Penn State stays put at No. 7 in CFP Rankings

Two teams already seem set: Alabama and Clemson. Instead of quality wins these, two rivals are measured by their losses. He described MI as having a “strong resume” with three wins over top-10 opponents.

Like Alabama, the Buckeyes are in the playoff no matter what happens on the field this weekend.

Oklahoma State, ranked 10th by the playoff committee, travels to Norman Saturday for a date with No. 9 Bedlam that decides the Big 12 but nearly assuredly has no relevance to the playoff. For Clemson it is a win and in deal, however a loss would likely knock them out of playoff contention in favor of the Big Ten Champion. But again, the Buckeyes are in. It doesn’t want to downplay a money maker like the championship game. But they are home watching and waiting.

The Huskies used consistent play all season to rack up 11 victories.

But Washington apparently closed that gap for good when the Huskies won the Pac-12 championship Friday night, beating up on Colorado, 41-10. There is no possible way the Buckeyes fall out of the top four.

Their nonleague schedule leaves something to be desired.

OSU still should make it, since nobody in their right minds can say it isn’t a top-four team, but the whole Big Ten situation is a mess right now. But Alabama is a lock, so there’s no reason to worry about any game outside of Atlanta for Tide fans.

Could a two-loss Big Ten champ beat out a one-loss Pac-12 champ for the final playoff spot?

In the meantime, Colorado and Penn State – two teams that also were unranked in the preseason – can lose two games during the year and still find themselves in the top 10 at the end of the regular season. That came against a woeful Rutgers team in New Jersey. “If you had absolute chaos, if Clemson and Washington both lost, I think the (selection committee) has made it very clear they’re not taking a Big 12 team, so I don’t think it’s completely insane”.

“The separation between No. 4 Washington and No. 5 MI is extremely small”, Kirby Hocutt acknowledged Tuesday during the release of the latest rankings. Clemson, 4. Washington, 5.

ACC: If Clemson loses, the ACC is likely out, which would further open the door for a second Big Ten team. Wisconsin played MI tighter and did it at the Big House. For many Penn State fails the “eye” test. If Penn State wins, though, the committee has a real headache. Exhibit A of that is 9-3 USC, which has won eight straight games and beaten teams like Colorado and Washington in that stretch, but can not crack the committee’s top 10. They also have victories vs. two other Top 25 teams. It is hard to imagine how it could drop from No. 2 to No. 5 in one week.

If Ohio State gets into the playoffs, it will mark the first time a team qualified that did not win its conference championship. (See: 10-2 MI ahead of 10-2 Wisconsin, Penn State and Colorado; 8-4 Tennessee ahead of 9-3 Virginia Tech).

UW has been in playoff mode, with a Big Ten West Division title the No. 1 goal, since an overtime loss to Ohio State on October 15.

Get ready for a thriller in Indianapolis, because this title matchup is primed to be the most exciting of all the conference championships.

The Big Ten has surprisingly been one of the strongest conferences in the country this season. The Cowboys should have just one loss.

Last week: Beat Michigan 30-27 (2 OT). But it was Central Michigan and the Cowboys should have put them away long before that.

The selection committee uncorks a few bottles of wine and gets to sleep an extra hour Sunday.