Clemson-Iowa, Alabama-Oklahoma in semis

#3 Oklahoma: A second loss would keep the Sooners out, especially with no conference championship.

The teams in the top four spots when the final rankings are released December 6 will compete in a four-team playoff December 31 for the right to play in the national championship game January 11.

If there was ever a team that plays to the level of its opponent, it’s MI State. Still, folks in the Big 12 have to feel a lot better about its chances of having a league member in the playoff this time around. With an experienced offensive line that has been subpar in pass blocking and no consistent deep threat, Ohio State can be throttled if Elliott doesn’t carry the load.

“Last year is no indication of how things are happening this year”, the committee chairman said.

Notre Dame is fourth and Oklahoma is fifth. The committee obviously didn’t penalize OU for playing against backup quarterbacks – Baylor was without Seth Russell, TCU was without Trevone Boykin.

The Oklahoma Sooners have their biggest game of the season on Saturday as they will take on No. 11 Oklahoma State.

The Sooners have road wins over Tennessee and Baylor plus a home win over TCU. “His focus is here at Notre Dame, and he wants to be here”. 3 and 4, respectively, behind top-ranked Clemson and No. 2 Alabama. If both win, that sets up a Big Ten championship game with unbeaten Iowa against MI State at 11-1.

Nevertheless, it was interesting and somewhat surprising to hear why the committee put Iowa ahead. The Fighting Irish may have fallen out of a playoff spot for now, but they still have a chance of getting back in the equation.

As long as we’re on that subject, both No. 8 Ohio State (even after that dismal performance) and No. 9 Stanford (even with two losses) are in position to move back into the picture, as well, with similar amounts of chaos. Iowa’s signature win is a good one, crushing Northwestern – now ranked No. 16 – on the road and looking better and better each week.

Think about it. If Iowa loses, it more than likely gets knocked out based on its strength of schedule. “All we can do is try to get a win against Stanford and, I guess, hopefully the committee changes their mind”. Basically, the committee chose the easier way out this week by picking the undefeated team, knowing this debate won’t matter anyway.

The semifinals pit the No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 and the No. 2 vs. the No. 3. There wasn’t much interest in shifting the order. If the Tigers win their final two games, they’re in. I wouldn’t start clamoring for Navy in the playoff, though.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide might have the nation’s top defense. No team has had more dramatic finishes this year than the Huskers, so maybe they have one more left in them.

Could Florida quarterback Treon Harris and the Gators miss out on the playoffs entirely even if they win the SEC? Washington State and LSU who got very little love from the human polls this week are in thanks to computer ratings which seem to love LSU despite their three consecutive losses, but that is usually the case with SEC teams.