The College Football Playoff picture becomes clearer every week. Or maybe it gets blurrier. Whatever the case, the number of teams with a legitimate shot at earning a bid decreases after every Saturday.

Following action in Week 5, ESPN narrowed down its list of teams eligible to still win the national title to just nine. But one-third of the remaining contenders hailed from the B1G.

Not bad for a conference that has received so much grief through the first half of the season.

Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan were the three B1G teams mentioned in the latest from ESPN. The Buckeyes were given the best chance from the conference and was ranked as the team with the second-most likely chance of locking up a bid to the CFB Playoff. No. 1 was Alabama.

Here’s what ESPN had to say about Ohio State and the No. 2 spot:

Chance to make the playoff: 74.9 percent
Chance to win the title: 22.9 percent
Trends in their favor: The Buckeyes are currently No. 1 in SOS, which means the average Top 25 team would have a 12 percent chance to start 5-0 against Ohio State’s schedule. They’ve also got a Heisman contender, as quarterback Dwayne Haskins is No. 2 in ESPN’s Heisman Watch. Ohio State is No. 5 in offensive efficiency and is tied with Georgia for fourth in scoring margin at 30.2.The Buckeyes already have two wins against ranked opponents in TCU and now Penn State. The remaining strength of schedule is No. 39.
What’s missing: Not a thing, as far as past trends go.

No doubt that wins over TCU and Penn State have given the Buckeyes a huge advantage over the rest of the field.

Penn State and Michigan were listed at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively. But there’s still quite a bit that would have to go right for both teams to make their case.

The Nittany Lions still have matchups against three ranked opponents on the schedule: No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 20 Michigan State. Wins over those three teams could really give PSU a boost.

Michigan still has an excellent opportunity as well. With matchups against No. 11 Penn State, No. 2o Michigan State and No. 3 Ohio State, the Wolverines have control of their destiny.

There’s still a ton of college football to be played. A million things will change between now and the CFB Playoff selection day.