Of the top 10 teams in this week’s CFP rankings, six are competing in conference championship games that could alter the projected postseason pecking order established Tuesday by committee members. We’ll outline those momentarily. One semifinal matchup will be played in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Michigan State should easily dispatch Iowa in the Big 10 championship game and book their trip to the college football playoff.
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-Christian McCaffrey, Stanford, ran for 207 yards and a score, threw a touchdown pass, caught another and broke Barry Sanders’ single-season all-purpose yards record to lead the No. 7 Cardinal to the Pac-12 championship with a 41-22 win over No. 24 Southern California.
Case for: Alabama entered this week at No. 2 in the rankings, knowing that a win in the SEC Championship Game against No. 18 Florida would likely secure its spot in the final four.
A conference championship game can help or hurt you, depending on the circumstances of that particular season.
Consensus: Out. It’s too little too late for Stanford, which has had a tremendous season, just not one that will culminate in a playoff berth.
The Predictalator uses current rosters and strength-of-schedule and efficiency-adjusted team and player statistics, to play every game 50,000 times before it’s played.
A victory by the Tar Heels will make the committee choose between North Carolina, with a conference title and a victory against No. 1, Ohio State, sitting at sixth and hoping for a reprieve, and maybe Stanford (10-2, No. 7 CFP). And remember, the committee is judging the teams’ full body of work.
So, as the last week of the football season nears, the CFP college football rankings have been determined coming into the weekend, and all these great teams are set to battle for the top rank. On Saturday night, Clemson and eighth ranked North Carolina will face off with a spot in the national playoff on the line. It’s clearly in Ohio State’s favor …
Oklahoma has been rolling since an October loss to Texas.
No SEC team in bracket. The Sooners lost big to Clemson a year ago in the Russell Athletic Bowl, but pulled off a stunning victory over then two-time defending national champion Alabama two years ago in the Sugar Bowl. There is no way Florida gets to four from 18, even if it defeats Alabama.
13-Years since a team repeated as SWAC champion before Alcorn State did it this season.
Tom Herman came to Houston after helping Ohio State to a national championship last season with designs on returning the Cougars to national prominence.
Consensus: In. Clemson is a safe bet to make the playoff. Ohio State, which cannot win the Big Ten title, could move from No. 6 into the four-team bracket if enough upsets occur. This Saturday is the final week for the nation’s elite football programs to impress the selection committee and earn a spot in the playoffs.
Michigan State and Iowa square off in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship.
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So who’s No. 1? A year after Long cited the lack of a Big 12 championship game as a factor that worked against TCU and Baylor in 2014 deliberations, he said the Sooners could benefit from being idle this weekend.
