Print Story Published: Tuesday, 12/1/2015 BY DAVID BRIGGSBLADE SPORTS WRITER COLUMBUS — Ohio State climbed two spots to No. 6 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released tonight. Can it jump two more by Sunday? The Buckeyes’ longshot playoff hopes are now up to the machinations of the football gods and the whims of a 12-member jury. The penultimate standings came out as expected: Clemson was No. 1, followed by Alabama, Oklahoma, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Stanford. With Big 12 champion Oklahoma and the winner of the Big Ten title game between Iowa and Michigan State all but playoff locks, the Buckeyes (11-1) — coming off a resume-boosting 42-13 win at Michigan — first must hope for chaos Saturday night. At the least, they need Florida (10-2) to stun No. 2 Alabama (11-1) in the Southeastern Conference championship game or North Carolina (11-1) to beat top-ranked Clemson (12-0) in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, while a win by Southern California (8-4) over Stanford (10-2) in the Pac-12 championship game might also be necessary. Ohio State then must hope the selection committee overlooks its lack of a conference title. While a heavy emphasis is placed on winning your league, the committee’s protocol states that a non-champion or independent can make the playoff “under circumstances where that particular non-champion or independent is unequivocally one of the four best teams in the country.” The final rankings will be released Sunday afternoon. Michigan fell to No. …
Continue Reading: OSU No. 6 in CFP rankings
