AP Top 25: Iowa moves up into No. 3 spot

No. 9 MI State (10-1) beat No. 2 Ohio State 17-14. To do that, it would mean Baylor closes the season with wins at TCU and at home against Texas and Oklahoma will have to lose its matchup with Oklahoma State.

On the other hand, Ohio State went from a 99 percent virtual lock to make the playoff to having a 29 percent chance now.

With the way this season has gone, however, it likely would be wise to wait until the final two weeks of the season – one more in the regular season followed by a chunk of conference championship games – before trying to determine which teams, exactly, belong. While Bama does have a loss to No. 22 Ole Miss, they also have arguably the best slate of wins already under their belt, including victories over three teams that were in the top 10 at the time of the game. Iowa will surely move up in the playoff top 25 after the Buckeyes’ loss, but can it jump the Irish, who sit at No. 4 with the selection committee? Northwestern 20. OR 21.

Including Ohio State, three of the five remaining unbeaten teams lost Saturday. Oklahoma narrowly edges a two-loss TCU who have nothing to play for anymore while Baylor messed things up in Stillwater by beating Oklahoma State, who are no longer undefeated.

Meanwhile, Iowa remained undefeated on the season with a 40-20 win over Purdue.

Poor SC. If you thought the Gamecocks’ year couldn’t get any worse, you were wrong.

Cyrus Jones made Alabama history against Charleston Southern by returning two punts for a touchdown in the first half alone. According to the Crimson Tide, no team player has ever recorded more than one punt return for a touchdown. For the second time, a Wisconsin go-ahead touchdown was taken off the board.

Mississippi State and Arkansas combined for 101 points and 1,110 total yards, as the Bulldogs nipped the Razorbacks 51-50. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen (406 yards and seven touchdowns) and Bulldogs QB Dak Prescott (508 yards and five TDs) were on target all night.

Stock down: Ohio State.

The SEC loves to drop cupcake nonconference games into the schedule to break up the end of conference play, and it nearly backfired in a big way.

No. 9 Florida also needed overtime to win 20-14 against a not-so-dangerous Florida Atlantic, who is 2-9 with wins over Charlotte and FIU.

Trevone Boykin’s Heisman campaign is officially over. There is a common opponent, Texas, who the Fighting Irish dominated 38-3 in Week 1, and who Oklahoma came up short against in a 24-17 loss. The Horned Frogs won 55-3 – and were left out. Northwestern can be epitomized as a well-coached team, that has bottom level talent.

The team also honored their coach, sporting all black jerseys with a patch to his likeness on the shoulder and by putting his signature on the field. Notre Dame keep winning, and so do Alabama, at least for now. Stanford still has an outside chance if it beats Notre Dame and wins the Pac-12 title, but it will need a lot of chaos to get in with two losses. But even if Ohio State makes a run, can they get this locker room together? Next: vs. Penn State, Saturday. Win the Big Ten and the reward should be a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Both teams finish the season against ranked opponents – Oklahoma against Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame against Stanford – so all things being equal, if they both win their games, then there shouldn’t be a change this week or next in the playoff rankings. With Stave shaken up, on fourth down Bart Houston entered the game and threw a pass to former quarterback Tanner McEvoy, but it fell incomplete.