With the final College Football Playoff rankings set to be announced at noon, Ohio State made its final push for the fourth and final spot beating No. 4 Wisconsin, 27-21, to claim the B1G championship.
Only that fourth spot remains as Clemson, Oklahoma and Georgia all earned conference crowns on Saturday leaving little doubt they'll be in the field.
So how will things unfold?
There's no clear-cut answer as experts seem split as they compare the resumes of current No. 8 Ohio State and No. 5 Alabama.
The Crimson Tide sat this weekend out after failing to make the SEC title game and find themselves at 11-1.
Nick Saban's squad boasts the nation's 46th toughest schedule and while the lone blemish on its record came on the road against current No. 2 ranked Auburn, 26-14, the argument against the Tide starts with the fact it isn't a conference champion and the key wins aren't exactly eye-catching.
Alabama's signature win came in the form of a 24-10 defeat of current No. 17 LSU with sidepiece victories over current No. 23 Mississippi State and No. 25 Fresno State who lost Saturday to Boise State.
Ohio State's resume isn't without negatives as the Buckeyes would be the only two-loss team in the field with one of those coming by 31 points on the road in Iowa City.
That loss could ultimately doom Urban Meyer's chances if the committee weighs the bad more heavily than the good. Saban certainly hopes that's the case as he noted on Scott Van Pelt's show, "I think if we lost to a team by 30 points, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. You wouldn't even be talking to me."
On the plus-side of the ledger however, Alabama simply can't match Ohio State's resume featuring a win over current No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 9 Penn State and No. 16 Michigan State. Throw in Ohio State winning its conference championship and the argument for the Buckeyes is certainly compelling.
What Ohio State's fate could ultimately come down to, and Kirk Herbstreit nailed this last night, is whether or not the committee attempts to put in the "most deserving" or the "better" team.
Ohio State does have the better resume, complete with that conference championship and those three wins over teams in the top 16 while Alabama failed to win its conference and none of its three best wins are better than Ohio State's "worst" best win thus making the Buckeyes the "most deserving".
That said, on a neutral field, most anyone not sporting scarlet and gray would be of the belief Alabama would prove the better team in a head-to-head on a neutral field and/or is simply seen to be the "better" squad.
So now we wait to see what resume factors are most valued as committee chair Kirby Holcutt offered this nugget Saturday:
Our charge is very simple, to come in and select the four very best teams for selection into the semifinals for the playoff and that's what we'll do.
Get your popcorn ready but you won't know until after noon today whether to throw it in the air, or choke on it.
