Ranking the 5 Ohio State football teams to make College Football Playoff

When Ohio State landed in the College Football Playoff earlier this month, pitted against Georgia in a semifinal, it marked its fifth appearance in the postseason since the format debuted in 2014, spanning the coaching tenures of Urban Meyer and Ryan Day.

Only Alabama and Clemson with seven and six playoff berths, respectively, have made it more often than the Buckeyes over the past eight years.

But which of Ohio State’s playoff-bound teams have been the formidable? Here’s a ranking of all five.

2014 Buckeyes

It took a 59-0 rout of Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game in order to leapfrog TCU for the final spot, setting off a bit of controversy.

But the Buckeyes quickly proved they belonged in the field, upsetting top-seeded Alabama in a semifinal in the Sugar Bowl before going on to defeating Oregon, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota, to win the first national championship of the playoff era.

Ohio State was dominant over the stretch run. Running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 696 yards between the conference championship weekend and the playoff. Cardale Jones had the stuff of legends, stepping up as the third-string quarterback to direct three postseason wins.

Other teams might have been better from the jump, as this one lost to Virginia Tech in September, but it came through when it mattered the most.

2019 Buckeyes

There was hardly a transition period as Day took over the helm of the program from Meyer.

The Buckeyes romped to the playoff, winning their first 13 games by an average of five touchdowns.

They were star-studded with multiple Heisman Trophy finalists in quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young. They were balanced on both sides of the ball, ranking fourth nationally in total offense and first in total defense.

Ultimately, they fell short in a 29-23 semifinal loss to Clemson as a few calls went the other way, most notably a fumble returned by Jordan Fuller for a touchdown that was overturned and a targeting penalty on Shaun Wade that shifted momentum.

Toppling LSU in the title game would have been a tall order, but the Buckeyes had shown very few flaws that fall.

2020 Buckeyes

The first playoff win of Day’s tenure came as the Buckeyes dismantled Clemson in a 49-28 rout in a semifinal in the Sugar Bowl.

Fields delivered an all-time performance against the Tigers, throwing for six touchdowns and coming back after a hit in the ribs, to redeem the previous season’s loss to the Tigers.

But the Buckeyes didn’t always reach that level during the stop-start nature of a season shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, leading to some inconsistency. They played only six games before making the playoff, and in the Big Ten championship game against Northwestern, needed to rally from a halftime deficit.

After moving past Clemson to make the national championship game, they were undone by Alabama, which exploited a defense that was flashing warning signs of a dip.

2022 Buckeyes

This ranking isn’t static. If the Buckeyes manage to surprise Georgia on New Year’s Eve and dash the Bulldogs’ hopes of becoming the first repeat national champion of the playoff era, they’re in position to move up a spot or two. A humbling loss could also send them headed downward.

There are the makings for a title team. In a span of little more than six minutes in a comeback win at Penn State in October, they scored four touchdowns, a result of an explosive offense and a havoc-wreaking defense. The balance between both sides of the ball is the best it’s been since Day’s first season in 2019.

But they haven’t always put it together to play complete games. They’ll need to in the Peach Bowl.

2016 Buckeyes

This was the previous instance when Ohio State made the playoff without finishing atop the Big Ten. Three victories over top-10 teams gave them the edge over Penn State, which won the conference and handed the Buckeyes their sole loss during the regular season, but was saddled with two losses.

The appearance didn’t end well for the Buckeyes as they suffered a 31-0 loss to Clemson in a semifinal in the Fiesta Bowl, the first time they had been shut out in any game since 1993.

The humbling defeat exposed issues on offense, especially in the passing game, as quarterback J.T. Barrett threw for only 127 yards and was twice intercepted, leading Meyer to bring in Kevin Wilson as offensive coordinator and Day as quarterbacks coach the following offseason as part of staff changes.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Buckeyes' College Football Playoff teams ranked