The final College Football Playoff rankings will be announced on Sunday, but the penultimate top 25 on Tuesday night gave us an idea of ​​what Ohio State’s fate will be.

After losing 13-10 at home to Michigan, Ohio State lost any chance of a Big Ten championship and a first-round bye. The Buckeyes (10-2) are still a playoff berth, but there was concern that a loss would also put them out of position to host a first-round game.

Tuesday’s revelation showed the committee highly valued Ohio State’s two top-10 wins and ranked the Buckeyes at No. 6. This means they are number 8 in the table and will host number 9 seed Tennessee.

Tuesday was close to the best-case scenario for Ohio State

Eight teams are locked out of the playoffs: Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and Indiana.

SMU vs. Clemson for the ACC title, Arizona State vs. Iowa State for the Big 12 title and Boise State vs. UNLV for the Mountain West title are play-in games, with two of those winners receiving first-round byes receive. That leaves Alabama for the final at-large bid unless SMU loses to Clemson but stays ahead of the Crimson Tide and the ACC gets two teams. (Or Boise State loses to UNLV and stays ahead.)

If so, the host teams appear to be almost Included are: the loser of the Big Ten championship and Notre Dame, while the loser of the SEC title game, Ohio State and Tennessee compete for the final two spots.

Ohio State is now in the host position as the No. 8 seed on Tuesday and is unlikely to be overtaken by any major team below it. That’s a big advantage for the Buckeyes, who haven’t lost at home to a team other than Michigan since Oregon in 2021.

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The committee decided Tuesday to favor Ohio State over Tennessee because it felt it had a better resume. It’s a debate that’s been going on since the Vols topped Sunday’s AP poll.

Tennessee lost to Georgia 31-17, and Arkansas also lost 6-6. His only top-25 win is against No. 11 Alabama, which is in the bubble.

One could argue that Ohio State’s home loss to Michigan (7-5) is worse than Tennessee’s road loss to Arkansas (even though the Razorbacks have a worse record than the Wolverines), but the Buckeyes’ other loss was by one point Oregon. They also handed No. 3 Penn State and No. 9 Indiana their only losses.

The Michigan game is on everyone’s lips, but the committee has shown that it prioritizes Ohio State’s wins over the tough loss to Michigan. There’s no reason to believe the Vols can overtake the Buckeyes now, so Ohio State appears to be in good shape to host a playoff game. Will it be against Tennessee?

Team to cheer for: Texas

At this point, we’re thinking about matchups when it comes to Ohio State’s future in the playoffs.

Ohio State is unlikely to drop in the rankings since championship games primarily determine who gets a bye and who gets in from the bubble. Based on Tuesday’s rankings, Ohio State would host Tennessee, and if it wins, it would play Oregon in the quarterfinals of the Rose Bowl.

What’s interesting, however, is that Georgia ranks one spot ahead of Ohio State. This raises the possibility that if Texas beats Georgia, the committee could drop the Bulldogs three losses behind Ohio State despite Georgia playing an extra game. Whether teams should be penalized for playing an extra game has been a playoff debate for years and will certainly come into play this year.

If Ohio State advances to Georgia, the Buckeyes could potentially play a home rematch against Indiana in the first round instead of playing Tennessee. The Buckeyes already beat Indiana 38-15 at home last month, and while nothing is a given, this seems to be the slightly more favorable matchup.

That would also set up an interesting second-round game with Texas, the SEC champions, in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

This could be the only way for Ohio State to move up in the rankings unless the committee severely punishes a Penn State loss to Oregon. I think Penn State will still remain No. 5 if it loses to Oregon, and Notre Dame has its rankings fixed.

Nothing is official yet, but all signs point to Ohio State being locked in as a first-round host. All that remains is to find out the way.

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(Photo: Jason Mowry/Getty Images)