Buckeyes remain second in third College Football Playoff rankings
COLUMBUS — The real tests for Ohio State officially begin this week. Maybe after the game against Indiana, the Buckeyes will start caring what the College Football Playoff committee has to say in where it ranks them. Until then, these rankings are just for show — especially for a team that controls its destiny to a Big Ten title game appearance and first-round bye in the CFP.
Yet again, Ohio State checked in at No. 2 in the third CFP rankings, the same place it was in last week and the week before when the initial rankings came out. The Buckeyes collected a signature road win on Nov. 2 over Penn State, which the committee deemed is No. 4 in the country, a few weeks ago. Ohio State has one loss, that being to the committee’s top-ranked team in Oregon — a loss that came by one point on the road.
Ohio State will face the committee’s fifth-ranked team, Indiana, on Saturday in the Horseshoe (Noon, FOX).
Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Indiana make up the top five of the rankings. Yes, the matchup against Indiana will be the Buckeyes’ third against a CFP top-five team this season. And it’ll determine who has a fast-track to the Big Ten title game to face Oregon, a potential rematch for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State quarterback Will Howard is looking forward to playing a top-five matchup at home after the first two against Oregon and Penn State were both on the road.
“I’m excited to use that advantage,” Howard said Tuesday. “I really haven’t felt like we’ve needed it yet at home, but just this Saturday, we’re definitely going to need it. Top five matchup. You know, we want to overwhelm them with noise and and be the loudest, hardest place to play in the country. And, you know, we say that we want The ‘Shoe to be that place.”
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If Ohio Stadium helps the Buckeyes over Indiana, they’ll still need to beat Michigan next week to secure a spot in the Big Ten title game. But this game Saturday has massive implications for the league and the sport as a whole. It’s the marquee matchup of Week 13 in college football.
The full College Football Playoff rankings can be found below. Teams in bold would be the conference champions, making them the automatic qualifying teams that receive a first-round bye — or the 12 seed in Boise State’s case — in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff rankings (Nov. 12)
1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Indiana
6. Notre Dame
7. Alabama
8. Miami
9. Ole Miss
10. Georgia
11. Tennessee
12. Boise State
13. SMU
14. BYU
15. Texas A&M
16. Colorado
17. Clemson
18. South Carolina
19. Army
20. Tulane
21. Arizona State
22. Iowa State
23. Missouri
24. UNLV
25. Illinois
