Ohio State Bowl Projections: Predicting the CFP matchup ahead for the Buckeyes

While there's still some mystery in the College Football Playoff, the question for Ohio State isn't whether they will make the field, but which foe will they face. The Buckeyes were inactive on Big Ten Championship weekend but have done enough work to be securely in the CFP field. Time to think about who they might play (and whether they'll host).

Ohio State turned in a 10-2 season that still somehow felt oddly disappointing. The Buckeyes lost by a point to Oregon in October and concluded the regular season with a brutal 13-10 loss to Michigan. In between, not only were they not beaten, they basically weren't challenged.

OSU bested Penn State 20-13 on the road and drilled Indiana 38-15 in Columbus. Those two victories probably sealed OSU's CFP situation on their own, basically. But given the 12-team CFP format, the details of OSU's situation certainly matter.

What Bowl (or CFP matchup) will Ohio State play in?

OK, Ohio State is in. But who else is in? The four champions with byes will be Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State. Clemson, despite winning the ACC, will come in below the Sun Devils and thus will be bumped to the bottom of the 12-team bracket. They'll face Texas, who has the best resume outside of the automatic four.

OK, other teams in the field besides OSU are Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee and Indiana. That will leave one final spot for SMU or Alabama. Whichever team is the final team will get the No. 11 seed. They probably will face Notre Dame, which, like Ohio State, didn't play this week.

That leaves four possibilities for OSU. The troubling aspect is that's four spots for three Big Ten teams. A Big Ten matchup is unavoidable. At the end of the day, the most likely possibility is that Ohio State and Penn State get the hosting nods. Two-loss Penn State probably stays ahead of two-loss Tennessee. The most logical matchups would be OSU/Tennessee and Penn State/Indiana.

After all, Penn State didn't play Indiana this year (unlike OSU, who drilled them by 23 points a few weeks ago). But that's purely considering matchups. Considering seedings, it's probably the opposite. Indiana probably falls at the bottom of those four teams and OSU probably goes at the top.

So for OSU, it's deja vu all over again. The Buckeyes' most likely draw is Indiana in Columbus again. While it's a bit dull for OSU, it's Indiana that gets the most dire situation. In an amazing season, the Hoosiers will likely see the bubble burst against the team that ended their amazing regular-season run.

Long term, this situation also means that Ohio State sets up to face Boise State in the quarterfinal round. That's a pretty solid path to the national semifinals for the Buckeyes. Meanwhile, a pair of Cinderellas would take their best shot at taking down a college football power.

What do you think of Ohio State's likely playoff draw? Weigh in with your thoughts below in our comments section!