Buckeyes No. 2 In Initial College Football Playoff Rankings; Committee Explains Decisions

The Oregon Ducks have opened up at No. 1 in the initial 2024 College Football Playoff Rankings, followed by the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 2. The Georgia Bulldogs are No. 3 and the Miami Hurricanes open at No. 4.

The Buckeyes opened up at No. 1 in last year’s initial rankings.

There were plenty of questions about who would end up No. 2 this week behind the Ducks. Georgia and Ohio State both made a strong case, but the Buckeyes ultimately got the nod this week due to their consistency so far this season.

“Well, both are solid teams,” CFP committee chair Warde Manuel said. “Ohio State’s one loss on the road was against the No. 1 team, and they lost by one. They had an impressive win this past weekend at Penn State, and they have been very consistent. Top-5 defense. They have had changes on the offensive line but still performed, as you know, and Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, those three have really moved the offense.

“So for us, it was the consistency. Georgia, very good team, great win against Texas, a win over Clemson. Consistency in terms of their offense. They’ve had some inconsistencies there, but they have great defense, and they’re allowing only 17 points per game. It was a close analysis, but in the end we just felt that Ohio State was a more consistent performer at this point in time, and their loss to the No. 1 — their only loss is to No. 1 Oregon, and that’s how the committee came out with the decision.”

The committee also took note of the Buckeyes’ reshaped offensive line and how they performed last week at Penn State.

“We notice when linemen move around, when people are not in games that have played in games before,” Manuel said. “To us, and we have two NFL and college Hall-of-Famers on the offensive line who also are on the committee and recognize and discuss the play in the line – I’m a former defensive end – so you tend to notice those things. It was impressive with the movement that Ohio State really moved the ball against Penn State, protected well against their rush. It did factor into it as it relates to how we saw Ohio State and their performance against Penn State last weekend.”

You can see the full rankings below, as well as a full recap of the teleconference with Manuel and CFP Executive Director Rich Clark.

College Football Playoff Rankings

CFP Teleconference Updates

• Rich Clark: The selection committee met today for the first time.
• Clark: “We’re opening the aperture for more teams to participate.” They’re still looking at more than 20 teams that still have a shot. The committee’s job is to rank the 25 best teams. The final ranking will be released December 8, which is also when they will seed the 12-team bracket.
• Warde Manuel: “We began this week with a blank piece of paper, just as we do every week.” Conferences don’t factor in. Public polls are not looked at. They look at records, strength of schedule, head-to-head matchups, and results against common opponents. Every member watches the games and debates the merits, then casts their votes.
• The committee has six new members this year. They all participated in mock rankings in the past.
• Oregon’s win over Ohio State and 5-0 record against teams with winning records earned them that spot. Ohio State had an impressive win at Penn State and played No. 1 Oregon down to the wire. They have a good strength of schedule and are 5-1 against winning teams.
• The committee was impressed with Georgia’s win at Texas and their difficult schedule. Miami had a good win at Louisville and they have an explosive offense.
• Asked to explain the gap between BYU and Miami, since BYU has two wins against top 20 wins and Miami only has one. “Both teams obviously are very good,” but Miami’s offensive prowess has been impressive. They dominated Florida, came back against Cal. BYU is very strong. Has impressive wins against SMU and Kansas State. “It really came down to more of an eye test.”
• How did you evaluate Ohio State compared to Georgia? “Both are solid teams, as you know.” Ohio State’s loss was close. They had an impressive win at Penn State. “And they have been very consistent. Top five defense. They had changes on the offensive line and still performed.” The backfield has really moved the offense, “and so for us, it was the consistency.” Georgia had a great win over Texas and a win over Clemson. They have had some inconsistency on offense, but have had a great defense. “It was a close analysis, but in the end we just felt that Ohio State was a more consistent performer at this time.”
• They couldn’t ignore Indiana’s strength of schedule in where they ranked them. They have watched the games. They’ve only trailed once. They have dominated their opponents, which has been impressive. They are a formidable opponent.
• Ohio State’s one-point loss on the road at Oregon was a very strong game. That’s a better loss than Georgia’s loss to Alabama. “That was on the road but it didn’t have the same impressiveness that Ohio State’s loss did.”
• Given what the committee did to Florida State last year, do you think there is a disincentivizing to not disclose injuries this year? The committee is going to look at the team’s merits. If there is a loss due to injury, the committee is going to look at the team’s play without that key player. They are going to evaluate that team without that player. If that player is not coming back, the team is going to be evaluated for what they have at the moment and how they’ve performed as they currently exist. It has nothing to do with injury disclosure because they recognize when players are missing from a game. The committee doesn’t think teams will hide season-ending injuries in order to keep from being dropped out of the rankings/playoffs. They will look at how the team is performing, just as they always have.
• Thoughts on Penn State vs Tennessee: They lost in a back-and-forth game to No. 2 Ohio State. It could have gone Penn State’s way. They have wins over Illinois and USC in overtime. An opening win at West Virginia. Tennessee has an impressive win over Alabama but they discussed the loss to Arkansas quite a bit. The offensive performance for Penn State is an advantage as well, especially tight end Tyler Warren.
• Washington State’s only loss is to Boise State, but their best win is over Washington. They’re playing consistent football, but they still felt their body of work puts them at No. 21 right now.
• On Ohio State’s injuries on the offensive line: “We notice when linemen move around and people play in games not having played in games before.” There are offensive linemen on the committee. They recognize those things. It was impressive this week how OSU moved the ball with a new offensive line and they protected well. “It did factor in to it as it relates to how we saw Ohio State in their performance at Penn State last weekend.”
• Boise State is “just an impressive team.” Impressive win at a very good UNLV. Also have a win over Washington State. “The committee is very high on them.”
• On the evaluation of Notre Dame at No. 10. They opened the season with a great win at Texas A&M. Also have a win over No. 22 Louisville. They dominated at Navy. “We felt they overcame what was a troubling loss to Northern Illinois. They’ve won six games since that loss.” Their defense is in the top 10. The loss was troubling because that was not the ND team they’ve seen this year.
• Alabama is the highest-ranked 2-loss team because of their win over Georgia and their win over No. 22 Missouri. They have losses to ranked teams. They are top 20 in scoring. “Obviously their defense is always solid.”

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