The Ohio State football team defeated another ranked opponent on Saturday strengthening its resume for the CFP committee. But will a win over a Top 10 team be enough to secure the No. 1 ranking on Tuesday?
The Buckeyes started off the College Football Playoff rankings as the top team in the country, but LSU made the jump over Ohio State last week to become the No. 1 ranked team. Now, with the Buckeyes earning a Top 10 win this could be the week they get back to No. 1.
Both Ohio State and LSU have 3 wins over opponents currently ranked by the Playoff Committee. The two teams have a very similar strength of schedule rating a 12.4 for the Tigers and 12.1 for the Buckeyes. Ohio State has the edge in the FPI ratings with a 33.2 compared to LSU’s 25.8.
What these numbers suggest is that these two teams are fairly similar when looking at the analytics. An argument could be made slightly in Ohio State’s favor with the large gap in FPI. However, the thing that sets the Buckeyes apart is the way they are winning.
Ohio State just played a game against a Top 10 team and gave Penn State a 17 point cushion, 7 for the lost score on the fumble at the goal-line and 10 off of the other two fumbles that resulted in scores, and still won by double digits.
The Buckeyes were in control of the game throughout, and only the uncharacteristic turnovers allowed the Nittany Lions to keep it close. A dominate performance by the Silver Bullets and a solid offense allowed Ryan Day to run the ball often and slow down the game in the second half.
The 11 point spread is also the closest game the Buckeyes have had all season. The Tigers have had wins of 7 (Texas), 3 (Auburn) and 5 (Alabama).
With both LSU and Ohio State being undefeated, the committee needs to look at how the teams are wining their games against ranked opponents.
The Tigers have defeated their 3 ranked opponents by 23 combined points. The Buckeyes have defeated theirs by 84 points.
This is the kind of dominance the committee should reward.
It’s time to recognize the way Ohio State has been winning and not keep using an overhyped Alabama team to prop up LSU at No. 1. If not this week, what kind of score would it take in “The Game” to see the Buckeyes move to No. 1?