Ohio State got the help it needed on Friday night.
USC is going down to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Utes lead the Trojans by 20-plus points with only minutes remaining.
There are more conference championship games on Saturday, but Ohio State is almost surely in the playoff foursome at this point.
Here’s our latest prediction for what the top four is going to end up looking like come Sunday:
- Georgia (13-0)
- Michigan (13-0)
- TCU (13-0)
- Ohio State (11-1)
That would pit Georgia against Ohio State in one semifinal, with TCU against Michigan in another semifinal. Georgia and Michigan would likely be favored to win their respective games in the semifinals.
Of course, that also sets up the possibility of Ohio State and Michigan rematching in the College Football Playoff national championship game. The Wolverines thumped the Buckeyes in Columbus last weekend.
If TCU loses to Kansas State on Saturday, though, it could open the door for Alabama to also backdoor its way into the College Football Playoff field.
The Horned Frogs would probably have to lose by a pretty big margin for that to happen, though.
The final edition of the College Football Playoff rankings will come out on Sunday afternoon.