Penn State football moves up again in playoff rankings

It will have a major impact on how the Big Ten shakes out and the College Football Playoff situation as well.

Michigan State: RB LJ Scott is averaging 7.2 yards per carry over the last two games, has scored three TDs and got involved in the passing game with two catches for 76 yards including a 64-yard score. Penn State, 8. Oklahoma, 9.

Penn State moved up a spot to No. 7 in the CFP rankings.

Most of those answers will become clear Saturday afternoon after No. 2 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) and No. 3 MI (10-1, 7-1) tangle in Ohio Stadium in the 2016 version of the storied rivalry.

Kirby Hoctutt, chair of the committee, said on ESPN’s show Tuesday night that wasn’t the case. 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes hosted the then-No. “We do not”, Hocutt said on a conference call. For Ohio State to represent the East Division in the title game, it needs to beat its archrival and hope Michigan State can upset Penn State in State College.

The Broncos are undefeated, including two road victories over Big Ten opponents. MI ranks first nationally and Ohio State is fourth.

The total has gone over in Michigan’s last three games against Ohio State.

If Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley had stuck with his first decision during the recruiting process, he would be wearing Michigan’s maize and blue and undoubtedly would have earned a letter or two by now.

Hocutt pretty much dashed that theory, however, when he downplayed the significance of a conference title and head-to-head result.

“There’s a lot of good that can come out of it for us if we can get to a bowl for a second straight year, ” IN coach Kevin Wilson said. “It’s not something we’ve had to go through”. But as the epic Ohio State-Michigan arrives Saturday in Columbus – the second-ranked Buckeyes hosting the third-ranked Wolverines – the Big Ten stands poised to trump the SEC. If either No. 5 Washington or No. 4 Clemson stumbles this week or next, the Big Ten stands ready to fill the void. The Buckeyes can win the division by taking down MI and then watching Penn State lose to the Spartans.

The Huskies are 10-1. This year’s matchup between the No. 2 Buckeyes and No. 3 Wolverines has national championship implications.

Penn State would be 11-2. Washington will have its hands full with the rival Cougars, with the victor advancing to the Pac-12 championship. They would fall behind Wisconsin, and then a Big 12 champion, Clemson and Washington all have the edge. The results took identical 20-percentage-point tolls on MI and Washington’s CFP probabilities and lopped 9 points off of Clemson’s as well.

Penn State would have won the nation’s toughest conference.

Alabama again tops the list, maintaining its quest to become the first start-to-finish No. 1 in the short history of the Playoff rankings. Its personal for the people who have played in the game, and its personal for the people who are now about to play in the game.

“Nah, I haven’t really begun to think about that, really”, he said. “That game is right before ours”.

But since that game 10 years back, both schools have seen some changes in the coaching staff.

So, since this is TTUN week, we’re going to not use a certain letter in this week’s edition.

Boise State was best at No. 19, followed by Houston and Western Michigan. “As long as we keep doing that, we’ll hit our shots and we’ll keep playing Buckeye ball like we have been”. “That’s the important thing”. I just think that was the classiest – both programs had a tremendous respect for each other, both coaches did, and they played so damn hard. The animosity is such that some Ohio State fans – as well as coaches and players – hesitate to utter their rival’s name, calling it “that school up north”. “No”, running back Saquon Barkley said. When you get here, you see things like the Mirror Lake jump, the gold trousers and things like that. You’re going to be a little aware. They have two wins against current top-25 teams.