Badgers Out of College Football Playoff Rankings Again

Facebook.com/PeteFiutakCI These are the rankings before the rankings before the rankings. For now, the Oklahoma-Notre Dame debate has gotten an answer. Remember, this is all going to change next week, and it’s all going to change again the week after with the final call. It’s a small move up the board, but any rise in the ranks is a big one this time of year.

#9 Stanford: Beat Notre Dame this weekend and lose in the Pac-12 Championship. Maybe. Florida dropped from eight to 12 after a terrible performance against Florida Atlantic, but it doesn’t matter. Notre Dame will need to find a way to jump two spots in the rankings to get into the playoffs and all of the teams ahead of them do have tough, potentially lose-able games left on their slates. The picture will further crystallize this week, especially if Notre Dame can knock off Stanford. A win over Northwestern isn’t really a win you can hang your entire playoff argument on.

The Fighting Irish are suddenly on the outside looking in. But what did we learn?

The victor of the SEC Championship Game is in the CFP. With only two remaining undefeated teams, one of whom is the subject of plenty of controversy due to its relatively weak schedule, the College Football Playoff selection committee has no choice but to make some tough choices. But it’s more than that.

What if Stanford beats Notre Dame?

#14 North Carolina: Their resume doesn’t have near the power of the Michigan State’s, but beating Clemson in the ACC Championship would be a great addition. These are the teams that still have a shot at sneaking in and it will be interesting to see how the Playoff Committee goes about ranking these teams. Sure, fine. Oklahoma just beat now-No. 2 – and it nearly collapsed late against the Horned Frogs.

If both win out, the highest OSU can reach is No. 3. This puts Iowa, a year removed from 7-6, a Black Friday collapse against Nebraska and a TaxSlayer Bowl humiliation, as close as a program can be in controlling its own destiny. Oklahoma State (10-1, Big XII) 12.

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 Bears endured 14 consecutive losing seasons from 1996 to 2009. The Irish, after all, beat Texas easily this year, and common opponents are among the criteria the committee considers. 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). And it’ll have the Texas win, too.

“The Boston College game didn’t add a lot to their resume”, committee chair Jeff Long understated.

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. Everyone else, win, and win impressively. They would probably jump the Spartans initially. However, these are based on more than that.

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.

The Irish, fourth in the committee’s previous two rankings, dropped to No. 6.

The one-loss Oklahoma Sooners will face the one-loss Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Bedlam series in Stillwater. Florida (10-1, SEC) 13. Washington State (8-3, Pac 12) 21. TCU (CFP: No. 19) 13. Stanford (CFP: No. 9) 16.

As Ohio State and Oklahoma State lost last Saturday, Oklahoma survived a 30-29 victory at home over depleted TCU. Notre Dame has beaten the committee’s No. 15 (Navy) and No. 25 (Temple). Mississippi State (8-3, SEC) 22.