Ryan Day believes Ohio State would be 'dangerous' in College Football Playoff

Despite a 45-23 loss to Michigan on Saturday, Ohio State coach Ryan Day still believes the Buckeyes deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State held a 20-17 lead at halftime, but the Wolverines opened the second half with a 45-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead and never looked back. That was the first of four Michigan touchdowns in that half as Ohio State also allowed five scores of 40-plus yards on the day as a whole.

Day argued in his postgame press conference that the game was closer than many think most of the way, saying the Buckeyes could still be a “dangerous” team if let in the CFP.

“I thought we were in it,” the coach said. “We were fighting there at the end and it obviously got out of control down the stretch. It wasn’t like we were outmatched in terms of just overall play, I think. As we get to those decisions, I think you’ve got to look at the body of work we’ve done. We’ve got a lot of good pieces on this team and we came up short today. But I think if we were able to get a shot in the top four, we’d be a dangerous team.”

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After throwing a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, Buckeyes quarterback CJ Stroud was held to just 154 yards and threw two crucial interceptions down the stretch. After Ohio State kicked a field goal to make it 31-23 with 7:23 remaining, Michigan immediately answer with a score of its own and Stroud threw his first interception on the next drive after the Buckeyes got in the red zone.

Michigan scored again on the drive after that pick, the proverbial nail in the coffin to go up three touchdowns with just 3:19 remaining.

As of right now, three teams seem like locks to make the College Football Playoff in Georgia, Michigan and TCU. However, with conference championship games taking place next week, that could change.

Even if all of those teams win their respective conference titles, there could still be room for Ohio State to make it in the College Football Playoff depending on how LSU and USC finish out the season. However, a two-loss Alabama team is looming and could be a problem for the Buckeyes.

Either way, Saturday’s loss means there are no more games to play until bowl season, and all Ohio State can do now is wait and hope things work out in its favor.