The College Football Playoff Committee had quite the challenge in front of them when it came to ranking Ohio State and Tennessee.
Both the Buckeyes and Volunteers boasted 10-2 records at the conclusion of the regular season, and each team suffered losses to a top-two team and an unranked opponent during their respective campaigns. Ultimately, the College Football Playoff committee opted to rank Ohio State No. 6 and Tennessee No. 7 — making the Buckeyes the No. 8 seed and the Volunteers the No. 9 seed in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff Bracket.
As Ohio State and Tennessee held near-identical résumés into Sunday’s bracket reveal, College Football Playoff committee chairman Warde Manuel said that conversations on where to rank the two programs were extensive.