3. Ohio State is still in the top four
Don’t read anything into this more than it is.
The explanation for why the College Football Playoff committee has Ohio State at No. 4 falls somewhere between I Dunno and Because. This is the only non-Pac-12 Power Five program that’s still undefeated, and it’s Ohio State – we can certainly quibble about resumés, but it’s hard to get into too much of a twist over this.
However, remember, this all can and will change as the rankings move and more of the puzzle pieces come together.
Does this ranking mean that Ohio State is in the top four if another game is canceled and it’s not eligible for the Big Ten Championship? Not really, but again, that’s looking way ahead here before all the conference championships are played.
So to guess from these rankings, here’s the deal. If Ohio State plays its last two games, wins them, gets to the Big Ten Championship and wins it, it’ll be in the College Football Playoff as either the 1, 2 or 3 seed, going to the Rose Bowl no matter what.
If it has to cancel another game and misses out on the Big Ten Championship, it might be fine as long as it plays one other game – like, Wisconsin or Iowa – in the slightly-murky Champions Week game.
If this is it, though, and it’s 4-0 and doesn’t play another game – which doesn’t seem likely – this top four spot is probably a rental.
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