Ohio State Rises to No. 5 in College Football Playoff Rankings After 59-Point Throttling of Nebraska

By Eric Seger on November 8, 2016 at 7:19 pm
Ohio State is No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
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Ohio State did just about everything right in its most recent game, absolutely embarrassing then-No. 10 Nebraska in Columbus by 59 points. That performance, coupled with Texas A&M's loss at Mississippi State, got Urban Meyer's team one step closer to the College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes are No. 5 in the rankings this week, up one spot from the initial set. Ohio State still trails top-ranked Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Washington but is the highest rated 1-loss team.

“No. 5 Ohio state, very good football team had a very convincing win last week,” CFP Committee selection chair Kirby Hocutt said on ESPN. “Washington earned that No. 4 spot this week.”

Who Ya Got?

Nebraska tumbled to No. 19 after its loss at Ohio Stadium. Louisville, Wisconsin, Auburn and Penn State round out the top-10. There are four Big Ten teams in the top-10, easily the most of any conference.

The full rankings can be seen here.

Unlike last week, the committee views the Buckeyes a tad better than AP voters. Ohio State stayed put at No. 6 in Sunday's AP Poll but leapfrogged the Cardinals to No. 5 in the Coaches Poll.

Ohio State visits Maryland on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

College Football Playoff Rankings
Rank Team Conf. Record Key Games
1 ALABAMA SEC 9-0 AUBURN (11/26)
2 CLEMSON ACC 9-0 PITTSBURGH (11/12), @ WAKE FOREST (11/19), S. CAROLINA (11/26)
3 MICHIGAN BIG TEN 9-0 @ IOWA (11/12), @ OHIO STATE (11/26)
4 WASHINGTON PAC-12 9-0 USC (11/12), @ WASHINGTON STATE (11/25)
5 OHIO STATE BIG TEN 8-1 @ MICHIGAN ST. (11/19), MICHIGAN (11/26)
6 LOUISVILLE ACC 8-1 WAKE FOREST (11/12), @ HOUSTON (11/17)
7 WISCONSIN BIG TEN 7-2 MINNESOTA (11/26)
8 TEXAS A&M SEC 7-2 LSU (11/24)
9 AUBURN SEC 7-2 @ GEORGIA (11/12), @ ALABAMA (11/26)
10 PENN STATE BIG TEN 7-2 @ INDIANA (11/12), MICHIGAN STATE (11/26)
11 OKLAHOMA BIG 12 7-2 BAYLOR (11/12), WEST VIRGINIA (11/19), OKLAHOMA STATE (12/3)
12 COLORADO PAC-12 7-2 WASHINGTON STATE (11/19), UTAH (11/26)
13 OKLAHOMA STATE BIG 12 7-2 @ TCU (11/19), OKLAHOMA (12/3)
14 VIRGINIA TECH ACC 7-2 GEORGIA TECH (11/12), @ NOTRE DAME (11/19)
15 UTAH PAC-12 7-2 @ COLORADO (11/26)
16 WEST VIRGINIA BIG 12 7-1 OKLAHOMA (11/19), BAYLOR (12/3)
17 NORTH CAROLINA ACC 7-2 @ DUKE (11/10), NORTH CAROLINA STATE (11/25)
18 FLORIDA STATE ACC 6-3 FLORIDA (11/26)
19 NEBRASKA BIG TEN 7-2 MINNESOTA (11/12), @ IOWA (11/25)
20 USC PAC-12 6-3 @ WASHINGTON (11/12), @ UCLA (11/19) NOTRE DAME (11/6)
21 WESTERN MICHIGAN MAC 10-0 TOLEDO (11/25)
22 BOISE STATE MWC 8-1 @ AIR FORCE (11/25)
23 WASHINGTON STATE PAC-12 7-2 @ COLORADO (11/19), WASHINGTON (11/25)
24 LSU SEC 5-3 @ ARKANSAS (11/12), FLORIDA (11/19), TEXAS A&M (11/26)
25 ARKANSAS SEC 6-3 LSU (11/12)
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