As it stands right now, the Ohio State Buckeyes hold the No. 5 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.
The Rose Bowl typically features the top-ranked Big Ten and Pac-12 teams that don’t find their way into the final CFP field. But this year, that typical selection process could be altered.
Ohio State participated in last year’s edition of the Rose Bowl. Given the Buckeyes’ recent appearance, the historic bowl game is reportedly considering another Big Ten team as its pick for this year’s New Years Six contest.
The Rose Bowl prefers No. 8 Penn State over Ohio State, per college football insider Stewart Mandel.
This decision could be made for Rose Bowl leaders if Ohio State can find a way into this year’s CFP field. The Buckeyes will need either No. 3 TCU or No. 4 USC to lose their conference championship matchup to sneak into the final four.
Ohio State took down the Utah Utes in a 48-45 thriller during last year’s Rose Bowl.