Can Ohio State still make the College Football Playoff without winning the Big Ten?

If you were a fan who laughed at Michigan when its punt got returned for a touchdown in a last-second loss to Michigan State last year, remember this: That play kept Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff. That may have just happened again. Ohio State's path to the Big Ten Championship took a huge hit late on Saturday night when Michigan shockingly lost to Iowa. Now Penn State goes conference title game if the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes win out. But can an Ohio State team that doesn't win its conference still make the playoff? Yes, but there's no guarantee now like there would have been if the Buckeyes were one-loss Big Ten champions. A few thoughts... No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Washington all lost on Saturday, so there's a good chance that Ohio State will be ranked as high as No. 2 when the playoff committee puts out its rankings on Tuesday. So that ranking may make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside with thoughts like: "There's no way Ohio State could fall three spots if it wins out without playing in its conference championship." You have to understand that it isn't about falling. This isn't the Associated Press Poll. This is about teams continuing to build their own resumes, and conference championships are clearly of great value to the playoff committee. 

If Ohio State doesn't have that conference championship, it's possible it gets hopped over by a one-loss team who does have one. If Wisconsin and Penn State meet in the Big Ten title game and both have two losses before that game, it's possible that one of those teams could get playoff consideration. It's unprecedented what the committee may do because no two-loss team has ever made the final four, but it's a discussion. This is another example of why I feel that we need an 8 team playoff system so that we can have all the best teams playing it out rather than a couple voters who seem to be very fund of Bama and Texas A&M for some reason.

https://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2016/11/can_ohio_state_still_make_the.html

References

Wasserman, A. (2016). https://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2016/11/can_ohio_state_still_make_the.html. Cleveland.com, 1.

College Football Playoff picture disrupted after Clemson, Michigan, Washington all lose

   The College Football Playoff picture was turned upside down on Saturday as three of the top four teams in the rankings suffered losses. First, the No. 2 Clemson Tigers lost 43-42 to the Pittsburgh Panthers in South Carolina. Then in Seattle, the No. 4 Washington Huskies fell to the 20th-ranked USC Trojans 24-13. Finally, the Iowa Hawkeyes upset the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines 14-13 in Iowa City on a last-second field goal. It was the first time in 31 years that Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in college football lost on the same day. The same thing happened on Oct. 19, 1985, when No. 2 Michigan lost to No. 1 Iowa, No. 3 Oklahoma lost to Miami and No. 4 Arkansas lost to Texas. So who's now poised to move up into the top four of the playoff rankings? Lurking just behind the top four last week were No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Louisville and No. 7 Wisconsin.

   This past Saturday sent waves across the college football world as everyone struggled to piece together how the committee is going to evaluate these loses. How far will those teams move down and who moves up. One clear beneficiary from this is Louisville who now have a stronger case for the playoff top 4 spot. Surprisingly Penn State and Wisconsin both find themselves in the hunt for the Big Ten championship while Michigan still controls their own destiny. However it doesn't look so well for Ohio State since Michigan fell to Iowa we need Penn State to lose but with the soft schedule remaining for them its not looking too good. We all know how the committee overvalues conference champions and without the chance to play for it we might end up with a repeat of last year when teams that were not the top 4 in the country got embarrassed in the first round of the playoffs because they lucked up and won the conference. Time will tell just how everything will play out and this definitely adds more excitement and hope for all.

http://www.oregonlive.com/collegefootball/index.ssf/2016/11/college_football_playoff_pictu.html

References

Odom, J. (2016). Upsets galore: College Football Playoff picture disrupted after Clemson, Michigan, Washington all lose. The Oregonian, 1.

College football rankings: Alabama, Michigan, Clemson top Week 11 AP Poll; Texas A&M tumbles

   Ohio State thrashed Nebraska by 59 points on Saturday evening, yet the Buckeyes remain at No. 6 in the AP Poll. Perhaps the Week 11 rankings tell us more about what the voters thought of the Cornhuskers than the team that blew them out of The Horseshoe. Nebraska fell a whopping 12 spots in the college football rankings after no-showing against Ohio State. As the weeks go by, Ohio State-Michigan on Nov. 26 is looking more and more like a CFP play-in game. Buckeye fans should be ecstatic that their squad looked like a Playoff team again. The Ohio State team that sputtered against Penn State and Northwestern was not beating Michigan; the Ohio State team that showed up against Nebraska probably was. Also, the Wolverines have to travel to Columbus the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The Buckeyes are sitting in a prime position.

   Elsewhere around the country, the story of Week 10 was Texas A&M falling against Mississippi State. It raised more than a few eyebrows when the College Football Playoff committee ranked the Aggies fourth in its first 2016 poll (Texas A&M was ranked seventh in last week’s AP Poll).
That won’t last long. Texas A&M fell to No. 10 this week, and it could drop even further in the next CFP rankings. With LSU’s loss and the Iron Bowl still looming, the Aggies likely squandered any chance the SEC had to punch two tickets the Playoff. It was fun while it lasted. With that said, one conference’s doom and gloom is another’s gain. Washington is the obvious beneficiary of Texas A&M’s loss, but is Oklahoma rising from the dead right before our eyes?

Obviously its clear the committee was wrong in not moving Ohio State up after the schedule they have played this year and the impressive win over Nebraska. Lucky for us, the standing isn't going to matter because if we keep winning we will eventually be where we want to be. Washington doesn't seem to have any real threat remaining on the remainder of a soft schedule for them. Bama seems to be a lock for the SEC and if Clemson falters then expect Louisville to claim that other playoff spot. That's how its looking so far and soon enough we will see how things play out this season.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2016-11-07/college-football-rankings-alabama-michigan-clemson-top-week-11-ap

References

Boozell, J. (2016). College football rankings: Alabama, Michigan, Clemson top Week 11 AP Poll; Texas A&M tumbles. NCAA.COM, 1.

