Ohio State Football’s worst-case scenario
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football team has its own path to the College Football Playoff. As long as they win, they should be in. But is that 100% true? The Buckeyes do already have a loss on their schedule. Even if they win out though, there could be a worst-case scenario that sees them left out.
We are assuming that Ohio State wins out. That means both Michigan State and Michigan are knocked out. There are still a few other teams that the Buckeyes need to be concerned with though. Those teams are Alabama and Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is still undefeated. While they haven’t looked very good so far this season, they still have a chance for two more ranked wins in the regular season. If they run the table with ranked wins over Baylor and Oklahoma State, there’s an argument to be made to have them jump Ohio State.
Even so, that would still leave the Buckeyes fourth with both Michigan State and Michigan out. Then you have the Alabama scenario. If Alabama wins out and beats Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, then we have a massive problem.
It’s extremely likely that the CFP Committee would put both SEC schools in and leave the Buckeyes out. Oregon has the head-to-head win over Ohio State, and that would likely be the deciding factor between the two schools at the end of the year.
Am I saying this is a likely scenario? No. I don’t think that Oklahoma is going to win all of the games they have left. I don’t think Georgia would lose to Alabama. It’s also a real possibility that Oregon drops a game to either Washington or Utah before the season is done.
All the Ohio State football team can control is what’s in front of them. This week it’s Nebraska. They just have to beat them and move on to the next game. But for nervous Buckeye fans, this worst-case scenario can’t make it any easier to sleep at night.
Next. 3 bold predictions for OSU vs. Nebraska. dark
It’s a worst-case scenario because this could happen even if Ohio State wins out. That’s what makes it so scary.