While something like that may happen sometime in the future, this year, at least, we may have something even better.
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So just to be clear: No one has played anyone, and my win is better than your win.
The team that may have the most outcry at being left out of the top 10 is Memphis. This season’s Top 25 has just six SEC teams overall. A victory over Florida State on Saturday would pretty much lock Clemson into the final four, barring a loss, of course. There’s no way in the world that the Crimson Tide should be ranked in the top four.
LSU (7-0) appears formidable but has had one game canceled and another moved to the Tigers’ home stadium because of bad weather. LSU handed No. 10 Florida its only loss of the season earlier this year, and have featured a multidimensional offense that has the potential to carry them to a national championship.
The obvious reason not to freak out is the fact that it’s November 3 and these rankings, though they do matter right now, will likely change massively within the coming months. If Iowa were to win in that scenario, well, we’ve covered the whole thing about an undefeated Big Ten champion. Here are my takeaways and reactions to last night’s College Football Playoff poll. Any team from a Power 5 conference with fewer than two losses can be given a legitimate chance. Oklahoma State 8-0 15.
The last of Oklahoma’s eight Big 12 titles under Stoops came in 2012, its longest championship drought in the coach’s 17 seasons.
Not out of the race for the Big Ten championship, but out of the playoff hunt.
Baylor, again, played a terribly weak nonconference schedule, and Oklahoma State did the same. And all of them still have to go head-to-head. If they lose, they are out of the picture. Does a sea of games with over 100 points scored have a detrimental impact on the impressions those teams make on the 12 people deciding?
Think of Ohio State (8-0) as this year’s Florida State, an unbeaten defending national champion with quarterback issues. A loss to either of those teams will surely keep them out of the final four. It seemed extremely unlikely this year that the Tigers would be where they are now.
If strength of schedule is really a factor in the committee’s decision-making, then Baylor has absolutely no business at No. 6. “I think because it was such a strong impression so far that it would be hard for them to win out and get knocked completely out of the top four but not impossible”. That has the makings of a playoff elimination game, if both win out until then. That will make it very hard for the Committee to vote them in to the playoff. No. 11 Stanford and No. 12 Utah have a steep hill to climb, but there’s still time.
-Clemson holds the fate of the ACC, unless Florida State beats them and wins out.
Another interesting look into how the committee is thinking has to do with the value placed on being undefeated vs. having one loss.
No. 1 Clemson would play No. 4 Alabama in the Orange Bowl and No. 2 Louisiana State would face No. 3 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
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Each team has beaten one reasonably competent opponent (Baylor over Texas Tech and Houston at Louisville).
