Why Ohio State is better than most of Swinney’s top 10

#7: Oklahoma

Dabo also ranked Oklahoma ahead of the Buckeyes. Another major argument used against Iowa State could be used against Oklahoma.

That being that Oklahoma lost two games. That is two more games than Ohio State lost. Along with this, they lost to an unranked Kansas State team that had a final regular season of 1-1.

Oklahoma finished being ranked 6th in the Playoff rankings and will be playing against number 7 Florida Gators in the Cotton Bowl.

The Buckeyes finished ranked 3rd in the AP poll and the Sooner were ranked 8th at the end of the regular season. Oklahoma has a much better strength of schedule, ranked 31st while Ohio State’s is 67th. However, OSU has a strength of record and game control ranks of fourth. Oklahoma has a strength of record of 10th and game control of 2nd.

Lastly, according to the FPI, Ohio State had a rating of 28.9 and a ranking of 2nd. Oklahoma had a rating of 21.6 and a ranking of 5th.

Oklahoma, while not having a strong argument, still has a slight case as to how they could have slipped into the playoffs due to their conference championship and stronger strength of schedule. However, they lost two games throughout the season including against an unranked Kansas State team that only finished the season with a single win.