All that was left for the Sooners to do was take care of business at home against an unranked Oklahoma State team. If Oklahoma wins, Baylor probably also needs to look good with their 3rd string QB in a win, and have Notre Dame lose and that nightmare scenario for the Big Ten, to become a non-conference victor claiming the final spot.
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Reason for optimism: The Wolverines are suddenly a juggernaut offensively. posting their top yardage figures of the season in Weeks 10 and 11 before a solid performance at Penn State with 343 yards – the most by an opponent at Beaver Stadium this season.
Michigan State’s No. 5 ranking should excite Big Ten fans, as it means the conference should be able to get a team in the playoff. The loss to Texas will be forgiven by going 3-0 against the other top teams in the Big 12 (2 on the road) plus winning at Tennessee.
#8 Ohio State: MSU’s strength of schedule will be impacted both positively and negatively with The Game, regardless of the outcome.
“We just know that if we come out and prove to them in our last showing that we are one of the top four teams in the country, hopefully we’ll slide our way back into there”.
Notre Dame is fourth and Oklahoma is fifth. Oklahoma plays Saturday at Oklahoma State (7 p.m., WFAA/Ch. 8). The Horned Frogs were without star quarterback Trevone Boykin and wide receiver Josh Doctson. “500 or better records”, committee chairman Jeff Long said. The Seminoles can only play spoiler this year, but a ten-win season hangs in the balance.
How Mayfield’s injury impacted the Sooners’ defense allowing 22 second-half points to TCU’s “B” offense isn’t entirely clear. 3 and 4, respectively, behind top-ranked Clemson and No. 2 Alabama. It’s worth noting they dropped only from No. 6 to No. 10 after that. And basically, the committee appears to clearly like Oklahoma better than Notre Dame at the moment.
No. 16 Navy at No. 21 Houston.
No. 4 Iowa at Nebraska: Nebraska, the spoilers of the Big Ten, gets to host the fight for the Heroes Trophy. If both win, that sets up a Big Ten championship game with unbeaten Iowa against Michigan State at 11-1. But with a second loss, this team can focus on Northwestern State, SMU, Rice and the Derek Zoolander School For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Want To Do Other Stuff Good Too next year. The highest-ranked conference champion from a Group of 5 conference is guaranteed a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl, so No. 15 Navy would likely face No. 10 MI in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. In the last rankings, when Baylor’s and TCU’s schedule were nearly identical, the committee finally honored the head-to-head result and placed Baylor ahead of TCU.
Auburn: The most disappointing team of the season in the SEC, the Tigers have been in this spot plenty of times. Basically, the committee chose the easier way out this week by picking the undefeated team, knowing this debate won’t matter anyway. It would take something of a miracle for Clemson or Alabama to tumble out, and Oklahoma added a nice win.
No. 1 Clemson at South Carolina: South Carolina has fallen apart.
Regardless, sitting at No. 7 with games left against No. 19 TCU and Texas, the Bears have two more opportunities to impress the committee. The top four teams in the final rankings will play in the Playoff Semifinals on December 31, 2015, at the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
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The Alabama Crimson Tide is the only SEC team represented in the top 10. The Falcons have a chance to finish the regular season 9-3 with a road win, and they have an outside shot and making the Top 25. The debate is as much fun as the games right up to the point when our team loses.
