re: Ranking the 1-Loss Playoff Teams by Quality Wins

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can you put together a compelling case for ohio state going in 2017?

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Of course I can.

Ohio State won a Conference Title... against an opponent that came into the game with a perfect 12-0 record. Alabama didn't even win their division.

That right there is compelling enough.

But I'll go on...

Ohio State played the #2, #6, #9, and #16 teams
Alabama played the #7, #17 and #23 teams

Ohio State literally played four opponents that were deemed better than Alabama's second toughest opponent.

One of Ohio State's losses was to the Final Committee Ranking #2 team in the country back in Week 2... Had Alabama played an opponent like that, there's a good chance they would have also had a second loss.

The fact that Bama lost the only game it played all season to a Top 16 ranked team (by double digits) does not inspire much hope that they would have defeated the #2 team in the regular season had they played them.

So yes, Ohio State had a second loss. But they played a MUCH more difficult schedule. And the Conference Championship should offset that fact. Especially since the committee says that Conference Championships have a lot of meaning.

IMO, there are always multiple factors:

Conference Championship?- Ohio State wins that category
Strength of Schedule- Ohio State wins that category
Quality Wins- Ohio State wins that category
Comparing losses- Alabama wins that category

But in the end, "eye test" wins out. As it always will when Alabama is involved.