We like to keep tabs on what our friend, USA TODAY’s Erick Smith, has for his lastest bowl projections each week, and so far he has Ohio State in the championship game playing for all the marbles. With the Buckeyes finally playing this week, that road starts in earnest Saturday against Nebraska. And with the Georgia loss, it looks like Notre Dame now has the inside track as well.
The first-round projections should be adjusted slightly as Smith had Ohio State playing Georgia. What it looks like now is Ohio State will probably play Alabama. With Notre Dame still having to play Clemson, one of them will be bumped once that game has been played. But we’ll how Smith has the pecking order when he releases his newest mock later this seek. Who the Buckeyes will play could change quite a bit before the end of the season.
Five reasons Ohio State football wins a national title in 2020 https://t.co/ojHvFRGjo0
— Buckeyes Wire (@BuckeyesWire) October 18, 2020
There is still an outside chance Oklahoma State could sneak in as a Power Five team, but the Big 12 has not been overly impressive this year, and the committee could make some odd choices depending on how the rest of the season goes. The Big Ten as a whole has the chance to impress starting Saturday.
Of course, as it has been for a while now, the cream of the crop in the Big Ten is Ohio State. As long as the Buckeyes continue to win, they should consistently be in the final four projections no matter what kind of chaos breaks loose around them. We will track this throughout the season, but for now, Ohio State has a straight path to the championships.
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