MI State controls its own destiny in the College Football Playoff

Oklahoma could use the Fighting Irish out of the way, and a one-loss Big Ten champion – if there is one – would like to end the drama, too.

Since neither Oklahoma nor Notre Dame play in a conference championship game, there is nothing to separate them on that basis even after the regular season is over.

Combined with Iowa being one of only two undefeated teams left in the country, the Big Ten’s outlook when it comes to the playoff hasn’t changed at all, but the teams still in the mix has quite a bit.

After another insane week, ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis is back to give fans his playoff foursome and top 16. When they’re not playing MI, Michigan State (22nd in recruiting), or OSU (3rd in recruting – with an actual 5 star recruit – yes Iowa, they exist), how could they not go out and schedule better out-of-conference match ups?

Will Davis have it right when the official rankings drop on Tuesday? Last week beat Purdue 40-20 this week @ Nebraska. Beating Notre Dame in the finale would be nice, but considering what’s happening around the nation, getting a two-loss team into the playoff seems like a stretch. Add that to a road victory over No. 12 MI and a win at home against OR, which is now ranked No. 18 and has now won eight games, and the Spartans have a few impressive victories. An interesting scenario would arise if Florida defeats Florida State, and then Alabama in the SEC title game. It wouldn’t have hurt if Boston College stunned Notre Dame, either.

Three unbeaten teams fell on Saturday in Week 12, as Ohio State lost on a last-second field goal to MI State, Oklahoma State struggled to keep up with Baylor and Houston was upset by CT. Only heaven knows why the Pac-12 continues to play nine conference games plus a championship game at the end. They were 11th in the latest CFP Rankings and it stands to reason they will move into the Top 10 setting up a Thanksgiving weekend showdown of top 10 teams with the game serving as a CFP eliminator game.

No, the Irish didn’t play their best game of the season.

The Tigers are now just two wins away from being the #1 seed in the playoffs.

The undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes moved up three spots to No. 3 in the Associated Press college football poll after losses by Ohio State and Oklahoma State.

You can say what you want about Big Ten conference strength outside of the top three, but continuous winning is hard.

Notre Dame is fourth and Oklahoma fifth in both the AP and USA Today rankings.

MI State beat a division rival without starting quarterback Connor Cook, who was out with a shoulder injury. A win this week at Stanford might put Irish back in – a loss would definitely eliminate them.

The field for the 24-team playoff was set on Sunday.

MI State at Ohio State: I try to defend officials as much as possible, but the blown call that cost the Spartans against Nebraska was awful.

Other games of outcome included Florida, who had an outside shot of making it should the Gators beat Alabama in the SEC championship, barely beating Florida Atlantic in overtime. Iowa State (3-8) has already quit on their season.

Oklahoma had weak non-conference games against Tulsa and Akron, but did beat a Tennessee team who has been much less than their No. 23 ranking at the time of the game.

So Florida could lose to Florida State and still land in the Sugar, per the SEC’s contract.