Sooners, Cowboys crack top 10 in CFP rankings

Wisconsin’s defense has played lights, ranking No. 8 in the country in total D. But if the Buckeyes beat MI on Saturday, they will be 11-1 with four wins over current or former 10 teams (also Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Nebraska). This would send PSU to the conference title game to face Wisconsin.

The top four in the College Football Playoff rankings remain the same this week, with Alabama number-one, Ohio State second, MI third and Clemson fourth. Washington now leads the Pac-12, and will need to beat Washington State for a title shot. Much like Ohio State, Michigian losing against the Buckeyes would be bad because a loss would knock them out of the Big Ten Championship, taking away the Wolverines ability to control their destiny. Both teams have one loss; Ohio State at Penn State and MI at Iowa, but only the Wolverines control their own destiny where the Big Ten championship game is concerned.

“I’ve never been in a top-five MI game”, Holmes said.

A MI win this week will eliminate Penn State from playoff contention. Obviously, I’m a Badger fan and will pick Wisconsin to win out, and the victor of the Big Game will get the last spot.

The simple answer is that it’s not realistic to think Oklahoma will make the final top four. Penn State, 8. Oklahoma, 9. If both OSU and Penn State win, the Buckeyes will have to hope that their resume will allow them to hold a spot in the CFP rankings. That alone still wouldn’t be enough for Oklahoma. Beat the Sooners, win the Big 12, and see what happens.

Last week: Beat Indiana 20-10. Clemson, meanwhile, has lowly SC and Virginia Tech or North Carolina. Maybe not. It might depend on how willing the selection committee is to take two teams from the same conference. The committee can always change its mind within the next two weeks, but if the members stick to the sentiments expressed by Hocutt tonight, Ohio State will be a Playoff lock with a win over MI this Saturday.

The Badgers likely won’t need to worry about any team outside the top six jumping ahead of them if they win their final two games.

In Week 12, however, there wasn’t any chaos at all. They play No. 23 Washington State this week. A win over Michigan State is not meaningful this year.

If the Wolverines lose at Ohio State on Saturday, they will fail to reach the Big Ten championship game. Unless, perhaps, if PSU puts a 59-0 kind of whooping on Wisconsin, the way Ohio State did two years ago.

The path for Colorado is a little bit trickier, but also very possible.

Meyer has been in a similar situation like this before with the 2014 National Championship-winning Buckeyes, but this is the first time Harbaugh and MI is on the verge of making it into the playoff. “Continue to be very impressed with Ohio State“.

It could all be a moot point if that scenario doesn’t unfold, but it would also be a situation the committee hasn’t had to deal with yet, as there has not been a team worth considering that didn’t win a conference title. And for that to happen, the Nits need Ohio State to beat MI. Alabama, 2. Ohio State, 3. No. 1: Alabama Crimson Tide Alabama could lose the next two games and still make it into the playoff.

11-15 is occupied by Louisville, USC, Auburn, Florida State and Florida.

Should Be: An argument could be made for Oklahoma, especially after the Sooner demolished West Virginia in Morgantown.