For the second straight week, Ohio State is No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Buckeyes are a perfect 9-0 this season, and despite a sluggish 21-7 win over Northwestern in a rainy and windy Evanston on Saturday, the CFP committee still believes Ohio State to be the second-best team in the nation behind Georgia and in front of Michigan and TCU. Meanwhile, Tennessee and Oregon are the first two teams out.
November 8 #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee Rankings
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 9, 2022
2. Ohio State // @OhioStateFB // #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/5UiLKfYTAO
Through nine games this season, Ohio State's marquee victories remain a 21-10 win over then-ranked No. 5 Notre Dame in the season opener and a 44-31 road win against then-ranked No. 13 Penn State in Happy Valley. The Irish upset Clemson last weekend in South Bend and went from unranked to No. 20 in the CFP Poll, while the Nittany Lions are currently the No. 14 team in the eyes of the committee.
College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan said Tuesday that Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame was a factor in the Buckeyes remaining second in the rankings ahead of Michigan, which has also beaten Penn State but has no other ranked wins.
“They both have the win over Penn State but Ohio State has that win over Notre Dame,” Corrigan said. “Both have top-10 scoring offenses, both have top-10 scoring defenses and we're gonna continue to evaluate it as we move forward. If anything, that non-conference schedule from Michigan has been a factor.”
Corrigan said there was conversation about the possibility of Ohio State being ranked No. 1 and that the committee considered the weather when evaluating the Buckeyes’ performance against Northwestern. He said the committee felt Georgia separated itself as the top team, however, with its 27-13 win over Tennessee.
“There was consideration given to everyone but I think as we got more into it, the decisive win by Georgia over Tennessee ... we felt that Georgia separated,” Corrigan said.
In the next two weeks, the Buckeyes will host Indiana before traveling to Maryland for their penultimate regular-season contest. On Nov. 26, Ohio State will welcome Michigan into the Horseshoe for the first time since 2018 in what could be a top-three matchup between the teams should they remain undefeated in their next couple of matchups.
Here are the full College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings:
| Rank # | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 9-0 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 9-0 |
| 3 | Michigan | 9-0 |
| 4 | TCU | 9-0 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 8-1 |
| 6 | Oregon | 8-1 |
| 7 | LSU | 7-2 |
| 8 | Southern California | 8-1 |
| 9 | Alabama | 7-2 |
| 10 | Clemson | 8-1 |
| 11 | Mississippi | 8-1 |
| 12 | UCLA | 8-1 |
| 13 | Utah | 7-2 |
| 14 | Penn State | 7-2 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 8-1 |
| 16 | NC State | 7-2 |
| 17 | Tulane | 8-1 |
| 18 | Texas | 6-3 |
| 19 | Kansas State | 6-3 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | 6-3 |
| 21 | Illinois | 7-2 |
| 22 | UCF | 7-2 |
| 23 | Florida State | 6-3 |
| 24 | Kentucky | 6-3 |
| 25 | Washington | 7-2 |
