Help needed: The Crimson Tide are a lock if they win out.
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No. 19 Mississippi at No. 23 Mississippi State. The Cornhuskers might possibly have ruined Michigan State’s chances for its first playoff berth, and will be looking to do the same against the Hawkeyes.
The CFP committee took notice of that performance, chairman Jeff Long said.
Clemson and Alabama remained first and second, while Ohio State plummeted from third to eighth after its home loss to Michigan State.
Another key matchup to watch will be MI quarterback Jake Rudock against Ohio State’s linebackers and secondary.
So as coaches continue to endorse expanding the playoff to include more teams – as TCU’s Gary Patterson did earlier this week – that won’t change the fact that it’s not almost a ideal system. The interesting twist here is that since Oklahoma is everyone’s favorite team right now, does that mean if the Cowboys pull off the upset that they will be in the final four?
Notre Dame, which was No. 4 last week, dropped to No. 6 after an unimpressive three-point win over Boston College.
The Irish might be able to get some help from their rivals. For the Fighting Irish, the game against Stanford (9-2, 8-1 Pac-12) this Saturday is their last chance to impress the playoff committee, as they don’t have a conference championship to play in. Look for Deshaun Watson to continue his Heisman surge against a 3-8 team coming off a home loss to The Citadel.
Conference championship games are still a week away, but many games this weekend will have as much or more impact on the College Football Playoff picture, especially the ersatz Big 12 championship game in Stillwater, as well as Notre Dame at Stanford.
The problem now for Notre Dame is it has one game left against No. 9 Stanford. And Michigan State takes down Iowa in the Big Ten title game.
Baylor and Oklahoma State are in a similar boat, with identical resumés.
Now it looks as if the Irish’s path to the playoff goes through the Big Ten.
The question is ultimately this for Notre Dame: will the committee favor a one-loss independent or a one-loss conference champion? Just keep a one-loss ND team out of the conversation.
If No. 9 Stanford beats No. 6 Notre Dame, maybe the Cardinal find their way back to the top.
Chaos in the B12 – A one-loss Oklahoma State, with wins over Oklahoma and TCU, gets the nod over Stanford, which would have better wins but two losses. The victory pushed the Bears up from No. 10 to No. 7 in this week’s poll.
A one-loss Big 12 champion is in. 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. Northwestern moved up four spots to 16th, while Ohio State fell five spots to eighth and MI moved up two spots to 10th. A loss in either game would eliminate Florida, which struggles in the eye test but does have wins vs. Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia. In the SEC, Florida would need to lose to Florida State then beat Alabama, or Ole Miss would need to win the conference. Then lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship. Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer’s No. 2 Sooners were 9-1-1 and still had a game to play in the Orange Bowl against No. 4 and 11-1 Washington. A close win by UNC over Clemson just adds another ACC team to the mix.
What if Clemson loses to North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game?
If the committee stays true to its word about starting over each week and evaluating teams on the entirety of their body of work, it’s possible Clemson could make the top four even with a loss in its final game.
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Notre Dame fans are hoping the luck of the Irish followed them to SC, with Hurricane Joaquin lurking on the east coast.
