Championship week games to watch, TV, scoreboard, previews

In the inaugural playoff, it hurdled TCU and Baylor in the final poll to enter the field.

While Alabama remains a lock for the College Football Playoff this year, Ohio State (11-1) is surely the next program up. It also has a ugly final-play defeat against Central Michigan, although we know now an officiating error allowed that final play (a Hail Mary/lateral winning touchdown for CMU).

It seems that Alabama and Ohio State are locked in.

Penn State has been one of the best teams in college football since that moment. Alabama should win this game against a Gator squad that is limping into the SEC Title game after being trounced by Florida State.

While the Big 12 won’t have any playoff drama to worry about, things could get interesting at the top.

Now Michigan waits on the outside, hoping against hope for a Hail Mary that will give the Wolverines one of the four prized spots in the College Football Playoff. Can you imagine how mad the SEC would be that they weren’t the first conference to pull this ridiculous shit off? Lose? Well that’s a dicey situation.

A Clemson loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC title game also would open up a potential spot for PSU or MI.

At the very least the game against No. 6 Wisconsin (10-2, No. 6 CFP) will determine which team goes to the Rose Bowl. Washington could, too. Would a top-10 win added to the resume of two of those teams be enough to box out MI? They would have also defeated teams that beat both MI and Ohio State.

After their win against Utah, the resurgent Buffs leapfrogged their old Big 12 tormentors to No. 8 before Championship Saturday.

It does not seem like the committee will put either of these teams in over MI if the above scenarios play out and the Wolverines have an edge over both by having wins over each.

What didn’t happen were losses by Clemson, Wisconsin, Washington and other playoff contenders that would’ve either flipped the playoff picture on its head or provided clarity. But who would enter in their place? Many teams in playoff contention will be feeling snubbed this season. There’s a chance that two teams from the Big Ten could make the playoff and neither of those teams could play in the Big Ten championship game. “They proved they’re one of the top teams”. They have two losses and both were in their last three games of the season. Would the committee push MI into the playoff over Wisconsin and Penn State? If this game is within two scores, they will not make it. If both Clemson and Washington lose, the Big Ten victor should be safely in the Playoff-but Penn State and Wisconsin fans should be rooting that Colorado doesn’t beat Washington by too much (more on that later). Those are the three cities where the 2018 College Football Playoff will be next year.

Now understand that in the most realistic scenario, only one Big Ten team will get in.

“Ranking football teams is an art, not a science”, the committee says. The Wolverines, who lost controversially to Ohio State on Saturday, have two losses and finished third in their division but do have three victories over Top 10 teams in Colorado, Wisconsin and Penn State. To me, Wisconsin has a better case. They would have to win this weekend, have both Clemson and Washington lose, or have one lose and the committee punish the Buckeyes.

So which Big Ten team gets in? They ran through the rest of the Big 12 and play Oklahoma State this weekend in their regular season finale.

They’d be even unhappier if Ohio State – a team Penn State beat at home this year – got in instead.

Penn State (10-2) was ranked seventh for the second straight week while the Buckeyes (11-1) came in at No. 2. Or Penn State’s loss to Pitt.

Ohio State will not play in the Big 10 Championship after losing to Penn State earlier this year, so it will have a bye week while all the other teams are going to be playing in their respective conference championship games. Same goes for Oklahoma or Oklahoma State, who face off for the Big 12 title.