Buckeyes remain second in fourth College Football Playoff rankings

COLUMBUS — Now more than ever, Ohio State does not care about the College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday night.

The Buckeyes aren’t worried about where they’re at — they checked in at No. 2 yet again — or that Oregon is the only team ahead of them, or that Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame rounded out the top five.

They certainly aren’t going to rest on their win at No. 4 Penn State or their recent beatdown of now-No. 10 Indiana.

All they’re caring about this week is getting back on the winning side of The Game. And with Michigan on deck Saturday, Ohio State is as locked in as it can be for the showdown against the Wolverines.

“To say that this team and those leaders and these seniors want to win this game, it’d be one of the biggest understatements of all time,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “They don’t need any extra motivation; what they have to do is do a great job of preparing themselves — their mind, body and soul — to go play the game. And then trust their training. That’s really what it comes down to. All the work that’s been done to get to this point, now you have to go back to trusting your training, because that’s really how it works.”

The full College Football Playoff rankings can be found below. Teams in bold would be the conference champions, making them the automatic qualifying teams that receive a first-round bye — or the 12 seed in Arizona State’s case — in the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

College Football Playoff rankings (Nov. 12)

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Notre Dame
6. Miami
7. Georgia
8. Tennessee
9. SMU
10. Indiana
11. Boise State
12. Clemson
13. Alabama
14. Ole Miss
15. South Carolina
16. Arizona State
17. Tulane
18. Iowa State
19. BYU
20. Texas A&M
21. Missouri
22. UNLV
23. Illinois
24. Kansas State
25. Colorado