Oklahoma, Iowa crash CFP playoff party

Thoughts on the fourth College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night.

No. 1 Clemson (11-0) and No. 2 Alabama (10-1) remain in the top two positions, but it was No. 3 Oklahoma (10-1) making the biggest splash this week, jumping up four spots after the Sooners’ win over TCU Saturday. Zaire’s replacement in DeShone Kizer has been more than competent as the team’s starting signal-caller. If Coach Mark Dantonio can get his team two more wins, they’ll be a lock for the postseason. Whether Ohio State, Michigan, or Michigan State plays the Hawkeyes, an undefeated Iowa team in the conference title game is the best thing for the Big Ten. But the possibility exists that the Gators are ranked so low that if they defeat Florida State to end the season and somehow beat Alabama in the SEC title game that the mighty Southeastern Conference is left out entirely.

Trophies. They are all over college football, and now that “Rivalry Weekend” has arrived, fans will get their annual dose of knowledge bombs about the many pieces of hardware that exchange hands. A strong finish, and perhaps a Big Ten Title, along with some chaos above, could crack the door open for Sparty.

What if Oklahoma State beats Oklahoma, and Baylor beats TCU and Texas? The Fighting Irish now have wins over No. 25 Temple and No. 15 Navy, along with good victories over Pitt and USC – each probably better than No. 24 Toledo.

Clemson (11-0), 2. Alabama (10-1), 3. Notre Dame would have to be “unequivocally one of the four best teams in the country” as an independent, according to the committee’s stated criteria.

Regardless of percentages or the opinions of the national sports media, in chaos lies a chance for Oklahoma State to be in the final four of college football’s postseason. Well a few weeks later the Sooners have jumped all the way up to #3 – improving 4 spots this week alone – thanks to wins over Baylor and TCU. But with a second loss, this team can focus on Northwestern State, SMU, Rice and the Derek Zoolander School For Kids Who Can’t Read Good And Want To Do Other Stuff Good Too next year. Michigan State (10-1), 6.

After no-showing vs Michigan State, Ohio State now travels to play Michigan. Michigan State is fifth, then Notre Dame.

What if Penn State beats Michigan State, Ohio State beats Michigan and the Buckeyes beat unbeaten Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game?

Or say you were Nick Saban, heading an Alabama team that has looked superb since a September stumble against an amped up the Ole Miss squad.

The only other path to the playoffs assuming Oklahoma wins out would be for some chaos in the Big 10 or SEC. Their inability to score will hurt them this week, as I am taking Florida State to win in the swamp. It seems all the Sooners have to do now is take care of No. 11 Oklahoma State in Stillwater this weekend and they’re in. Baylor (9-1), 8. Ohio State (10-1), 9.

What if all hell breaks loose and Stanford has two losses, and three of the remaining four Power 5 conference champions also have two losses?

And despite its own upset loss at Nebraska, if MSU can beat Iowa on a neutral field it would have a resume that also includes the road wins over OSU (down to No. 8 in Tuesday’s rankings) and MI (up to No. 10), along with an early-season win over OR (up to No. 17) that keeps increasing in value with the return and play of quarterback Vernon Adams.