Ohio State? Alabama, Clemson and Stanford would all have to lose, and the committee would have to have no doubt the Buckeyes were one of the best teams in the country in spite of just one win over a ranked opponent. “The goal was to make it in the playoffs”. “Everybody kept saying, well, you’ve got two down, but I knew we’d be okay with the running game with him”. You can blame body clocks or poor officiating, but the fact of the matter is that if not for that hard-to-explain loss, the Cardinal would be in the playoff with a win in their de-facto home game against USC on Saturday. The Irish had a pair of 100-yard runners, with Josh Adams leading the way with 168 and Kizer contributing 128.
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There’s one spot that Stanford.
Oklahoma has had to hear from the doubters for a week about how they don’t belong in the top-4 of the College Football Playoff rankings. Iowa is undefeated but does not have the look of a true contender.
Instead, their quarterback, Tommy Armstrong, decided it was better to throw four picks, and stay home for the bowl season.
“I don’t believe in talking before doing”, Stanford coach David Shaw said. “Football’s not gymnastics. There are style points in gymnastics”. Both teams have both traded fortune and misfortune, the Gators having won Nattys in 2006, and 2008 while the Seminoles most recently won the 2013 National Championship. The Aggies have some breathtaking young skill players, and perhaps we should emphasize young. The Tar Heels have won 11 straight since the season opener and should be in the playoff top 10 in time for a huge ACC title game matchup with Clemson.
With its offense immobilized since quarterback Will Grier left in early October to serve a one-year suspension for possible pharmaceutical malfeasance, the Gators slipped to 79th in scoring offense and 100th in total offense even before they played Florida State.
Just looking at wins and losses, NU actually has an edge. The Cardinal has some business of its own to settle in Saturday’s Pac-12 title game against USC. Ordinarily, I would begin today’s thread by reviewing what happened last week to undermine the sheer drama that we watched unfold. “But we’ve been trying to get there for 17 years”. Could they win a National Championship? It hasn’t been pretty, just effective. If one of those teams loses, they’ll be bumped from the playoff and will subsequently bump the Cats from the New Year’s Six. So Saturday’s performance alone would have likely assured the Sooners a playoff spot.
“There’s a lot of tension in the air”, Oklahoma cornerback Jordan Thomas, who intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown, said.
Most of the time, an elimination game also carries the caveat that if you win, you’re in. “We still have to play the game against Stanford”.
The Cardinal win sets up a Pac-12 Championship Game against an inconsistent USC team next weekend. That was the plan, at least. What a difference 30 seconds can make.
On offense, two freshman, third-stringers coming into the season, will lead the Irish.
Through heavy downpours, sloppy play and fierce, nasty defenses, TCU – who’s season was sidetracked by an unprecedented amount of injuries – put an end to any hopes Baylor had of sneaking into on of the four playoff spots. The Cats boast victories over ranked Stanford and Wisconsin teams, and their only two losses came against ranked MI and Iowa squads.
Both teams entered the game averaging over 41 points per game.
Where is College GameDay Headed for Championship Weekend? Could the Sooners move up to No. 2 after destroying Oklahoma State? Maryland: The Terps (2-9) seem like a fish out of water in year two in the Big Ten.
There’s still one more hurdle to clear for Clemson and quarterback Deshaun Watson: the aforementioned North Carolina in the ACC title game. A loss and an Ole Miss win would send the Rebels to Atlanta to face SEC East champion Florida, ruining the Crimson Tide’s title hopes.
With one week left, there’s still so much to be decided as it pertains to the playoffs. They fell to #9 Stanford in one of the biggest upsets of the week.
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NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 45, N.C. STATE 34: Elijah Hood and T.J. Logan ran for touchdowns in a dominating first quarter and North Carolina beat North Carolina State.
