Warde Manuel explains why Ohio State stayed ahead of Tennessee for final playoff home game

Warde Manuel and the College Football Playoff selection committee didn’t look at Ohio State and Tennessee and decide which team deserved a home game in the first round of the new 12-team playoff.

Instead, Manuel said on Sunday, the committee simply did what they were asked and ranked the team. Doing so meant Ohio State ranked No. 6 in the College Football Playoff Top 25 on Selection Sunday, one spot ahead of No. 7 Tennessee.

And it meant the Buckeyes seeded eighth in the bracket, getting the final host spot, just ahead of the ninth-seeded Vols.

“How people host is not what our committee is doing,” Manuel, the selection committee chairman, said during a conference call with reporters after the bracket was unveiled. “We’re ranking the teams, and seeding principles come into effect. But obviously they were extremely close, one away from each other.”

Ohio State (10-2) will host Tennessee (10-2) in the final game of the first round, set for Saturday, December 21 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC.

Ohio State ranked No. 6, Tennessee ranked No. 7 in final two CFP Top 25 rankings

The Buckeyes never fell behind the Vols in the College Football Playoff rankings, even after the 13-10 home loss to unranked Michigan last week. 

Ohio State dropped to No. 6 and Tennessee came in at No. 7 following a 36-23 win at Vanderbilt. The Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll last week moved the Vols ahead of the Buckeyes, but Ohio State moved back to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 on Sunday. 

ESPN’s gives Ohio State the edge in the Football Power Index, which has the Buckeyes at No. 3 overall, ahead of Tennessee at No. 7. The Vols are No. 6 in strength of record and No. 28 in strength of schedule, one spot ahead of Ohio State in both categories. 

Ohio State lost at No. 1 Oregon earlier this season, before getting stunned by rival Michigan at home. Tennessee lost 19-14 at Arkansas on October 5, then lost at Georgia 31-17 on November 17.  

Tennessee at Ohio State, Saturday, December 21, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

Manuel was asked on Sunday if the committee considered Ohio State losing at home and Tennessee losing two games on the road while comparing the two teams.

“What we did consider is all that you said,” Manuel said. “We took a look at where people lost, how people lost. Ohio State lost also on the road to the No. 1 team by one point. So we analyzed all of those things in terms of how — where the losses occurred. Tennessee lost at Arkansas. Ohio State lost at home to Michigan. We talked about all of that.”

And when all that was weighed, Ohio State came in just ahead of Tennessee, without thought to who would host and who would go on the road.  

“Ultimately as a committee and as we voted these teams, Ohio State was one ahead of Tennessee,” Manuel said, “but we didn’t look at it as, well, if we put Ohio State at 6 and Tennessee at 7, one is going to host and one is not. We never (did). I can assure you and everybody on this call, never even talked about it until after the top 25 was ranked. 

“I made sure in this room that was not a point of consideration,” Manuel added. “That was not something for us to do. The commissioners asked us to rank the best 25 teams from 1 to 25 and that’s what we did.”

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