Buckeyes sitting pretty at No. 2

OSU not in Big Ten title game but look like lock for playoff

The Big Ten continued to dominate the top of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday, with Ohio State in position to earn a berth despite not playing in the conference championship game.

Teams have one more weekend of play to win over the selection committee as they vie for spots in the playoff and the elite New Year’s Six bowl games.

Alabama (12-0) remained at the top of the rankings for the fifth consecutive week, and Ohio State (11-1) was right behind the Crimson Tide. The Buckeyes are coming off an impressive 30-27 double-overtime win against Michigan.

Clemson (11-1) and Washington (11-1) rounded out the top four, with the Tigers and Huskies set to play in the ACC and Pac-12 championship games this weekend.

Michigan (10-2) dropped two spots to No. 5 just ahead of Big Ten counterpart Wisconsin (10-2) at No. 6. The Badgers will face No. 7 Penn State (10-2) in the Big Ten title game Saturday in Indianapolis.

It seems unlikely Penn State will bump Ohio State from the No. 2 spot by winning the Big Ten title.

“They are not close in the eyes of the selection committee,” CFB committee chair Kirby Hocutt said.

Hocutt went on to say the gap between Nos. 4 and 5 is tight.

“I would say the separation (between) Washington at No. 4 and Michigan at No. 5 is extremely small,” he said. “We’ve said there is a 12-0 11-1 11-1 11-1 10-2 10-2 10-2 10-2 9-2 9-2 9-3 9-3 9-3 8-4 8-3 9-2 12-0 9-3 9-2 8-4 7-4 8-4 9-3 9-3 8-4 lot to like about Washington over the course of this year … but the strength of schedule has been a concern and continues to be a concern for us.”

Among Group of Five programs, undefeated Western Michigan moved up to No. 17, while Navy climbed to No. 19.

Ten of the 25 teams in last week’s rankings lost over the weekend, and nine of those were ranked No. 11-23. It led to a crowded group of three-loss teams jockeying for New Year’s Six bowl bids.

The final poll will be revealed live on ESPN at noon Sunday. The top four teams qualify for the two semifinal games, which will be held at the Fiesta and Peach bowls on Dec. 31. The winners will meet in the national championship game Jan. 9 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.