Week 5: Playoff Rankings

For Buckeye fans, this week will sting, and for most of us, still not over the outcome of The Game on Saturday. The good news is though that the playoff field got very clear in that there are only 6* teams now that are playing for a playoff position, and 3 of those teams are pretty much locks. The teams in contention are Georgia, Michigan, TCU, USC, Ohio State, and Alabama, who appeared in that order in both this weeks Coaches and AP poll. 

This ranking will be the penultimate ranking before selection Sunday, and in all honesty, the playoff field will most likely be set after what happens Friday in the PAC-12 Championship game between USC and Utah, who beat the Trojans earlier this year already. If the Trojans lose, that will open up the door for the Buckeyes to make it, and if the Trojans win, then the top four teams will just be playing for seeding position on Saturday. There is some discussion about if TCU loses to Kansas State, it could open up the door as well, but a 12 win team playing for a conference championship might be the trump card over the Buckeyes.  

How We Voted

 

Buckeye50 Playoff Poll –

1. Georgia stays at the top, and with a win this week against LSU should stay as the top seed, and will likely play in Atlanta in the Peach Bowl. The messed around this week against Georgia Tech, but then blew them out in the second half. A win or loss will most likely keep them in the playoff, and a loss will potentially drop them to 3 or 4 depending on the outcomes of the other games. 

2. Michigan moves up from 3 to 2 this week after beating Ohio State, and will face Purdue in the Big 10 Championship game. A will likely keep them at 2 unless Georgia loses, and the could be heading to the Fiesta Bowl with TCU being their likely opponent. A loss should keep them in the top 4, and the head to head over the Buckeyes.

3. TCU stays at three this week after beating Iowa State for their regular season finale. They will play Kansas State this week for the Big 12 Championship, a game that was close going into the 4th quarter, and will be interesting to see if Adrian Martinez is able to play for the Wildcats. A win will give them their first playoff appearance, and a loss will likely just move them down to 4 if USC wins, but if USC loses, they will likely stay at 3, and Ohio State would move up the 4 seed. 

4. USC makes the biggest jump thanks to Ohio State, LSU, and Clemson losing this weekend. They are the only top 4 team with a loss, and have a chance to avenge that loss in the PAC-12 Championship game against Utah. If Utah gets the win though, which the Buckeyes will root for, they will likely drop to 5 or 6 and out of the playoff.

5. Ohio State drops to the 5th spot after losing to Michigan, and still has a chance to make the Playoff. The will be rooting for USC and/or TCU to lose to give them a chance to make it, and the playoff predictor still has them as a 70% chance to make it. It will all be about where the committee puts Ohio State this week after the loss, and many expect them to drop to 5 to follow the other polls. If the committee keeps them in the top 4 this week, then they will for sure be rooting for one or both of those teams to lose this week.

6. Alabama is here as a placeholder more than anything else, but Penn State and Clemson also got some votes in our poll. Alabama gets the benefit from the committee because of their previous success, and respect they have for Nick Saban and his program. I believe they dont have a chance to make it, even if all 4 teams lose soley on the fact that they dont have a resume which would bump them above the teams that are already ranked above them, plus they have 2 loses, where everyone else above has 1 or less.

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Coach Rick
Cory
Dave
Gregg	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Penn State
Jason	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Alabama
John	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Alabama
Josh	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Alabama
Steven	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Alabama
Trout	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Clemson
Vaughn	Georgia	Michigan	TCU	USC	Ohio State	Penn State

 

 

Here is how we voted, lets us know how you predict the rankings will go!  Who is your top 4?