10. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1)
Ohio State is in the College Football Playoff if … it wins out and Oregon loses. The College Football Playoff committee has a thing for talent – whether its real or perceived. The Buckeyes will get a benefit of the doubt break if it wins out and takes the Big Ten title.
However, if there are three other viable options, and Oregon wins the Pac-12 title, the committee might have to go with the winner in Columbus on September 11th.
It’s all going to go wrong against … it probably won’t. Penn State, Purdue, and Michigan State have to come to Ohio State, and the road dates at Indiana and Nebraska aren’t that bad. The Michigan game is in Ann Arbor, but … it’s Michigan. We all know how that works.
Will Ohio State get into the College Football Playoff? Yeah. Again, unlike other Big Ten teams, Ohio State has a problem thanks to the loss to Oregon. But the Ducks will lose once more, and the committee probably won’t put in an unbeaten Cincinnati over a 12-1 Big Ten champion Ohio State.
That won’t be a concern if Alabama loses again.
Ranking the teams alive for the College Football Playoff
UTSA | San Diego State | Coastal Carolina
SMU | Texas A&M | Auburn | Ole Miss
Notre Dame | Kentucky | Cincinnati
Baylor | Pitt | NC State | Wake Forest
Ohio State | Oregon | Penn State | Iowa
Michigan State | Oklahoma St | Michigan
Alabama | Oklahoma | Georgia
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings