COLUMBUS, Ohio — For Ohio State, no news was good news during Tuesday's release of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Following a week where the Buckeyes escaped a Big Ten matchup with Indiana that was at one point too close for comfort, Ohio State remained sixth in the weekly rankings release. More than that, the Buckeyes still appear to control their own destiny in their quest for a playoff spot, with two weeks to go until the final top four teams are chosen.
At first glance, that may seem unlikely, especially considering that there was no movement in the top seven this past week and Ohio State remains two spots back of a coveted final-four spot.
But the Buckeyes' path to the playoff is only becoming clearer, and Ohio State may have even received some good news from playoff committee chair Jeff Long regarding its future prospects.
"We try not to look into the future, but we've always said that championships won on selection weekend will have an impact," Long said on ESPN's televised revealing of the rankings. "It will certainly add to [Ohio State's] body of work if they have that Big Ten championship."
That's obviously big for the Buckeyes, who locked up an appearance in their conference title game with last weekend's win over the Hoosiers.
Conference championship aside, Ohio State is virtually guaranteed a chance at adding another quality win to its resume, as it will meet the winner of this weekend's matchup between No. 14 Wisconsin and No. 18 Minnesota.
While Long was answering a question in regards to the Big 12's lack of a conference title game, his response perhaps most applied to the Buckeyes' argument against No. 4 Mississippi State.
After all, assuming No. 1 Alabama beats No. 15 Auburn this weekend, the Bulldogs will be left out of the SEC Championship Game, giving Ohio State the edge in the first criterion that the committee will look at when comparing similar resumes.
With everything in the playoff selection process unprecedented, it remains unclear whether the Buckeyes' and Mississippi State's resumes are close enough to go to a tiebreaker. But one glance at both teams' bodies of work would indicate that they are.
Ohio State possesses wins over No. 10 Michigan State and No. 18 Minnesota, with the potential to add a third Top 25 victory in its conference championship game.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs' only current Top 25 win before this weekend's matchup with No. 19 Ole Miss came against No. 15 Auburn.
Conversely, Mississippi State's lone loss of the season—to No. 1 Alabama—certainly trumps Ohio State's Sept. 6 defeat to 5-6 Virginia Tech, and Long also stated that the committee will take into the consideration that the Bulldogs beat LSU and Texas A&M teams that were ranked in the Top 10 at the time that they played.
However, that argument could end up working in the Buckeyes' favor as well, as it takes the sting out of their perceived scarlet letter of a loss to the Hokies.
Regardless of which side of the argument you fall on between the Bulldogs and the Buckeyes, it would be tough to argue that, at the very least, the two teams don't possess similar resumes.
Given the criteria that the committee has laid out—and what Long said on Tuesday—that would appear to favor Ohio State, assuming that the Buckeyes win their conference championship game.
But What About The Big 12?
Although Mississippi State likely won't be afforded the opportunity to play for its conference crown—and an Alabama loss would likely eliminate the top-ranked Crimson Tide from the playoff discussion anyway—both teams still in contention for the Big 12 title remain in the playoff hunt.
No. 5 TCU and No. 7 Baylor currently sandwich Ohio State, with the Bears having the inside track to their league title.
That could prove important for Baylor, which—unlike Mississippi State—will be recognized as a conference champion should it win the remainder of its games.
While the Big 12 doesn't possess a conference championship game, the Bears' regular-season finale against 12th-ranked Kansas State could ultimately enhance their resume.
That's why it was so important for Ohio State to see the Badgers and Gophers ranked where they were this week, enhancing the likelihood that a Buckeyes win in Indianapolis would neutralize a potential Baylor win over the Wildcats.
It's also worth noting that a Big Ten title victory would give Ohio State one more win over Baylor should both win out, only adding to the Buckeyes' argument against a team that it's already ranked ahead of.
As for TCU, the Horned Frogs remain ranked ahead of the Buckeyes, but would not be recognized as the Big 12 champion by the committee should both they and the Bears win their two respective remaining games, as Baylor beat TCU on Oct. 11.
More importantly for Ohio State, the Horned Frogs lack the opportunities to enhance their resume, with only games against 6-5 Texas and 2-8 Iowa State remaining on their schedule.
That should leave the Buckeyes feeling pretty good right now heading into this weekend's rivalry game against 5-6 Michigan.
Of course, as mentioned earlier, this entire process is unprecedented, and it remains possible—perhaps likely—that one or more teams ranked in the top seven will lose a game between now and the final rankings reveal in two weeks.
But with both the inside track to a conference championship and the chance to enhance its resume with another quality win, Ohio State appears to be in as good a shape as any team still fighting to control its playoff fate.
A lot can obviously change between now and Dec. 7, but should the Buckeyes win out, their argument to make the inaugural playoff field will undoubtedly be a strong one—if not the strongest.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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