Ohio State predicted to make deep CFP run in post-spring bowl projections
COLUMBUS — With spring in the rearview mirror, bowl projections and College Football Playoff predictions are going through updates from national talking heads around the sport — and they include Ohio State near the top.
It’s not a complete shock that the foremost expert on college football playoff bowl projections has the Buckeyes making a deep run in the College Football Playoff in his post-spring bowl and CFP projections.
Yes, On3 expert Brett McMurphy has Ohio State making the College Football Playoff 12-team field as the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, winning the league and earning the No. 2 seed in the tournament behind top-ranked Miami with Notre Dame as the third seed and Georgia at No. 4.
McMurphy has Ohio State heading to the Rose Bowl for its quarterfinal game and facing the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup between seventh-ranked Indiana and 10th-ranked Oklahoma. He has defending national champion Indiana winning that home game to advance to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State in the CFP. Of course, Ohio State will face Indiana in Bloomington on Oct. 17 as part of the regular season.
He has the Buckeyes beating the Hoosiers to move on to the CFP semifinal against No. 3 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl semifinal. But that’s where McMurphy picks Ohio State to lose — before picking Notre Dame to lose to Miami in the national title game.
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McMurphy’s full CFP bracket featuring Ohio State
First Round (Dec. 18-19)
No. 12 North Dakota State at No. 5 Oregon
No. 9 Texas Tech at No. 8 Texas A&M
No. 11 Penn State at No. 6 Texas
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 7 Indiana
Quarterfinals
Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 30)
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Texas
Cotton Bowl (Jan. 1, 2027)
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 5 Oregon
Rose Bowl (Jan. 1, 2027)
Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif.
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Indiana
Peach Bowl (Jan. 1, 2027)
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
No. 1 Miami vs. No. 8 Texas A&M
Semifinals
Orange Bowl (Jan. 14, 2027)
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
No. 1 Miami vs. No. 4 Georgia
Sugar Bowl (Jan. 15, 2027)
Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame
National Championship (Jan. 25, 2027)
Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
No. 1 Miami vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (Miami winner)