5 reasons Ohio State still makes the College Football Playoff

Despite a heartbreaking loss to Penn State, Ohio State can still crash the College Football Playoff party. Here are five reasons why they’ll do it.

Ohio State is no longer ranked as a top-four team in the country, but that’s just fine. The Buckeyes suffered an upset loss to the hands of the Penn State Nittany Lions. While the loss stung, all is not lost for the Buckeyes.

For most of the college football season, the Buckeyes have been the arguably the best team in the country, rivaling the Alabama Crimson Tide. Last week’s hiccup was unpropitious, but the Buckeyes still boast one of the best rosters in college football.

After a scorching start to the season going 6-0, many projected the Buckeyes to be a shoe-in for the CFP. That is still likely, despite having the number one stamped in the loss column. As the Buckeyes look to get to the meat of their schedule, a loss shouldn’t squash their chances of making a championship run. Ohio State has remaining games against Nebraska, Michigan State, Michigan, and possibly Wisconsin or Nebraska for an encore if the Buckeyes win the rest of their games in the Big 10 East.

A motivated Urban Meyer-led team spells trouble for the rest of the nation, and they could re-enter the conversation of making it to the College Football Playoffs. Here are five reasons supporting that claim.

5. One-loss teams have done it before.

In the two-year span of the College Football Playoffs, one-loss teams have made it with no questions. On top of teams with a loss entering the CFP, they’ve also won the championship. Considering the past two National Champions in Ohio State (2015) Alabama (2016), both teams finished with a record of 14-1 and sauntered away with the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy. For a novice, it’s easy to say why a one-loss team can’t make it, but when looking at the teams that have lost one game this season that argument fades.

At times losses can galvanize a team that has won in a lackadaisical fashion. For the past few weeks, that’s been the case as Ohio State had modest victories against Indiana and Wisconsin.

The 12-member College Football Playoff committee will face a gauntlet of tough choices when they meet for the first time next week. Will the small sample size of one-loss teams of the past two College Football Playoffs help the Buckeyes case get in?

It should, but you never know due to the outcome of other one-loss teams. Knowing that the Buckeyes are capable of beating any team in the country when playing at their best, it should be a surety that the College Football Playoffs is in the cards.