One hurdle in Ohio State's potential path to the College Football Playoff was cleared on Friday night.
No. 8 Washington State lost to No. 16 Washington, 28-15, eliminating the Pac-12 from College Football Playoff contention.
On a snowy evening in Pullman, Washington running back Myles Gaskin ran for 170 yards and three touchdowns while Washington State quarterback Gardner Minshew completed 26 of 35 passing attempts for only 152 yards with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.
Washington will now play Utah in next week's Pac-12 Championship Game for a berth in the Rose Bowl.
Going into this week, the Cougars loomed as one of the two most likely teams that could keep the Buckeyes out of the playoff if they beat Michigan on Saturday and Northwestern in next week's Big Ten Championship Game.
There was a chance for both of those teams to lose on Friday, as No. 6 Oklahoma ended up in a back-and-forth battle with No. 13 West Virginia, but the Sooners ended up prevailing in an offensive shootout, 59-56, to improve to 11-1 and earn a berth in next week's Big 12 Championship Game against Texas, the only team that has beaten Oklahoma this season.
If the Buckeyes beat Michigan on Saturday, Ohio State fans just might have to root for former Ohio State assistant coach Tom Herman to lead his Longhorns to another victory over the Sooners in order to keep the Buckeyes' playoff hopes alive.
