Oklahoma up to 3rd, Iowa 4th in playoff rankings; ND to 6th

Oklahoma and Iowa were rewarded for their steady and successful play Tuesday when both teams moved into the top four in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Despite its 10-1 record, Oklahoma State now sits behind a pair of two-loss teams in No. 9 Stanford (9-2) and No. 10 MI (9-2).

Oklahoma was the highest-ranked of four Big 12 teams in Tuesday’s rankings, placing ahead of No. 7 Baylor (9-1), No. 11 Oklahoma State (10-1) and No. 19 TCU (9-2). “Our guys clearly understand what they have to do in their preparation and then their performance on Saturday”.

The selection committee is composed of 12 members, including Jeff Long, Barry Alvarez, Mike Gould, Kirby Hocutt, Tom Jernstedt, Bobby Johnson, Tom Osborne, Dan Radakovich, Condoleeza Rice, Mike Tranghese, Steve Wieberg and Tyrone Willingham.

While the Big 12 is filled with CFP possibilities, the SEC is taking some hits.

It is not the same situation. Should the Vols get upset, that Oklahoma win wouldn’t look almost as good. Last season, the committee liked TCU more than Baylor all season, despite the Bears beating the Horned Frogs in October.

Klatt was also surprised Ohio State was ranked as high as it was.

But that’s not all for the Big 12. “All we can do is try to get a win against Stanford and, I guess, hopefully the committee changes their mind”. Navy are going to have the division title listed somewhere in the history book as champions or co-champions, but if they lose, they won’t be the ones playing Temple (probably) for the conference title and maybe a spot in a New Year’s bowl game.

There you have it. Everything you need to know about the big College Football Playoff to come. With the Sooners being rated #3, they are in with a win.

The Spartans had one of the biggest wins of the year last Sunday at Ohio State so I am not exactly jumping up and down in outrage like I am over Oklahoma. It’s worth remembering that Baylor still have a game against Texas, 4-6 Texas, to end the season.

Notre Dame would be in the role of Ohio State this season, but it’s not quite the same.

If the Hawkeyes can avoid an upset Friday at Nebraska, the Big Ten title game also could be a playoff play-in game – ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said that’s “for sure” the case in light of the latest rankings. The Irish could gain ground this week, however, because they face No. 9-ranked Stanford on the Cardinal’s home field. But it seems that they are being held to a different standard than some of the other teams, like Iowa for example.

Kelly cited his team’s schedule as the main reason it should be considered, should it win Saturday. After MI State’s thrilling win at Ohio State on Saturday, the Spartans jumped to No. 5 in the rankings. But would the playoff committee really be prepared to leave out a one-loss SEC champion?

Another matchup that could lead to a CFP shakeup is the Bedlam game between Oklahoma and No. 11 Oklahoma State. Beat Penn State, and they’re in the Big Ten championship game against Iowa.

Notre Dame and Stanford are not rivals in the traditional sense as some of the other matchups here. Victories for the Trojans and Midshipmen would enhance two of Notre Dame’s best wins. So Stanford needs more carnage than we thought it might just a couple weeks ago.

A couple weeks later both are lurking and the two could combine to make a fascinating decision for the committee.

Should Florida State defeat the Gators this upcoming weekend, a jump to No. 11 or No. 10 could be in order, depending on how the rest of the top teams fare.