Michigan, Clemson still in CFP top four despite losses

That team will likely be decided Thursday when MI plays No. 2 Ohio State, with the loser likely being the highest-ranked team left from the Big Ten, and therefore sent to face Washington in the Rose Bowl with the victor going to the College Football Playoff.

Alabama, as expected, was No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson. There are a couple of things, though, to keep our eye on as we move forward.

The Trojans are arguably the hottest team in college football not named Alabama and the College Football Playoff committee knows it.

Louisville (9-1) comes in at No. 5 this week.

With Michigan, Washington, and Clemson losing their first game this past weekend, that leaves only two undefeated now. CFP selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt said shortly after the rankings were released that the committee viewed the Wolverines’ three wins over current top 10 teams favorably.

Ohio State moved into the No. 2 spot while fellow Big 10 member MI, which was beaten by Iowa on Saturday, retained its position at No. 3.

Wisconsin, Penn State, Oklahoma and Colorado round out the top 10, giving the Big Ten four representatives here as the regular season winds down.

A Saturday full of upsets led to a reshuffling of the College Football Playoff rankings, with Ohio State being the biggest beneficiary.

Alabama (10-0) remained No. 1 in this week’s CFP rankings. “Oklahoma State’s record is 8-2; at the same time, the Selection Committee is aware of what transpired in that football game”. More importantly, those two wins would give Florida three straight victories entering the SEC Championship Game.

Now here is how the playoff would play out based on a few of the most likely scenarios. The Buckeyes beat Nebraska the week before at home by the same score, 62-3.

Michigan, which lost on a last-second field goal at unranked Iowa, fared the best of the fallen, remaining at No. 3.

Prediction: Ohio State beats MI. The Buckeyes must win their final two games.

Outside of the six teams at the top, the Penn State Nittany Lions are lurking in a big way.

Then say Penn State beats No. 7 Wisconsin from the West Division for the conference title. The Cotton Bowl would then get the highest-ranked at-large team, which would be No. 10 Colorado. But a conference title shouldn’t magically guarantee a two-loss team a playoff spot if there are worthy one-loss teams the committee believes to be better.

Last week: Lost to Iowa 14-13.

MI will not make the playoffs because their best wins are only starting to look good and because they left the state of MI twice this season and lost the game that was not against Rutgers. MI beat Penn State 49-10 earlier this season and holds that tiebreaker.

Last week: Lost to Pittsburgh 43-42. The Tigers will travel to Wake Forest this week.

The same level of uncertainty does not exist with the future of the Big 12 or the Pac-12.

Louisville can boost its resume with wins over Houston on Thursday and rival Kentucky the next week, but the Cardinals need Clemson to stumble to win the ACC’s Atlantic Division.