College Football Playoff Bracketology: Big Ten

It’s never too early to take a look at the College Football Playoff picture and see how things are shaping up across the country. With the playoff expanding from four to 12 teams this year, there will be plenty of opportunities for several teams to make their first College Football Playoff appearance.

While there’s still loads of time for a handful of teams to make their way into the playoff picture, let’s take a look at the top five Big Ten teams that have the best shot at making the College Football Playoff as of right now.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes are in the playoff conversation every year, and this year is no different. Right now Ohio State is the favorite to win the Big Ten title, and regardless of whether they go 13-0 or come up short of a Big Ten Championship, they should find themselves in the field of 12 when it is all said and done.

It’s hard to accurately assess how good the Buckeyes truly are, as they have not played a ranked team yet, but that will all change this weekend when they travel to Eugene to take on Oregon. Aside from this weekend’s matchup, Ohio State still has to play Penn State in Happy Valley along with Indiana and Michigan at home.

Barring something crazy, Ohio State should end up playing in the Big Ten Championship game, which pretty much guarantees them a playoff spot whether they win or lose.

Oregon

The last time the Ducks made the College Football Playoff was its first year back in 2014 when they lost to Ohio State in the National Championship. Now in their first year in the Big Ten, Oregon has a very good shot at getting their second playoff appearance.

Oregon’s toughest game of the season comes this weekend when they face the number two team in the nation, Ohio State, at home. Even if the Ducks can’t pull off the upset, they can definitely still get an at-large spot in the playoff, and possibly a potential rematch with the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game.

Penn State

No team has been hurt by the four team playoff more than Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been on the outside looking in with a 10-2 record for what seems like forever.

With the expansion to 12 teams, the playoff is looking very achievable for Penn State this year. They only have one ranked matchup against Ohio State in November left on the schedule, and even if they lose that game they could still get an at-large bid.

Indiana

One of the most surprising teams in college football this year has been Indiana. New head coach Curt Cignetti from JMU has the Hoosiers undefeated and ranked No. 18 in the country.

The College Football Playoffs might be a little far off for Indiana, but it is certainly not out of the picture. They would pretty much have to go undefeated which would mean knocking off Michigan at home and beating Ohio State in Columbus. This is a tall task, but if the Hoosiers are somehow able to pull it off they would find themselves competing for a national championship.

Rutgers

The last team on this list is Rutgers. You might be wondering why teams like Washington or Michigan aren’t on this list but Rutgers is. It’s because Michigan and Washington play seven ranked teams combined the rest of the season and Rutgers only plays one.

Similar to Indiana, Rutgers has been surprisingly good this year and is sitting at 4-1 through Week 6. As mentioned, the only ranked opponent left on the schedule for the Scarlet Knights as of right now is No. 23 Illinois. So if Rutgers wins out and gets a little bit of help from other teams around the Big Ten, they could very well wind up in the College Football Playoff.

Evan Mellace is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email epm5741@psu.edu.