Buckeyes back in top-4, behind only Alabama

It’d be a stretch to see either one crack the final four in the final rankings, to be released in early December.

Oklahoma will not get in because the Big-12 is bad, because they lost to Houston, and because they have one win over a ranked team. Will this be enough to get them in? But the Huskies still control their Pac-12 championship aspirations, and losses last week by MI and Clemson have made the CFP picture far less clear than it seemed a week ago. Nebraska doesn’t put up points like MI and Ohio State. MI does control their own destiny, but they have to learn how to play away from home and do it before a trip to the Horseshoe on November 26.

Penn State should be commended for beating No. 2 Ohio State, 24-21.

Why not? Even if the CMU loss shouldn’t have happened, it did. But the Tigers got a bit of reprieve. Things could not possibly be worse in Baton Rouge. The Big Ten placed four teams in the top 10 this week, as Wisconsinand Penn Statechecked in at Nos.

NORMAN, OK – NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners looks to throw against the Baylor Bears November 12, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.

The cockroach of college football that is USC can never be truly killed, as Washington found out last week.

The Utes are a hard team not to like, but they lost to Cal and Washington at home.

Now here is how the playoff would play out based on a few of the most likely scenarios. Playoff-bound the Buffs are not. Oklahoma sits at No. 9, while one-loss West Virginia is back at No. 14. No great games. No real chances for big upsets. Barely beating Temple, Minnesota and struggling to pull away from IN will also hamper Penn State’s resume.

His 33-yard field goal on the final play of the game sent the Hawkeyes to a victory over third-ranked MI, just hours after No. 2 Clemson and No. 4 Washington also suffered their first loss of the season.

If Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State all win out but Penn State becomes the Big Ten East victor, the committee’s decision for the fourth and final playoff spot could come down to the UW-Penn State victor versus Washington or a one-loss Louisville team that is now set to miss out on the ACC Championship Game. We might be looking at a scenario where the B1G champion might not even go to the playoff because of #badlosses.

No. Three of the four teams ranked in playoff position remained and two of the teams didn’t change spots. The offense is explosive and the defense looks good, but only because the Huskies have been playing average to sub-par teams all year.

The regular season will no longer coast into the College Football Playoff on calm waters.

Alabama (10-0) remained No. 1 in this week’s CFP rankings.

There is little question that Ohio State would have the best overall resume in the Big Ten, and maybe one of the best resume’s in the country, if it wins out. “It’s going to depend on how he feels”, said Coach Jim Harbaugh. The Buckeyes were outside of the Top 4 last week before their 62-3 win over Maryland.

Penn State? That’s another story. A win overKentuckypropelled Tennesseeback into the rankings, as the Vols ended up at No. 19.