Oklahoma’s spot in College Football Playoff rankings is safe

But given the insane endings we’ve seen in 2015, I wouldn’t bet that this regular season will go gently into that good night.

Path to the Playoff: Beat No. 10 Michigan today and have Penn State knock off Michigan State the same day. Tennessee moved into this week’s rankings at No. 25, while TCU is No. 11, Baylor is 12th and Oklahoma State is 17th. That’s a worse loss than Ohio State’s in the second game of 2014 to Virginia Tech, which finished 6-6. Perhaps this is why ABC/ESPN picked this championship showdown to be on network television and consigned the Pac-12 title game played at the same time to cable.

Let’s root for an upset and let the fun begin. In that scenario, we’d guess Michigan State, Ohio State and UNC would fill out the dance card.

That’s not to say it shouldn’t change drastically if North Carolina beats Clemson, but right now, it makes sense. Around and around it goes. Alabama and Clemson would hold the top two seeds. For now, Alabama is solidly above any Big Ten team, even an undefeated one. The Final Four should be very competitive this season and whoever wins the Big Ten conference title should make it in. Frankly, it’s hard seeing Florida do anything considering how poorly they played.

But perception often becomes reality. It may not consider North Carolina to be one of the four best teams in the country. Long said the committee would not alter the ranking of the top four in order to adjust whether teams play in the Cotton or Orange Bowls. Last year, Ohio State jumped from No. 5 to No. 4 after a 59-0 rout of Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game.

But as is often the case, reality and perception are divergent.

The Trojans have played four games against ranked teams, and they’re 1-3 in those four games.

No, they do not need a conference. The highest ranked team gets the spot. Both of those games were in Tuscaloosa.

Ohio State, the reigning national champ, stood at No. 3 in each of the previous CFP rankings this season, but a heartbreaking loss to Michigan State (which rose to No. 5 this week) sent the Buckeyes spiraling down to No. 8 this week. Great idea, if the playing field is level for all teams. It was done before the conference championships, as is my practice, because it is supposed to be based on the body of work, and the vote will not be revealed. The SEC scheduled as many FCS games (11) as Power-5 games.

“Our protocol clearly says there can be more than one team from a conference in the Final Four, so that’s definitely a possibility”, Long said.

For those other teams, not only is that 13th game a chance for a loss and being bumped out of the playoffs, but it’s also another opportunity for key injuries, as well as another week of pounding on the bodies of the players.

In an era when fans are paying more for everything, give them more variety and create more excitement.

Last season was the first year of the College Football Playoff, and it set a precedent for all future insanity in this sport.