Ohio State's 3 Most Likely Bowl Opponents This Year

The Ohio State Buckeyes appear to be ticketed for the Rose Bowl, but there's also an outside shot that Iowa will stay slotted ahead of them after a close loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game. With that in mind, here are Ohio State's 3 Most Likely Bowl Opponents This Year:

Stanford

Unless the committee decides to reward Iowa for its Big Ten West title, it'll be the Buckeyes vs. the Cardinal Rose Bowl matchup. It's not the College Football Playoff, but "The Granddaddy of The All" is one heck of a consolation prize -- especially against a high-octane Cardinal team that'll provide the Buckeyes the best possible challenge out there.

Florida State

If Ohio State gets bumped by Iowa, they'll likely take over one of the at-large spots in the Peach Bowl. The committee will be likely to split up the two other "biggest" names in the at-large pool (Florida State, Notre Dame), considering they faced each other last year. An elite running back showdown between Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook would be must-see TV.

Notre Dame

Same reasoning as above. If the Buckeyes are out of the Rose, we'd bank on them taking on either the Seminoles or Irish in the Peach. Whoever Ohio State doesn't face should be slotted into the Fiesta Bowl against Group of Five representative Houston. Ohio State vs. Notre Dame is a marquee ratings monster and a very favorable matchup for the Buckeyes.