As expected, Ohio State is on the outside looking in of the College Football Playoff.
If the Playoff began this weekend, Urban Meyer's Buckeyes would be the second team left out of the party. Ohio State is ranked sixth in the initial rankings released by the 12-person Playoff committee Tuesday evening on ESPN, trailing No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Washington.
The full rankings can be seen here.
The 7-1 Buckeyes are the second-highest ranked 1-loss team, with their lone defeat coming at Penn State who is ranked 12th. The four teams ahead of them are all unbeaten. Last season, Ohio State debuted at No. 3 and eventually finished at No. 6. The Buckeyes were No. 16 in the first set of rankings in 2014 but then went on to win the national championship.
The committee views Ohio State the same way college football coaches and AP voters do, as each put the Buckeyes at No. 6 in their respective polls on Sunday after they defeated Northwestern 24-20.
New rankings are set to be released every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the month of November, with the lone exception being Nov. 15. That night, the rankings are slated to be announced around 9 p.m., or in between college basketball games part of the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The final set of rankings and four members of the 2016 College Football Playoff are set to be released Dec. 4 at noon ET.
Ohio State hosts No. 10 Nebraska Saturday at 8 p.m.
| Rank | Team | Conf. | Record | Key Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | SEC | 8-0 | @ LSU (11/5), AUBURN (11/26) |
| 2 | CLEMSON | ACC | 8-0 | PITTSBURGH (11/12), @ WAKE FOREST (11/19), S. CAROLINA (11/26) |
| 3 | MICHIGAN | BIG TEN | 8-0 | @ IOWA (11/12), @ OHIO STATE (11/26) |
| 4 | TEXAS A&M | SEC | 7-1 | OLE MISS (11/12), LSU (11/24) |
| 5 | WASHINGTON | PAC-12 | 8-0 | USC (11/12), @ WASHINGTON STATE (11/25) |
| 6 | OHIO STATE | BIG TEN | 7-1 | NEBRASKA (11/5), @ MICHIGAN ST. (11/19), MICHIGAN (11/26) |
| 7 | LOUISVILLE | ACC | 7-1 | WAKE FOREST (11/12), @ HOUSTON (11/17) |
| 8 | WISCONSIN | BIG TEN | 6-2 | @ NORTHWESTERN (11/5), MINNESOTA (11/26) |
| 9 | AUBURN | SEC | 6-2 | @ GEORGIA (11/12), @ ALABAMA (11/26) |
| 10 | NEBRASKA | BIG TEN | 7-1 | @ OHIO STATE (11/5), MINNESOTA (11/12), @ IOWA (11/25) |
| 11 | FLORIDA | SEC | 6-1 | @ LSU (11/19), @ FLORIDA STATE (11/26) |
| 12 | PENN STATE | BIG TEN | 6-2 | IOWA (11/5), @ INDIANA (11/12), MICHIGAN STATE (11/26) |
| 13 | LSU | SEC | 5-2 | ALABAMA (11/5), FLORIDA (11/19), @ TEXAS A&M (11/24) |
| 14 | OKLAHOMA | BIG 12 | 6-2 | BAYLOR (11/12), WEST VIRGINIA (11/19), OKLAHOMA STATE (12/3) |
| 15 | COLORADO | PAC-12 | 6-2 | WASHINGTON STATE (11/19), UTAH (11/26) |
| 16 | UTAH | PAC-12 | 7-2 | @ COLORADO (11/26) |
| 17 | BAYLOR | BIG 12 | 6-1 | @ OKLAHOMA (11/12), WEST VIRGINIA (12/3) |
| 18 | OKLAHOMA STATE | BIG 12 | 6-2 | @ OKLAHOMA (12/3) |
| 19 | VIRGINIA TECH | ACC | 6-2 | GEORGIA TECH (11/12), @ NOTRE DAME (11/19) |
| 20 | WEST VIRGINIA | BIG 12 | 6-1 | OKLAHOMA (11/19), BAYLOR (12/3) |
| 21 | NORTH CAROLINA | ACC | 6-2 | GEORGIA TECH (11/5) |
| 22 | FLORIDA STATE | ACC | 5-3 | FLORIDA (11/26) |
| 23 | WESTERN MICHIGAN | MAC | 8-0 | TOLEDO (11/25) |
| 24 | BOISE STATE | MWC | 7-1 | @ AIR FORCE (11/25) |
| 25 | WASHINGTON STATE | PAC-12 | 6-2 | @ COLORADO (11/19), WASHINGTON (11/25) |
