Ohio State wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are expected to play against Michigan on Saturday, sources told ESPN.

Both Buckeyes stars have been limited in practice while dealing with lower-body injuries. The wide receivers are expected to be listed as questionable on the Big Ten availability report, but the expectation is they are available to play barring anything unforeseen in warmups.

Smith missed last week’s win over Rutgers after sustaining an injury against UCLA on Nov. 15, when he was seen with a limp leaving the field.

Tate hasn’t played since Nov. 1, as he was held out of the Purdue game on Nov. 8 after something bothered him in warmups and he was “a little tight,” coach Ryan Day said at the time.

Smith, a sophomore, is regarded as perhaps the country’s best all-around player. He has 69 catches for 902 yards and 10 touchdowns. Despite missing the Rutgers game, he is still tied for the Big Ten lead in touchdown receptions.

Tate has emerged as a game breaker for the Buckeyes and a projected NFL first-round pick. His 18.2 yards per catch leads the Big Ten. He has caught 39 passes for 711 yards and seven touchdowns.

They are the top targets for quarterback Julian Sayin, who is completing 79.4% of his passes with 27 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Ohio State is on a four-game losing streak against Michigan, including not scoring in the second half last year. Tate was Ohio State’s leading receiver in last year’s 13-10 loss with six receptions for 58 yards. Smith had five catches for 35 yards and a touchdown, which was his second-lowest output in the 2024 regular season.

AUSTIN, Texas — Shortly after vanquishing No. 3 Texas A&M in a heated rivalry game Friday, Steve Sarkisian made his case for No. 16 Texas as worthy of a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The 27-17 victory was Sarkisian’s third win over a top-10 team this season — following wins over No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Vanderbilt — which he touted as a first since LSU did the same in 2019.

“I think we’re absolutely a playoff team,” Sarkisian said, noting that there were pundits who argued that Texas A&M was the top team in the country by strength of schedule metrics. “We just beat them by two scores. So to me, that’s a pretty impressive win, a pretty dominant win for our team that I don’t know how many other teams can say they have wins like that on their schedule.”

Texas (9-3) also lost on the road to No. 3 Ohio State in the season opener and at No. 5 Georgia two weeks ago, finishing the season 3-2 against top-10 teams. The 14-7 loss to the Buckeyes, Sarkisian said, is the true test of what the CFP committee values, saying if the Longhorns had scheduled a cupcake, they would be 10-2.

“We went on the road to Ohio State in Week 1 and lost to them in a one-score game,” Sarkisian said. “We outgained them by nearly 200 yards, and no one else has been close to a one-score game against them. But I think more importantly, it’s the message that what do we want to send to the head coaches and the athletic directors around the country? Do you want us not to schedule Ohio State? Because if we’re a 10-2 team right now, this isn’t a discussion. We’re in the playoff. But we were willing to go up there and play that game.”

Sarkisian, in his postgame, on-field interview with ESPN’s Molly McGrath, added that “it would be a disservice to our sport” if the Longhorns weren’t in the CFP field. Later, in his full media availability, he said it would be easy for coaches and athletic directors to shy away from that type of scheduling in the future if the Longhorns are punished for such a high-profile matchup in the opening week of the season.

Senior safety Michael Taaffe, who had an interception at the team’s 3-yard line against the Aggies in the fourth quarter, agreed with his coach’s logic.

“I don’t think the committee should punish us for giving college football what they want to see,” Taaffe said. “Nonconference game, No. 1 vs. No. 2 in Columbus, Ohio, a rematch of the Cotton Bowl from last year, one of the biggest games in all college football. Everybody was tuning in for that game, and I think college football is really happy that Texas played Ohio State in Week 1.”

According to ESPN Research, the five teams ranked from 11 to 15 in the CFP rankings are a combined 4-8 against ranked opponents.

Sarkisian acknowledged that the Longhorns would be in a much stronger position without an Oct. 4 road loss to Florida but said there is precedent for such a loss as recently as last season, when Notre Dame earned a playoff berth and played Ohio State in the CFP national championship.

“The team that played for the national championship last year lost to Northern Illinois at home,” Sarkisian said, referring to the Irish. “Yet they still were good enough to go play for a national title. So I have no doubt in my mind that the team we have in that locker room downstairs is a playoff football team and worthy of an opportunity to play for a national championship.”

Texas A&M led Texas 10-3 at halftime as the Longhorns had only 112 yards and Arch Manning was 7-for-22 for 51 passing yards. But once Texas’ running game got going — Quintrevion Wisner ran for 155 yards — Manning rallied the Longhorns, finishing with 179 passing yards and 53 more rushing. He sealed the win with a 35-yard touchdown run on third-and-3 with a little over seven minutes left, sending Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium into a frenzy.

The two halves were a microcosm of the season for Manning, in his first year as a starter, when he started slowly but turned into a true dual threat for Texas over the second half of the season.

“Nobody works harder. Nobody prepares more,” Sarkisian said of Manning. “I mean, the blitz packages that A&M has is elite. It’s NFL level. And this guy managed our protections at the line of scrimmage beautifully, did a fantastic job. So all in all, I think for him to cap it off with a touchdown run was a pretty cool moment.”

Manning said he believed Texas has improved vastly this season and is playing its best football. He was asked to make his pitch to the CFP committee and obliged.

