Ohio State’s Loss and Rivalry Weekend Chaos Shake Up CFP Race

Ohio State stumbled under pressure during the final week of the regular season and will miss out on the Big Ten championship game. But in the new college football landscape, the Buckeyes still find themselves in prime position for the playoffs.

No. 2 Ohio State lost to unranked and depleted archrival Michigan on Saturday, 13–10, despite entering the game favored by three touchdowns. The Buckeyes—which spent around $20 million in NIL money to secure its roster this season—should take a tumble when the next College Football Playoff Rankings are announced Tuesday. Head coach Ryan Day, the fifth-highest-paid coach in college football, making about $10 million this year, has now lost four straight to the Wolverines. Day is signed until 2028—and a buyout would cost the Buckeyes $37.2 million, according to USA Today. 

However, despite an outraged fan base, the Buckeyes (10–2) are still expected to clinch a spot in the postseason given this year’s expanded 12-team playoff format.

The Athletic projects the Buckeyes as a virtual lock to make the playoffs, alongside Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, and Georgia—the last of which needed eight overtime periods to defeat in-state rival Georgia Tech on Friday night to ensure its place in the rankings. SMU, which is 11–1, has more than a 90% chance of making the playoffs based on the projections, meaning there are about three CFP slots up for grabs. 

One of those could go to No. 12 Clemson, the Mustangs’ opponent in the ACC championship game, which looked like it blew its shot after losing to 15th-ranked South Carolina. But the Tigers got a break when Syracuse stunned No. 6 Miami to push the Hurricanes out of the ACC title game in favor of the Tigers. 

If Miami ultimately misses the playoffs, it would be a blow for a school that had a $15 million budget to build this year’s roster, according to On3.

Flag-Planting Fallout

The college football weekend was marred with fights in four different contests stemming from road teams attempting to plant their school’s flag on their rival team’s field after a win.

A brawl broke out between Ohio State and Michigan players in Columbus, and police reportedly used pepper spray to mitigate the situation. Both schools are expected to be fined $100,000 by the Big Ten for violating the league’s sportsmanship policy, according to Yahoo Sports.

The other three rivalry games with flag-planting incidents were Florida State-Florida, NC State-UNC, and Arizona State-Arizona. No fines or penalties have been announced yet.