What Happened on the College Football Landscape?

However, Notre Dame true freshman running back set the program record for longest play from scrimmage with this 98-yard touchdown run in a 28-7 win over Wake Forest. The Utes need Stanford to win out until the title game. Despite those 11 undefeated teams, 8 of which are in major conferences, Alabama is sitting at 4th with a loss, with Notre Dame poised to overtake them if they lose.Clemson was ranked No. 1followed by LSU, Ohio State and Alabama. An undefeated, Big Ten-winning Hawkeyes team would earn a bid to the semifinals.

– The announcement that the Poinsettia Bowl has been added to the MAC lineup as a normal bowl partner instead of a secondary one this year means the potential for a really nice Group of Five matchup between MWC champ/runner-up San Diego State and either Toledo, Bowling Green or Northern IL. But Oklahoma’s thoroughly impressive 10-point win in Waco could set up the Sooners to eventually surpass Notre Dame in the playoff rankings. Quarterback Deshaun Watson proved his Heisman eligibility by scoring the first touchdown on a three-yard rush and throwing a touchdown pass just minutes later en route to a 37-27 win.

That’s why I can’t wait to see how far one-loss Oklahoma skyrockets following its 44-34 victory at Baylor.

Call me insane, but I still believe in Ohio State.

~ Coming off a huge win over TCU, Oklahoma State is lucky enough to catch a bye week before facing #6 Baylor, followed with a date with #12 Oklahoma to close the season. For my birthday Saturday, college football should let Dr. Football have a big day.

North Carolina and Alabama pitched blowouts. Eighth ranked and unbeaten Oklahoma State got all it could handle from 3-6 Iowa State and if their beat down of TCU a week ago wasn’t enough to leapfrog Notre Dame how could a 3 point win over the Cyclones do it this week?

North Carolina State (6-4) 17 #16 Florida State (8-2) 34: Sean Maguire took over for Everett Golson who threw two interceptions, and delivered the win while Dalvin Cook got back and ran for a couple of touchdowns. Instead of looking at how many ranked teams these teams will play, we will use the last column for what is probably a more relevant stat for the committee: record against Power 5 teams.

The Cougars are clearly in the driver’s seat as the only undefeated Group of 5 team.

Navy also controls its own access bowl destiny. The committee wasn’t afraid to view things through a broad lens. They’ll need to run the table and beat Alabama (provided the Tide don’t slip) in Atlanta to get in.

Essentially Notre Dame needs quite a bit of help. That is strong. It will resonate with the committee. So that’s at least two wins over ranked opponents (TCU could be the third), plus three other wins over solid teams. In fact, I’d be shocked if the committee didn’t put them at #1.

Now that I’ve apologized to Bama fans for ever doubting their team, I don’t think the Crimson Tide will be challenged in their final three games and will finish 12-1. That SOS number will rise minimally with remaining games against Western Kentucky and the Conference USA Championship Game (if the Thundering Herd get there), but this resume has nothing on it. Even the Mountain West champion would probably have a better resume (see below). The Fighting Irish, who don’t have any conference affiliation, are fourth in the committee’s rankings, with the only loss coming in a nail-biter on the road against top-ranked Clemson. The Broncos’ resume is nothing to speak of. The Mountain West is weak this year, and it is really showing in these resumes.

– Sneaky good game brewing between predicted CUSA champ Louisiana Tech and likely Sun Belt champ Arkansas State in the New Orleans Bowl. It’s unfortunate for the conference; Georgia Southern or Appalachian State might actually have a resume worth considering.