By bumping 10-1 Oklahoma from No. 7 to No. 3 while also dropping 10-1 Notre Dame from No. 4 to No. 6, the committee delivered its strongest message yet that a loss, no matter how bad it looks, does not a define a team’s season. Clemson, Alabama and Iowa in the top 4 while Notre Dame instead of Oklahoma to complete the picture, with the Sooners and Michigan State looking from the outside on a playoff spot they’re hoping to get. As a one-loss team with wins over top 25 foes Washington State, UCLA and Utah, as well as that solid road win over Northwestern, Stanford could be as high as No. 5 and would be no lower than No. 7. Oklahoma will play at Oklahoma State on Saturday with a chance to win the Big 12.
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No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 9 Stanford: I have yet to pick against the luck of the Irish this season, and the way they’ve played it would be hard to, as they seem to always find a way to win.
“It was more about the performances of Oklahoma and Michigan State that propelled them ahead of Notre Dame”, committee chairman Jeff Long said. And that Oklahoma State team was not as good as this year’s OSU squad, which was undefeated in 2015 until last weekend and still ranks 11th in the College Football Playoff standings.
Baylor, which still plays two more games at TCU and home against Texas, could also possibly get back into the top four by season’s end.
Assuming Iowa (at Nebraska) and Michigan State (vs. Penn State) take care of business against inferior teams this weekend, the Hawkeyes and Spartans may be squaring off for more than the Big Ten title in Indianapolis on December 5. On the other hand, Oklahoma – the Crimson Tide’s potential semifinal opponent at the moment – is a talented and balanced team that could give Alabama problems.
Watching? Yes. Glued? No. The attention of those 12 decision-makers will be divided.
No. 8 Ohio State at No. 12 MI.
Clemson (11-0) and Alabama (10-1) held steady at No. 1 and 2, respectively.
The first two teams out of the playoffs are Michigan State and Notre Dame at Nos.
Even though the Big 12 has been under ranked for most of the CFP committee’s rankings, a conference championship, although one determine in the regular season, will still be important to the committee in their discussions.
It’s already started with Notre Dame fans angered by their team’s drop from No. 4 to No. 6 in the playoff rankings this week even though the Fighting Irish have continued to win. Oklahoma State, ranked sixth last week, fell to eleventh.
The Irish can certainly boost their resume considerably this week by winning at No. 9 Stanford, but it would appear unlikely they’ll catch Oklahoma if the Sooners themselves beat No. 11 Oklahoma State.
What if Notre Dame beats Stanford this weekend?
Hours later, Oklahoma (No. 3 in this week’s ranking) defeated TCU (now No. 19) to move within a rivalry win against Oklahoma State of the Big 12 Conference championship.
Help needed: If Penn State defeats Michigan State and Ohio State defeats Michigan, the Buckeyes are back in the conference championship game.
Instead, the Big Ten is in great shape, thanks in part to its fifth-best team.
If Michigan State loses, the victor of Ohio State-Michigan will go to play Iowa. “We still have to play the game against Stanford and it’s going to be the exact same”. Florida State (9-2, ACC) 14.
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The only other path to the playoffs assuming Oklahoma wins out would be for some chaos in the Big 10 or SEC.
