How many losses can the Ohio State football team afford this year?

Every year, the goal is for the Ohio State football team to go undefeated. They typically have the talent to do so and it has been the only way to guarantee a spot in the College Football Playoff. Well, unless you're Florida State. Still, going undefeated is extremely hard to do.

In the CFP era, the Buckeyes have only gone undefeated in the regular season twice. That was back in the 2019 season and the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Other than those two years, Ohio State has had at least one loss in the regular season. Sometimes they made the Playoff, sometimes they didn't.

This year, the CFP includes 12 teams. With that expanded Playoff, going undefeated is not as imperative as it has been in years past. They don't need to do that this year to make sure that they get in. With that in mind, how many losses can they afford to have and still make it?

The Buckeyes should be able to withstand two losses and still get in, depending on who those losses are to. If they lose at Oregon and at Penn State, they could still get in. If they lose at home to Iowa and home to Michigan, they are likely going to be sitting at home.

Of course, the goal is to win all of their games. I think the floor for this team is two losses. Finishing the year with either zero losses or one loss should give them a spot in the CFP. It is good to know that they have more of a buffer than they have had in the past though.

The Ohio State football program has a fairly easy schedule, so they should be able to win most of their games. Ryan Day knows that this is a national championship or bust kind of season, so he needs to have his guys ready to win as many games as possible.