Recap: Ohio State embarrasses Nebraska in a display of greatness

Playing its first home night game this season, No. 6 Ohio State hammered No. 10 Nebraska, 62-3. Somehow, the game may not have been as close as the score would indicate. The Buckeyes beat them up and down the field in the first half and then did it again in the second. In the process, they showed that they might have a national championship ceiling when playing at their best. The sky was falling after the loss to Penn State and struggles against Northwestern. Maybe — just maybe — that was an overreaction. Ohio State played maybe its best game of the season at the time it needed it most. The Buckeyes looked great on offense, ferocious on defense and made a top-10 team quit. Their resume now includes wins against THREE teams that were in the top-15 of the initial College Football Playoff ranking. Two of those victories were by three or more touchdowns, and two were on the road. Pretty good.

When Ohio State is clicking there isn't a team in the country that could stopped them. The defense is explosive and JT Barrett and company when playing their best can easily outscore the best offenses. With Texas A&M losing it makes way for Ohio State to jump up in the rankings. With only one lose to an underrated rested Penn State team on the road I have no question Ohio State is without doubt a top 4 team at the minimum. Its looking like a showdown with Michigan at the end of the season is going to be for all the chips.

https://www.landof10.com/ohio-state/ohio-state-nebraska-2016-recap-score-stats

References

Ginn, R. (2016). Recap: Ohio State embarrasses Nebraska in a display of greatness. Land of 10, 1.

Nebraska at Ohio State prediction

   The Huskers proved a lot against Wisconsin, but still, Ohio State is just a bad matchup for Nebraska. The Buckeyes’ defense is a little worse than the Badgers’, but don’t expect Nebraska to miraculously move the ball better against Ohio State. On the other side of the ball, Ohio State’s offense has the edge on Nebraska’s defense. The Blackshirtsich played very well Saturday, but J.T. Barrett is much better than the combination of Alex Hornibrook and Bart Houston. If Nebraska wants to have any chance of winning, Armstrong is going to need to outplay Barrett. I don’t see that happening. Overall, Ohio State, which ranks No. 10 in scoring offense and No. 6 in scoring defense nationwide, has too much talent for Nebraska to win this game on the road.
   I believe that its going to be a good game especially until late in the game. I expect to see Ohio State come out victorious and find their offense in the process. My prediction is a 34-17 victory Ohio State favor. This will be the turning point for the offense and prove to the rest of the country Ohio State belongs in the playoffs.

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/sports/football-score-predictions-nebraska-at-ohio-state/article_6859030a-9f22-11e6-b6a2-5fae16c87044.html

References

DN staff. (2016). Football score predictions: Nebraska at Ohio State . The Daily Nebraskan, 1.

Ohio State vs. Northwestern recap

   The No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes looked shaky again Saturday against the Northwestern Wildcats, but they pulled out a 24-20 win. Quarterback J.T. Barrett was given more time than last week to throw, and the run game had decent chunk gains. The run defense continued to look unstoppable. The Ohio State offensive line struggled to open holes between the tackles, but the Buckeyes did a decent job running the ball despite only having 210 yards on the ground. Mike Weber had a 23-yard touchdown run early in the game that was fueled by a gorgeous lead block on the outside by Pat Elflein. Curtis Samuel didn’t have many carries, but his runs were effective. Samuel had seven carries for 31 yards and a touchdown. Barrett and the Ohio State offense looked a little better than last week, but that isn’t saying a lot. Barrett was 20-of-29 passing for 207 yards. Nine different Buckeyes caught passes, but the majority were hauled in by Samuel and Noah Brown. Samuel had a respectable day catching the ball with seven receptions for 68 yards. Brown caught five passes for 51 yards.

   Watching Ohio State win was good as we couldn't afford a second lost especially to a Northwestern squad we were favored to beat in the first place. Its discouraging to see the team struggle after coming out strong to open the season. All hope is not lost but against a good Nebraska team we are going to need to play way better to be victorious next week. Its going to be a big game so I'm hoping it sparks the Offense and gives us that much needed momentum that I have been waiting to see return. Barrett will have to lead the offense more effectively if we plan on bringing the trophy home this season.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2672741-ohio-state-game-grades-vs-northwestern/page/3

References

Holbrook, S. (2016). Ohio State Game Grades vs. Northwestern. Bleecher Report, 7.

Ohio State falls to No. 6 in AP college football poll

   Ohio State was going to fall in the Associated Press college football poll after losing to Penn State on Saturday night. The question was how far? Four spots. The Buckeyes fell from No. 2 to No. 6 this week. Michigan is now the No. 2 team in the country behind No. 1 Alabama. The Big Ten has three teams in the top 10 with Ohio State, Michigan and No. 7 Nebraska. The Buckeyes host Nebraska at Ohio Stadium in two weeks. Penn State made its first appearance in the top 25 after beating the Buckeyes.

   Its painful to see Michigan ranked higher than Ohio State this week but that was to be expected for the moment. Ohio State will be presented with multiple opportunities to redeem themselves this season. I expect to see Ohio State fully rebound and make their way into the playoffs. The offense will find its way very soon and be hitting on all cylinders as we will need to see that high powered offense at full strength to finish the season.

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2016/10/ohio_state_ranked_ap_college_f.html#incart_river_index#incart_big-photo

References

Landis, Bill. "Ohio State falls to No. 6 in AP college football poll, Michigan jumps up to No. 2." Cleveland.com (2016).