COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.
The selection committee chair cited Ohio State’s resume after eight games as the reason for lifting them from No. 3 to No. 1.
“The win against Penn State, the win at Notre Dame, the win at Wisconsin, they’re proving they can do it at home, they’re proving they can do it on the road,” said Boo Corrigan, who is the North Carolina State athletic director.
The Buckeyes (8-0) are No. 1 in for the fourth time in the 10-year history of the CFP, and the first time since 2019.
Georgia, Michigan and Florida State join Ohio State atop the rankings released Tuesday night, with unbeaten Washington and Oregon next.
The NCAA is investigating a sign-stealing scheme that allegedly involved impermissible in-person scouting by Michigan but selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan said the allegations against Michigan were not part of the debate about where the Wolverines should be ranked. He called it an NCAA issue, not a CFP issue.
(1) Ohio State (8-0, 5-0) vs. Rutgers (6-2, 3-2) SHI Stadium, Piscataway, N.J.
Saturday, Nov. 4 (Noon/CBS)
Season over for RB Williams
It was the good news in a “good news/bad news” scenario, coming hours after the coach Ryan Day announced that an injury requiring surgery has ended the season for running back Miyan Williams.
He was unavailable for last Saturday’s win at Wisconsin after rushing for a season-high 62 yards and a touchdown in the win over Penn State.
Williams and No. 1 back TreVeyon Henderson have battled injuries in their Ohio State careers and have rarely been healthy together this season.
Henderson returned after missing three games and ran for 162 yards and a touchdown against Wisconsin.
Receiver Emeka Egbuka (ankle) is practicing this week after missing three games.