Where Buckeyes are projected in latest College Football Playoff predictions

COLUMBUS — Ohio State boosted its College Football Playoff resume in a massive way a couple of weeks ago, scoring a road win against previously-undefeated Penn State before steamrolling Purdue and Northwestern in back-to-back weeks. The Buckeyes are projected by everyone to make the 12-team field.

Now for the third time this season, Ohio State will play in a showdown of top-five teams.

Lettermen Row combed through the college football ecosystem and found some of the bowl projections, where experts are expecting the Buckeyes to finish the season and the potential matchups in the College Football Playoff. Let’s break them down.

On3 projections

On3’s Ari Wasserman has the Buckeyes making the CFP as the No. 5 seed. He has Oregon as the top seed in the bracket after winning the Big Ten title game.

Here is where he sees the Buckeyes landing in the bracket:

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State (winner faces No. 4 Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl)

Ari’s show partner, Andy Staples, also has Ohio State as the No. 5 seed with Oregon as the top seed. 

He has the exact same projection as Ari — but a different opponent in the quarterfinal if the Buckeyes beat Boise State:

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State (winner faces No. 4 Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl)

The Buckeyes rolled Northwestern at Wrigley Field. Now comes undefeated Indiana. If Ohio State wins this one, the Buckeyes will just have to get the Michigan monkey off their backs and get ready for the Big Ten title game.

The Action Network CFP projection for Buckeyes

The Action Network writer Brett McMurphy has the Buckeyes making the 12-team field as the No. 5 seed. He has the Buckeyes hosting No. 12 seed Boise State as a 16-point favorite in the Horseshoe on Dec. 21.

McMurphy has Ohio State winning that game and moving on to face No. 4 seed Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 — and do so as a 13-point favorite over Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes. He then has Ohio State winning that game to move to the CFP semifinal against top seeded Oregon. In that rematch of top Big Ten teams, McMurphy listed the Buckeyes as a 2.5-point favorite

McMurphy has Oregon beating Ohio State and moving onto the national title game against Texas.

CBS Sports’ CFP projection features Ohio State

CBS Sports expert Jerry Palm actually has Ohio State as the No. 1 seed in his latest CFP rankings again this week, beating Oregon in a rematch in the Big Ten title game to earn the first-round bye and punch a ticket to the Rose Bowl.

Palm has the Buckeyes facing the winner of No. 9 seed Indiana at No. 8 seed Texas in the Rose Bowl. If the Buckeyes were to win that game, they’d move on to face either No. 5 seed Oregon, No. 12 seed Colrado or No. 4 seed Boise State in the CFP semifinal.

The Athletic CFP projection

The folks at The Athletic have the Buckeyes as the No. 5 seed in the bracket and hosting a CFP game in the Horseshoe against No. 12 seed Boise State.

Here’s their projection:

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State (winner faces No. 4 Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl)

The Athletic gives the Buckeyes a 99-percent chance to make the College Football Playoff. It gives the Buckeyes a 45-percent chance to win the Big Ten, a 46-percent chance to host a CFP game and an 26-percent chance to win the national title.

College football writer Stewart Mandel from The Athletic did projections of his own, and he has Ohio State beating Oregon in a Big Ten title game rematch — and beating the Ducks to capture the No. 1 overall seed. The Buckeyes would face the winner of No. 8 seed Texas and No. 9 seed Notre Dame in Mandel’s bracket.

ESPN duo picks CFP field

Both ESPN experts Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura have Ohio State hosting a playoff game in the first round of the CFP. But they’re in slightly different arrangements in terms of opponents.

Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State

Bonagura: No. 12 BYU at No. 5 Ohio State

Schlabach has the Buckeyes moving on to face No. 4 seed Colorado at the Fiesta quarterfinal, while Bonagura has Ohio State moving on to face No. 4 seed Boise State at the Fiesta Bowl.

Both Bonagura and Schlabach have Ohio State beating the Broncos or Buffaloes in the quarterfinal round, moving on to face top seed Oregon in the semifinal at the Cotton Bowl — but losing to the Ducks.