A week ago, there was no reason to pay attention to the College Football Playoff rankings. For Ohio State, the loss to Iowa made the issue one of fantasy.
Now, however, we might all be living in some kind of Candyland, because the Buckeyes are right back in the mix.
The third edition of the rankings were released Tuesday evening and Ohio State came in at No. 9, one spot in front of Penn State at No. 10, and one spot behind Notre Dame at No. 8.
The top six looks like this: 1) Alabama; 2) Clemson; 3) Miami; 4) Oklahoma; 5) Wisconsin; 6) Auburn.
Coming into the release tonight, the Buckeyes had a fairly clear road, provided Alabama, Miami, and Oklahoma all win out. Having Clemson up to No. 2 already, however, might pose a problem. If Miami beats Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, will the Tigers drop out of the top four and allow an 11-2 Ohio State team to sneak into the top four?
There is still plenty that can happen, which means that it likely will.
Having Ohio State just one spot behind Notre Dame is a good thing because the Buckeyes would soon have a conference championship as their major trump card, which would move them ahead of almost certainly any other two-loss team — provided Miami, Alabama, and Oklahoma win out.
Ohio State and Notre Dame being separated by one spot is meaningless since OSU could add an additional win against a very good opponent.
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) November 15, 2017
Buckeye fans who want Ohio State going to the playoffs will need to be rooting for the Canes, the Tide, and the Sooners.
Do you even own a Turnover Chain?
The full rankings are below.
College Football Playoff Rankings
| RK | TEAM | REC | TREND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 10-0 | 1 | |
| 2 | Clemson | 9-1 | 2 | |
| 3 | Miami | 9-0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 9-1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 10-0 | 3 | |
| 6 | Auburn | 8-2 | 4 | |
| 7 | Georgia | 9-1 | 6 | |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 8-2 | 5 | |
| 9 | Ohio State | 8-2 | 4 | |
| 10 | Penn State | 8-2 | 4 | |
| 11 | USC | 9-2 | — | |
| 12 | TCU | 8-2 | 6 | |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 8-2 | 2 | |
| 14 | Washington State | 9-2 | 5 | |
| 15 | UCF | 9-0 | 3 | |
| 16 | Mississippi State | 7-3 | — | |
| 17 | Michigan State | 7-3 | 5 | |
| 18 | Washington | 8-2 | 9 | |
| 19 | NC State | 7-3 | 4 | |
| 20 | LSU | 7-3 | 4 | |
| 21 | Memphis | 8-1 | 1 | |
| 22 | Stanford | 7-3 | NR | |
| 23 | Northwestern | 7-3 | 2 | |
| 24 | Michigan | 8-2 | NR | |
| 25 | Boise State | 8-2 | NR | |
| Complete Rankings | ||||
Dropped from rankings: Virginia Tech 17, Iowa 20, Iowa State 21
I’m not so concerned about getting into the play-offs. My question is can they put together a string of wins that would indicate they would have a chance if they do. After the loss to Clemson last year, I thought, “Too bad they didn’t select Penn State.” To convince me they might be good enough to win it all this year, they might have to beat Wisconsin 59-0 in the B1G title game after beating both Illinois and Michigan by at least 21 points. That team, I’d like to see in the play-off. IF not, I’d like a shot at someone who plays more at their current level (2-2 against ranked teams.) It would be nice to see J.T win his last game.
I may be in the minority, partly because I remember the 2-10-1 of the 1990’s, but all I care about is winning our next game and then going up the ann arbor and beating the ugly hats. After that we are in position to win the Big Ten Title and hopefully we do. After that I will start to think about CFP, until then I am not going to lose sleep over where we are ranked. Go Buckeyes BEAT ILL, BEAT ann arbor tech!
Let’s not forget: There’s still three teams for OSU to beat: Illinois (a given, barring a bad weather collapse by the Buckeyes), Michigan (never a given, regardless of recent history and any record), and if they get to the Big Ten Championship game, Wisconsin (yet to be really tested, so who knows how good they really are?)
If the Bucks win all three, we’ll just trust the other chips will fall as they should.
I think Clemson will be the thorn in our side! The committee loves Clemson for whatever reason, and I don’t understand how the hell they moved up to #2 last week after beating a horrible FSU team. It wasn’t even that impressive. They better drop a spot or 2 on principal next week for playing the f’ing Citadel!
Yes it looks like the buckeyes will be either 4th or 5th if they take care of business and win out decisively. We definitely need to be Alabama fans to make sure that Auburn and Georgia are cleared from our path. I do not have confidence in Miami beating Clemson. I am still awaiting Miami to be exposed. They were winning ugly until their recent streak of 4 turnover games. We all know too well what 4 turnover games can do. When they are not getting all those turnovers, they look ordinary. They also have not had any victories on the road against anyone with a winning record. I could see them stumbling against an average Pittsburgh team on the road. That would make OSU’s path much cleaner. I can see ND losing to Stanford, making Miami’s big win against them less of a jewel.
Lots of football left to be played. It doesn’t seem likely that the Buckeyes will get in, but who knows? Just beat that team up north!
Sam- you are spot on. The path to a playoff spot reads like hieroglyphics and is really just noise. Hold serve vs Illinois and BEAT UM!