Ad Disclosure
Heather Dinich projects Ohio State’s fall in CFP rankings after loss to Michigan
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Heather Dinich had a lot to say about Ohio State’s loss to Michigan in The Game and the potential impact on the College Football Playoff rankings. The Buckeyes will undoubtedly fall Tuesday night but how far remains to be seen.
During Sunday’s broadcast of ESPN’s SportsCenter, Dinich highlighted the debate between No. 5 and No. 6 Tuesday night as an area to watch. She projects Ohio State will not fall below 6th, but it will be crucial to find out if the Buckeyes are the highest-ranked 1-loss team for the committee.
“So on Tuesday night, the 5th and 6th rankings, pay attention to how far Ohio State falls as a 1-loss team,” said Dinich. “I would be surprised if they dropped lower than 6th. But that doesn’t mean that the committee will have them as their highest 1-loss team.”
Dinich expects the debate to center around Ohio State and Oregon and believes the Buckeyes have a better resume in that discussion. However, the committee does like Oregon QB Bo Nix per Dinich, and Ohio State’s Kyle McCord is coming off an ugly performance in The Game.
“They could have Oregon higher than Ohio State at this point. Ohio State has a better resume, because they still have wins against Penn State and Notre Dame that will continue to resonate,” she explained. “Oregon’s best win is against rival Oregon State. But the selection committee likes what Bo Nix is doing.
“On a day when Kyle McCord threw 2 interceptions in the biggest game of his career, Ohio State’s defense struggled to stop the run, lost to Michigan. All these things matter, but how far Ohio State is dropped on Tuesday will reveal a big clue as to how much work they have to do. But I think it’s going to be difficult for any team that doesn’t win its conference to finish in the top 4 without some upsets above them because there are so many contenders.”
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.