Three Playoff top 25 teams that could make Ohio State-like leaps

The second ranking released by the College Football Playoff selection committee last fall featured Alabama, Florida State and Oregon — three-fourths of the eventual field — inside the top five. Though chaos came during the year's final weeks, the Playoff was nearly set.

Nearly, but not quite. For the eventual national champion, the push for the Playoff began in earnest in early November: Ohio State, No. 14 at this point a season ago, steadily climbed the rankings in advance of the committee's final meeting in December. The Buckeyes were No. 4 in the final ranking; you know what happened next.

It seems likely, at least, that at least one or two of the current Playoff frontrunners eventually cement their place in the field. It could be Clemson, which has the easiest road to an undefeated finish. Or Alabama, which has already faced its stiffest tests. Maybe even Notre Dame, thanks to an opportunity against Stanford to end the regular season.

But rest assured that there's another Ohio State lurking on the fringes, currently sitting outside the single-digit rankings but poised to surge between today and Dec. 6.

Said selection committee chairman Jeff Long on Tuesday: "If you look at the number of games remaining, how many conferences have their toughest competition ahead, and then combine that with the results of games played to date, do not be surprised if teams move up or down quite a bit in the next week or so."

Take Oklahoma, which has been overlooked since a loss to rival Texas on Oct. 10. That loss may linger, but remember: Ohio State lost to Virginia Tech last fall but recovered. Since its defeat in Dallas, Oklahoma has pummeled its four opponents by a combined score of 232-50.

And unlike their Big 12 Conference peers — Baylor, Oklahoma State and TCU — the Sooners can tout a solid non-conference win, against Tennessee. OU also controls its own destiny in the Big 12. It plays at Baylor on Saturday, hosts TCU on Nov. 21 and plays at Oklahoma State on Nov. 28. If they win out, the Sooners will be the unquestioned, untied conference champion; they'll also close strong, much like the Buckeyes a year ago.

Another team flying under the radar is Utah, which went from trendy to ignored following its loss to Southern California on Oct. 25. Yet if 12-1 and the Pac-12 Conference winner, what Utah will lack in style points — this team doesn't always win pretty — it will make up in overall résumé.

Consider this scenario: Utah wins out through the end of the regular season, with its most impressive win coming against UCLA on Nov. 21. Stanford also wins out, knocking Notre Dame out of the Playoff mix in the process. Utah then beats Stanford on Dec. 5, giving the Utes the conference title in addition to regular-season wins against Michigan, Oregon, UCLA and Stanford.

And what about a dark horse? Try North Carolina, which has won eight in a row since a season-opening loss to South Carolina. It's the longest of long shots, relatively speaking: UNC's résumé includes a terrible loss and two wins against Football Championship Subdivision in North Carolina A&T and Delaware.

But the Tar Heels fit the bill as a Power Five team streaking toward the finish line. If they can maintain their current pace, the Tar Heels might develop enough momentum to be under consideration by the committee heading into a matchup with Clemson to decide the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

It's crazy, but don't laugh. Ohio State was left for dead last September and remained ignored for nearly two months — and didn't just make the Playoff but won the national championship. While we're focused on the current top 10, a similar charge may come from somewhere among the Power Five during the next four weeks.