Ohio State’s path to the College Football Playoff could get messy fast if December brings a 9-3 logjam with Texas.
The Longhorns already hold the edge from their 24-23 win over the Buckeyes in Austin back in Week 2, and USA Today’s Blake Toppmeyer thinks that head-to-head result could loom large when the committee starts sorting things out.
“On Ohio State’s growing list of issues, include Texas,” Toppmeyer wrote. “The Buckeyes lost at Texas with Sayin in the lineup, so if both teams finish 9-3 and there’s only room for one in the bracket, which do you think the committee will choose?”
Both teams have been hit hard by injuries since that September night at Darrel K. Royal-Memorial Stadium, but the situations are not being viewed the same way.
Texas has lost left tackle Trevor Goosby for the year, EDGE Colin Simmons is out indefinitely, and star receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo are dealing with shoulder injuries. Running back Hollywood Smothers and nickelback Grayson Littleton are also done for the season.
Even so, the committee would not be expected to punish Texas in the same way, because Arch Manning is still leading Steve Sarkisian’s offense.
Ohio State’s situation looks more precarious. Julian Sayin’s potentially season-ending throwing shoulder injury could weigh heavily against the Buckeyes, especially after true freshman Luke Fahey made his debut in a 30-18 loss to USC in Week 9.
That is where the comparison to 2023 Florida State starts to come into focus. The Seminoles went 13-0 and won the ACC, but still missed the final four-team playoff. Jordan Travis’s season-ending injury hurt their case, and Brock Glenn was not seen as enough to keep the team rolling, even after he helped Florida State beat Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.
If something similar happened to Ohio State, it would force some uncomfortable questions in Columbus.
One of them is whether the Buckeyes would be judged differently if Tavien St. Clair were the starter instead of Fahey.
St. Clair entered the season with major hype, with some comparing him to Patrick Mahomes, but he has not been trusted enough to serve as Sayin’s backup.
Another question lands on Ryan Day. If Ohio State gets left out for Texas, should he be on the hot seat?
The source of the problem goes back to that Texas loss, when the Buckeyes had a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter and still let it slip away. Day’s late-game timeout management was heavily criticized, and that defeat left Ohio State with no cushion during the toughest stretch of its schedule.
With the way the 2026 schedule has unfolded, missing out as the first 9-3 team in line for a CFP berth would be a brutal outcome for Ohio State. It would be even harder to swallow if the Buckeyes were passed over for the same Texas team they had under control for 43 minutes.
In Other News...
Ohio States CFP Ranking Just Reignited A Frustrating Committee Debate
The first College Football Playoff rankings of 2026 immediately stirred up the kind of familiar arguments that seem to arrive every November, and Ohio State fans know the drill well enough by now. Miami landed at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Utah, Indiana and Alabama, but the order raised fresh questions about how the committee is weighing head-to-head results, strength of schedule and the value of unbeaten records in a crowded field.
Hunter Yurachek tried to walk through the committees thinking, but the explanations only sharpened the debate around several placements, especially UCLA sitting behind teams with losses and Utah climbing so high with just one ranked win. For Ohio State, the broader concern is less about one specific slot than the same old uncertainty about what the rankings are really rewarding, and whether the committees logic will hold once the bracket starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has A Legit CFP Ranking Complaint After First Bracket
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season immediately stirred the usual arguments, with Alabama landing in the top five despite a mixed record against ranked opponents and Notre Dame showing up lower than it did in the AP poll. The committee also drew attention for the way it handled strength of schedule, a familiar flashpoint this time of year, and it did not take long for the Buckeyes to have a reason to feel slighted.
Hunter Yurachek said the committee did not consider Ohio States head-to-head win over Indiana when it made its first bracket. For a program that has spent the early part of the season trying to stack rsum points against quality competition, that omission stands out, especially when the rankings are already inviting scrutiny elsewhere. Ohio State may not love the opening picture, and this is the kind of detail that tends to linger until the committee explains itself a little more fully. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Explains Tense Ohio State Exchange After USC Statement Win
USCs 30-18 win over Ohio State ended with a little more edge than the scoreboard alone suggested, as Trojans coach Lincoln Riley and Buckeyes athletic director Ross Bjork had a brief verbal exchange on the field afterward. Riley was asked about it later and downplayed the moment, saying it was simply part of the emotions that spill over after a game like that and that the two moved past it quickly.
For Ohio State, the exchange was a small postgame footnote to an outcome that already stung, but it still drew attention because it happened in plain view after a high-profile nonconference matchup. Riley did not get into what started it, leaving the specifics out of reach even as he tried to brush off any bigger meaning from the scene. [Read more 🡒]