Navy helps College Football Playoff committee by losing to Houston

So with the Big Ten and Big 12 as virtual locks to get a team in the final four, Ohio State and Stanford will cheer on No. 14 North Carolina and No. 12 Florida in their respective conference championship games against No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama.

Key for Ohio State: Take a page out of the old Rex Ryan Ground & Pound playbook.

Auburn couldn’t pull off the upset against No. 2 Alabama, but the Tigers did manage a miracle play on this 77-yard touchdown catch and run by Jason Smith.

Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch threw seven(!) touchdowns to seven different receivers in the first half alone against SMU.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and as we edge closer to Christmas, there’s plenty left to be played for the college football universe.

Considering the way both teams entered the season, you can’t help but be a little disappointed with them. A 3-8 team can play like an 8-3 team. Running back Derrick Henry had a ridiculous 46 carries and topped the 200-yard mark yet again.

For Notre Dame to play North Carolina’s high-octane offense, it’d require the Tarheels to beat Clemson in the ACC Championship but be left out of the playoff.

The Tar Heels don’t have too much to gain in this one, a total trap game.

The Heisman Trophy contender had his fourth 200-yard game of the season against an SEC defense. He finished the game with 174 passing yards and 53 passing yards.

■Ohio State (11-1, CFP rank – 8): The Buckeyes answered the loss at home to Michigan State impressively by going on the road and dismantling a Michigan team that was ranked No. 10 by the playoff committee. He and the rest of the Cardinals rallied from a 24-7 deficit at halftime to defeat Kentucky, 38-24. The committee has taken notice, and despite the October loss to Texas, there would be no justification for leaving Oklahoma out of the bracket. On Stanford’s offense, Christian McCaffery is the workhorse. However, McCaffrey is climbing the record books seemingly every week. The Irish also allowed Stanford to convert 8 of 12 third-down plays.

It’s understandable to move Notre Dame out of the playoff conversation via rankings.

Even after a game like Saturday’s, the only way Stanford makes the playoff is if No. 1 Clemson loses next Saturday in the ACC Championship Game. Watson completed 20-of-27 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown. He also leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 478 yards and nine scores.

Week 14 brings out the conference championships, which is destined to provide great football and entertainment. So if everything goes chalk and nothing weird happens, Clemson, Alabama, Iowa/Michigan State victor, Oklahoma. Even though the Tar Heels are the underdog in this game, Clemson has shown chinks in its armor, especially against FSU. This may be a two-loss team trying to convince the committee, but the losses coming against Northwestern (10-2) and OR (9-3) aren’t as bad as losses by other potential playoff teams.

College Football Playoff officials recently announced contingency plans in case Navy was still in the mix, but Houston made it all moot. The Sooners are haunted by their Red River Shootout loss to unranked Texas, and the Cowboys will also be watching the scoreboard for updates on the TCU-Baylor matchup in the Big 12. But a loss to Auburn or Florida, coupled with its home loss to Ole Miss, would knock out Alabama altogether. We know the second-ever College Football Playoff will include Oklahoma. However, it would be a monumental upset considering the Gators scored just two points in a loss to Florida State. He may find himself in a similar situation as former Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion come draft season, drafted fairly early as a project for a team that likes his traits. That’s the same 4-6 Longhorn team whose only chance to make a bowl game is if there are not enough teams that reach the typical six-win plateau, and bowls get to extend invitations to teams with only five wins. If that happens, Ohio State would probably go to the playoff, and the committee likely would avoid a Notre Dame-Clemson rematch, so the Irish could play North Carolina in either Arizona or Atlanta.