Ohio State's journey to the national championship could end with a colossal rematch

The final College Football Playoff rankings were announced Sunday morning, and with Ohio State landing the No. 2 seed, the Buckeyes have a chance to redeem themselves.

After losing the new No. 1 spot to the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday in the Big Ten Championship Game 13-10, Ohio State dropped just one spot below the Hoosiers. In doing so, the Buckeyes secured a first-round bye alongside No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech.

With Indiana sitting on the other side of the bracket, the Buckeyes could be on another collision course with the 2025 Big Ten champions, this time for the national title. While both teams must win two games to make it to Hard Rock Stadium, the pair is also tied as the favorites to win it all.

Ohio State’s playoff journey begins Dec. 31 in the Cotton Bowl, as they await the winner of No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M. The Hurricanes will have their hands full playing inside Kyle Field, and despite no odds out currently, it is safe to assume the Aggies will be the favorite to advance.

For the Hoosiers, they will face the winner of a huge SEC matchup, No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma. Although the Tide are entering the playoffs with three losses, one of which came at the hands of the Sooners earlier this season, their second meeting will likely be as close as their first.

No matter who Ohio State and Indiana play in the quarterfinals, the expectation is that they will make it to at least the semifinals for the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl, respectively. For the Buckeyes, it looks to be a rematch of 2022’s Peach Bowl, which Ohio State lost in heartbreaking fashion.

No. 3 Georgia will have the easiest path to the semis, as they play the winner of No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss. Aside from Indiana, coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs will be the toughest matchup for Ohio State all season, assuming both make the Fiesta Bowl.

With kicker Jayden Fielding entering the playoffs after missing a chip-shot field goal against Indiana, a reminder of the 2022 loss to the Bulldogs will echo if the senior is asked to make a clutch kick. Special teams aside, Ohio State has an all-around better team than the Bulldogs. Unless they repeat the same blunders as they did in the Big Ten championship, Ohio State would prevail against Georgia if that becomes the Fiesta Bowl game.

In the Peach Bowl, Indiana would face either No. 5 Oregon or No. 4 Texas Tech. The Hoosiers’ biggest win of the season before their Big Ten title victory was the 30-20 upset of the Ducks inside Autzen. After beating the Buckeyes, it’s hard to say the Hoosiers can’t pull out another win against Oregon in the future.

That’s not to say Texas Tech automatically loses to Oregon when they face off. The Red Raiders would pose equally as much of a challenge to the Hoosiers as the Ducks in a Peach Bowl showdown, but Oregon should be expected as the favorites against the Aggies.

If all goes as planned for the two top Big Ten programs, a seismic rematch in the national title game is imminent. Whether it be the Red Raiders or the Ducks in the semi-finals for the Hoosiers, Indiana’s No. 1 ranking isn’t just for show, they are far and away the best team at that end of the tournament.

The same can be said for Ohio State. Although Georgia poses more of a challenge than Indiana’s possible Peach Bowl matchups, the Buckeyes are still in a higher tier than the SEC champs.

The only other team joining Ohio State in that tier is the Hoosiers.

An Indiana-Ohio State rematch in the national championship game would allow the Buckeyes to prove that their loss of the Big Ten title was simply a fluke brought upon by critical red zone errors. For Indiana, it would be a chance to not only beat what many see as still the true No. 1 team in the nation, twice, but cement one of, if not the, greatest turnarounds in college football history.

Maybe it is too early to predict what the national championship game will look like, but the potential is there to have a phenomenal rematch of the Big Ten’s best.