Week 5: Playoff Rankings

I know Buckeye fans probably dont want to talk about this, but the season is not over year, despite feeling like it, and the Buckeyes are still a lock for the playoff due to the results of this weekends games, and will have more definitive answers with the results of the conference championship games.

The Big Ten Champioship game will feature Oregon versus Penn State, with the winner likely getting the 1st seed, and a trip to the Rose Bowl on January 1. If Oregon wins, Penn State will likely drop below the Buckeyes, which would push them up a little be to the 8th or 7th seed. If Oregon loses, they will likely swap spots with Penn State, and be the 5th seed hosting the 12th seed.

For the SEC Championship, it will be a rematch between Texas and Georgia, where the Bulldogs embarrassed the Longhorns at their home, but have not looked like the same team since then. If Georgia wins the rematch, they will be likely seed 2, 3 or 4, depending on the outcome of the other conference games, and the Longhorns would probably drop below the Buckeyes as well since they were behind them in the committees eyes before, but could also fall no lower than the 7th seed. 

The ACC will be SMU versus Clemson, who just lost to rival South Carolina, and SMU’s only loss was to BYU. If SMU wins, they will lock up one of the 2, 3 or 4 seeds, and Clemson will drop out completely. If Clemson wins, this will create a little chaos since Clemson will get in, but might end up being the 12 seed or the 4th seed at the highest, and SMU would be on the bubble of making it in. 

The Big 12 will be between Arizona State and Iowa State, who both needed to win this week to make it, and the Sun Devils are playing with a lot of momentum. With both teams entering with 2 losses, the winner will be the only playoff rep, and the loser will drop out. This also pushed out Colorado who might have the eventual Heisman winner in Travis Hunter.

The Mountain West will likely have the matchup for thr Group of 5 with Boise State versus UNLV, which UNLV lost in the first match, but are looking to get revenge. If they win, Boise State drops out of the race, and UNLV will likely be the 12 seed. Depending on the other conference games, Boise State winning would likely keep them as the 4th seed, potentially as high as the 3 seed. 

A lot can happen between now and selection sunday, but for Ohio State, all we can do is sit back and wait.

Here is how our staff voted this week and our composite list of the top 12 teams.

Buckeye50 Playoff Bracket

Who is your top 12?  Be sure to leave your comments below