Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich make Ohio State's case over Alabama for pivotal No. 5 spot in CFP

When the updated College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday night, all eyes will be on the No. 5 spot. It could be Ohio State, which suffered its first loss of the season last week against Michigan, or it could be two-loss Alabama, adding to the intrigue of the penultimate rankings.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum know who they’d take. They’re both rolling with the Buckeyes.

The duo joined “Get Up” on ESPN with Mike Greenberg and made the case for Ohio State at No. 5. Dinich pointed to the Buckeyes’ strength of schedule — featuring wins over Penn State and Notre Dame. That No. 5 spot could be huge if an upset occurs during a conference championship this week.

“I would assume that they’re No. 5 because they should still have two CFP top-25 wins, including probably a top-10 win against Penn State when the ranking is revealed,” Dinich said of Ohio State. “Even if Ohio State’s five and Alabama is six with two losses, those two teams are both in position to finish in the top four on selection day if upsets happen. If TCU loses and USC loses, those two teams come back into the conversation, but they’re not playing anymore. Ohio State and Alabama are done. No more chances to impress the selection committee.

“Whoever is No. 5 tonight is going to have the edge if upsets occur. But I will tell you this: If somehow, Alabama is No. 5 — which I’m not projecting, but if they are — there will be an absolute uproar. An uproar. Because their two best teams are against Ole Miss, which lost, one point on the road against Texas, which was playing most of the game with its backup quarterback. Ohio State has the stronger resume not only on paper, but according to ESPN’s strength of record.”

Finebaum expressed his disappointment in Ohio State’s performance last week — one in which the Buckeyes got outscored 28-3 in the second half — but made one thing clear. Good losses don’t get you into the CFP, and although Alabama had the better schedule, he doesn’t want to see a two-loss team in the top four.

Then, he asked another question. What about Tennessee?

“Both strength of schedules, clearly Alabama has a better strength of schedule, but I can’t put somebody in because they have good losses,” Finebaum said. “One thing you have to remember about Alabama. Why are we even talking about them vs. Tennessee? Tennessee beat Alabama and beat LSU. Remember, Alabama lost to LSU three weeks after losing to Tennessee.

“And the one thing that Alabama did not have to do that I think the committee ought to consider, they didn’t have to play Georgia — the best team in the country — and I think that would’ve been another lost. So, I would clearly go in favor of Ohio State. I don’t like it. I think they completely collapsed in the fourth quarter and it was embarrassing. But they still get the edge over Bama.”