Ohio State received the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff after the selection committee released its final rankings on Dec. 7.
It had been in line for the top seed for weeks, going perfect in the regular season, before falling to unbeaten Indiana in a clash in the Big Ten championship game the previous night.
The ranking leaves the Buckeyes with a bye to the quarterfinals following the playoff’s adoption of a straight seeding model this year. The four highest seeds are no longer reserved for conference champions, a part of the format when the expanded 12-team bracket was first introduced last year.
The bye leaves the Buckeyes with a more manageable path to chase their first-ever repeat national title. They won’t be in a first-round game in two weeks.
The Hoosiers, who beat the Buckeyes to win their first Big Ten title since 1967, were the top seed. If they are to meet in a potential rematch, it would not be until the final with them on opposite sides of the bracket.
With the committee only flip-flopping Indiana and Ohio State in the rankings, it left the Buckeyes ahead of Georgia, which won the SEC championship on Dec. 6.
It was a minor surprise. The one-loss Bulldogs were ahead of the Buckeyes in the major polls that were released just before the committee’s rankings were revealed on ESPN.
But Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, who chairs the selection committee, said on a teleconference that Ohio State had an edge.
“When you look comparatively Georgia to Ohio State, their schedule strengths are relatively similar as are their record strengths,” Yurachek said, “but statistically, especially on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, Ohio State looks a little bit better.”
When does Ohio State play next?
The Buckeyes were assigned to the Cotton Bowl, which is hosting the first of the four quarterfinal games on Dec. 31 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Who will Ohio State play next?
The winner between No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami will meet the Buckeyes in the quarterfinals.
If it goes chalk, the Buckeyes would face the Aggies only a three-hour drive from their campus in College Station. Before Texas A&M was upset by Texas during the final weekend of the regular season, it had been unbeaten and in position to earn a bye.
College Football Playoff bracket predictions for Ohio State football
A loss just before the playoff last year helped to spur the Buckeyes on their title run and don’t be surprised if they respond in a similar fashion.
The disappointment of the Big Ten title game should refocus a locker room that had experienced 16 consecutive wins.
The potential of a matchup with Texas A&M in the quarterfinals makes the draw a little less favorable, but the Buckeyes won’t have to meet Georgia in Atlanta if they both advance to the semifinals. The matchup would be in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.
At first glance, it feels like another No. 1 vs. No. 2 meeting is in store between Indiana and Ohio State.
College Football Playoff bracket 2025-26 dates
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who will Ohio State play next? College Football Playoff schedule
Reporting by Joey Kaufman, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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