Ohio State Football Week 10 Rooting Guide: How Ryan Day and Buckeyes make it to the College Football Playoff

The Ohio State Buckeyes only have eyes on Penn State this weekend, but that doesn't mean there aren't external matchups that will affect their College Football Playoff seeding. A win against the Nittany Lions should all but punch their ticket to the Playoffs, but a loss would leave the program scrambling. A loss means the […]

Ian Valentino — National College Football Writer
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Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) and quarterback Will Howard (18) after scoring a touchdown against the Western Michigan Broncos during the first half at Ohio Stadium.
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The Ohio State Buckeyes only have eyes on Penn State this weekend, but that doesn't mean there aren't external matchups that will affect their College Football Playoff seeding. A win against the Nittany Lions should all but punch their ticket to the Playoffs, but a loss would leave the program scrambling.

A loss means the Buckeyes could go into their next big game against Indiana needing a win or facing elimination. That means Ohio State fans need to know who to root for and against entering college football's Week 10 action. 

Here are the top few games from this weekend that Ohio State fans must watch as the Buckeyes look to push their way back into the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff field.

No. 13 Indiana vs. Michigan State

Rooting Interest: Indiana

Look, this won't just be a big old hater fest where everyone the Buckeyes want to see everyone lose. In fact, the Buckeyes want Indiana to continue winning until their matchup on Nov. 23. The best possible thing for Ohio State is for the Hoosiers to look like the upstart Cinderella as long as possible.

Then, when they face off, Ohio State needs to Big Brother them. If the Buckeyes lose this week, then style points will absolutely matter as they make a bid to be the third Big Ten team in the Playoff. Consider that right now, Tennessee is the 12th team in our latest CFP projections, and it makes sense as to why these margins matter.

Would the committee keep the Buckeyes out instead of Tennessee? Probably not, but things could change if Indiana looks mortal between now and late November.

No. 10 Texas A&M vs. South Carolina

Rooting Interest: South Carolina

As touched on with Tennessee, the at-large bids will be competitive. Texas A&M actually could make a run to win the SEC, so it may not matter at all if they win out and then defeat Georgia or Texas. However, right now, they sit No. 1, meaning it'd be Ohio State trying to outrank either Texas or Tennessee to make it if they lose this week.

This is a game the Aggies will struggle with, regardless. While the Buckeyes would rather see Texas A&M make the Playoff over the Longhorns and especially the Bulldogs, more chaos is always good for the Buckeyes.

No. 18 Pittsburgh vs. No. 20 SMU

Rooting Interest: SMU

The ACC is one big competitive mess, with Clemson, Miami, SMU, and Pitt all chasing the chance to win their automatic bid. Entering this weekend, Clemson has a one-game lead, but head-to-head matchups will determine which two teams make it to the conference title game. 

Ohio State should want one of the two undefeated teams to drop a game sooner than later. That's Pitt and Miami. Clemson and SMU already have an out-of-conference loss. 

As with some others, Pitt won't get in over Ohio State in an apples-to-apples comparison, but they have a stronger leg to stand on if it's a one-loss Pitt team with only an ACC Championship Game loss on their resume.

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