Nick Vannett had to turn off the TV.

The Ohio State tight end was in his Arizona hotel room the night before playing Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, but a game in Dallas caused irritation.

Once he saw Alabama seize control from Michigan State, Vannett had to turn off the Cotton Bowl. The 2014 national champion Buckeyes had come so close to meeting the Crimson Tide in the semifinals for a second straight year. So to see another Big Ten team take a 38-0 beating didn't sit well with Vannett and the other former Ohio State players participating in this week's Senior Bowl in Mobile.

"It kinda made us look bad," Vannett said.

One disappointing November afternoon was all that kept the Buckeyes from a rematch with Alabama. The same Spartans that were whipped by Alabama upset the defending champs 17-14 on Nov. 21 in a game they didn't lead until a last-second, 41-yard field goal. The fact it happened so late in the year, Michigan State was the Buckeyes' only ranked opponent and it effectively knocked them from the Big Ten title race doomed hopes of a repeat championship.

Ohio State went on to crush archrival and 10th-ranked Michigan 42-13 and controlled No. 8 Notre Dame in a 44-28 Fiesta Bowl win.

The what-if scenario remains.

"I think we would have definitely done a better job," said former Buckeye defensive back Tyvis Powell. "I was shocked they didn't score a point. It is what it is. It was very disappointing. But, Alabama, it was their year. I guess everybody has their year and it was their time to win."

The engaging Powell said he's enjoyed getting to know a few of the Alabama players this week in Mobile. He heard they were disappointed they didn't get a crack at revenge after Ohio State's 42-35 upset win in the Sugar Bowl semifinal the year before.

That was true.

"Me personally, I wanted to play them," said Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland the night Ohio State lost to Michigan State after Alabama's blowout win over Charleston Southern. "If we get the opportunity to play them, I'd love to play them. If not, we've just got to keep worrying about ourselves and keep getting better because we've still got a long way to go ourselves."

The question then begs an answer. Which team was better between the Buckeye squad that won the Sugar Bowl and the Alabama group that took this year's title?

"The same thing would have happened," he said.

Buckeye defensive lineman Adolphus Washington agreed.

"Yeah," he said. "I believe so."

Vannett took a more measured approach to the topic.

"I didn't get to watch much film on them, but I know it would have been a hell of a game," he said. "(Alabama) might have done a little better this year than they were last year. And I think the way we played in the last couple of games, we could have played against any team in the country. I know it would have been another war like it was the year before. So it would have been interesting to see."

Ultimately, it's a hypothetical scenario that has no real answer. Vannett's pretty sure it won't be the end of the Alabama-Ohio State discussion. He sees the two meeting again soon in the playoffs and doesn't question the way things worked out.

"You can't lose late in the season," Vannett said. "That's just how the system is."