“It’s really a non-factor”.
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Well, one thing did not change despite the Cowboys’ 49-29 win over the then-No.
As expected, TCU dropped a few spots in the latest College Football Rankings – from No. 8 to No. 15.
OSU remained behind three one-loss teams (Alabama, Notre Dame and Stanford) as well as undefeated Iowa and Baylor.
Saturday, when Kansas heads south to take on 13th-ranked TCU, the Jayhawks will be walking into a similar storm created by the Horned Frogs’ loss to Oklahoma State and Heisman Trophy hopeful Trevone Boykin’s rough outing against the Cowboys.
It wasn’t that TCU lost in Stillwater – it was the way it happened. The bottom line for both of these teams was that it was time to prove where they stood in the Big 12 pecking order in Morgantown. Whitener was Big 12 defender of the week after notching two interceptions, including a pick-six, against TCU. If Notre Dame wins out, based on what they’ve already done and because of who they still have to play – especially Stanford there at the end – that will leave the Pac-12 and potentially the Big 12 on the outside looking in. “Now I have the chance to repeat and make it a big game again”. Oklahoma State is No. 14. Back to back wins over the next two weeks would put Oklahoma at 10-1 heading into a clash with potentially undefeated Oklahoma State in the final week of the regular season. The Sooners appear to be the hotter team at the moment after destroying four straight opponents, but the Bears have had their number three of the past four seasons. CFP selection committee chair Jeff Long called that area the “most volatile” for the 12-person committee.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Baylor and Oklahoma leave Stillwater with a loss as well. Florida State remaining at 16 is a little baffling, to say the least.
Herbstreit mentioned the potential meaning of Bedlam on ESPN’s broadcast Tuesday.
Even worse for the state in general, the one win on the season for UNT comes against another in-school state in The University of Texas-San Antonio by a score of 30-23. With that in mind, here is a look at the Week 10 rankings, followed by a breakdown of predictions for the Top Four at the end of the year. But a lack of depth killed them in 2012, just as a complete lack of offense killed them in 2013.
Another WR stole the show in James Washington of Oklahoma State, racking up 184 yards and 3 touchdowns, essentially dropping TCU from the playoff picture.
Oklahoma State gets the benefit of hosting Baylor and Oklahoma in its final two games.
The Big 12 isn’t clean. We’re told the committee doesn’t project ahead – such as the case with the Big 12’s backloaded schedule.
By dominating previously unbeaten TCU on Saturday, Oklahoma State gained control of the Big 12 championship race, and perhaps much more. While Baylor has certainly been better at blowing out teams than Houston has, it hasn’t been by a significant enough difference to justify an 18-spot gap in the rankings. Only MI State’s over MI compares. The best illustration of that has come in OSU’s last two games. So, what does this mean for the Horned Frogs?
With Alabama beating LSU Saturday night, the Crimson Tide are in the driver’s seat to reach the SEC Championship game against Florida.
After Arkansas scored its overtime touchdown, its first attempt at the 2-point conversion failed but Ole Miss’ Marquis Haynes was called for a facemask penalty that gave the Razorbacks another chance. But it’s hard to imagine a playoff candidate surviving a 20-point loss in November and emerging December 6 with a spot in the CFP’s four-team bracket.
Long is in an unenviable position and does his best to explain what the committee likes and doesn’t like, even as it contradicts itself. Though the Hawkeyes’ win against IN wasn’t overly impressive at first glance, the team’s leap into the top marked “a recognition by the committee that they were increasingly impressed with Iowa and their body of work”, Long said.
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Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1, next game Saturday @ Baylor) – The Sooners have recaptured their confidence that Texas hammered out of them a month ago.
