Clemson has a 12-0 record, including a flawless 8-0 mark in the ACC. The College Football Playoff Committee will announce the four teams for the playoff on December 6 at noon.
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Folks, they lost on a failed two-point conversion to No. 1 Clemson and lost on a field goal as time expired against now No. 7 Stanford.
■Michigan State (11-1, CFP rank – 5): The Spartans have been in must-win position ever since losing at Nebraska on November 7, and that doesn’t change now. Notre Dame (10-2) dropped from No. 6 to No. 8.
MI fell to No. 15.
The final rankings will be released Sunday after the conference championship games.
Iowa (12-0) and Michigan State (11-1), who face off in the Big Ten Championship Saturday, were fourth and fifth in this week’s rankings, respectively.
Clemson retained the top spot this week in spite of a lackluster win over woeful SC.
To me, if they beat USC again, they get a spot in the playoff if Alabama or Clemson loses. Oklahoma, whose regular season is complete, should stick in the final four after its convincing win over Oklahoma State on Saturday. UNC, like Ohio State last season, comes into Saturday as an underdog, and while the Tar Heels winning would be a bigger upset, it wouldn’t be an unthinkable one.
It’s the first time since the College Football Playoff Selection Committee was formed prior to the start of the 2014 season that the Vols have been selected in the top 25 rankings. North Carolina 11-111. TCU 10-212.
But sneaking in behind Ohio State is a two-loss Stanford team that’s coming off a win to Notre Dame and will play USC in the Pac-12 title game against USC.
The Pac-12 only holds two other places in the rankings.
Some think the Cardinal still have a chance to make the playoff. In that scenario, would the Tigers need No. 2 Alabama to lose to Florida and knock out the SEC?
Undefeated Iowa is No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings heading into Saturday’s Big Ten championship game against No. 5 Michigan State. They have two wins over FCS clubs and lost to 3-9 SC.
This much is clear: The ACC won’t send any holiday cards to the Gamecocks, who are potentially dragging down Clemson’s No. 1 seed and North Carolina’s playoff chances.
The committee’s final ballot will be decided after each conference crowns their champions this weekend. And Ohio State doesn’t come close to matching Oklahoma’s resume. We will begin by looking at how they were able to make it into the top ten after a awful loss to the Texas Longhorns.
Tennessee, at No. 25, joined No. 20 Southern California as the second four-loss team to be ranked by the committee this season. The Sugar Bowl is also guaranteed the SEC champ, but since Alabama is in the semifinals, the Sugar Bowl would invite the next highest-ranked SEC team, No. 13 Ole Miss.
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For arguments sake, we’re saying there are eight teams left with a shot at getting into the four-team field. A win here will propel them over Iowa and into the CFP. The Sooners rolled over poor Oklahoma State in Bedlam last week to lock up their spot in the playoff.
