Give Ohio State offensive lineman Billy Price credit, his comedic timing was impeccable Wednesday evening in Atlanta.

Sitting down for interviews before Thursday's college football awards in Atlanta, a camera crew sat down and bumped his table. The camera guy just happened to be from the University of Iowa, you know, the school who effectively knocked the Buckeyes out of the playoff with a 55-24 beating of the eventual Big Ten champs.

"Damn Iowa," he said with a laugh, "Iowa screwing things up again. Get Iowa out of here."

It's safe to say that 31-point game from early November was still felt in Atlanta a month later. Two Hawkeyes and two Buckeyes were finalists for awards along with two Alabama players. Of course, the Crimson Tide were the beneficiaries from Ohio State's second loss the committee couldn't overlook.

Alabama's Minkah Fitzpatrick already showed his appreciation to Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell at an awards ceremony earlier this week.

"I just said thank you," a smiling Fitzpatrick said.

Hawkeye Josh Jackson recalls the moment he watched Sunday's selection show when Alabama was picked over Ohio State.

"I was watching it in my friend's room and I saw who they picked and man, I thought it was interesting the way they picked it," he said. "I don't have any say in it."

Well, actually ... that 31-point loss was among the key factors the committee used in making the final call.

"It's unfortunate it happened but our job is to come out and prepare hard and try to win every game," Jackson said.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, also in Atlanta this week, said he was shocked when he saw his team didn't make the playoff.

Jackson said he took no satisfaction knowing that game was such a factor in Ohio State's exclusions. The DB up for the Jim Thorpe Award also said he wasn't insulted by all the talk about Iowa being such a bad loss with its 7-5 final record.

"People can say what they want to say but we just want to come out and be the best we can and beat every team," Jackson said. "As long as we beat them, it doesn't matter what they say."

Michael Casagrande is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande.