COLUMBUS – The top four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings remained unchanged this week, with the Buckeyes still in the No. 3 spots, behind unbeaten Clemson and once-beaten Alabama.
Notre Dame (9-1) rounded out the top four teams, followed by Iowa (10-0).
The top four teams in the final ranking on Dec. 8 will play in two playoff semifinals with the winners advancing to the championship game Jan. 11 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. (7:00 p.m./ESPN).
The Buckeyes are entering what is without question the toughest part of their schedule with No. 9 Michigan State (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) coming to Ohio Stadium Saturday (3:30 p.m./ABC) and the 12th-ranked Michigan Wolverines (8-2, 5-1) the week after that (Nov. 28, Noon).
The reward for making it through the gauntlet: Facing Iowa (10-0) in the Big Ten Championship Game Dec. 5. Ohio State controls its own destiny as long as the Buckeyes keep winning.
Clemson (10-0), with games against Wake Forest and South Carolina on its regular season schedule is not expected to stumble before a possible showdown with North Carolina in the ACC title game.
The Crimson Tide (9-1) can boast wins over Ole Miss, LSU and Mississippi State, which would have looked a lot better on paper before the Rebels and Tigers began to deflate. If Alabama wins out it will face a resurgent Florida team (9-1) in the SEC championship game.
The Fighting Irish have a showdown with Stanford looming, but the Cardinal lost to 8-2 Northwestern to open the season and on Saturday to Oregon, which is not the same Oregon team that faced the Buckeyes in the first playoff championship game. Notre Dame’s fate may rest with whether the selection committee views a win over Stanford as a quality victory, but if they win out it will be hard to dislodge the Irish.
A win over the Buckeyes could vault the Hawkeyes into the top four, but an undefeated Oklahoma State (10-0) would be more likely to make the cut – if a spot opens up — because they would have beaten ranked opponents TCU (49-29 Nov. 8), No. 10 Baylor (8-1) on Nov. 21. and 7th-ranked Oklahoma (9-1) on Nov. 28. The annual showdown with the Sooners in Stillwater may lose some of its luster if Oklahoma loses to TCU this week.