College Football Playoff bracket gives the Ohio State Buckeyes their road to repeating following loss to Indiana Hoosiers
The Buckeyes now have their road to repeating as national champions after losing the Big Ten Championship.
The Ohio State Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the season against the Indiana Hoosiers, and as a result, they lost not only the conference championship but also the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Still, at 12–1, the Buckeyes have everything they want still in front of them.
College Football Playoff path is clear for the Buckeyes
Ohio State enters the playoff as the No. 2 seed, behind only Indiana. Despite the loss to Indiana, the Buckeyes still received a first-round bye from the committee. They went unbeaten in the regular season, and a missed 27-yard field goal plus a failed fourth-down conversion are the only things separating them from a Big Ten Championship.
Ohio State did not have a first-round bye last season after losing two regular-season games, including the finale against Michigan.
The Buckeyes will face the winner of No. No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Miami got the edge over Notre Dame for the final at-large spot, and the winner of that first-round game against the Aggies will get Ohio State. If Ohio State can win its quarterfinal game, it’s likely to play the Georgia Bulldogs.
Last season, Ohio State had to run through Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame to win the title. This postseason, the Buckeyes will need three more wins if they want to go back-to-back.