No. 1 in CFP to be 'advantaged without being disadvantaged'
INDIANAPOLIS – At the risk of getting too far ahead of things with the Big Ten Championship Game still yet to be played, many Buckeyes fans are anxious to know where they might be spending late-December, following the team to a bowl game.
There may be a debate if the Buckeyes are in regardless of the final outcome in the game with Wisconsin in the league championship game. A win on Saturday night would remove all of that doubt however and punch Ohio State's ticket to the College Football Playoff for the first time since the 2016-17 season, a trip that was brief and forgettable.
With the semifinals in Atlanta and Glendale (Ariz.), the destinations could not be any more different.
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Obviously, the Buckeyes are very familiar with the Fiesta Bowl, have had some great moments at the University of Phoenix Stadium, while the Peach Bowl is the one major "New Year's Six" game that the Buckeyes have never been a part of.
Do the Buckeyes get to 'pick' where they would go, if Ohio State ends up as the No. 1 overall seed in the playoff?
Not exactly.
There are some things in place to benefit the top-ranked team in the playoff, but this is all determined by the CFP Committee.
We had a chance to speak with the President and CEO of the Peach Bowl on Friday to get a little more clarity on how things work.
"In talking to (executive director of the College Football Playoff) Bill Hancock, what Bill told me is that the selection committee will advantage the number one team and their fans without disadvantaging them," Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO & President Gary Stokan said.
So, advantaging a team without disadvantaging them?
"That may sound like an oxymoron but It's meant to say, okay, Ohio State, if they're number one, in this case, we would want to put them in a place that geographically is good for their fans to get there and advantages their team and their fans," Stokan said.
Stokan would go on with a hypothetical where the Buckeyes take care of their business, end up as the top-ranked team and the selection process takes special consideration for Ohio State under these parameters.
"Let's say (they were to face) Georgia," Stokan said. "Now, wouldn't want to put them in Atlanta. So, they would take that matchup, in Atlanta (Georgia), if the season was over Ohio State and Georgia and move it out to Phoenix."
Georgia may have its hands full tonight with LSU however and if the Tigers win and Clemson takes care of its business in the ACC Championship Game, it would seem that a 2-3 matchup between LSU/Clemson would be in play and head west while the Buckeyes would make their first trip to the Peach Bowl.
"Let's say it's either Oklahoma (or) Baylor," Stokan said. "Now they may say, okay, we're going to put Ohio State in Atlanta because geographically, it's closer for their fans and their team, and they're not disadvantaged because Baylor (or) Oklahoma would not be an advantage in Atlanta."
Do the bowls get tipped off in advance to know what the committee is thinking or get any sort of input as to who they might like to host, or is it a case that they are kept in the dark just like the rest of America?
"We have no say so whatsoever," Stokan said. "They will not ask us, and I go back to 2015 when we did the first CFP game in history and I called Bill Hancock on Saturday night. I said, "Bill, were you going to call me and let me know we have?" and he said, "Gary, you'll find out when the rest of America finds out," and that will be the same on Sunday at 12:15 (pm) Eastern. We will be watching while you're watching, and we'll find out when you find out."