Two scenarios that put Ohio State Football into the College Football Playoff

I’d be lying if the Ohio State football community isn’t still smarting from a second straight loss to Michigan. It hurts that the Buckeyes don’t control their own destiny anymore and need help to make the College Football Playoff. But, that’s the scenario they find themselves in.

There are only two scenarios that get the Buckeyes into the CFP. The easiest and most likely scenario that gets them in would occur tonight. USC has to lose to Utah for the second time this season in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That definitely puts the Buckeyes in the CFP.

If that doesn’t happen, not all hope is lost. Ohio State would then need TCU to lose by double-digits to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday. In my opinion, a 20+-point loss would be enough to possibly get them in, but this scenario is much dicier.

The only true way to make sure that the Ohio State football team gets into the CFP is for the Trojans to fall tonight. That guarantees that they get in. There is a third scenario in which both of these things happen and then Ohio State could slide up to three and TCU sits at four.

If that were to somehow happen, we would get an immediate rematch of The Game. I’m not sure Buckeye fans are quite ready for that yet. I think it’d be better to just focus on getting into the Playoff first though before we start throwing scenarios like that out there.

Tonight is a big night for Buckeye nation. If USC wins, the Buckeyes are one step closer to the Orange Bowl. If they lose, we know Ohio State makes the CFP for the first time since 2020. You can’t ask for higher stakes than that.