Scarlet Sunrise: CFP chairman explains why Buckeyes remain at No. 2 in rankings
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College Football Playoff chairman explains why Buckeyes remain at No. 2 in rankings
Ohio State came in at No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings for the second straight week. CFP chairman Boo Corrigan was asked if the Buckeyes still got consideration for the top spot, given that they were one of three teams the committee was considering at No. 1 — along with Georgia and Tennessee — last week.
“Yeah, I think there was consideration given to everyone, but I think, as we got more into it, the decisive win by Georgia over Tennessee was the primary reason, [for Georgia being No. 1]” Corrigan told reporters in a media teleconference, via ASAP Sports. “Again, you’re looking at Ohio State and the balanced offensive scoring — scoring defense, scoring offense both being in the top 10, averaging 47 points a game. Really good team.
“But we felt that Georgia separated.”
Corrigan said that the weather at Northwestern this past weekend, and its impact on Ohio State’s performance, “was a topic of discussion” when ranking the Buckeyes.
Ohio State is one spot ahead of rival Michigan in this week’s CFP rankings. Corrigan was asked about how the committee sees and compares the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
“We put them up and we talked about each team individually,” Corrigan said. “We talk about them in groupings to make sure that we’ve got it in the right area or in the right spot as we go through this.”
He continued: “The [Michigan] win over Rutgers this weekend and the second half in particular and the way they’ve played — they’ve done a really good job of pulling away from teams. As you look at Ohio State, obviously they both have the win over Penn State, but Ohio State has that win over Notre Dame. Both have top-10 scoring offenses, top-10 scoring defenses, and we’re going to continue to evaluate it as we move forward.
“If anything, that non-conference schedule from Michigan has been a factor.”
The Game is fast approaching. So, on Nov. 26, Ohio State and Michigan can settle the debate of which team should be ahead of the other in the CFP rankings.
Here are the top-six in those rankings, as of Tuesday night:
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- TCU
- Tennessee
- Oregon
Full coverage of Ohio State preparation for Indiana
The Buckeyes will host Indiana in the Horseshoe Saturday afternoon. It’s a break from travel, as Ohio State is coming off back-to-back away games and will hit the road again for Week 12 when it faces Maryland. But first Ohio State will have to take care of business against a struggling Hoosiers team that has won just one Big Ten game in the last two years, has been dealing with a quarterback injury and ranks dead last in the conference in scoring defense (32.2 points per game allowed).
Spencer Holbrook, Andy Backstrom and Tim May were back inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday, analyzing the Buckeyes offense in the latest Practice Report presented by Byers Auto. Every Tuesday following the media session with the Buckeyes, Spencer, Andy and Tim will chat about what they saw the previous Saturday and look ahead to what to expect from Ohio State the coming weekend.
After hearing from head coach Ryan Day and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the Lettermen Row crew is back for a full report on what it learned.
Tim May Podcast: Marlon Kerner discusses Ohio States’ defensive performance at Northwestern, Bill Bender gives big-picture look
The Tim May Podcast is back for an overview of Ohio State’s messy, 21-7 win over Northwestern this past weekend. Tim is joined by former Buckeyes and NFL cornerback Marlon Kerner to talk about how Ohio State found a way to win in the Evanston wind and remain undefeated.
Bill Bender, the national college football writer for The Sporting News, kicks off the episode with Tim and offers insight about the College Football Playoff race and the biggest FBS storylines.
Check it out in the link below and find more episodes of the Tim May Podcast on our YouTube channel.
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 3 days away
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 17 days away
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