Ohio State lost to one of the worst Michigan teams in recent history at home but it was not punished in the same way as Georgia or Miami in the College Football Playoff rankings. The math is not adding up!
There are a lot of different factors at play when it comes to the committee’s evaluation and yelling to the abyss will not get them to change their minds, but the question regarding the Buckeyes is worth asking. Why did they get a pass for losing to the Wolverines?
Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the country at 10-1 after Week 13. It hosted its biggest rival at The Horseshoe in Columbus on Saturday as 21-point favorites. Michigan was 6-5 with losses to Washington, Illinois, Indiana, Texas and Oregon. The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes.
As a result of its ugly home loss, Ohio State dropped only four spots to No. 6. That is a very different result than two similar scenarios involving other programs.
Ohio State was spared!
Georgia was ranked No. 3 in the country after Week 10. It tumbled nine spots to No. 12 after a loss to 8-2 Ole Miss on the road.
Miami was ranked No. 6 in the country after Week 13. It dropped six spots, all of the way down to No. 12 after a road loss to 8-3 Syracuse. The Hurricanes and the Buckeyes have the same number of losses.
To reiterate:
- Ohio State dropped four spots after a home loss to an unranked, 6-5 team
- Georgia dropped nine spots after a road loss to a top-25 team
- Miami dropped six spots after a road loss to a newly-minted top-25 team
Hmmm……
To go even one step further, lets look at Alabama. The Crimson Tide was ranked No. 7 in the country after Week 12. It plummeted six spots to No. 13 after falling on the road to a five-loss Oklahoma team.
The Buckeyes lost to a five-loss team at home and dropped from No. 2 to No. 6.
Yes, Ohio State has top-10 wins over Indiana and Penn State. Committee chair Warde Manuel said those victories kept Ryan Day’s program from falling even further down the rankings and that’s fine.
Ohio State is 2-1 against top-10 teams. They have the win over Indiana and the win over Penn State. One of their two losses is to the No. 1 team in the country and then obviously the loss to Michigan last week.
— Warde Manuel
However, Manuel failed to explain why other college football teams like Georgia, Miami and Alabama did not receive the same benefit of the doubt in the CFP Rankings. He also happens to be the athletic director at Michigan.
Hmmm…… The Buckeyes’ punishment for losing to the Wolverines does not add up!