OPINION: Ohio State wants to play football, and doing it in the SEC makes the most sense

Third-year quarterback Justin Fields wants to play what will arguably be his last season at Ohio State. Ohio State parents want their kids to play. Ryan Day wants to play. The Big Ten doesn’t want to play.

The Big Ten and the Pac-12 have both canceled their fall football season with several other Power 5 conferences moving ahead with their training.

That said, Justin Fields immediately took to Twitter after the announcement and showcased his disappointment by posting a “smh.” Ryan Day also said that he’d continue a push to play in 2020.

Fields has taken it a bit further.

The Heisman Trophy Finalist from a season ago shared a petition with a hard-hitting letter Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren. When the conference ultimately decides not to play, where could Ohio State play for one season?

Sliding to a conference fans have tried to discredit for years seems like the only acceptable move for Ohio State. However, this isn’t just one writer’s opinion. Even Ohio State players have thought about suggesting a move to the SEC.

Did you think just one member of Ohio State’s program thought about this transition? One of the best wide receiver coaches in the entire NCAA also took to Twitter, showing some love to Mitchell’s idea.

Given the level of talent in Columbus, it’d only make sense to bring them to the SEC, a conference with multiple elite programs. The Big 12 and ACC are both driven by just a few programs and would create just a handful of must-see, highly-competitive games.

If the SEC had Ohio State as a member, they’d be looking at four of the top-five programs in ESPN’s Preseason NCAA Football rankings.

The Big 12 would also be lengthy trips, narrowing any real move down to the SEC and ACC. Ohio State would be the northern-most program but Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Tennessee would all be under a six-hour drive.

The scheduling and the actual safety that would still have to be sorted out makes it virtually impossible to pull off, especially if Ohio State’s president and other key officials don’t find the value in transitioning.

However, if they do look to make the push to play, the SEC, compared to the other two Power 5 conference, makes the most sense.