“They’ve done that over the last two weeks”. The victor of that conference title game likely goes to the final four. The Cardinal are sill in pursuit for a Pac-12 championship and have remote playoff aspirations, but it’s safe to say that whichever team loses this battle is effectively out of contention. This year, the Sooners have the explosive Joe Mixon in place if something happens to Perine, leaving the Cowboys no better off. Oklahoma ranks 19th nationally in rushing offense; Oklahoma State is 70th in rushing defense.
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No. 5 MI State led the Hoosiers just 28-26 with 13 minutes left in the game before pulling away for a 52-26 win. With a win, they make a good case for belonging in the final four with wins at Tennessee, at Baylor, and against TCU. At No. 3, and with a high-profile road game remaining against 11th-ranked OSU, OU has the chance of playing in a Cotton Bowl semifinal.
The committee makes no such allowances in the No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup. Until the final Top 25 is unveiled December 6, these are just exercises for fun and profit. Ohio State faces Jim Harbaugh and rival MI (No. 10) on Saturday at The Big House.
Auburn: The most disappointing team of the season in the SEC, the Tigers have been in this spot plenty of times.
Let’s help the committee sort it out. Oklahoma has recorded several big wins against Baylor and TCU recently so ideally; Oklahoma State would knock off the Sooners, one of Notre Dame’s biggest threats. For the season, Oklahoma State has been the most opportunistic team in the conference in the turnover category with a plus-15 ratio. Only here, MI beats the Buckeyes on Saturday and MI State similarly loses to the Nittany Lions. “And yes, they held on to win that game against a ranked opponent, but certainly we evaluate that game based on the quarterback being out in the second half, and we believe that had an impact”. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum typically discusses SEC football, but he couldn’t resist talking about the Big Ten. Their mid-October loss to Texas, compared to Notre Dame’s Week 1 rout over the Longhorns, isn’t holding down Oklahoma. A two loss Florida team? But it needs a lot more help. After the apparent turmoil following its loss to MI State last weekend, Ohio State will enter this Saturday’s game as the underdog – something nobody saw coming. The Hawkeyes have clinched the Big Ten West, and barring an upset loss to Nebraska this weekend, they remain in good shape. The Irish survived the loss of starting quarterback Malik Zaire in just the second week of the college football season. Oklahoma (10-1) climbed four spots on the strength of last week’s 30-29 victory over TCU in Norman, Okla. and became the first Big 12 team to fall within the four-team window of the projected playoff bracket. In 1984, BYU finished its season 12-0 and No. 1 after a 24-17 Holiday Bowl victory over a MI team that finished 6-6.
At this point, it seems unlikely that a team outside the top 10 could jump into the top four by the end of the season, but odd things do seem to happen. Then lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship.
Next, there is a decent argument for any of Clemson (with one loss), MI State as Big 10 Champ at 12-1, and Notre Dame.
Even though the Big 12 has been under ranked for most of the CFP committee’s rankings, a conference championship, although one determine in the regular season, will still be important to the committee in their discussions.
Two key points for the 9-2 Wolverines: The fact that they moved above Oklahoma State is significant.
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The nightmare chaotic scenario for the committee is if Clemson loses to North Carolina at the ACC Championship Game.
