Ex-Michigan coach Biff Poggi defends Ohio State after CFP committee's No. 12 ranking

Ohio State has picked up an unlikely defender after the first College Football Playoff rankings left it outside the field. Biff Poggi spent two stints on Michigan's staff and served as the Wolverines' interim head coach. He says the committee got the Buckeyes wrong, and he wants Ryan Day to use the slight as fuel.

The committee put Ohio State 12th in its first rankings on Tuesday, a week after an 18-30 loss at USC, The Bill and Doug Show reported. Poggi noted that the spot would make the Buckeyes the first team left out if the bracket were set now. According to EssentiallySports, he argued that Ohio State is being punished for scheduling a road game at Texas in Week 2. The Buckeyes lost that game by a point. Poggi also said the committee let one poor showing without starting quarterback Julian Sayin outweigh the rest of the season. Backup Luke Fahey started against USC.

Poggi's advice to Day was blunt. If he were Day, he said, he would "make this a giant chip on your guy's shoulders" and tell the players they have to be perfect or they're out. He added that even a perfect finish might not be enough. EssentiallySports also reported that Paul Finebaum, rarely an Ohio State ally, criticized the committee on ESPN's Get Up for its handling of the Buckeyes. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said the panel looked at Ohio State's whole body of work and has had only one game to judge the team without Sayin.

Day didn't spend much time on the ranking himself. Speaking Tuesday, he said he had thought his team was close to a breakthrough before the USC game but no longer felt that way afterward, according to The Bill and Doug Show. Ohio State drew a season-high 11 penalties against the Trojans and stalled again in the red zone, and Day called those mistakes unacceptable.

What it means for Saturday

The case Poggi made rests on a résumé that holds up on paper. Ohio State is 6-2, and its two losses came on the road: 23-24 at then-No. 4 Texas and 18-30 at USC. Its wins include 19-15 at then-No. 5 Indiana and 31-14 at then-No. 14 Iowa. The Buckeyes have also beaten Illinois 42-19 and Maryland 45-16 in conference play.

Ohio State's next chance to answer the committee comes Saturday, when No. 23 Oregon visits on CBS. A win over a ranked opponent would be the cleanest counter to the argument that the USC loss showed who this team is. A third loss, especially at home, would leave Ohio State with almost no room left. That is the scenario Poggi warned about. The outcome is also likely to tell the committee more about what the Buckeyes look like without Sayin, since USC is its only sample so far.

The discipline problems Day raised will decide a lot of it. Ohio State has outscored most of its opponents comfortably. In the two games where it struggled to finish drives, it either lost or barely held on.

Poggi's old program has its own week to handle. Michigan is 5-3 after a 28-21 win at Rutgers and hosts Michigan State on Saturday on Peacock. The Wolverines have lost three of their last six. Two of those losses came by a combined eight points, against Iowa and Minnesota, and they also lost 6-13 to Indiana.