Alabama-Washington, Clemson-Ohio State set for playoff semis

You can say, yeah, yeah, yeah, Michigan’s quarterback shouldn’t have thrown those interceptions and the Wolverines should have stopped Ohio State when it was fourth-and-one in overtime, right before Curtis Samuel won the game for the Buckeyes. We will find out Sunday.

His answer? “They’re not close in the eyes of the selection committee”, Hocutt said. Clemson lost to the Pittsburgh Panthers at home on November 12.

But Hocutt’s explanation, when asked about the Sooners, was off the mark. Both teams have scored 30+ points eight times vs FBS opponents, and VT has scored 40+ four times to Clemson’s five.

That’s the kind of code talk the previous chairman, Arkansas AD Jeff Long, used.

“We just talk about controlling the controllables, there’s nothing we can do”, U-M linebacker Jabrill Peppers said on the Big Ten Network.

The trophies could be the only prizes for the winners in several games during championship weekend. The committee is not the judges panel at a beauty pageant. OSU had key road wins over current-No.

The only other team with a case to make it is Penn State. Blocked field goals count.

It was quite the scene in Boulder last Saturday when Colorado held off Utah, and moments after the game Folsom Field was flooded with fans celebrating a division title after the Buffs were picked to finish last.

Can we play a best out of three with this one? “They have some outstanding players on offense and defense and have put up some fantastic numbers in terms of their ability on both offense, defense and special teams”.

“I can tell you from the discussion, the debate, the separation between Washington and MI is very small”, said Hocutt, who repeatedly emphasized the committee is looking for the four “best” teams. “But it is not the distinguishing metric in the evaluation of these two teams”.

Record: Last week 13-8 straight; 6-14 vs. points. If the latter were to happen, there is the possibility that MI or the victor of the Penn State and Wisconsin game will join Ohio State in the top four.

Unfortunately, the playoff wasn’t in the cards for this team in 2016.

Conference championships matter. Head-to-head matters. Led by J.T. Barrett, Ohio State will prove to be a stern test for Clemson with the most talented team the Tigers will have faced all year.

There are a number of teams who have won championships already – Alabama, Penn State, Clemson, Washington, Oklahoma, and even Western Michigan. I think you can make a heck of an argument (for) the Big Ten and all the teams we’ve played in this conference and competed with.

Easier scheduling has its day. That may be the way it is for awhile – at least until the playoff grows up.

As someone who has a soft spot for Penn State, I just don’t think the Lions would be competitive, especially in a matchup against Alabama.

The Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual gets No. 8 Colorado from the Pac-12 since Washington would be in the playoff. Penn State routed Michigan State 45-12 one week after Ohio State needed Michigan State’s failed two-point conversion to get out of Spartan Stadium with a 17-16 victory.

Ohio State will travel to Glendale, Arizona for the second year in a row.

The answer might be yes, and that’s a problematic answer for the committee.

Strength of schedule. You can measure schedule strength in a bunch of ways. The Huskies lost only one game to USC while beating ranked teams Colorado, Stanford and Utah.