Hartman: Ohio State Buckeyes should be in the College Football Playoff

When it comes to Ohio State making the College Football Playoff despite not even playing for a Big Ten championship, I've been trying take the most conservative stance possible.

Perhaps that was a mistake.

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A fresh look at the cases of every team that seems to be realistically in the running has changed my mind.

Now it looks like Ohio State’s case is so much better than anyone from the Pac 12 or Big 12 that the Buckeyes’ being left out would be a huge upset.

Anything is possible, but the numbers are pretty stark.

Ohio State has already beaten more bowl-eligible teams (eight) than Washington (four) or Colorado (three) will have even after one of them beats the other this weekend.

The same is true of Ohio State vs. Oklahoma (four) and Oklahoma State (four). (Plus the Buckeyes beat the Sooners, of course.)

Beyond that, while none of those teams have a top 10 win, Ohio State has two.

So no matter what happens this weekend, the Buckeyes will still have a clearly better resume than the champion of at least two major conferences.

That means even if Penn State wins the Big Ten, there should still be a spot available for the Buckeyes.

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