COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes put their 9-0 record and No. 1 College Football Playoff ranking on the line Saturday night against Michigan State.
(No. 1 CFP) Ohio State (9-0, 6-0) vs. Michigan State (3-6, 1-5); Ohio Stadium
Saturday, Nov. 11 (7:30 p.m./NBC)
Sparty may be struggling but Ohio State can’t afford a letdown with three more games in the regular season, including the game against Michigan, which will probably decide who goes to the Big 10 Championship Game and on to the playoff for the national title.
OSU head coach Ryan Day downplayed the importance of the top CFP ranking this week.
“I think you have so many guys on our team that have just kind of been through all this before and they know it means absolutely nothing. And their goal is to win the whole thing and to be the number one team at the end of the year,” he said. “So, you know, we want to win them all and that’s all that matters. And so at the at the end, you know they’ll rank us, but we’re just going to try to win them all.”
Ohio State is favored by 31 ½ points.
The Buckeyes have beaten Michigan State for seven straight years since a 17-14 win by the Spartans in Columbus in 2015.