The desert of Arlington, Texas. Credit: James Grace

Former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones once said, “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain’t come to play SCHOOL.” It appears that the Ohio State football program is taking that kind of focus and mentality with them as they prepare for Friday’s Cotton Bowl Classic.

The Buckeyes arrived in Arlington, Texas on Saturday before their top-ten showdown against the SEC’s Missouri Tigers and their X account shared a collection of photos of players making their way to the introductory press conference. In those photos, the players can be seen wearing sweatpants and hoodies, which is a bit surprising, given that, according to the team’s X account, they were currently in the midst of a “desert.”

Ah yes, Arlington, Texas, where the cacti mark your way and tumbleweed roll by.

To be fair to the folks from Columbus, Ohio, the Chihuahuan Desert does make up a significant portion of West Texas, but this ain’t that. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, of which Arlington is a part, is located within a humid subtropical climate zone. 

But that’s all semantics. The important thing to note here is that this provided a fantastic opportunity for the college football world to make fun of Ohio State.

Good luck to the Buckeyes on Friday. Who knows where their success may take them next year? Perhaps to the mountains of Miami or the frozen tundra of New Orleans.

[Ohio State Football, image via James Grace]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.