Win out and they’re going to the playoff.
Advertisement
Washington State (7-3) 31 #19 UCLA (7-3) 27: What a season for Mike Leach and the Cougars while UCLA suffer another surprising letdown, allowing a touchdown with three seconds left to keep them still far enough from the top spot in the Pac-12 South. It’s similar in that respect to the BCS rankings in which we always wondered how the rankings were calculated and very rarely got exact answers. Baylor needs to win this one at home because the next two games are on the road against Oklahoma State and TCU.
Yes, even Oklahoma. The Sooners beat Baylor this past weekend and would have November wins over TCU and Oklahoma State. That will be the question if Notre Dame stays in the mix, which could leave two P5 conferences out of the Playoff. These Tigers have matured past the point of “Clemson’ing” this chance away – I think? Unlike Baylor and Oklahoma State, Oklahoma didn’t play an FCS opponent in its non-conference schedule and, more importantly, rolled into Knoxville and beat Tennessee, 31-24, in Week 2.
So of all of the other teams in the top 10 entering last weekend, the only team that could conceivably move ahead of Notre Dame this week is Oklahoma State and like I said, if their win over TCU didn’t get them ahead of Notre Dame, how could squeaking out a win over Iowa State?
Miami (6-4) 21 #23 North Carolina (9-1) 59: What a season for the Tar Heels with Marquise Williams throwing one touchdown pass and running for three more, going for 298 yards on the ground as a team in another humiliating afternoon for the Hurricanes, who’d like to forget about this season as soon as possible. However, if Notre Dame wins out and the Big 12 produces a one-loss champion, they’re a lock. Unless you’re Notre Dame.
Let’s take a look at what happened around the world of College Football and how it affects Clemson moving forward as we hit the last couple of weeks. They are more complete on both sides of the ball than any Big 12 team.
No. 23 North Carolina could use a lesson in sportsmanship. Notre Dame would have to lose to Stanford, and the SEC champ would need to have two losses.
Though the Irish beat a 3-7 Wake Forest team, 28-7, #5 Notre Dame still fell two positions in the rankings. The Crimson Tide look to take control of the SEC West with a win against the Bulldogs.
Case for: The wins keep on coming in Columbus and an undefeated Ohio State won’t be missing out on a chance to repeat as national champions.
The Spartans’ final three games of the season: home vs Maryland (11/14), at Ohio State (11/21), and home vs. Penn State (11/28). They need to beat the next team on our list this Tuesday.
The Tide will still have to win their remaining regular season games as well as the SEC Championship game in order to guarantee they reach the CFP.
I honestly have no idea. Wrapping up the season against 2-8 Purdue and 5-6 Nebraska shouldn’t be hard, but it also won’t boost Iowa’s résumé.
The playoff committee rankings are nearly a ideal mirror of the AP and coaches polls. The first three teams are probably a consensus, the only real decision will come down to the fourth team. Will the Big 12 be shut out again?
In the other marquee matchup in the Big 12, the other two contenders meet up in Norman. Despite carrying a loss, the Fighting Irish benefit from having played a more challenging schedule than the Hawkeyes, and certainly more so than the Bears. If Iowa goes unbeaten into the Big Ten Championship, and Ohio State beats them, the Hawks are out of the way. The ACC is really all-in with Clemson now that FSU has a pair of losses. Being the only one without a conference championship game, they have more work to do to prove themselves in the regular season.
Help needed: See: Baylor’s scenarios.
Good luck with this. At this point in time we have to consider the totality of the resume factor. Quarterback Deshaun Watson deserves Heisman Trophy consideration (2,726 yards of total offense), even if defensive end Shaq Lawson might be the team’s best player. Losing to South Florida would’ve knocked Temple out of the top 25 anyway, but a 21-point defeat for a team supposedly built around a strong defense is an awkward way to go out. Tell me what it means? This is just like last year when Arkansas sucked early in the year and then played really well by the end of the season. So, something else must happen for LSU to move up two spots.
If you live in Iowa City, Stillwater, Oklahoma or Waco, Texas, there’s no doubt you think your team belongs in the four-team College Football Playoff.
Advertisement
The bottom four teams are, honestly, pretty interchangeable. I may have Vandy overrated, but they beat 2 of the 3 bottom teams here.
