Ohio State’s loss in a shocking upset to unranked rival Michigan will keep the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game, but the team’s college football playoff hopes are another matter, and it There’s still a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks.

While we can expect Ohio State to definitely fall from its lofty spot of No. 2 in the commission rankings and from its projected No. 5 spot in the rankings, the Buckeyes should continue to stay in the top dozen for the rest of the season this season when selection day finally comes.

How far could Ohio State fall? The loss and the fact that other teams won their games should cause the Buckeyes to drop to at least No. 10, probably still ahead of Indiana, given their head-to-head win over the Hoosiers and OSU’s superior overall record.

Ohio State still has two wins against top-10 teams this season, including a dominant 38-15 decision against Indiana, and played current No. 1 Oregon on the road with a one-point loss.

Taking that into account, combined with Indiana’s poor schedule, a metric the selection committee takes very seriously, Indiana probably can’t do much to top Ohio State’s overall performance in the regular season finale against Purdue.

Some in the committee room might also argue that Ohio State should stay ahead of Tennessee with two losses, since the Buckeyes beat two teams ranked higher than the Vols’ most important win of the season, against current No. 13 Alabama. which has three defeats.

Entering the season finale, Ohio State was a nearly 20-point favorite against unranked Michigan and appeared to be in position to play for the Big Ten title and host a first-round playoff game.

Now it looks like the Buckeyes will have to settle for a road game to open the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Whatever the case, head coach Ryan Day’s tenure continues to come under heavy criticism after a lackluster performance against a Michigan team his Buckeyes were supposed to dominate, putting the school’s postseason future in question.

Here’s our rough prediction of what the College Football Playoff rankings and bracket prediction could look like after Michigan upsets Ohio State on Saturday…

1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. SMU
4. Boise State
5. Penn State
6. Notre Dame
7. Georgia
8. Tennessee
9. Ohio State
10. Indiana
11. Miami
12. Arizona State

In this prediction, Ohio State would play a first-round College Football Playoff game at Georgia between the Hedges, a significant increase in difficulty from where this team stood last week.

A week ago, the Buckeyes were expected to host No. 12 seed Arizona State in the first round, a game in which Ohio State would have been the more generous favorite.

Proof that even in the 12-team playoff era, what you do in the regular season still matters.

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