Auburn has shown occasional glimpses in the second half of the season that it can compete, including a road win over Texas A&M on November 7. You can be sure Coach Dabo Swinney has been working on his celebration dance for the conference title game.
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The Crimson Tide appear to control their own destiny at this point.
“Oklahoma’s entire body of work, with another win against a Top 25 team (in TCU) this week and what it has done over the last few weeks when added in vaulted them into that No. 3 spot”, Long said. OR (8-3) 18. Ole Miss (8-3) 19.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield’s status is uncertain for Saturday’s showdown with Oklahoma State.
That won’t stop us from prognosticating, however, especially after Michigan State’s victory at Ohio State on Saturday, a game that nearly certainly knocked the defending champion out of the hunt while vaulting the Spartans smack into the middle of the conversation. The No. 1 and No. 4 teams, and the No. 2 and No. 3 teams, will play each other in the semifinals on the afternoon and night of December 31 at the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. “It’s so hard”, fifth-year senior linebacker Joe Schmidt said after an underwhelming win vs. Boston College. In the playoff world, if you must lose, take a loss to a mediocre team that can be labeled a fluke and then beat the good teams on your schedule. A win in that game could persuade the 12-person selection committee to move Notre Dame back into the top four.
Both teams finish the season against ranked opponents – Oklahoma against Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame against Stanford – so all things being equal, if they both win their games, then there shouldn’t be a change this week or next in the playoff rankings. An undefeated Clemson claiming the ACC title and a second loss by Ohio State, this time to rival MI, wouldn’t hurt either.
Oklahoma survived a scare from TCU to improve to 10-1.
What if Stanford beats Notre Dame? Now all it has to do is knock off Penn State and beat undefeated Iowa, and it will be in the playoff.
Baylor and Oklahoma State are in a similar boat, with identical resumés.
Despite the losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson, Florida State is still in good position to go to a big-time bowl this holiday season, which is a very impressive feat considering some of the struggles on offense this season.
Iowa the best playoff value?
The Bulls have been the best AAC team late in the season, but with four losses already, if they win the AAC championship it would open the door for other G5 champions. Losses by those teams would assure the ascent, however. Saturday, the Sooners will try to complete the regular season with a win at 11th ranked Oklahoma State in a rivalry game simply called “Bedlam”. But it needs a lot more help.
No. 8 Ohio State beat the Hoosiers just 34-27 as IN threw a pass into the endzone on the game’s final play after a fourth-down snap from the 9-yardline that hit a receiver IN the hands. Just a couple of weeks remain for some one-loss teams to really prove their worth in the playoff race. Oklahoma would be the Big 12 champion.
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“It was more about the performances of Oklahoma and Michigan State that propelled them ahead of Notre Dame”, committee chairman Jeff Long said.
