Northwestern also saw a jump in their ranking this week.
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Should Iowa navigate its remaining path to Indianapolis unscathed, a date against an nearly assuredly Top 10-ranked opponent looms.
Baylor wins at Oklahoma State on November 21, and TCU beats Baylor on November 27, giving OK State and Baylor one loss.
Navy is the lone newcomer of the four, who earned the respect from the Committee after opening a can of whoopass on the Tigers, winning 45-20 in Memphis. But would they keep the undefeated Big Ten champion out.
– Pac-12 way: Stanford beats Notre Dame and loses in the Pac-12 championship game to Utah.
Notre Dame’s only loss is to the #1 team in the rankings, which is Clemson.
By any metric imaginable, it seems nearly impossible that the top four in the second College Football Playoff rankings will stay the same to the end. LSU, No. 2 last week, dropped to No. 9 after losing at Alabama, and MI State, which was No. 7, dropped to No. 13 after losing to Nebraska.
Next big obstacle: Ohio State must play this Saturday on the road against a better-than-expected IL team. Oklahoma State just knocked off previously unbeaten TCU last week.
“The bigger question is whether an 11-1 Notre Dame – having lost only to Clemson – is going to be deemed to be more worthy than a 12-0 Oklahoma State or Baylor”, said Jerry Palm, CBS Sports’ playoff analyst and bowls expert. “We still feel like they’re a strong team”. That’s kind of why they held their place. “We’ll have a clearer picture on Baylor in the future”. The Cardinal will host OR and California the next two weeks before its showdown with Notre Dame. The Irish have a loss against Clemson on their resume, but that’s the only blemish. Somebody deserving will ultimately be left out. The Ohio State Buckeyes follow at No. 3 while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is in the fourth position.
If Clemson wins out, the Tigers are in. Maybe Iowa gets into the top four before the Big Ten title game.
The same is probably true for the Crimson Tide. State, at Auburn, and then win the SEC title game. Oklahoma is 12th, with TCU at 15th.
A couple of important issues for the Buckeyes are the same as they have been all year: quarterback play and the pass rush.
While upsets can always happen, there are several key games left to decide which teams reach that round of four for the playoff.
But that’s okay, because college football always comes through. For instance, if Baylor beats Oklahoma in Waco Saturday, the No. 6 Bears go back ahead of the Hawkeyes.
“If I’m sitting there looking at the teams”, Kelly said, “I think being in it now for 25-plus years, you’re looking at strength of schedule, the eye test, who they played, how they’ve played, and I think we all want to get it right, get the four best teams and have them play”. I think we all, as coaches, that’s what we tell our guys all the time: “We’ve got their back and we’re with ’em do or die, and that’s how it should be”.
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Below, the full TV/streaming schedule, with a few thoughts about which games to watch in each time slot. For more coverage on a team, just click on the school’s name.
