Ohio State has not looked the part of a College Football Playoff team over the past two weeks.
With a struggling offense that's only scored 24 points over the past two weeks and with a defense and special teams that's picked up the slack, the Buckeyes still find themselves at only one loss with no undefeated teams left in the Big Ten.
As of the start of Week 11, here's where a few national college football writers have Ohio State going bowling at the end of the season.
Bowl ProjectionsÂ
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic: Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports: Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma
Kyle Bonagura of ESPN: Orange Bowl vs. Georgia
Mark Schlabach of ESPN: Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma
Saturday Tradition: Cotton Bowl vs.Oregon
Action Network: Orange Bowl vs. Georgia
Scarlet and Gray Report's TakeÂ
Ohio State didn't really have to do anything to keep its Playoff position intact other than just win. Michigan State did the rest.
Heading into Week 10 as the final undefeated team in the Big Ten, the Spartans fell victim to Purdue: the second top-three team the Boilermakers have beaten this season.
With that, the Buckeyes just moved its way into the top-four despite not looking like a team in the hunt for a National Championship over the last two weeks.
But not much has happened around Ohio State to warrant being out of Playoff consideration.
Alabama beat LSU close at home, Cincinnati was not impressive in its one-score win against Tulsa, Oregon beat Washington by 10. Really, outside of Georgia's dominance of Missouri, there's not a dominant team that has separated itself.
That's why, even through the flaws that Ohio State has shown, the Buckeyes are right where they want to be.
In terms of placement in the final rankings, it seems likely Ohio State would vault up to No. 2 or No. 3 if it wins out, especially with the likely head-to-head matchup between Georgia and Alabama in the SEC title game.
Assuming Georgia finishes the season at No. 1, it seems like Ohio State's back on the road to Dallas and the Cotton Bowl, with a matchup looming either against Oklahoma or Oregon on the table.
Based on the College Football Playoff committee's placement of Oklahoma at No. 8 in the first iteration of the rankings, a rematch with Oregon seems more likely at this point. But depending how much chaos happens between now and the end of the season, a game against the Sooners is not out of the picture, especially if they remain undefeated.