“We’re a good team, bro,” Manning said. “We’ve played a lot of good teams. We’re only getting better, and if you let us in, we can beat anyone.”

And what would he make of this season if the Longhorns don’t get in?

“I think we’re going to make the playoffs,” Manning said. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t. I’m not going to worry about that.”

For teams that aren’t playing in their conference championship games, this is it — the final chance to make a lasting impression on the College Football Playoff selection committee.

For some contenders, like Ole Miss, their regular-season résumé is now complete, and what happens in the fifth ranking on Tuesday night should be a strong indicator of their final placement on Selection Day. Others, like Miami, are banking on hope and help — and most importantly, one more win. It all began with the Egg Bowl on Friday — a game that not only kept Ole Miss in the playoff, but also technically in the SEC race.

That’s right — this thing is far from over, so check back after each game to see how the results will impact the playoff as the day unfolds.

Texas 27, Texas A&M 17

Rivalry Week presented its first shakeup of the top four when No. 16 Texas beat No. 3 Texas A&M — but it might not be all that jarring in the fifth ranking. The Aggies will likely drop to the 4-6 range behind Georgia. The Bulldogs have better wins including a 35-10 drubbing of … Texas. Georgia also has a better loss (to No. 10 Alabama), and has now clinched a spot in the SEC title game. The question is just how far Texas A&M will fall now that it has joined No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Ole Miss in the one-loss club. The Aggies entered the weekend with a noticeable edge over Texas Tech in both strength of record (23 to 56) and strength of schedule (1 to 10). It’s possible the committee only drops the Aggies one spot, flipping them with Georgia, which means they’d still be in position to earn a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed. There would be a strong debate, though, about whether the Aggies, Texas Tech or Oregon, the latter which has impressed the committee lately by ranking in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency, deserves the highest seeding. The Aggies’ problem now is that they’d have to finish in the top four as an at-large team because they just got knocked out of the SEC title game.

While Texas now has arguably the best win in the country, it probably won’t be enough to catapult it into the top-10 as a three-loss team. Even with some upsets above them, it’s unlikely Texas would get higher than No. 12.

Indiana 56, Purdue 3

Indiana clinched a spot in the Big Ten championship game with its win against rival Purdue, locking in a CFP bid and beefing up its chances at keeping a first-round bye on Selection Day. The Hoosiers, who have been the committee’s No. 2 team in each of the first four rankings, still have a chance of grabbing the No. 1 spot in Tuesday’s ranking if Ohio State loses to Michigan. If the Buckeyes lose and Oregon wins Indiana will face Oregon in the Big Ten title game. If Michigan wins and Oregon loses the Hoosiers will face Michigan for the conference title.

The question is whether IU can maintain a top-four seed and a first-round bye as the Big Ten runner-up. If Indiana lost the title game, the committee would consider where their opponent was ranked and how close the game was. The Hoosiers would also be compared with other top one-loss teams, but playing a ranked opponent in the conference championship game — win or lose — would boost IU’s record strength by the committee’s metric.

Georgia 16, Georgia Tech 9

Georgia should keep its place as the committee’s top one-loss team following its win against rival Georgia Tech. Georgia’s Oct. 18 win against Ole Miss, along with their win at Tennessee and drubbing of Texas, impressed the committee. The Bulldogs’ consistency on offense and defense has also played well with the committee. Georgia’s first-round bye would only be in question at this point if it finishes as a two-loss SEC runner-up.

Barring an unusual combination of ACC results, No. 23 Georgia Tech will be out of the playoff at 9-3. The only way the Yellow Jackets can extend their playoff hope is through the ACC championship game. They entered the weekend with a 1.5% chance of making the game, according to ESPN Analytics.

Ole Miss 38, Mississippi State 19

With its win against rival Mississippi State on Friday, Ole Miss likely locked up a playoff spot and remains in a strong position to host a first-round home game. If Alabama loses to Auburn on Saturday, Ole Miss will clinch a spot in the SEC championship game. Even if it doesn’t, though, the one-loss Rebels should still be a CFP lock.

As for the uncertainty still looming around coach Lane Kiffin, if Ole Miss turns to an interim head coach for the playoff, the selection committee could consider that. CFP protocol states the group will consider “other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.” Ole Miss won’t miss the playoff because Kiffin left for another job, but it could get dinged a spot or two if the committee thinks the team won’t be the same without him.

Utah 31, Kansas 21

No. 13 Utah punctuated its résumé with a win against 5-7 Kansas, but it’s still unlikely to reach the playoff without multiple upsets of teams above it — especially after just being leapfrogged by No. 12 Miami in the latest CFP ranking. Even with a win, to reach the Big 12 championship game, Utah still needs Texas Tech to lose and for both BYU and Arizona State to win. The Utes’ best hope to reach the CFP is still as an at-large team.

Getting that bid isn’t inconceivable if a combination of two-loss teams above them lose. If Oklahoma, Alabama and Miami lose, it would be difficult for any of them to stay in the top 12 as three-loss teams. Utah would need at least two of them to lose to move into the top 10, which is where it would need to be to actually be seeded in the field. The No. 11 and No. 12 teams this year will be excluded during the seeding process to make room for the fourth- and fifth-highest ranked conference champions.