As for the poll, Michigan State should be No. 5 and so the victor of the Big Ten Championship Game between the Spartans and the Iowa should be in the Final Four next Tuesday when the four-team playoff is announced. Unlike previous year, the Buckeyes don’t get another chance to impress the selection committee in the Big Ten championship game.
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The top five teams remained the same in the newest College Football Playoff rankings. But it’s plain to see Oklahoma should be OK.
The rankings that will actually determine which four teams will play for a national title, and which ones are headed off to bowl games of a lesser stature. The victor of the Big Ten championship game between undefeated Iowa and 11-1 Michigan State appears to be a playoff qualifier, with the Big Ten champion getting one spot. Alabama will play No. 18 Florida for the SEC crown, Clemson will face No. 10 North Carolina in the ACC, and seventh-ranked Stanford will take on USC in the Pac 12.
Stanford’s victory against Notre Dame on Saturday night eliminated one team ahead of it in the committee ranking.
The difference was in the strength of the Crimson Tide’s wins – Alabama does not have a victory over a team in the top 10. However, some commentators note, a resounding win over the top-ranked Clemson Tigers in the ACC championship game could possibly vault North Carolina into the top four.
The most intriguing possible debate for the selection committee. Their resume certainly would still compare favorably with Stanford or Ohio State.
Which brings us to another guiding principle of the playoff committee – a preference for conference champions. Basically, it’s a tiebreaker.
Michigan State and Ohio State have the same record as Oklahoma, 11-1.
Some think the Cardinal still have a chance to make the playoff.
The SEC is out. But, because their only loss was a close one to a top team (and because they are Ohio State), the committee may decide to slip them in.
But the Buckeyes are sitting back waiting for upheaval and a shot to get in the playoff field.
It’s worth asking: Could Clemson get in with a loss? Clemson could lose. So could Alabama – even if that seems hard to believe.
If that happened, if Florida, North Carolina, USC, and Iowa all won then… This is when people started to question if Ohio State might be able to sneak into the playoff given this win. When the dust settled, the biggest losses went to previous top ten teams Notre Dame and Baylor whose playoff fires are all but extinguished.
Meanwhile, the remaining games that compose the New Year’s Six access bowl games – Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Peach – will select the highest ranked remaining teams that fill their criteria.
Clemson is also No. 1 this week by Associated Press and USA Today, the fourth straight No. 1 ranking in AP and the third straight by USA Today.
I’m not so sure one of Ohio State’s opponents, 3-10 Hawaii, which went 0-8 in the Mountain West, is much better than North Carolina A&T, which went 9-2 and tied for first in the MEAC.
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The only other team from the Group of Five conferences – Mountain West, Sun Belt, Mid-American and Conference USA – is Navy at No. 23, which is also from the American. Ole Miss 9-3 14.
