Ohio State Maintains No. 1 Spot in Playoff Rankings
Ohio State's 29-point victory at Michigan held off No. 2 LSU for the top spot in the next-to-last set of College Football Playoff rankings.
The Buckeyes (12-0) remain No. 1 entering the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin (10-2) at 8 p.m. Saturday in Indianapolis.
OSU defeated the Badgers, 38-7, in Columbus on Oct. 26.
LSU (12-0) will benefit from playing a higher-ranked opponent in the SEC Championship. No. 4 Georgia is the Tigers' opponent in a 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday in Atlanta.
That game will be over by the time OSU kicks off against Wisconsin.
If both LSU and the Buckeyes suffer upset losses on Saturday, No. 3 Clemson (12-0) would be poised to ascend to No. 1 if it defeats Virginia (9-3) in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Utah (11-1) is No. 5 in the Playoff rankings and would move past Georgia -- assuming it loses to LSU -- if it defeats No. 13 Oregon (10-2) in the Pacific 12 championship on Friday night.
No. 6 Oklahoma (11-1) and No. 7 Baylor (11-1) play at noon Saturday in the Big 12 championship in a rematch of OU's 34-31 win a month ago.
LSU has wins over No. 12 Alabama, No. 11 Auburn and No. 9 Florida.
OSU has wins over No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 10 Penn State, No. 13 Michigan.
Wisconsin's rating at No. 8, the highest rating for a two-loss teams, hints that the Committee has already decided it will leave Ohio State No. 1 if it and LSU finish 13-0.
Putting the Badgers above Penn State -- which lost to OSU by 11, compared to Wisconsin's 31-point margin of defeat -- allows the Committee to place comparable value on a second Buckeyes' victory over Wisconsin to LSU's win over Georgia.
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