Iowa moves up in College Football Playoff rankings

Still, the Horned Frogs dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the final rankings. The Cowboys tumbled five spots after losing to Big 12 rival Baylor for their first loss of the season.

Notre Dame also dropped out of the top four despite defeating Boston College. As such, it’s palpable to imagine prospective candidates like two-loss Stanford (No. 9), two-loss MI (No. 10) and even one-loss North Carolina (No. 14) eclipsing Florida on the day after Championship Saturday – hypothetically presuming league titles for each program.

Ohio State travels to play MI in a game that could put the Buckeyes back in the playoff conversation, and a win for Notre Dame at Stanford could do the same for the Irish. In addition to No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 MI State, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 10 MI made the list. No wins over now ranked teams.

Along those lines, could you imagine a one-loss Florida – with hypothetical victories over Florida State and Alabama – getting bumped by a two-loss champion from the Pac-12 … with Playoff committee chair (Jeff Long)doubly serving as the Arkansas athletic director? With the Big Ten West already locked up, the Hawkeyes would theoretically only need two more wins to qualify for the Playoff.

Sixteenth is the highest the Wildcats have ever reached in the College Football Playoff rankings, which are in their second year of existence. Iowa (11-0, Big Ten) 5.

Another matchup that could lead to a CFP shakeup is the Bedlam game between Oklahoma and No. 11 Oklahoma State.

MI State plays Penn State on Saturday and Iowa is at Nebraska. Regardless of how No. 6 Notre Dame fares against Stanford this weekend.

Oklahoma, with No. 11 Oklahoma State as its last remaining game, appears to be in a “win- and-they’re-in” scenario. Only one other team in America can say the same, and that’s the No. 1 Clemson Tigers. The clubs have not met as ranked opponents since 2012 and have not clashed as top ten opponents since their classic 1-vs-2 contest in 2006.

A couple weeks later both are lurking and the two could combine to make a fascinating decision for the committee. Perhaps the Longhorns would garner blame for the Big 12 missing the Playoff for a second straight time.