In the eyes of the Associated Press and the coaches, the Buckeyes are a College Football Playoff team.
The final AP and Coaches Polls released prior to the decisive CFP rankings have granted Ohio State No. 4 and No. 3 overall rankings, respectively. The AP voters opted to leave TCU ahead of the Buckeyes after the Horned Frogs lost their Big 12 title game to Kansas State yesterday, while the coaches moved the Buckeyes ahead despite OSU not having played on conference championship weekend.
Georgia and Michigan held at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in each set of rankings, while Alabama and Tennessee finished at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. Penn State curiously fell to No. 9 in the AP Poll but actually moved up to No. 7 in the Coaches Poll, and it will be interesting to monitor where the Nittany Lions fall within the final Playoff rankings.
The split opinions from the poll on where Ohio State and TCU should rank speaks to the difficult decision the Playoff Committee has in ranking each team. While the Buckeyes are believed to have the better overall resume, much controversy has been made over OSU moving ahead of a team that lost its conference championship despite playing no games themselves in the final week.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | CHANGE | PREVIOUS RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEORGIA | 13–0 | 1,574 (62) | - | vs LSU W 50-30 |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 13–0 | 1,513 (1) | - | vs Purdue W 43-22 |
| 3 | TCU | 12–1 | 1,430 | - | vs Kansas State L 31-28 |
| 4 | OHIO STATE | 11–1 | 1,398 | +1 | vs Michigan L 45-23 |
| 5 | ALABAMA | 10–2 | 1,285 | +1 | vs Auburn W 49-27 |
| 6 | TENNESSEE | 10–2 | 1,233 | +1 | @ Vanderbilt W 56-0 |
| 7 | UTAH | 10–3 | 1,110 | +5 | vs USC W 47-24 |
| 8 | USC | 11–2 | 1,068 | -4 | vs Utah L 47-24 |
| 9 | PENN STATE | 10–2 | 1,063 | -1 | vs Michigan State W 35-16 |
| 10 | CLEMSON | 11–2 | 1,042 | - | vs North Carolina W 39-10 |
| 11 | KANSAS STATE | 10–3 | 1,032 | +2 | vs TCU W 31-28 |
| 12 | WASHINGTON | 10–2 | 933 | -3 | @ Washington State W 51-33 |
| 13 | FLORIDA STATE | 9–3 | 708 | +1 | vs Florida W 45-38 |
| 14 | TULANE | 11–2 | 681 | +4 | vs UCF W 45-28 |
| 15 | OREGON | 9–3 | 670 | - | @ Oregon State L 38-34 |
| 16 | LSU | 9–4 | 660 | -5 | vs Georgia L 50-30 |
| 17 | OREGON STATE | 9–3 | 644 | -1 | vs Oregon W 38-34 |
| 18 | UCLA | 9–3 | 570 | -1 | @ California W 35-28 |
| 19 | NOTRE DAME | 8–4 | 394 | - | @ USC L 38-27 |
| 20 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 8–4 | 382 | - | @ Clemson W 31-30 |
| 21 | TEXAS | 8–4 | 305 | - | vs Baylor W 38-27 |
| 22 | UTSA | 11–2 | 227 | +1 | vs North Texas W 48-27 |
| 23 | TROY | 11–2 | 158 | - | vs Coastal Carolina W 45-26 |
| 24 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 8–4 | 119 | +1 | @ Ole Miss W 24-22 |
| 25 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 8–4 | 59 | - | @ North Carolina W 30-27 |
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEORGIA | 13–0 | 1523 | 59 | 1 | — |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 13–0 | 1466 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | 11–1 | 1359 | – | 5 | +2 |
| 4 | TEXAS CHRISTIAN | 12–1 | 1353 | – | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | ALABAMA | 10–2 | 1282 | – | 6 | +1 |
| 6 | TENNESSEE | 10–2 | 1116 | – | 8 | +2 |
| 7 | PENN STATE | 10–2 | 1074 | – | 7 | — |
| 8 | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | 11–2 | 1054 | – | 4 | -4 |
| 9 | KANSAS STATE | 10–3 | 1050 | – | 10 | +1 |
| 10 | UTAH | 10–3 | 1044 | – | 12 | +2 |
| 11 | CLEMSON | 11–2 | 1003 | – | 11 | — |
| 12 | WASHINGTON | 10–2 | 864 | – | 9 | -3 |
| 13 | FLORIDA STATE | 9–3 | 741 | – | 14 | +1 |
| 14 | OREGON | 9–3 | 661 | – | 15 | +1 |
| 15 | LOUISIANA STATE | 9–4 | 635 | – | 13 | -2 |
| 16 | OREGON STATE | 9–3 | 629 | – | 16 | — |
| 17 | TULANE | 11–2 | 591 | – | 18 | +1 |
| 18 | UCLA | 9–3 | 541 | – | 17 | -1 |
| 19 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 8–4 | 354 | – | 20 | +1 |
| 20 | NOTRE DAME | 8–4 | 323 | – | 19 | -1 |
| 21 | TEXAS | 8–4 | 300 | – | 21 | — |
| 22 | TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO | 11–2 | 206 | – | 24 | +2 |
| 23 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 8–4 | 139 | – | 25 | +2 |
| 24 | TROY | 11–2 | 132 | – | NR | +3 |
| 25 | NORTH CAROLINA | 9–4 | 95 | – | 22 | -3 |
