The top four teams in the final rankings will play in the Playoff Semifinals on December 31, 2015, at the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
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Oklahoma controls its Playoff future: Beating No. 11 Oklahoma State on Saturday would give OU the outright conference championship and another win on a rapidly growing résumé.
The Sooners (10-1) seem to be in solid shape with only one game to play. Period. A loss to UNC would be a bigger collapse than North Carolina QB Marquise Williams throwing two interceptions in the end zone – on the same play in the same spot of the end zone – in a now unthinkable season-opening loss to SC that will (no matter what) keep the Tar Heels from the CFP, too. 1 and 2, respectively. They face the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the road.
The road to Big Ten elite status goes through the 5-6 Hoosiers.
Last season TCU was third in the second-to-last playoff rankings and slipped to sixth in the final rankings, behind Ohio State and Baylor. The Horned Frogs get the job done at home, avenging last season’s 61-58 loss in Waco and ruin the Bears’ playoff chances. They are baaaccck. Even two-loss Stanford chimed in at number nine on Tuesday’s poll, their CFP pulse still beating. Which is why their surge up the rankings, from No. 7 last week to No. 3 now, probably shouldn’t have surprised as much as it did. The Big Ten has four teams in the Top 10.
Notre Dame received bad holiday tidings Tuesday from the College Football Playoff selection committee. It’s rivalry weekend, and several major rivalry games have some big implications on the playoff picture.
Then, with the top three teams all losing and No. 5 in their respective title games – knowing what we know about the committee’s respect and admiration for conference championships – total chaos would take over. While Auburn is having a down year and Alabama is a playoff contender, insane things have been known to happen in the Iron Bowl.
Iowa has clinched the West and will be in Indy, but if the Hawkeyes lose to Nebraska and then beat Michigan State, the Big Ten might be in trouble.
There could be more shakeup in the rankings next week after Oklahoma visits Oklahoma State and Notre Dame plays at Stanford.
It also appears that the Big XII will not be left out of the playoff, after the league’s controversial absence in last year’s bracket. But unlike Oklahoma, injury-ravaged Notre Dame is not playing its best football of late, struggling on offense the past two weeks against sub-.500 foes Wake Forest and Boston College.
SEC – Florida loses to FSU, beats Alabama in the title game: Alright, so this is the one that requires the most mental gymnastics, by far. Another Big 10 East team, will be eliminated(seemingly) by missing out on the Big 10 championship game.
This is a team, though, that has said for weeks it doesn’t care about where it’s ranked (even though videos of the team celebrating its previous No. 4 slots were posted on social media earlier this month). Final Score: Ohio State 24, MI 23.
Where does this leave Notre Dame? But Ohio State would be in the heart of the discussion. Stanford is ninth, then MI. MI (9-2, Big Ten) 11.
Oklahoma and Florida-two teams on the outside looking in-were almost upset, with the Gators needing overtime to beat Florida Atlantic.
At No. 12 in this week’s rankings, Florida has a lot of ground to make up. Neither Baylor (10-1) nor the Cowboys (10-1) are likely to trump the Irish. Northwestern (9-2, Big Ten) 17.
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What’s the highest No. 8 Ohio State could be next week? Point being, just because they are 3-8 doesn’t mean that it’s a walk in the park to play them. Following the Mids and rounding out the top 20 areNorthwestern, Oregon, Ole Miss, TCU and Washington State.
