Examining Ohio State Buckeyes' grueling path to defending their national title

Now with that disappointing Big Ten Championship loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the rearview mirror, the Ohio State Buckeyes shift their focus to the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State found out they would be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, behind Indiana. While the number one seed and a conference title would have been nice, the committee did not penalize the Buckeyes heavily and still got a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Make no mistake about it, though, this is not going to be an easy road to the playoffs for Ohio State, as they will have some challenges along the way to try to get to the end goal of a national championship.

Other Three Teams with First Round Byes

The Buckeyes already know how good Indiana is, as the Hoosiers have one of the nation's best offenses and defenses, led by Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Indiana enters the playoffs as the number one seed and undefeated on the season.

As for the other two, the number three-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a blowout SEC title win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, 28-7, and look poised to be the same team that has dominated college football over the last five years. The fourth-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders also had a blowout win in the Big 12 title game against the BYU Cougars, 34-7, led by the nation's best defensive player, Jacob Rodriguez.

Miami Hurricanes vs. Texas A&M

This is the matchup Ohio State fans might want to pay attention to as the winner of this game faces the Buckeyes in the second round of the playoffs. Miami missed out after losing out on a five-way tie for second place in the ACC, losing out to the Duke Blue Devils, who beat the Virginia Cavaliers in overtime in the ACC Championship game. The Texas A&M Aggies were undefeated and looked poised to make the SEC title until a devastating loss to the Texas Longhorns late in the season sank their ranking.

Tulane vs. Ole Miss Rebels

In one of the games with a massive underdog in it, the Tulane Green Wave gets a rematch against the Ole Miss Rebels after getting blown out 45-10 earlier in the season. Tulane won the AAC conference title game against North Texas to advance as one of the conference champions. Ole Miss will be going through the playoffs without Lane Kiffin as their head coach, but still had a stellar season, finishing 11-1 and third in the SEC.

James Madison vs. Oregon

The Oregon Ducks are three-touchdown favorites over James Madison after having a great season in the Big Ten, with their only loss being to the Hoosiers. As for James Madison, they are the first Sun Belt team in the playoffs after a 12-1 season, with many questioning whether they should be in the playoffs given their weakest strength of schedule among the 12 playoff teams.

Alabama vs. Oklahoma

It's been less than a month since Alabama and Oklahoma faced off against each other with the Sooners beating the Crimson Tide 23-21. Alabama is coming off a rough showing in the SEC championship game, but was rewarded by the committee for having the strongest strength of schedule in the playoffs. The Sooners have one of the best defenses in the nation as they finished the season 10-2 on the year.