The Ohio State Buckeyes are starting to get used to being underrated. They have been underdogs in their past two contests and are currently slated as 6.5-point underdogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T. This public mindset has become so prevalent that when Buckeyes linebacker Darron Lee was told his team was not the favorite in the upcoming title game against Oregon, he replied: "Underdogs again. The whole world had us losing this one [to Florida State], right? No shocker, no shocker."

At some level, it seems understandable that Oregon is considered the favorite. The Ducks have not been an underdog in any of their games this season. They also have this season's Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota and are coming off a performance in which they set a record for the most points (59) and most yards (639) in a Rose Bowl game, as they handed Florida State the worst bowl loss by a defending national champion since the Associated Press started its poll in 1936.

Ohio State has a real weapon on the ground in Ezekiel Elliott, who set a Sugar Bowl record for rushing yards last week. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Having noted this, it does seem odd Ohio State isn't being given more credit for having the nation's longest active win streak (12 games) and for winning the Big Ten championship game and Sugar Bowl by a combined score of 101-35. In fact, after taking a closer look at some of the elements of this matchup, it becomes clear that a strong case can be made for the Buckeyes to be the favorite.