Ohio State Football: Buckeyes a lock for top spot in CFP come December

Ohio State football is No. 1 in the rankings for the first time since the College Football Playoffs began. How long can the Buckeyes keep this top spot?

Many argue that the first round of College Football Playoff rankings do not mean much. I, however, think that these first rankings have put the Ohio State football team on a path to the top spot in the playoffs come December.

I want to look at opponents Ohio State, LSU and Alabama have left, and see where these teams could be ranked when they play difficult opponents.

Let’s get this out of the way – in order for this to happen, Ohio State obviously has to go undefeated the rest of the way. With that in mind I’ll go through what I think are the most likely scenarios for the rest of the season and explain why I think Ohio State is on a direct track to be the No. 1 overall seed.

First off, I do think Ohio State wins their next four games, making the Big Ten Championship and then winning that game in Indianapolis. It becomes harder to drop a seed that is playing good teams and winning.

The biggest threat to taking over the top spot would be LSU. The Tigers have a chance to make a huge statement this weekend by beating Alabama. That would give the Tigers a win over the No. 3 ranked team on the road.

The reason I don’t see this being a huge difference maker is that Ohio State has the chance to beat a top 5 team in Penn State just a couple of weeks later. Those games might lean slightly towards LSU, but Ohio State also has a game against a top 15 opponent in Michigan to end the season.

As of right now, the only other ranked team LSU will face is in the SEC championship, most likely against Georgia.

Ohio State will (in my opinion) face Wisconsin again in the Big Ten championship. Wisconsin has a good chance of being in the top 10 by the time they play the Buckeyes. This would give Ohio State another quality win.

To review, LSU can beat No. 3 Alabama and then most likely a top 5 Georgia squad adding to wins over No. 12 Auburn and No. 10 Florida.

Ohio State, on the other hand, can beat a No. 3 Penn State team, a top 15 ranked Michigan team, and Wisconsin who could be ranked in the top 10, adding to wins already on their resume over No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 20 Cincinnati.

Those resumes look comparable to me, which would mean that by the end of the season, if both teams win out, the rankings should be the same as they are today – No. 1 goes to the Buckeyes.

The other team that could compete for the top spot is Alabama, however, this is more of a long shot. Alabama has not played a team currently ranked which means the signature victories they can add are against No. 2 LSU, No. 12 Auburn and a top 5 Georgia team.

That schedule does not really compare to what Ohio State can have, and even if the committee sees it as similar, the Buckeyes have the edge by being ranked higher initially.

While the initial rankings do not tell the whole story, I think based on what the committee has prioritized, Ohio State has the inside track to being ranked No. 1 come the semifinal games in December.