The truth about the College Football Playoff

Did the Ohio State Buckeyes get preferential treatment?

The short answer is yes, yes they did. However, these are unprecedented times. Many players who opted out and signed with agents could opt back in (two of those players were Buckeyes). The committee made it known that the number of games played was not going to have any bearing on who they select for the College Football Playoff.

This was to protect the five to seven teams that have the possibility of making the Playoff. Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma had the highest probability of making the Playoff when it was decided a season would happen. This was the right move by the committee. The number of games played is not a determining factor as to how good a team is. If a teams’ opponent has a COVID-19 outbreak (like Michigan did), why penalize the team.

Ohio State playing in the Big Ten championship game was a Big Ten move, not a committee move. Ohio State has been in the top four since the rankings were first announced. The Buckeyes were not looking to move up in the rankings; someone had to bump them.

Every team behind them except Iowa State and Oklahoma would not have the additional data point to bump them. Both the Cyclones and the Sooners have two losses. The Committee has been consistent about not letting two-loss teams in the playoff.

While it is true that Ohio State did not meet the six-game threshold for the Championship game, it was by one game, and it was the Wolverines that had the outbreak, not the Buckeyes.  Technically, the Hoosiers did not get bumped since they lost to the Buckeyes in the regular season.