Fiesta Bowl could be a QB showdown

In my opinion, a team who did not win their conference championship and did not beat the conference champion on the field should not be in the College Football Playoff over the champion. The Wolverines dumped the Nittany Lions 49-10 in Ann Arbor on September 24.

Penn State had two losses, but captured the Big 10 title with a stirring comeback over Wisconsin on Saturday night.

Unfortunately, this win doesn’t totally seal the deal for the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State recruited Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson while the signal caller was in high school. “We’d love that opportunity”.

If Ohio State’s schedule was a factor in keeping Penn State out of the playoff, what kept Washington in?

“Washington deserves that No. 4 spot”, Hocutt said. This could aid a two loss Big Ten championship team in trying to beat out a one-loss Pac-12 champion in Washington.

For better or worse, the message is this: two losses weigh more heavily than conference crowns or schedule strength. The Buckeyes benefited greatly from a dominant non-conference win over Oklahoma, while the Wolverines – who had their own non-conference win over a top-10 team in Colorado – dropped behind conference-champion Penn State despite a head-to-head win. Every team in the Playoff has one thing in common: one or zero losses. Strength of schedule matters.

Penn State is obligated to go to the Rose as Big Ten champs.

Now, do I think that’s what will be revealed come noon? The Alabama offensive analyst coached the Huskies from 2009-13. They met in the 2014 Orange Bowl, which the Tigers won 40-35 after Sammy Watkins caught 16 passes for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

That means the Crimson Tide will take on the Huskies in the Peach Bowl semifinal (Atlanta), while the Tigers face the Buckeyes in semifinal action at the Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona).

The committee chose a non-champion (Ohio State) because it was definitive that the Buckeyes had a top-four résumé and the best résumé in the best conference, the Big Ten. Ohio State (11-1) was one of just three teams with one loss this season.

“You can make arguments for and against so many different teams”, Franklin said. Last season, champions from the SEC (Alabama), ACC (Clemson), Big Ten (Michigan State) and Big 12 (Oklahoma) made the playoff. Not to mention, I think Washington vs. MI would be a better Rose Bowl than Penn State vs. Colorado, so I think that could be a deciding factor as well.

The Nittany Lions, seventh in the last rankings, are the hottest team in the country that doesn’t call Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home. The last time was after the 2013 season.

Unless you’re Alabama you’re going to lose some games. The Fighting Harbaugh’s will be in a Pick 6 bowl game.

USC overtook Colorado and will represent the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl Jan. 2. Following the 2008 season, the Trojans beat the Nittany Lions 38-24 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The answer came back the same each time. We’ll let them work that out. “That’s an obvious statement but I know how hard it is to get where we are in terms of how well you’ve got to play, and our kids have played really, really well”.