon in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff and are now considered as contenders for the championship.

Pat McAfee and Nick Saban discussed Ohio State's progress on Thursday

Pat McAfee and Nick Saban discussed Ohio State’s progress on Thursday ( 

Image:

ESPN)

Ex-Alabama coach Saban and former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee believe that defeat to Michigan is inspiring Ohio State toward glory. McAfee said on College GameDay: “I think that loss to Michigan – I know Coach Saban mentioned it, I think Desmond (Howard) has as well – that put a perspective for them. That put them at rock bottom.

“They said, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen?’ It happens. (They ask), ‘Now what do we do?’ They play free, they play hungry, they play confident. I think Ohio State – for a good reason – is the odds on favorite to win the national championship right now.”

Saban added: “I’m with you on that, Pat. I think Ohio State has got a complete team. But I think like many of our teams (at Alabama) – we had seven national champions, only two of them went undefeated. And sometimes you need to lose.

“We won 19 games in a row twice, and we needed to lose because the focus is not there, the preparation is not there. When they lost to Michigan, they got humiliated. And that humiliation created a tremendous amount of motivation and attention to detail for them and players came together. I think they’re playing great football.”