Following a 62-39 win over Michigan last weekend, Ohio State has moved up four spots to No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings, which were announced Tuesday evening.
The Buckeyes sit just one spot behind the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners. Of note, the Big Ten West division champions Northwestern Wildcats dropped two spots to No. 21 after a win over Illinois.
Top 10 Rankings:
10. LSU
9. Florida
8. UCF
7. Michigan
6. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
4. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
2. Clemson
1. Alabama
If No. 6 Ohio State beats No. 21 Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship, No. 1 Alabama beats No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship, and No. 14 Texas beats No. 5 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship, then the Buckeyes have a clear case for being in the four-team College Football Playoffs.
The Buckeyes should want Alabama to win, knocking Georgia out of the playoff race. Assuming that No. 2 Clemson beats Pittsburgh in the ACC championship, the top three teams would be Alabama, Clemson, and No. 3 Notre Dame. The final spot should come down to Ohio State and Oklahoma.
If Ohio State wins and Oklahoma loses, the Buckeyes should be in. A No. 14 Texas win would give every Big 12 team at least two losses, meaning that the Big 12 will not have a spot in the top four and Ohio State should move ahead of the Sooners.
If both Ohio State and Oklahoma win, things will get a bit interesting. The ultimate tiebreaker would come down to style points, quality wins, losses, and the magnitude of the conference championship wins.
The CFP rankings are important this week. The Buckeyes have a case with a Big Ten Championship win and certain other cards falling in their places. But they are heading into a conference championship game trailing Oklahoma, a team that can possibly make or break their playoff hopes.
The College Football Playoff Selection show will be aired on Sunday at noon on ESPN.
The Big Ten Championship:
Ohio State faces Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday at 8:00 PM (ET). The game will be televised on FOX.
Big 12 Championship:
Oklahoma faces Texas on Saturday at 12:00 PM (ET) on ABC.
SEC Championship:
Alabama faces Georgia on Saturday at 4:00 PM (ET) on CBS.