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Kirk Herbstreit explains why Ohio State has a better CFP chance than Alabama
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What did we tell you?
After Ohio State knocked off Michigan to improve to 10-2 and Alabama fell to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, denying the Crimson Tide an opportunity to compete for the SEC title, the debate between Buckeyes and Bama would fuel most College Football Playoff conversations.
It hasn’t disappointed. Through the early portion of the week, everyone has been debating Ohio State and Alabama, critiquing each team’s résumé and arguing about which squad deserves a potential CFP opportunity.
During the revealing of the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night, the debate surfaced again. The Crimson Tide sits at No. 5 while the Buckeyes come in at No. 8. But ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit believes OSU is still in better position.
“If Ohio State wins, that’s the wild card for the committee,” Herbstreit said Tuesday night. “If Ohio State knocks off Wisconsin, you have the debate between Ohio State and Alabama. Then it’s about the eye of the beholder. What could hurt Alabama is the way they played in their last two games and Ohio State would have a conference championship.
“The only way Alabama could get in over Ohio State is if the committee looked around and said, ‘We just wouldn’t want to play them.'”
Right now, the Buckeyes have wins over No. 9 Penn State and No. 16 Michigan State. A win on Saturday would add an undefeated and fourth-ranked Wisconsin to their victory list. But blowout losses to Oklahoma and Iowa are pretty glaring blemishes.
As we’ve said all along, if Ohio State wins in Indianapolis, it really makes things a lot more interesting.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB