Ohio State football to face Georgia in College Football Playoff
A week after its national championship hopes looked doomed, Ohio State is in the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes (11-1) are the No. 4 seed and will play top-seeded and defending champion Georgia (13-0) in the CFP semifinals at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta at 8 p.m. Dec. 31.
No. 2 Michigan (13-0) and No. 3 TCU (12-1) will play in the other semifinal in the Fiesta Bowl. The Big Ten has two teams in the playoff for the first time.
The national championship game will be Jan. 9 in suburban Los Angeles.
“It’s hard to explain the range of emotions that have gone on here the last seven days,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “I said before that it’s like a second lease on life. A couple days ago, we were on life support a little bit. Our season was. Now there’s a two-game season in front of us. There’s unbelievable excitement right now. Guys are just bouncing around the facility.”
Ohio State vs Georgia:Buckeyes make College Football Playoff vs. Bulldogs. Here’s how people are reacting
Ohio State in the CFP:How have the Buckeyes done in the College Football Playoff?
When Ohio State lost to Michigan 45-23 on Nov. 26 at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes appeared unlikely to make the CFP. But two other contenders – Clemson and LSU – also lost that day, opening the door a crack.
Still, No. 5 Ohio State needed help in this weekend’s conference championship games.
How Ohio State found its way into the CFP
The simplest path was for No. 4 Southern California to lose to Utah in the Pac-12 title game Friday night in Las Vegas, and that’s what happened. The Utes rallied from a 17-3 deficit for a 47-24 victory, aided by an injury that hampered Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy favorite.
“You’re welcome, coach Day,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham quipped after the game.
Utah’s win was its second over USC this season. No two-loss team has ever been selected for the playoff.
Georgia, Michigan and TCU entered the weekend undefeated. Georgia routed LSU 50-30 in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Michigan pulled away from Purdue in the second half for a 43-22 win in the Big Ten title game.
An Ohio State vs Michigan rematch could happen in the CFP
TCU lost in overtime to Kansas State 31-28 in the Big 12 championship. The only real drama on Sunday would be whether Ohio State would overtake the Horned Frogs for the No. 3 seed. If that happened, it would set up a semifinal matchup between Ohio State and Michigan. Imagine that.