Sooners and Spartans back from the dead

The Buzz: The victor of this matchup will lock up a spot in the inaugural Championship Game.

The Cougars wrapped up a spot in the first American Athletic Championship game by beating Navy 52-31 on Friday, eliminating the Midshipmen from contention for a New Year’s Six bowl bid.

It might want the Cardinal anyhow – Stanford has never participated in the game and would carry 10 wins and a top-20 ranking – but Holiday officials would have no choice.

The Pac-12 will announce the all-conference teams and award winners Tuesday, with the former at noon and the latter at 6 p.m. on the Pac12Nets. Houston will host next week either Temple, which can clinch the AAC East with a victory at UConn on Saturday, or USF, if the Owls lose. That, however, won’t be the case. Oklahoma are harder to keep out, unlike Baylor or TCU. If the Spartans win, they are 12-1 champs with wins over Iowa (12-1), Ohio State (11-1), MI (9-3) and OR (9-3).

The Buzz: Don’t be fooled in thinking this rivalry game lost some luster after Ohio State’s loss to.

Ohio State is out at 11-1, for now, because it can’t even win its own division, but could get back in under certain mayhem scenarios. They’re due to play one another in this weekend’s Big Ten Championship Game. Once-beaten Ohio State would be in. The victor of next week’s Big Ten Championship Game is pretty much guaranteed a spot in the four-team playoff field at the end of the season. Alabama, with a win over Florida in the SEC title game, will also have a spot. Auburn has endured a dismal season, but nothing would fire up fans more than an upset of rival Alabama. Next: Iowa in a winner-take-all Big Ten championship game Saturday in Indianapolis. Since his arrival in 2012, Jim Mora and UCLA have earned three consecutive wins in this cross-town rivalry. Adams has rushed for over 140 yards in two of the team’s last three games.

The Buzz: There is a lot more on the line than just the Egg Bowl for Ole Miss. Thanks to résumé builders in the form of wins vs. Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State, Michigan State has an extremely strong case if it can add the conference title. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, still have a shot at their second consecutive 10-win season. This one was much more satisfying for USC fans after a turbulent season. In a way, it is. Notre Dame’s two losses came by a combined 4 points, and Florida State’s came by a combined 16.

Herbstreit has a Top four of Clemson (#1), Alabama (#2), Oklahoma (#3) and Michigan State (#4). A win against the rival Gators would give the Seminoles a significant boost.

Florida could upset Alabama in Atlanta. That will tie Wisconsin for most appearances in the Big Ten title game, which was first played between the Spartans and Badgers in 2011.

The Buzz: Could this be Les Miles’ last home game at LSU?

Derrick Henry: The Alabama Heisman candidate became the school’s single-season rushing leader surpassing Trent Richardson’s mark, set four years ago. The defending national champion would be an attractive choice for the playoff committee. The committee has taken notice, and despite the October loss to Texas, there would be no justification for leaving Oklahoma out of the bracket. Ohio State? Alabama, Clemson and Stanford would all have to lose, and the committee would have to have no doubt the Buckeyes were one of the best teams in the country in spite of only one win over a ranked opponent. While Notre Dame had the better loss (Clemson) than Oklahoma (Texas), the Sooners built a better resume and have looked like the better team.

Beyond that, the Cats need to convince the Playoff committee they’re better than Notre Dame and Florida State, the two other two-loss teams jockeying for a New Year’s Six berth (besides Stanford, which will automatically qualify with a conference title, and TCU and Baylor, one of whom will likely be slotted into the Sugar Bowl, as explained above).

Matt Murschel can be reached at.