COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio State remains one of the top teams in the College Football Playoff rankings, but its potential path to the title game has changed significantly.
The Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1) remain as the No. 2 team in the second playoff poll, released Tuesday night. Big Ten rival Oregon, the only team to beat Ohio State this season, remains No. 1 and keeps the Buckeyes as the No. 5 seed in the projected 12-team bracket.
As the No. 5 seed, the Buckeyes would play a first-round game on Dec. 20 or 21 at Ohio Stadium against the 12-seed, which is currently Mountain West conference leader Boise State. The winner would advance to play Miami in a quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
The Buckeyes are in good position for a playoff spot, even with a second loss later this season. To see a full explanation on how the new 12-team format works, follow this link.
College Football Playoff poll (Nov. 12, 2024)
Teams in bold are in projected bracket. Bold number is projected seed.
| 1 | Oregon (1) |
| 2 | Ohio State (5) |
| 3 | Texas (2) |
| 4 | Penn State (6) |
| 5 | Indiana (7) |
| 6 | BYU (3) |
| 7 | Tennesee (8) |
| 8 | Notre Dame (9) |
| 9 | Miami, Fla. (4) |
| 10 | Alabama (10) |
| 11 | Ole Miss (11) |
| 12 | Georgia |
| 13 | Boise State (12) |
| 14 | SMU |
| 15 | Texas A&M |
| 16 | Kansas State |
| 17 | Colorado |
| 18 | Washington State |
| 19 | Louisville |
| 20 | Clemson |
| 21 | South Carolina |
| 22 | LSU |
| 23 | Missouri |
| 24 | Army |
| 25 | Tulane |
College Football Playoff bracket
Because of Georgia and Miami’s losses on Saturday, the bracket has changed drastically compared with last week. Texas is now projected to win the Southeastern Conference and carries the No. 2 seed, while the Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference dropped to the four-seed, making way for Big 12 leader BYU to take the three-seed.
Mississippi, which defeated Georgia 28-10, finds itself in the field, and undefeated Indiana, the current first-place team in the Big Ten, is in position to have a first-round home game against Alabama.
Among Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana or Penn State, one will earn a bye into a quarterfinal as the Big Ten champion. As things stand and barring any upsets, the winner of the Ohio State-Indiana game on Nov. 23 will play Oregon in the conference title game on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis.
This weekend, the Buckeyes will play their final road game of the regular season against Northwestern at Wrigley Field in Chicago. That game kicks off at noon. Indiana has a bye this week and will come to Ohio Stadium undefeated next week. No. 1 Oregon will play at Wisconsin on Saturday night, and Penn State plays at 3:30 p.m. at Purdue.
Conference title games
If the season ended today (Five conference winners automatically qualify for playoff)
- ACC: SMU vs. Clemson
- Big 12: BYU vs. Colorado
- Big Ten: Indiana vs. Oregon
- SEC: Tennessee vs. Texas A&M
- AAC: Army vs. Tulane
- C-USA: Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville State
- MAC: Miami vs. Ohio
- Mountain West: Boise State vs. Colorado State
- Sun Belt: Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana
