Latest CFP Committee Rankings Has A (Slight) Shakeup

No Western Michigan hasn’t beaten any Top 25 teams but they do have wins over both Northwestern and IL on the road. “Will [a] conference championship be the overriding factor?” That sounds pretty good, but would it be enough to beat out a two-loss team from the Big Ten that doesn’t win that conference’s championship? They have two winnable games remaining on the schedule but after Saturday nothing is a given. There is absolutely no doubt that the Tide won’t be ranked No. 1 in the new rankings this week. Of course, we saw the committee shun Big 12 co-champs TCU and Baylor two years ago, and those teams each had just one loss. Ohio State was fifth and Louisville ranked sixth. If Ohio State beats MI in two weeks it will be the PSU Lions that go to the Big Ten title game.

Florida State, the only ranked team U of L has defeated, is No. 17.MI has three top-10 victories, according to the CFP rankings, over Wisconsin, Penn State and Colorado.Clemson has beaten U of L at home, No. 15 Auburn and FSU. Even if they win out the remainder of the season.

Louisville has been viewed as a possible candidate to move up into the top four this week but while the Cardinals pass the eye test they still can’t seem to break on through.

Path to the playoff: Despite the disappointing home loss to Pittsburgh, I believe Clemson still controls its destiny.

And having the likely Heisman Trophy victor in quarterback Lamar Jackson doesn’t provide Louisville any bonus points from the committee. Michigan, Clemson and Washington all lost this past weekend as double-digit favorites.

Now, WSU (8-2 overall, 7-0 Pac-12) will try to improve its conference record to 8-0, and extend its win streak to nine games for the first time since the 1930 season. But the fact the Big Ten looks more likely to get multiple teams in the playoff than the ACC right now simply can not be encouraging for Louisville, which has little chance of winning the ACC title and jumping Clemson. There no matter who it is if they win they should get in but lose at any point and time and they are finished. The two teams play Saturday.

This week, Ohio State plays at Michigan State and Michigan hosts Indiana. The Tigers’ loss eliminated them from the SEC West race and helped Alabama clinch. Although, it doesn’t bode well to lose this late in the season.

With all the chaos from Saturday, only one new team entered out top four…

But what if Wisconsin wins the Big Ten?

Unfortunately, the Buckeyes and Wolverines will play each other in Columbus, Ohio, next weekend and there are no realistic scenarios that have them playing a rematch in a CFP semifinal. First win against Michigan State, then win the rest of our games, if we even want to dabble with the playoff and the championship. Still, it would be a surprise if the Cardinals didn’t win their last two games.