COLUMBUS – The top four teams remained unchanged in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night.
Georgia is No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan and TCU with Tennessee at No. 5 and LSU at No. 6.
(2) OHIO STATE (10-0, 7-0) vs. Maryland (6-4, 3-4)
SECU Stadium, College Park MD; Nov. 19 (3:30 p.m./ABC)
Ohio State and Michigan will finish the regular season against each other the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The Rose Bowl gets either the Pac-12 and Big Ten champions or the next-highest ranked team if that champion makes it into the semifinals, which means, if the Big Ten can get both Ohio State and Michigan into the CFP, it could open up a spot in Pasadena for No. 11 Penn State (8-2).
With three of the top six teams and only three weeks left until Selection Sunday, the Southeastern Conference appears well positioned to put two teams in the CFP for the second straight season and third time overall.
The Buckeyes travel to College Park, Md., Saturday to face the Maryland Terrapins for the first time since the 2018 season as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the scheduled 2020 game there to be cancelled.
The Buckeyes have never lost to the Terps though the 2018 game was a thriller. Ohio State won it in overtime, 52-51, as the late Dwayne Haskins threw for three scores and ran for three more, including a 5-yarder in the second overtime.
The Wolverines, trying to make a second straight playoff, can’t afford to look ahead as they face a desperate Illinois team that squandered its Big Ten West Division lead with back-to-back losses.