Ranking Ohio State's potential foes on route to the College Football National title

As the CFP is set to kick off, we take a look at the potential obstacles in the way of the Ohio State Buckeyes' ultimate goal, the school's first back-to-back national titles.

Ohio State gets a bye for the first round. After that, the road gets pretty tough, pretty quickly. Here’s our ranking of the Buckeye’s six most dangerous potential rivals on route to another Natty.

6. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Boasting three of the elite defensive players we’ll see in action during the tournament in linebackers Jacob Rodriguez, David Bailey and Romello Height, rest assured that if Texas Tech finds its way to the Championship Game to meet Ohio State there, that duo will cause a ton of trouble. On the other side of the ball, the Red Raiders rely on quarterback Behren Morton to get the job done. A very talented team, but one peek at their schedule and I’m not sure they’ve been tested as thoroughly as others.

5. Oregon Ducks

The Ducks are still reeling from last year, when Ohio State crushed them as the No. 1 team in the CFP bracket. Oregon lost their only game of this season against Indiana, and there’s a chance they meet again in the CFP semifinals.

However, the Ducks needed overtime to get past Penn State, a common foe that got rolled over by the Buckeyes, but also posed a significant challenge for the Hoosiers. Oregon gets the easiest first match out of all 12 teams in the tournament, versus James Madison, so a big confidence boost should be expected if the end result is as forecasted, a blowout Oregon victory.

Ducks’ passer Dante Moore is a Top-3 quarterback remaining and could be making his case for the first overall pick in next year’s draft. However, I’m not sold on Oregon as a team that can hang punch-to-punch with some of the more physical heavyweights out there.

4. Indiana Hoosiers

No disrespect to the No. 1 team in the land, but the Big Ten Championship Game was pretty even, with Ohio State up on the scoreboard for most of the game before stalling on offense and letting the Hoosiers mount their comeback.

A thirst for revenge would be a main ingredient here for Ohio State and statistically speaking, beating the same team twice in the same season gets harder. Indiana’s Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the real deal and he already outplayed Julian Sayin once, but it’s hard to believe that Ohio State’s vaunted defense would allow such a comeback again, if it were to come down to it. No question that Indiana’s defense is legit, but a sequel should produce more points than the previous 13-10 output.

If the Buckeyes were to meet the Hoosiers again, it would be in the Championship Game.

3. Miami Hurricanes

Yes, a couple of Ohio State’s biggest perceived threats come early in the tournament. Miami would have to beat a pretty loaded Texas A&M at Kyle Field to be in position to play the Buckeyes, but if they do...

The Hurricanes are the best blocking team among the 12 programs involved, and defensive star Reuben Bain Jr. can create havoc. Quarterback Carson Beck is talented but can get sloppy if rattled. Wideout Malachi Toney is dynamic, and could be the best wideout in the tournament not on Ohio State’s roster.

2. Georgia Bulldogs

In terms of raw talent across the board, the Bulldogs are arguably the top team in the tournament, though they don’t always play to that level.

A Georgia-Ohio State matchup would probably qualify as the best heavyweight bout among all available programs, should their paths cross at the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, with an abundance of five-star recruits on both sides. Quarterback Gunnar Stockton’s experience since being rushed into service for last year’s tournament due to Carson Beck’s injury, will be a determining factor.

1. Texas A&M Aggies

If the Aggies make it past Miami in the opening round, where homefield advantage should be a factor in their favor, this could be Ohio State’s most formidable challenge on route to a repeat of last year’s success. The Buckeyes will need to show to themselves that they’re past their heartbreaking loss at the Big Ten Championship Game.

D-lineman Cashius Howell will bring the pressure, and on offense, the Aggies’ Marcel Reed to KC Concepcion connection is guaranteed to be troublesome. The Aggies’ only loss of the season came at their most recent outing, so they’re out for blood, too.