Ohio State No. 2 In Initial College Football Playoff Rankings

The Buckeyes trail top-ranked Tennessee, which travels to No. 3 Georgia on Saturday.

Coming off of a 44-31 win at Penn State, Ohio State finds itself at No. 2 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, which were released on Tuesday evening.

Take a look at the new top four in this week’s #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee rankings.

They’re in… for now!

🏈🏆 pic.twitter.com/Rf6ZhIhuSH

— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 2, 2022

The Buckeyes only trail Tennessee, having just one win over a ranked team so far this year in the Nittany Lions, who come in at No. 15. They still have a date with No. 5 Michigan remaining on the schedule, as well.

The winner of that game will then likely face No. 16 Illinois with a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line, showing Ohio State simply needs to win out in order to return to the playoff for the first time since 2020.

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As for this week's rankings, CFP chairman Boo Corrigan cited the “explosive nature” of Ohio State’s offense as for why the Buckeyes are ahead of fellow unbeaten Georgia, though the Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in both the AP and Coaches polls.

That said, the full rankings are as follows, with each team’s overall record in parenthesis: 

1. Tennessee (8-0)
2. Ohio State (8-0)
3. Georgia (8-0)
4. Clemson (8-0)
5. Michigan (8-0)
6. Alabama (7-1)
7. TCU (8-0)
8. Oregon (7-1)
9. USC (7-1)
10. LSU (6-2)
11. Ole Miss (8-1)
12. UCLA (7-1)
13. Kansas State (6-2)
14. Utah (6-2)
15. Penn State (6-2)
16. Illinois (7-1)
17. North Carolina (7-1)
18. Oklahoma State (6-2)
19. Tulane (7-1)
20. Syracuse (6-2)
21. Wake Forest (6-2)
22. N.C. State (6-2)
23. Oregon State (6-2)
24. Texas (5-3)
25. UCF (6-2) 

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