AP Top 25: Oklahoma moves into top three, Ohio State moves up

In a matter of hours Saturday night, college football’s landscape underwent some significant shifts. “Oklahoma has performed…at a high level since (the Texas loss), so they’ve overcome that loss with their play on the field and the success they’ve had and the wins they’ve accumulated”. A ranking outside the top four would be a shock, however.

Should things go as expected in conference title games next week, it would appear that Oklahoma’s opponent in the semifinals would be Alabama in a rematch of the 2014 Sugar Bowl.

Also, TCU ended its regular season past year with a beatdown of hapless Iowa State, while Ohio State – which sat just outside the top-four going into the final week – routed a ranked Wisconsin team in the Big Ten title game.

The overhaul came with a quarterback change, and Oklahoma wouldn’t be forced to revert back to Trevor Knight in a Bedlam showdown for the ages.

Is this team capable of winning the national championship?

Win or lose their championship game against ACC foe North Carolina, Clemson has a legitimate argument to be included in the college football playoff tournament.

J.W. Walsh passed for 325 yards and two scores, and James Washington caught seven passes for 169 yards for the Cowboys (10-2, 7-2, No. 11 CFP). A victory would seal the undefeated Tigers first playoff berth, but their worst-case scenario is losing their game plus Alabama and Iowa losing their respective championship games. Ohio State has a solid case, with its only loss coming on a last-second field goal to a playoff contender. It’s just seemed to roll ever since that Texas game.

Iowa moved down a spot to No. 4, but Michigan State moved up a spot to No. 5 and Ohio State jumped two spots to No. 6, giving the Big Ten three of the top six spots in the top-25 rankings, which were released Sunday afternoon. But they would need Alabama to lose and the college football playoff committee to not fall in love with a potential PAC 12 Champion Stanford Cardinal.

Oklahoma has already played all nine of its Big 12 bedfellows and won’t have to risk anything next weekend, when it might otherwise have to play against Baylor, TCU or Oklahoma State a second time. But what if the Spartans lose to the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Championship? Michigan State (6) 6.

“I didn’t know Notre Dame lost, but you just figure that you’re third and go to a championship game away from home to the No. 9 team in the country and win by [35] points that you’d only move up”, Stoops said. Notre Dame fell to No. 10 in the poll after their heartbreaking loss to Stanford.

Richt is 145-51 at Georgia and has two Southeastern Conference titles but failed to win the weak East Division three years in a row.