Ohio State holds at No. 4 in latest College Football Playoff rankings
Ohio State held steady at No. 4 in the latest batch of College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night.
One week after moving up a spot into the top-four, its position was strengthened by a 59-31 rout of Purdue in which it put together an impressive offensive showing, racking up a season-high 624 total yards.
If the playoff was held this weekend, the Buckeyes would face unbeaten Georgia, which remained atop the rankings. Alabama is then at No. 2, followed by Oregon at No. 3.
Gary Barta, the Iowa athletic director and selection committee chair, said there was "a lot of conversation" among members about those three one-loss teams behind the Bulldogs, but there was ultimately no movement. The top-seven of the rankings remained unchanged.
The Ducks have been ahead of the Buckeyes since the rankings were first revealed on Nov. 2. The teams hold identical records at 9-1, but Oregon won in Columbus in early September.
"The committee just felt that they were close enough that the head-to-head still ruled the day," Barta said.
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Head-to-head results haven’t always swayed the selection committee, as it put sixth-ranked Michigan ahead of seventh-ranked Michigan State in the rankings last week despite the Wolverines losing to the Spartans on Halloween weekend.
Barta said the committee has remained impressed by the Buckeyes' high-scoring offense and compared its dominance to Georgia’s vaunted defense.
He also acknowledged the improvement of Ohio State’s defense since September, when it lost to Oregon.
“I really highlight the offense just because they might be playing the best offense in the country," Barta said. “They’re not playing the best defense in the country, but their defense is playing impressively."
Three weeks are left before the committee determines the final rankings for the four-team postseason bracket.
The Buckeyes are concluding the regular season with a pair of top-10 matchups with Michigan State and Michigan that could bolster their standing if they prevail in those games.
Finishing atop the Big Ten's East Division also sets up a conference championship game against the Big Ten West winner. Wisconsin and Iowa are currently tied atop the West standings and are ranked No. 15 and No. 17, respectively.
The College Football Playoff schedule
Here are the dates to know for the College Football Playoff:
Selection show: Noon Dec. 5 on ESPN
Cotton Bowl: 3:30 or 7:30 p.m., Dec. 31 on ESPN
Orange Bowl: 3:30 or 7:30 p.m., Dec. 31 on ESPN
College Football Playoff national championship game: 8 p.m., Jan. 10 on ESPN
Last week's College Football Playoff rankings
Here is where the rankings stood last week.
Georgia
Alabama
Oregon
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Michigan
Michigan State
Oklahoma
Notre Dame
Oklahoma State
Texas A&M
Wake Forest
Baylor
BYU
Ole Miss
NC State
Auburn
Wisconsin
Purdue
Iowa
Pittsburgh
San Diego State
UTSA
Utah
Arkansas
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Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State stays at No. 4 in College Football Playoff rankings
