College Football Playoff: Who benefits most if Ohio State loses to Northwestern?

With Northwestern giving Ohio State a game, what will happen with the College Football Playoff if the Buckeyes lose the Big Ten title game?

The Big Ten Championship Game is underway with Ohio State and Northwestern in a surprisingly tight battle. There’s a long way to find out the result, but the College Football Playoff committee will certainly be watching closely. If Ohio State loses, they’ll have some huge decisions to make on Sunday.

Ohio State losing would add intrigue to the College Football Playoff rankings

The Buckeyes have been the subject of much debate this year. Their 5-0 record reflects the strength of their team, but the number of games they’ve played and won compared to other playoff hopefuls is an issue.

A loss to Northwestern would surely knock them out of the top four, opening the door for a variety of teams.

First on tap would be Texas A&M. At 7-1, they simply need to get by Tennessee on Saturday to make a compelling case on win-loss record alone. The trouble is, they aren’t in the SEC title game and have already been beaten by Alabama. Will the committee be interested in a rematch between the Tide and the Aggies knowing the outcome of the earlier matchup was a 52-24 spanking?

Of course, things would only get more chaotic if Alabama were beaten by Florida in the SEC Championship Game. The two-loss SEC champ, in that case, would be a Gator team that just lost to a bad LSU team.

No. 6 Iowa State might have had a strong case to contend for one of the top four spots if they were able to clinch the Big 12 title, but that scenario isn’t exactly playing out. In the second half, Oklahoma has a sizable advantage over the Cyclones. Would a Big 12 Championship be a big enough boost for the No. 10 Sooners to make a case of their own?

It’s a shame Coastal Carolina is inactive this weekend, but No. 9 Cincinnati is playing in the AAC Championship Game with a realistic chance to make their case for a Group of 5 bid to the playoff.

Assuming the top three remain as-is with as little drama as possible, the most likely outcome for the playoff likely involves slipping Texas A&M in for an Alabama rematch no one outside of College Station wants. Oklahoma’s two losses are too much to overcome from the No. 10 spot while the committee has been loathed to give respect to Cincinnati.

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