The top five of the College Football Playoff rankings remained the same Tuesday with undefeated Clemson holding onto the top spot followed by Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa. The biggest matchup this week will be the Big Ten title game, which will pit No. 4 Iowaagainst No. 5 Michigan State, with the victor likely securing a spot in the four-team playoff.
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Alabama (11-1) plays No. 18 Florida (10-2) in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Now, they face their biggest test of the season, a red-hot Michigan State team, in the Big Ten Championship Game. Their one loss, at home to Michigan State, came in rainy conditions.
What we don’t know is what will happen if North Carolina upsets Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.
If Iowa beats Michigan State, the Spartans would be 11-2, but would have a win at Columbus. Coming off a win over Notre Dame, Stanford would make a strong case for the CFP with a conference title victory over a revitalized USC team.
If you think Ohio State fans and players haven’t already started to lobby the committee, think again. If not, then the committee would consider No. 6 Ohio State or No. 7 Stanford.
With pivotal conference championship games looming, there were no changes at the top of this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Behind the Cardinal is OR at No. 16, USC at No. 20, and Utah.
The North Carolina Tar Heels improved their position in the College Football Playoff Rankings last night.
The victor of the Big 10 championship will definitely get a spot. North Carolina, which is just a five-point underdog against Clemson, has won 11 straight games, but it’s tough to look past that season-opening loss to a bad SC team.
I’d agree that Oklahoma-Alabama in the Cotton Bowl is the most likely scenario – a rematch of the 2014 Sugar Bowl. A win over Clemson would do wonders for North Carolina’s resume, but it’s still fair to wonder how the committee would view the Tar Heels (whether fairly or not) against a two-loss Pac-12 champ Stanford, a one-loss Ohio State, and even a one-loss Clemson team that it would have just beaten.
After Saturday’s 38-36 loss at Stanford that saw the Irish take the lead with 30 seconds left, only to cough it up on a 45-yard field goal as time expired, Kelly said as much. The championship game will be January 11 at Glendale, Ariz. If one or both teams lose, then we have some chaos.
With an Iowa win, Ohio State runs the risk of being docked for its loss to Michigan State. If Michigan State beats Iowa, the Hawkeyes would be 12-1 with a West Division title. Saturday Clemson will face No. 10 North Carolina.
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That’s not even taking into consideration something more going wrong during an eight-point victory against what turned out to be 3-9 Georgia Tech.
