The Ohio State football team wears throwback jerseys for their game against Nebraska on Nov. 5. The Buckeyes won 62-3. Credit: Alexa Mavrogianis | Photo Editor
The Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1, 8-1) were selected to the College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed. OSU is the first team in the history of the playoff to make the final four without winning a conference championship.
The Buckeyes will take on No. 2 Clemson in the semifinal on Dec. 31 in Phoenix in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
Alabama is ranked No. 1 and will play No. 4 Washington on Dec. 31 in the other semifinal. The winner of each semifinal will meet on Jan. 9, 2017 in Tampa for the national championship game.
This is the Scarlet and Gray’s second appearance in the three years that the College Football Playoff has been implemented. In 2014, OSU was the No. 4 seed when it beat No. 1 Alabama in New Orleans, then No. 2 Oregon in Dallas to claim the 2014 National Championship.
OSU had the most top 10 wins of any of the four semifinalists, with three.
The semifinal game is a rematch of the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl where Clemson beat OSU, 40-35.
