Big Ten making its push

If Alabama, Stanford and North Carolina all lose (an unlikely but possible scenario), Ohio State would appear to be the only logical selection remaining for the committee to place at No. 4, joining Clemson, Oklahoma and the Big Ten champ.

The 11-1 Sooners have had a fantastic season outside of their embarrassing loss to 4-7 Texas, but now they get to sit and heal, while every other team with playoff hopes must engage in a 13th game against a top opponent to decide their conference’s champion.

There will be no result from above that will affect Oklahoma (11-1), which has finished its regular season since the Big 12 does not hold a conference championship game. Who would get in among a one-loss Clemson, a one-loss, ACC champion North Carolina, a two-loss, Pac-12 champion Stanford and a potential one-loss Iowa? Iowa (12-0), 5. Michigan State (11-1), 6.

The Tar Heels (11-1) also lost their season opener to SC, which was so bad that Steve Spurrier – who abandoned ship midway through the season – was still apologizing Monday.

For the record, the top five didn’t change from a week ago with Michigan State checking in at No. 5. However, some commentators note, a resounding win over the top-ranked Clemson Tigers in the ACC championship game could possibly vault North Carolina into the top four.

Meanwhile, the one-loss teams in the Top 4, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Oklahoma, enjoyed a more stylish November. According to the Westgate Las Vegas, Michigan State’s odds to win it all are 8-to-1 and Iowa’s are 20-to-1. It is likely however, that the victor of the Big 10 title game will be ranked #3 ahead of Oklahoma, assuming Alabama and Clemson both hoist conference title trophies.

THE PEACH AND FIESTA: If Iowa loses to Michigan State and if Ohio State is ranked higher than the Hawkeyes and the Rose takes the Buckeyes, the Hawkeyes would go to either the Peach or Fiesta.

The Tar Heels enter the final week of the season at No. 10 in the CFP rankings, three spots behind Stanford, which also has a chance to win its conference. They are 4-0 against Top 25 teams.

The Trojans have played four games against ranked teams, and they’re 1-3 in those four games. A loss to UNC would put the committee in a tough position. Could it be that Ohio State and even Notre Dame get some love?

The Nebraska loss seemed to dispel any chances for Mark Dantonio’s team, but this squad turned it around to contain Ohio State’s offensive arsenal on the road. The Cardinal have had some notable stumbles along the way but a big win over the Trojans combined with Clemson, Alabama and Iowa faltering could open the door for them to sneak in.

What if Kizer and Fuller don’t connect again with 2 minutes, 9 seconds left, this time for 17 yards, to give the Irish a 24-20 victory against Temple? Notre Dame is 10-2, no small achievement given the injuries that would have decimated most teams. Clearly though, this is a huge game for seeding purposes if one of the top three teams loses.

The seeding is about as uncertain as it could be at this time, as Long said there were deliberations atop the poll with unbeaten Clemson and one-loss SEC champ Alabama, both of which play in conference title games on Saturday.

The Sooners strengthened their case to be the Big 12’s first-ever participant in the College Football Playoff with a 58-23 win over Oklahoma State on Saturday. But you don’t need an eye test or to just look at last year’s championship to make an argument for the Buckeyes in the playoff.