The selection committee protocol emphasizes conference championships. Below are all of our recaps from Week 13, plus five takeaways.
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Iowa has been a polarizing team as it climbed to No. 4 in the playoff rankings. It got that on Friday, winning 28-20 despite converting zero third downs, thanks in part to the Cornhuskers’ turnover problems.
■Iowa (12-0, CFP rank – 4): Naysayers have been waiting all season for the Hawkeyes to bow out of the playoff chase, but that never happened. It’s rivalry weekend, and several major rivalry games have some big implications on the playoff picture. First Michigan got destroyed by Ohio State 42-13 and will lose their #10 ranking for last week. A Michigan State victory over Iowa wouldn’t hurt, either.
The College Football Playoff field became clearer over the weekend, but with championship games left to be played for some, it’s still far from decided.
Simply put, Michigan State is a better team than Texas. Defense and Derrick have served the Crimson Tide well this season and it will likely be more of the same next week in the SEC championship game against Florida.
A more dominant performance by Alabama, which beat Auburn 29-13, might have given the committee reason to flip the Tide and Tigers.
NO. 14 FLORIDA ST. 27, NO. 10 FLORIDA 2: Dalvin Cook ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Roberto Aguayo kicked two long field goals and Florida State upended Florida 27-2. The Buckeyes can’t win a Big Ten title and will only be able to watch the games next Saturday, but they made the most of their final impression to the playoff committee with their beatdown of MI in the Big House.
NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 45, N.C. STATE 34: Elijah Hood and T.J. Logan ran for touchdowns in a dominating first quarter and North Carolina beat North Carolina State. Something about those Gamecocks (3-9) against ACC teams. Could the Sooners move up to No. 2 after destroying Oklahoma State?
Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. threw for three touchdowns and ran for another score as the Cougars earned a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship with its upset of No. 15 Navy in Houston, Texas. I didn’t think there’d be any way they could come close to duplicating their success from a year ago, but bless ’em they’ve come darn close.
The highest-ranked team that North Carolina has beaten this season (based on the current A&H rankings) is #37 Pitt, and the Tar Heels lost to #90 SC. Baker Mayfield has emerged as a top Heisman candidate for the Sooners, and this week he has the chance to really convince voters on why he should win the Heisman award this season. Both teams come into the game with only one loss.
Hogan threw for 269 yards and calmly led the winning drive in the final 30 seconds for the Cardinal (10-2, No. 9 CFP), who kept their slim playoff hopes alive with the win.
Iowa has wins over Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Northwestern, with no warts.
Not all losses are created equal and Notre Dame is yet to suffer a loss deserving of elimination. While Notre Dame had the better loss (Clemson) than Oklahoma (Texas), the Sooners built a better resume and have looked like the better team. USC had to face the Steve Sarkisian situation. There would have been a loud debate, but the Sooners nearly certainly would have gotten in over the Fighting Irish. And then there was Notre Dame. Maybe, but at worst they’ll be no lower than third.
In an even tougher spot than the Cardinal is No. 8 Ohio State.
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Key for Ohio State: Take a page out of the old Rex Ryan Ground & Pound playbook. Two teams going back and forth trying to one-up the other, going after Dixie bragging rights, it’s fun to see this rivalry be relevant after a long time. Because it’s not a conference champion, Ohio State would “clearly” have to be one of the top four teams in the country, and while it was an impressive win over Michigan, the Buckeyes still lost the game that mattered most – against Michigan State.
