The last time Notre Dame had to rebound from a turnover-filled game, the Irish hung 41 points on Navy and another 41 on USC in back-to-back weeks following that October 3 two-point loss at Clemson.
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So the Irish will go into their biggest game of the season depending on a first-year quarterback and a freshman running back with one career start. A loss in that game would all but eliminate the Pac-12’s bid for a spot.
Big 12 – Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma, TCU beats Baylor: The Bears stands to inherit the Big 12 title should Oklahoma State win, but with Jarrett Stidham now out for the regular season with a broken bone in his ankle, a win over TCU on the road is far from guaranteed.
From the Michigan State perspective, Tuesday marked the most important College Football rankings yet in their two seasons of existence, and those rankings didn’t refute – but also didn’t guarantee – the idea that the Spartans will be in with two more wins. 5 and 6, respectively. Meanwhile, despite being fifth in the ranking, Silver actually gives Michigan State a 47% chance (up from 12% a week ago) to make the playoff and Iowa is at just 30%.
The question would be if two-loss No. 9 Stanford and one-loss No. 11 Oklahoma State would move past the Buckeyes.
Last season TCU finished with a weak Iowa State team. There is a lot to be decided over these last two weeks with many key matchups taking place, plus a week of conference championship games on top of that. If the answer is no, enjoy the incredible rage that will break out when Jeff Long is forced to explain why the committee decided the Gators were one of the four best teams.
The Irish left Fenway Park Saturday with a win but lost some footing in the College Football Playoff rankings after allowing three win Boston College to score twice in the fourth quarter.
Despite the seeming invincibility of Alabama (No. 2 AP) as of late, the Crimson Tide must still defeat rival Auburn in this week’s Iron Bowl to secure a spot in the SEC championship game opposite of Florida (No. 10 AP).
By the end of Saturday, the titles of the Big 12, the Big Ten East, the SEC West, and the Pac-12 South will be decided, as will the participants (possibly Temple?) in the AAC championship game.
The Cardinal, ranked No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings, will play No. 4 Notre Dame on Saturday.
It also appears that the Big XII will not be left out of the playoff, after the league’s controversial absence in last year’s bracket. R-E-L-A-X … Look, Notre Dame and Florida fans, your respective teams are going to be just fine if they take care of their business.
Baylor and Oklahoma State are in a similar boat, with identical resumés.
The Big 12 will need to have an outright champion this time around, lest history repeat itself. An Alabama loss to the Tigers, coupled with a Mississippi win over Mississippi State, would put the Rebels in the championship game – likely ending any national championship hopes for the SEC as well.
That doesn’t mean, though, that Notre Dame is necessarily looking to not only win at Stanford, but win big. Baylor (9-1, Big XII) 8. Oklahoma State only suffered their first loss of the season this past weekend and would love nothing more than to ruin Oklhoma’s season. I expected a representative from the ACC, SEC, Big 10 and either Stanford or Notre Dame.
When Michigan State defeated Ohio State this past weekend, the race for the Big Ten title became a jumbled mess. This game will hinge on the Oklahoma defense and its ability to get pressure on quarterback Mason Rudolph, who was disrupted all game in the loss to Baylor. Florida (10-1) 13. Florida State (9-2) 14. If Clemson wins, it keeps the Tar Heels out for sure. Is a two-loss Big Ten champion getting into the playoffs?
Clemson: It’s hard seeing Clemson lose to a 3-8 SC team, but weirder things have happened.
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The Spartans entered the game without starting quarterback Connor Cook and while backup Tyler O’Connor wasn’t a game-changer, he did enough to help Michigan State pull off the upset.
