The winner of the Alabama/Georgia game will be #1 and the loser will be #2. Oklahoma pretty much secured the #3 spot with a tough overtime loss, and they should finish ahead of Ohio State anyway due to their head-to-head win. Clemson got blown out by Alabama, but will the former #1 team really fall past #4?
So the playoff teams will probably still occupy the top four slots in the final polls. Ohio State entered the bowl season at #5, but was Ohio State's convincing win over Pac-12 champion Southern Cal really enough to keep them in the top 5?
Central Florida is currently at the top of the media darling list, as they finished the season a perfect 13-0 and in the Peach Bowl beat the team (Auburn) that beat both of the Playoff finalists (Georgia and Alabama). Some idiots are already calling UCF the "real national champion", which is preposterous, but will their big win over an SEC!!!!!! team be enough to propel the Knights from #10 pre-bowl to a top-5 finish?
And the idiots in the media keep saying that Penn State was the best team in the Big Ten this year, so will the Nittany Lions jump the Buckeyes despite their head-to-head loss?
And of course Wisconsin still has a better record than Ohio State despite their head-to-head loss.
Everywhere you go in the media, there's no talk about Ohio State beating three top-15 teams (Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State). It's still all about the 31-point loss to Iowa.
So given the above, could Ohio State conceivably finish as low as 8th in the final polls, behind Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson, Central Florida, Penn State, and Wisconsin? I doubt it, but I'd be willing to bet that at least one media member's ballot looks something like that. I say Ohio State finishes 6th, with Central Florida finishing in the #5 slot.
So the playoff teams will probably still occupy the top four slots in the final polls. Ohio State entered the bowl season at #5, but was Ohio State's convincing win over Pac-12 champion Southern Cal really enough to keep them in the top 5?
Central Florida is currently at the top of the media darling list, as they finished the season a perfect 13-0 and in the Peach Bowl beat the team (Auburn) that beat both of the Playoff finalists (Georgia and Alabama). Some idiots are already calling UCF the "real national champion", which is preposterous, but will their big win over an SEC!!!!!! team be enough to propel the Knights from #10 pre-bowl to a top-5 finish?
And the idiots in the media keep saying that Penn State was the best team in the Big Ten this year, so will the Nittany Lions jump the Buckeyes despite their head-to-head loss?
And of course Wisconsin still has a better record than Ohio State despite their head-to-head loss.
Everywhere you go in the media, there's no talk about Ohio State beating three top-15 teams (Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State). It's still all about the 31-point loss to Iowa.
So given the above, could Ohio State conceivably finish as low as 8th in the final polls, behind Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson, Central Florida, Penn State, and Wisconsin? I doubt it, but I'd be willing to bet that at least one media member's ballot looks something like that. I say Ohio State finishes 6th, with Central Florida finishing in the #5 slot.