Big 12 still needs help to make the Top 4

Another week, another set of upsets.

You see, the BCS still lives inside the playoff.

The third release of the College Football Playoff rankings are out and here’s the five most important takeaways.

It’s not a guarantee, but should the Irish win the next two weeks and enter the Stanford game still in the Top 4, their position will be strong. These squads are either undefeated or are involved in virtual play-in games that will knock out other contenders.

Under the SEC bowl system announced in 2014, Arkansas figures to be considered for one of six bowls that are in a pool after conference teams qualify for the playoffs, the Sugar Bowl and the Capital One Bowl.

The College Football Playoff poll remained unchanged this week, but that doesn’t mean the landscape that will shape the final rankings didn’t shift.

“We’re 8-2”, Shaw said. Maybe the Tigers should drop after two straight losses. With only Wake Forest and SC remaining, Clemson may have the best chance of any for a flawless season. Clemson handled Syracuse on the road and continued their march to the ACC Championship Game. Ohio State ranks 67th and has played zero. The unexpected undefeateds need only get by Purdue and Nebraska for a shot at Ohio State, the Big Ten title, and a playoff berth. If the Cowboys win out and finish 12-0 – taking down TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma in the process – they could be tough to deny.

MI State and Ohio State play in the Big Ten this week, with the victor likely facing Iowa in the Big Ten Championship. Pencil in Alabama for the CFP, Florida for New Orleans, and a nine-game victor for Orlando, noting that no SEC team has eight Ws and five have seven each.

The two teams with the best playoff odds that don’t control their own destiny?

So yes, the Buckeyes home stretch is notably hard.

It’s probably shocking to see the Florida Gators here, but read closely.

But two teams on the outside looking in are doing whatever they can to get into the invite-only party – 10-0 Iowa and 10-0 Oklahoma State sit fifth and sixth overall. It’s really a flawless storm when you look at it. The top four teams will play in the Orange and Cotton bowls. 500 teams, having a balanced offense and defense.

Until then, the Pac-12’s teams will have to continue beating up on each other and hope someone gets through. Oklahoma’s receiver caught an eye-popping 14 passes for 177 yards during Baylor’s first loss, out-receiving Baylor star Corey Coleman, whose 3-for-51 wasn’t bad but looked puny. In four games following that game against Texas, Oklahoma outscored their opponents by a score of 222-50. The Pac-12 will need a lot of help to avoid being left out of the final four the way the Big 12 was last season. The traditional power got the benefit of the doubt, they said. Keep in mind that Trevone Boykin got hurt in the first half of that game, and Josh Doctson was limited. Still, it should be a shootout in Norman, so anything can happen. The last two weeks, this astounding unit has ruined the great Leonard Fournette to 31 yards on 19 carries and prompted the sacking of Dak Prescott a stupefying nine times. Winning won’t be easy, but if they maintain their momentum, nobody is stopping this team.

Even ranked this low, one-loss TCU technically isn’t out of playoff contention.

Nevertheless, the Sooners are getting a big boost from their impressive win over Baylor over the weekend.