The Ohio State Buckeyes were obviously going to fall in the College Football Playoff rankings this week after losing to the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, but there was some controversy when the Buckeyes fell all the way to No. 5 in the rankings, behind the USC Trojans at No. 4.
Some fans criticized the decision to drop the Buckeyes behind the Trojans, given that Ohio State has more wins over opponents with winning records, has beaten a higher-ranked opponent than USC has, and lost to a better team than the Trojans. But on Tuesday, College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan explained that part of the reason the Buckeyes fell below the Trojans is that Ohio State lost to Michigan in a blowout while USC lost to the Utah Utes in a close game.
“Ohio State has nice wins over Penn State and Notre Dame, and that Michigan game was a whole lot closer early in the fourth quarter than it was (at the end), but then you look at USC and their recent wins over UCLA and Notre Dame, they also have a win over Oregon State. Their one loss is a two-point conversion against Utah in an emotionally charged game,” Corrigan said, according to Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors. “As we looked at the full body of work of both teams, we came out with USC in the No. 4 spot and Ohio State in the No. 5 spot.”
Ultimately, Ohio State still has a chance to make the College Football Playoff if USC loses to Utah once again in Friday night’s Pac-12 championship game.
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