Scarlet Sunrise: What Buckeyes fans should watch for the rest of Championship Weekend

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What Buckeyes fans should watch for the rest of Championship Weekend

Well, the first domino that Ohio State may or may not have needed to fall for its unlikely College Football Playoff bid fell Friday night when No. 3 Washington beat Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship.

Now, Oregon — No. 5 in the CFP committee’s penultimate rankings — has two losses and is likely eliminated from CFP contention. After all, no two-loss team has ever made the four-team field since the playoff debuted in 2014.

So that’s one less team No. 6 Ohio State has to worry about on Championship Weekend, which the Buckeyes are watching from home after losing to No. 2 Michigan for the third year in a row.

Here’s what Ohio State probably needs to happen Saturday for it to back its way into the CFP again.

NO. 7 TEXAS LOSING TO NO. 18 OKLAHOMA STATE

No. 7 Texas has one loss this season, and that was to No. 12 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. Meanwhile, No. 18 Oklahoma State took down the Sooners in the Bedlam Rivalry. But the Cowboys also have 33-7 and 45-3 defeats to South Alabama and UCF, a pair of 6-6 teams, not to mention their 34-27 setback against now-7-5 Iowa State earlier this year. But wins over No. 25 Kansas State and Kansas — which was ranked at the time — back up the idea that Oklahoma State has another ranked win in it Saturday. The Buckeyes could still get in with a sloppy Texas win, but it comes down to if the committee would put in a Big Ten divisional runner-up over a one-loss Big 12 champion. That’s a tough ask. Texas losing puts the Longhorns in a two-loss situation, meaning that — like Oregon — they’d be out of the picture, too.

Game is on at 12 p.m. E.T. on ABC

NO. 8 ALABAMA LOSING TO NO. 1 GEORGIA

No. 8 Alabama is another one-loss blue blood in range of jumping Ohio State with a conference championship. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, the Crimson Tide — who escaped Auburn with a 4th-and-31 touchdown pass in the Iron Bowl last week — have to face a Georgia team that hasn’t lost since the 2021 SEC Championship game. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, (1) Alabama topped the Bulldogs in that conference title game two years ago, and (2) even if Georgia wins (and all the dominoes fall), Ohio State would wind up playing the back-to-back national champion stalwart in the CFP. Then again, head coach Ryan Day’s team nearly pulled off the monumental upset of Georgia last year. It needs an Alabama defeat Saturday for a chance to tussle with the Bulldogs in a second straight CFP semifinal.

Game is on at 4 p.m. E.T. on CBS

NO. 4 FLORIDA STATE LOSING TO NO. 14 LOUISVILLE

If both Texas and Alabama have lost by the time 8 p.m. rolls around, Buckeyes fans should be feeling pretty good about Ohio State’s CFP chances. That would mean two more one-loss teams — in addition to Oregon — would now be two-loss teams and, therefore, out of contention for all intents and purposes. In that hypothetical, undefeated but occasionally underwhelming FSU would be the only team blocking the Buckeyes’ backdoor entry into the four-team field. An ACC title game loss to No. 14 Louisville might just doom the No. 4 Seminoles, who could be without their top-two quarterbacks Saturday night. Jordan Travis is out for the year, and backup Tate Rodemaker is a game-time decision. The CFP fate of FSU, and Ohio State, could be up to true freshman quarterback Brock Glenn, a former Ohio State commit. Oh, the irony. An 11-1 Buckeyes team with a better resume likely gets the nod over a 12-1 battered FSU squad.

Game is on at 8 p.m. E.T. on ABC

IN SUMMATION…

• No. 3 Washington beating No. 5 Oregon Friday night effectively eliminated Oregon
• No. 18 Oklahoma State beating No. 7 Texas Saturday would effectively eliminate Texas
• No. 1 Georgia beating No. 8 Alabama Saturday would effectively eliminate Alabama
• No. 14 Louisville beating No. 4 FSU Saturday would effectively eliminate FSU
• If all that happens, No. 4, No. 5, No. 7 and No. 8 would be out of contention, meaning that No. 6 (Ohio State) would be next up for a CFP bid…

Five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton will make long-awaited Ohio State official visit this weekend

Ohio State has an important visitor this weekend: five-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive tackle Jordan Seaton.

Seaton is the No. 1 offensive tackle and the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2024 class, according to On3. He’s the last major offensive prospect the Buckeyes are targeting.

They currently have four offensive linemen committed this cycle, with Ian Moore, Deontae Armstrong, Devontae Armstrong and Gabe VanSickle having already pledged.

For more on Seaton and his visit, go here.

Impact of Cameron Martinez, Omari Abor and Victor Cutler Jr. heading to the transfer portal

Three Ohio State players are already headed to the portal: defensive back Cameron Martinez, defensive end Omari Abor and offensive lineman Victor Cutler Jr.

Martinez was taking first-team reps at “nickel” safety in the spring, but that role was eventually seized by Sonny Styles and Jordan Hancock. Abor was initially sidelined but managed to appear in six games during his second season with the program, according to Pro Football Focus. Cutler transferred in from Louisiana-Monroe and competed for the starting center job but ended up backing up Carson Hinzman the whole season.

Lettermen Row broke down the impact of each of those three Buckeyes hitting the portal…

READ: What Cameron Martinez entering transfer portal means for Buckeyes
READ: What Victor Cutler Jr. entering transfer portal means for Buckeyes
READ: What Omari Abor entering transfer portal means for Buckeyes

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 364 days

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