Our series on Ohio State’s 2019 schedule continues, and we’re almost halfway done. There is only one question for this series: How does each game impact the Buckeyes in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee?

Of course, any team can impress or disappoint over the course of the season. But we can make educated guesses and look at likely outcomes. And, really, isn’t that what these pre-season weeks are all about? On top of that, the selection committee doesn’t actually judge SOS in any meaningful way. As CBSSports’ Jerry Palm explained back in 2014, the committee just eyeballs SOS, and doesn’t use any real metric. And, of course, this is college football, so a team’s reputation affects “eyeball SOS.” There are lots of things we can’t know before the season, but we can know a team’s reputation.

I’ll repeat the following every day (and week), because it’s true: If the Buckeyes go 13-0, they’re a Playoff team. Heck, 12-1 is almost certainly a Playoff lock, as long as that loss isn’t by 29 points to a 6-6 team. But what if the season comes down to splitting hairs between two resumes? Well, then this might matter. With that being said, let’s look at Ohio State’s opponents and how they can affect the committee. So far we’ve looked at Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, Indiana, and Miami (Oh).

Week 5: @Nebraska Cornhuskers

2018 Record: 4-8 (3-6 Big Ten)
2017 Record 4-8 (3-6 Big Ten)

Scott Frost did not bring immediate success to the Cornhuskers in 2018, but expectations are high in a suddenly-deep Big Ten West this year. What can Nebraska accomplish? How far can the Cornhuskers go this year? And how will that affect the Buckeyes?

First of all, Nebraska has a solid–but not special–non-conference schedule. Nebraska travels to face Colorado, a team that was competitive in the Pac 12 a few years ago but utterly collapsed last year. Still, a Power 5 road game looks decent to the committee. Similarly, Northern Illinois is a solid opponent that likely is not a real threat to Nebraska–at least, it shouldn’t be, if Nebraska is anywhere near where expected.

A 3-0 non-conference record would set up Nebraska as a potentially ranked team as long as the Cornhuskers can finish in the middle of the Big Ten West. Aside from Ohio State, Nebraska doesn’t get any top-level cross-division games. Between playing the three non-conference games, Indiana, Maryland, and Illinois, Nebraska should be a bowl team this year. Anything less than that would be an extreme disappointment.

Of course, Nebraska also has the potential to be an elite team and contender in the division. Seeing as Ohio State plays the Cornhuskers on the road, that would make the SOS look even better than if Wisconsin came out on top of the Big Ten West.

As long as the Cornhuskers win a minimum of the six games mentioned above, they’ll be a solid opponent for the Buckeyes. First of all, because road games against Power 5 bowl teams are never bad. Secondly, the selection committee has mentioned on multiple occasions that it views “wins over teams with .500 or better records” as an important metric.

Because of how top-heavy the Big Ten East is, it’s unlikely that Ohio State gets more than three of those within its division, and all but impossible to get more than four. Wisconsin and Northwestern will very likely hit that mark from cross-divisional games, but it would be great for Ohio State to get that from Nebraska as well.

If Nebraska can be an elite team, though, it’s so much better. First of all, the Cornhuskers carry a name value that neither Wisconsin nor Northwestern does. Whether we like it or not, that’s a part of college football right now. Additionally, with Scott Frost coming through right after his success at UCF–not to mention an insanely electric quarterback in Adrian Martinez–the Nebraska hype will be through the roof.

The Cornhuskers should start 4-0. If they do, expect their meeting with the Buckeyes in Lincoln to be a primetime Top 10 matchup. And, looking at that week’s schedule, it’s probably where GameDay is heading. The committee doesn’t officially take that into account, but being discussed on ESPN a lot can only help a team’s perception.