The Ohio State Buckeyes passed Alabama in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. On the heels of a 56-7 Michigan State Spartan stomping, Ohio State jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 on Tuesday night.

Everyone is chasing Georgia, and that remains the case with the Bulldogs staying at No. 1 in the latest batch of rankings, but it sounds like Ohio State might be close.

Gary Barta, the chair of the CFP selection committee, spoke to media Tuesday night via a teleconference call and had this to say on the top 3:

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“Georgia is undefeated, and I just said a minute ago that there’s only 3 undefeated teams left, and for Georgia to be 11-0 and against the schedule that they play continues to get the committee’s attention. The defense that they play, they have the best defense in the country, Jordan Davis and company, and their offense is still a top 10-type offense. They do have wins against Clemson and Arkansas.

“When we voted, Georgia came out on top. There was more conversation between Ohio State and Alabama. I went through that a little bit earlier in terms of why the committee … ended up putting Ohio State ahead of Alabama this week, but both are considered to be great teams, not just good teams.

“All 3 of those teams received great conversation. Ohio State offensively is considered to be the strongest in that group, but Ohio State’s defense is better. Georgia may be the best defense there.”

No one has been able to match Ohio State’s offense this season, at least not at the Power 5 level, and the Buckeyes seem to be getting better each week on that side of the ball. Ohio State’s up to 47.2 points per game on the year and has hit at least 50 points in 6 of its last 8 games.

“It certainly gets your attention when they’re up 49-0 at half (on Michigan State),” Barta said of the Buckeyes.

With Michigan up to No. 5, Ohio State could solidify its spot in the top 4 with another dominant win over the Wolverines on Saturday. The pair kick off against each other at noon ET on FOX.

No. 1 Georgia closes its regular season against Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Saturday at noon ET on ABC. No. 3 Alabama plays Auburn in the Iron Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.