COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's road to a nation title will start in its backyard by hosting a College Football Playoff game providing a moment of firsts.
It's the first time the Buckeyes will host a postseason game and the first time Ohio Stadium will host a college football game in December. It'll also be the first time this century that OSU will face Tennessee which is making its CFP debut.
The only other game between the two sides came in 1996 in the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Volunteers walked away with a 2014 win back then and hope to make its two-straight 28 years later
Here are the players that'll help make that happen on Saturday.
There were five quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class who rated as five-star recruits. Two have already transferred former Oklahoma quarterback Jaxon Arnold (Auburn commit) and former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore (Oregon). Arch Manning was the highest-ranked of the group but has spent the last two years backing up Quinn Ewers at Texas and is expected to take over in 2025.
Then there's Iamaleava as the only player who is solidified in his spot at the school he originally signed with.
Iamaleave has flashed his high potential at times while also showing why he's still a young player making his 13th start on Saturday in an environment he's rarely experienced. So far this season he's thrown for 2,512 yards, 19 touchdowns and three interceptions on 65% passing. He's run for another 311 yards and one touchdown on 89 rushes.
The junior running back is the engine of a Volunteers offense that has gotten away from its reputation this year under Josh Heupel. They still play fast, but thanks to a young quarterback and a talented running back, most of their attack comes through the run game.
As a result, Sampson brings to Columbus an SEC-best 256 carries for 1,485 yards and 22 touchdowns. His yards and touchdowns are a school single-season record while his carries currently sit fifth.
Tennessee has often been known for its explosive passing attacks since Heupel took over. That's not quite the case this year, but it does have someone to go to when it wants to take that route.
Thorton's 25 catches this season are fourth-best on the roster. But his ability to maximize even a small sample size makes him dangerous. He's turned those catches into 647 yards which gives him a nation's best 25.9 yards per catch along with six touchdowns.
Tennessee wants to run the ball providing favorable down and distances to set up play-action deep passes. Those targets often to to Thornton, who has no problem connecting on them,
Pearce is not the first high-end pass rusher expecting to be a Day 1 NFL Draft pick in April that OSU has faced this season. Even with its injuries on the offensive line, the Buckeyes have yet to see a guy truly be a game-wrecker against them on the edge.
That'll once again get tested on Saturday thanks to a player who's turned 233 pass-rushing snaps into 35 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and 52 pressures. He is the most arguably dangerous defensive player inside Ohio Stadium this weekend with his only competition being Caleb Downs.
The former four-star recruit was once one of the major wins in Ohio State's 2021 recruiting class as a top 200 prospect it stole out of Tennessee. But he spent just one year in Columbus, playing 10 total snaps before heading back home. Part of that decision may have been rooted in OSU parting ways with Kerry Coombs, but being closer to home probably played just as much of a part.
He's since become a quality player in the Volunteers' secondary as a two-year starter at safety. This year he's recorded 35 tackles, two tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception.