Velazquez has been at Ohio State long enough to know and respect one simple rule around his teammates: Do not say the word "Michigan."

Ohio State is hours away from meeting Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game, capping a season that just in the past eight weeks has seesawed between the depths of another loss to Michigan and the potential high of claiming the program first championship since the debut of the four-team format a decade ago.

QB Will Howard said Ohio State's "truth-telling" loss to Michigan in November has continued to fuel the Buckeyes throughout the College Football Playoff.