Oklahoma up to 3rd, Iowa 4th in playoff rankings

Not we “think” they are or they “might” be, they used the word “solidly”. If those two teams meet in the league’s championship game, the victor is all but assured of a semifinal berth.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide might have the nation’s top defense. If one of these teams can notch a definitely win, they can possibly vault themselves into the Top Four conversation.

No. 19 Mississippi at No. 23 Mississippi State.

Long said the committee took into account that Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield sat out the second half of the Sooners’ victory against TCU last Saturday. Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer’s No. 2 Sooners were 9-1-1 and still had a game to play in the Orange Bowl against No. 4 and 11-1 Washington. However, if form holds, Notre Dame will be one of a handful of teams with a quality argument for football’s final four. Oklahoma (10-1) climbed four spots on the strength of last week’s 30-29 victory over TCU in Norman, Okla. and became the first Big 12 team to fall within the four-team window of the projected playoff bracket. “It was more about the performance of Oklahoma and Michigan State against top-ranked teams”.

The Irish might be able to get some help from their rivals. But Ohio State would be in the heart of the discussion.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday his team’s resume speaks for itself.

#9 Stanford: Beat Notre Dame this weekend and lose in the Pac-12 Championship. Oklahoma (10-1), 4. Iowa (11-0), 5.

#3 Oklahoma: A second loss would keep the Sooners out, especially with no conference championship. Losses by those teams would assure the ascent, however.

Baylor, which still plays two more games at TCU and home against Texas, could also possibly get back into the top four by season’s end. But it needs a lot more help.

What if Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State this weekend? They are looking at playing Florida in the SEC championship. Toledo (10-1) out of the Mid-American Conference came in at No. 24, followed by Temple (9-2) at No. 25.

No. 4 Iowa at Nebraska: Nebraska, the spoilers of the Big Ten, gets to host the fight for the Heroes Trophy. If Michigan can then beat Ohio State and Iowa they’d add a pair of top-10 wins to close hard. The Spartans also breathed some much-needed life back into their own playoff chances, something that seemed very unlikely after a 39-38 loss to Nebraska earlier this month.

Baylor moved up to No. 7, Stanford to No. 9 and MI to No. 10.

Could Florida quarterback Treon Harris and the Gators miss out on the playoffs entirely even if they win the SEC?

Watching? Yes. Glued? No. The attention of those 12 decision-makers will be divided. Losing to FSU and then beating ‘Bama would certainly do the trick. Notre Dame can’t control the result of the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game, nor can it exact any influence on getting some chaos in the Big Ten (think Penn State beating MI State and MI beating Ohio State) which could make that No. 6 slot a temporary one. And if Stanford wins out, the committee might take even a two-loss Cardinal team over the Cowboys. “I would say that Clemson was solidly in that No. 1 spot, and there was no real indication that Alabama was going to challenge them for that No. 1 spot in this week’s rankings”, Long said.

The nightmare chaotic scenario for the committee is if Clemson loses to North Carolina at the ACC Championship Game. Final Score: Clemson 32, SC 19.