College Football Playoff picture: Can Ohio State go on cruise control?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A 34-16 win for No. 1 Ohio State over now unranked Illinois keeps the Buckeyes as the national title favorites. The Buckeyes may keep that moniker through the rest of the regular season.

While projected College Football Playoff spots have changed hands every week this season, Ohio State remains firmly in place atop the rankings and may already be guaranteed a postseason position, barring any upsets in the weeks to come.

Here is a look at the changes to the projected 12-team playoff field in the past week, plus what to watch for this weekend.

What the bracket looks like heading into Week 8

The Buckeyes are firmly in the No. 1 spot in the bracket. NBC4 looks at the AP rankings for playoff projections until the initial official playoff rankings begin in November, and Ohio State has kept that spot since beating Texas in Week 1.

But the prospect of facing Oregon or Georgia in a quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl is tantalizing for neutral college football fans, albeit daunting for the Buckeyes faithful. The most notable change in the field is Indiana moving up into the No. 3 seed and getting a bye.

The reality is the SEC and Big Ten own this playoff bracket, with 75% of the teams in this field from those two conferences. No. 2 Miami could run all the way to a bye if it can continue winning in the ACC, and Texas Tech will be under threat in the Big 12 soon as its schedule becomes more challenging.

South Florida returns to the Group of Five, taking it back from Memphis. The 19th-ranked Bulls had an impressive 63-36 win over previously undefeated North Texas, but will play Memphis on Oct. 25 in what could be a play-in game.

Buckeyes playoff spot in the bag?

Oddsmakers have set odds for dozens of teams to make the College Football Playoff this season, but Ohio State is not among the teams listed. Why? Because the Buckeyes' chances of a postseason spot are now likely north of 99%.

Thanks to the downfall of Penn State, along with Michigan's loss Saturday to USC, Ohio State does not have a ranked opponent left on the regular-season schedule. The Buckeyes' odds of going 12-0 are decent, but the odds of getting into the playoff are even higher.

With Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers, and Michigan left on the schedule, it would take a gargantuan collapse for Ohio State to lose two of those games, let alone three, to lose a playoff spot.

So it is safe to say the Buckeyes can be on cruise control for a postseason spot. To make the Big Ten title game, however, they're not quite there yet.

What to watch in Week 8

No. 5 Ole Miss at No. 9 Georgia (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.): The SEC has three all-ranked matchups on Saturday, and the highest-ranked one is in Athens at 3:30 p.m. Mississippi is one of two undefeated SEC teams and hopes it can beat Georgia in consecutive seasons.

No. 20 USC at No. 13 Notre Dame (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. on NBC4): One of college football's greatest rivalries will return to the gridiron on NBC4. The Fighting Irish must continue its do-or-die mentality to make the playoff again, but the Trojans can end their chances and become a Big Ten playoff hopeful.

Bonus round: In the early afternoon window, No. 10 LSU and No. 17 Vanderbilt will headline before that Ole Miss-Georgia contest. There will also be two other all-ranked games in the primetime slot as No. 6 Alabama hosts No. 11 Tennessee and the Holy War returns to Provo as No. 15 BYU hosts No. 23 Utah.