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#8 Ohio State Buckeyes (8-2)
Ohio State are the only team on this list whose number above does not fit their rank, as they are really ranked at #9 in the College Football Playoff rankings. However, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ranked at #8, and they are a two-loss team not in a conference and will not have the opportunity to gain an extra quality win, thus meaning they are effectively eliminated from College Football Playoff contention.
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If Ohio State wins out, they will be 11-2 as Big Ten conference champions with a win over #5 Wisconsin. This will move them up to #7 at worst since they would definitely jump over #9 Notre Dame as well. Because #2 Clemson and #3 Miami will battle each other in the ACC championship game, one of them must lose, thus moving Ohio State up to #6 at worst. And because only one of #1 Alabama, #6 Auburn and #7 Georgia can be SEC champions, two of the three must lose, thus moving Ohio State up to #4 at worst.
FiveThirtyEight gives Ohio State a 65% chance of making the College Football Playoff if they win out, all other things being equal. The Buckeyes take on the Illinois Fighting Illini this weekend before finishing the regular season with a game against #24 Michigan. They will then likely play in the Big Ten conference championship game against #5 Wisconsin.
