Ryan Day Believes Ohio State Would Be “Dangerous” If It Can Sneak Into Playoff

"It obviously got out of control down the stretch, but it wasn't like we were outmatched in terms of overall play."

Although its Big Ten championship hopes were dashed with a 45-23 loss to Michigan on Saturday, Ohio State is still in the conversation for the College Football Playoff as one of just five teams in the country with one loss or fewer.

Of course, the Buckeyes will need some help this evening or on conference championship weekend, but head coach Ryan Day has already started advocating for his team to be a part of the four-team field when the final rankings are released on Dec. 4.

“I thought we were in it and we were fighting,” Day said after the loss to the Wolverines. “It obviously got out of control down the stretch, but it wasn’t like we were outmatched in terms of overall play. As we get to those decisions, I think you’ve got to look at the body of work and what we’ve done.

“We’ve got a lot of good pieces on this team and we came up short today, but if we’re able to get a shot at the top four, we’d be a dangerous team.”

Georgia, Michigan and TCU are the only remaining undefeated teams, and if they win their conferences, that will leave a handful of teams vying for one spot. USC seems to be the most likely, but if the Trojans trip up against Notre Dame or in the Pac-12 Championship Game, that leaves the door open for Ohio State.

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The Bulldogs winning the SEC would also knock LSU from contention, though the Tigers currently sit at No. 5 in the rankings with two losses. If they were to pull the upset, though, that would surely eliminate the Buckeyes from playoff contention and put two SEC teams in the postseason.

If LSU and USC lose, one-loss Ohio State would likely get the nod for the final spot over several two-loss teams, including Alabama, Clemson and Tennessee, as a two-loss team has not made the playoff since it was implemented in 2014.

If LSU and TCU lose, meanwhile, the Buckeyes would have to win the head-to-head comparison with Horned Frogs. That’s likely, seeing as Ohio State was already ranked ahead of TCU when both teams were undefeated and its loss would come to three-loss Kansas State in the Big XII title game.

That said, the Buckeyes can’t do anything right now but sit at home and hope that the dominoes fall in their favor over the next week. It’s a situation they’ve been in once before, though, reaching the playoff in 2016 despite not winning reaching the Big Ten title game.

“I don’t know exactly what is next right now, but that’s life at Ohio State,” Day said. “I certainly know what this game means to everybody, so when you lose, it all comes back to me. I’m the head coach. That’s what hurts the most.”

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