Ohio State gets extra practice time because of its academic calendar

When Ohio State coach Urban Meyer learned of Oregon’s 39-point victory against Florida State in the College Football Playoff semifinal, he faked getting up from his press conference seat and made a comment that he needed to get to work on the gameplan right away.

He probably didn’t realize at that moment that he’d have more time to prepare than the Ducks.

Because of Ohio State’s academic schedule, the Buckeyes, who are still on winter break, are not held to the 20-hour practice limit that is instituted when classes are in session, according to ESPN. Ohio State’s spring semester begins on Monday.

Oregon, however, started its spring semester this past Monday and is subject to the NCAA rules that limit practice hours. Practices, weightlifting, meeting and film sessions all count toward the 20-hour limit as do any other meetings that are mandated by coaches. And Oregon players also have to keep on top of their classwork, but with the semester just starting, the pressure probably isn’t too great.

The one benefit for Ohio State could be the extra time for film study, but in terms of actual practice time, the extra hours might actually be a hindrance. Both of these teams are about to embark on their unprecedented 15^th game of the season. It stands to reason that neither of these teams were going to go too hard in practice this week, especially Ohio State, whose semifinal game was hard fought and went down to the wire. Oregon had the luxury of resting its starters in the fourth quarter because of the big lead.

If Ohio State isn’t in shape to keep up with Oregon’s pace of play — and few teams are — already, a few extra hours of practice this week probably won’t rectify that.

For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.

For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.

- - - - - - -

Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook