Buckeyes remain No. 2 in AP rankings heading to Michigan game
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio State-Michigan week is here and for the fourth consecutive year, the Buckeyes will be ranked ahead of the Wolverines for the game.
Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) remains ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today coaches poll after ending Indiana's unbeaten run on Saturday with a dominant 38-15 win in Columbus. The Wolverines (6-5, 4-4) have been way outside the rankings for much of the season but clinched bowl eligibility Saturday with a 50-6 win over Northwestern.
While this is the fourth straight season the Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 against Michigan, Saturday's noon kickoff will mark the first time in seven years a ranked Buckeyes team faces an unranked Wolverines squad.
Week 13 of college football descended into chaos with seven ranked teams losing. Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas A&M, BYU, Army, and Colorado all lost Saturday and saw their playoff chances falter or vanish.
Associated Press poll (Week 14)
| 1 | Oregon (61) |
| 2 | Ohio State |
| 3 | Texas |
| 4 | Penn State |
| 5 | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Georgia |
| 7 | Tennessee |
| 8 | Miami (FL) |
| 9 | SMU |
| 10 | Indiana |
| 11 | Boise State |
| 12 | Clemson |
| 13 | Alabama |
| 14 | Arizona State |
| 15 | Mississippi |
| 16 | South Carolina |
| 17 | Iowa State |
| 18 | Tulane |
| 19 | BYU |
| 20 | Texas A&M |
| 21 | UNLV |
| 22 | Illinois |
| 23 | Colorado |
| 24 | Missouri |
| 25 | Army |
All Ohio State needs to do to clinch a spot in its first Big Ten championship game since 2020 is beat Michigan on Saturday, setting up a Dec. 7 clash against No. 1 Oregon, the last undefeated team in the country and the lone squad to beat the Buckeyes.
Rivalry week will be the final leg of the chase for teams to clinch spots into their conference championship games. Among the games to watch with those implications include Friday games in the Mid-American with Miami of Ohio facing Bowling Green and Ohio hosting Ball State, the "Duel in the Desert" featuring No. 14 Arizona State and Arizona on Saturday, and a primetime showdown between No. 3 Texas and No. 20 Texas A&M.
Conference title games
If the season ended today (Teams in bold have clinched conference title game spot)
- ACC: SMU vs. Clemson
- Big 12: Arizona State vs. Iowa State
- Big Ten: Oregon vs. Ohio State
- SEC: Texas vs. Georgia
- AAC: Army vs. Tulane
- C-USA: Jacksonville State vs. Liberty
- MAC: Miami vs. Ohio
- Mountain West: Boise State vs. UNLV
- Sun Belt: Marshall vs. Louisiana
The Buckeyes will likely keep their No. 2 ranking in the College Football Playoff poll on Tuesday before playing Michigan. The bracket will have the most changes it has had after all the upsets from Week 13.
Using the Week 14 rankings, the Buckeyes would host Arizona State in a first round playoff game on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21. The winner would face No. 4 seed Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve.