College Football Rankings 2016: Projected AP Top 25 After National Championship

Yes, Ohio State lost and they lost big in their Fiesta Bowl semifinal showdown against Clemson. The 31-0 shutout marked the first time an Urban Meyer team has ever failed to score in a game. Coupled with the general stumbles among the collected Big Ten bowl participants, the Buckeyes came out of the end of the season looking far less fearsome. But the voters had Ohio State at second in the pre-bowl AP Top 25, and they will probably only drop a few spots thanks to all their head-to-head wins over teams right below them.

Until falling against Clemson, the Buckeyes had crushed Big 12 champ Oklahoma, survived Big Ten West champ Wisconsin in Madison, and nearly survived the trip to Happy Valley against Penn State. Meyer’s team, the least-experienced roster in the nation according to Phil Steele, was thus three points away from finishing the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record. They boasted one of the top ten defenses in the country and were comfortably locked into the College Football Playoff field.

Once pollsters sit back and review Ohio State’s whole season, they’re probably going to drop just out of the top five of the final AP Top 25. The loss to Clemson is surely embarrassing, but the sum of their entire season is bigger than just one game. Whereas some teams are likely to receive a bigger shift because of their bowl result, the Buckeyes are more likely to get the benefit of the doubt.