INDIANAPOLIS - Ohio State made quite a statement with a beatdown of Wisconsin Saturday night in the Big Ten Championship Game.
But will it be enough to get the Buckeyes in the first four-team College Football Playoff?
Ohio State was No. 5 in last week's rankings. The final rankings -- and the only ones that matter -- will be released Sunday afternoon.
No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Oregon will be in after easy wins this weekend. No. 3 TCU rolled over Iowa State Saturday, and No. 4 Florida State -- the nation's only unbeaten team -- beat Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.
No. 6 Baylor beat Kansas State Saturday night, too, to finish at 11-1. Alabama, Oregon, TCU and Ohio State also have one loss. Further complicating matters is that Baylor beat TCU in October.
So, what happens when the committee tries to sort all of this out? Here's a glimpse at what will be considered...
TCU
The Horned Frogs lost only at Baylor, 61-58, after blowing a fourth-quarter lead. TCU has scored at least 34 points in nine of its last 10 games and has been consistently ranked ahead of Baylor in the weekly playoff rankings.
NOTABLE WINS: Oklahoma 37-33; at West Virginia 31-30, No. 9 Kansas State 41-20, at Texas 48-10
THE LOSS: At No. 6 Baylor in October.
OUT OF CONFERENCE: Rolled over FCS Stephen F. Austin and SMU, beat Minnesota 30-7.
BOTTOM LINE: Because this is the first playoff, we have no idea how much TCU's prior ranking will matter. The Horned Frogs have racked up style points while racking up big points on the field. How good has the competition been? Probably similar to what Ohio State has played. A tough call awaits.
FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles haven't lost in two years. This year they've played the villain role and had several escapes, but they haven't lost. That should matter.
NOTABLE WINS: No. 18 Clemson 23-17, Notre Dame 31-27, at No. 21 Louisville 42-31, at Miami 30-26, Florida 24-19, No. 11 Georgia Tech on a neutral field 37-35.
THE LOSS: See 2012.
OUT OF CONFERENCE: Beat Oklahoma State on a neutral field, blew out Citadel, held off Florida.
BOTTOM LINE: Flawed? Sure. But the Seminoles are survivors, they're 13-0 and they score points. It would be awfully tough to keep them out.
OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are on a tear. They've handled adversity and two quarterback changes and handled their business, almost always impressively, since a head-scratching loss to Virginia Tech in the second game of the season. They score a whole bunch of points and the defense is much better than last year's version.
NOTABLE WINS: Navy on a neutral field 34-17, at Penn State 31-24 in double overtime, at No. 8 Michigan State 49-37, at Minnesota 31-24, 59-0 in the Big Ten title game against No. 13 Wisconsin.
THE LOSS: At home to a Virginia Tech that turned out to not be very good on Sept. 6.
OUT OF CONFERENCE: Beat Navy in J.T. Barrett's first game at quarterback, lost to Virginia Tech, rolled over Kent State and Cincinnati.
BOTTOM LINE: The blowout of a Wisconsin team that had won seven straight games speaks volumes, especially because it came after another quarterback change. The Buckeyes have been steadily improving and look like a really good and really completed team. One of the four best? Probably, but it's crowded near the top. Very crowded.
BAYLOR
The Bears claim the Big 12 title by virtue of having beaten TCU and have the nation's highest-scoring offense. The defense spends a lot of time on the field and the overall resume is soft, but that one big win over TCU and Baylor's ability to score on anybody could carry serious weight.
NOTABLE WINS: No. 3 TCU 61-58, at Oklahoma 48-14, No. 9 Kansas State 38-27
THE LOSS: 41-27 at West Virginia in mid-October.
OUT OF CONFERENCE: Really awful. Rolled over SMU, Northwestern State and Buffalo.
BOTTOM LINE: Baylor's win over TCU seems a strong statement but the Bears were ranked three spots behind TCU last week. The soft non-conference schedule doesn't help, and neither does Oklahoma's tailspin. The committee has a very tough job and a very difficult evaluation ahead.
