Ohio State's playoff path plus full College Football Playoff schedule
For your reference
COLUMBUS — The No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes will open the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve.
According to FanDuel odds from shortly after the unveiling of the playoff bracket, the Buckeyes are the national title favorites.
Here are the odds for the 12 playoff teams from Dec. 7:
Ohio State +250
Indiana +270
Georgia +550
Oregon +850
Texas Tech +850
Texas A&M +1600
Alabama +2000
Ole Miss +2000
Miami +2200
Oklahoma +4500
James Madison +40000
Tulane +75000
Here is the potential three-game schedule for the Buckeyes, followed by the rest of the playoff schedule.
Cotton Bowl, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 7:30 eastern, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Opponent: The winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami, which will be played at noon on Dec. 20.
History:
Ohio State is 4-0 vs. Texas A&M, with the last win in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 1998 season.
Ohio State is 3-2 vs. Miami with the last game a 24-6 Miami win in 2011.
Fiesta Bowl, Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:30 eastern, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Opponent: From the group of No. 3 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 11 Tulane.
History:
Ohio State is 0-2 vs. Georgia, with the last loss in the Peach Bowl playoff semifinal at the end of the 2022 season.
Ohio State is 1-0 vs. Tulane with the win in Ohio Stadium in 2018.
Ohio State and Ole Miss have never played.
National Championship, Monday, Jan. 19, 7:30 eastern, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Opponent: From the group of No. 1 Indiana, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Alabama, No. 4 Texas Tech, No. 5 Oregon and No. 12 James Madison
Rest of playoff schedule
First round
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma, Friday, Dec. 19, 8 pm
No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M, Saturday, Dec. 20, Noon
No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss, Saturday, Dec. 20, 3:30 pm
No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon, Saturday, Dec. 20, 7:30 pm
Quarterfinals
Oregon-James Madison winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech, Orange Bowl, Thursday, Jan. 1, Noon
Oklahoma-Alabama winner vs. No. 1 Indiana, Rose Bowl, Thursday, Jan. 1, 4 pm
Ole Miss-Tulane winner vs. No. 3 Georgia, Sugar Bowl, Thursday, Jan. 1, 8 pm
Semifinals
Indiana-Oklahoma-Alabama winner vs. Texas Tech-Oregon-Tulane winner, Peach Bowl, Friday, Jan. 9, 7:30 pm
A more general comment: I don't think Doug was a jerk during the postgame show from Indianapolis. Probably handled it in a far more civil manner than I would have. Don't be so hard on yourself. You have a job to do and were trying to do it.
I had some downtime as I waited for a client at the jail, with no computer and weak signal on my phone. But I tried to use 4 advanced stats (Parker Fleming, Kelley Ford, FEI & SP+) to see who has the easiest path. Seems to be almost a consensus that UGA has easiest QF game (but not by much) but OSU had easier path. This would change if Tulane or JMU wins. Most advanced stats have UGA a good step below OSU, IU, Ore & Tech. OSU as the 3 seems to have been best case, but avoiding the Tech/Oregon winner in the semis may end up being worth it.