The Ohio State Buckeyes needed to beat the Oregon Ducks to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Instead, Ohio State lost 41-28 at home in Columbus in Week 10, and the latest College Football Playoff rankings show how much damage that loss did to the Buckeyes’ postseason chances.

The playoff committee had already sent a clear message to Ohio State after its loss to USC. The Buckeyes came in at No. 12 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, on the outside looking in. With a group of six teams locked into getting a spot, Ohio State was the first team out.

The message was simple from there. Ohio State couldn’t lose another game, or it probably wasn’t going to make the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State takes a tumble in the College Football Playoff rankings

The loss to Oregon was a real gut punch. It was a game Ohio State couldn’t afford to lose, and it wasn’t as close as the 41-28 final score says it was.

As a result, the Buckeyes have fallen all the way to No. 20 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. That new spot all but confirms Ohio State isn’t going to make the field barring a small miracle. 

It’s a tough reality for a program that has now lost three games in a season for the first time in the Ryan Day era. The Buckeyes also lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2011, when Luke Fickell was the interim head coach.

Ohio State’s season has fallen apart since the season-ending injury to Julian Sayin against Indiana. The Buckeyes haven’t won a game since they beat the Hoosiers, and that win came with plenty of good fortune attached.Ohio State is lucky not to be a 5-4 team right now. If Nick Marsh’a foot is in bounds for the Hoosiers in that game, Indiana beats Ohio State at home.

Ohio State’s one remaining path to the College Football Playoff

The Buckeyes still have one path to making the College Football Playoff. It starts with winning out against Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan.

Winning out alone won’t get it done, though. Ohio State also needs Indiana, Oregon, and Wisconsin to lose at least one game the rest of the way.

That combination would put the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship Game. From there, Ohio State would have the opportunity to win the conference title and earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.

With that being said, Ohio State’s chance at making the CFP is technically still alive, but it’s a far-fetched one. Three wins of its own plus three separate losses from teams ahead of it in the Big Ten is a lot to ask for in the final weeks of the regular season.

Even so, there should be no expectation of Ohio State getting into the field after the way the last few weeks have gone. The standard in Columbus is clear. If Ohio State misses the College Football Playoff, you can declare the 2026 season a complete failure.

Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan are all that’s left on the schedule. How the Buckeyes respond over those final three games, and whether they get any help around the Big Ten, will have a huge impact on how this season is remembered.