Hogan used to drive with his family from his home Washington, D.C.-area to Notre Dame games as a youth. I don’t like Florida’s chances of getting there, but it’s hard to deny that they would jump people by closing with wins over both Florida State and Alabama, thus taking Alabama’s slot in the current top 4. The committee obviously didn’t penalize OU for playing against backup quarterbacks – Baylor was without Seth Russell, TCU was without Trevone Boykin.
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The health of quarterback Baker Mayfield will be a key factor in the game vs. Oklahoma State this weekend.
The Sooners’ perch marks the loftiest of the season by any league team in four weeks of rankings by the CFP selection committee.
It’s crunch time for the Big 12, Big Ten, and of course Notre Dame.
Temple (9-2, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) is coming off an impressive 31-12 win over Memphis this past Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field. Yes, special teams are part of the equation but can someone honestly tell me that they have seen an ending like that in recent memory? Last week’s No. 24 USC team lost, so that win doesn’t look almost as strong now for Notre Dame.
Before you discredit all of these upset scenarios as unbelievable or impossible remember that the road to the national championship is paved with the broken dreams of teams who got upset in the final week(s) of the season. Not we “think” they are or they “might” be, they used the word “solidly”. They couldn’t climb back against Baylor, and with a successful run game, I think the Sooners should be able to eat clock once they take the lead.
Western Michigan: Beat Toledo, and they deny them the chance to play for the MAC title.
Let’s look at the case for and against the Irish. For example, Notre Dame has gotten “dinged” for beating Wake Forest at home by 21. But the possibility exists that the Gators are ranked so low that if they defeat Florida State to end the season and somehow beat Alabama in the SEC title game that the mighty Southeastern Conference is left out entirely. The Tigers also beat Boston College by 17. Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman said ND will need to beat Stanford and get some serious help to get back in the Playoff. The Irish survived the loss of starting quarterback Malik Zaire in just the second week of the college football season.
I will be the first to admit that Notre Dame did not exactly help themselves last week. The details, how you played against those opponents, the timing, the health of the team, etc., etc., are the meat and muscle that fills around it and completes the picture. Is “a win a win” or do style points matter?
“The last game was frustrating and it’s something we don’t ever want to have that happen and it kind of gives us a sour taste in our mouth”, Senior Linebacker and Captain Joe Schmidt said.
Notre Dame’s players seemed to take their “punishment” from the committee like men. Granted, the victory was in the first week of the season, but it has to play some role in the Committee’s final decision.
In the title game, Iowa – which will have plummeted in the rankings after losing to Nebraska – beats Michigan State to be a one-loss conference champion, with every other Big Ten team having two or more losses.
Alabama: Very simple, as the number two team in the nation.
Ohio State did it previous year with Virginia Tech. Even if one of them wins that game and claims the Pac-12, it’ll be a Rose Bowl berth, nothing more, which isn’t bad when you each lose three conference games. Four of the last five n the series have also all been decided by 9 points or less The only ne that didn’t?
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Oklahoma State: The Cowboys don’t have the luxury Oklahoma have. They’ll need to be even better this week against a tough Penn State defense. Translation: it’s not looking too good for the Irish right now.
