Unbeaten Iowa moves up to No. 3

If the season were over right now, it would be safe to say Ohio State wouldn’t be in after the Buckeyes were exposed in a 17-14 loss to MI State.

If this season has proven anything, there are no givens.

Still, this postseason snapshot is as solid as they come…until next week, that is. Not for unbeaten Iowa. And Iowa has somehow become the most talked-about team in the country.

Now, let’s take a trip to Big 12 land. It seems unlikely because the gap between the two teams seems vast. North Carolina will get Clemson. Both teams ended up using two quarterbacks. The Tigers have struggled, but this rivalry always seems to save something special.

Alabama’s Derrick Henry played well in limited action (nine carries, 68 yards and two touchdowns) in the Crimson Tide’s 56-6 win over Charleston Southern.

The Buckeyes now have a tough road to make it to the Playoff. The Fighting Irish (10-1) came into a converted Fenway Park in the Shamrock Series and knocked off Boston College.

No matter what Oklahoma does next week here in Bedlam, it’s just another game unless the Sooners get help down the road. How can you keep this Irish Team out if they run the table?

Of those teams, Alabama and Florida still have to play each other, as do Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

It would appear Oklahoma is the conference’s best hope to make the Playoff. The Gators have their spot in the SEC title game locked up, but are dragging into their rivalry game off an overtime win against FAU. If Baylor loses and they win, the Cowboys would win the conference, placing them in the discussion for the four-team tournament. It likely will require staying undefeated, and that alone will be hard. The game remains the same for them: Beat Nebraska on Friday in Lincoln, then beat the victor of the Big Ten East in Indianapolis on December 5.

Iowa has its best ranking in the AP Top 25 since being ranked No. 3 in 2002.

MI State has a fluky loss to a mediocre Nebraska team and a fluky win over MI.

Asked about Oklahoma State’s loss to Baylor on ESPN Saturday night, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops suggested he would need time to process the implications. Mayfield was injured during Saturday’s 30-29 win over TCU. I looked at best wins and ranked their losses. Just win this week and it won’t! A great defensive stop by Steven Parker against the Horned Frogs’ two-point conversion attempt sealed the win, putting Oklahoma in position to win its first Big 12 title since 2012.

The overrated Baylor Bears (in the minds of many), lost at home last weekend to an uprising Sooner team. Just think about previous year where the Power 5 conference producedsix (Baylor-TCU tied in the Big XII, or did they?)champions. The Bears moved up three spots to No. 7.

So who is left standing? The Spartans’ Conner Cook will be less than 100 percent for the game, and no coach likes that feeling. No. 8 Florida barely escaped with a 20-14 overtime victory. After losing a deal-breaker game to Portland State to start the 2015 campaign, the Cougs have been resurgent since by winning eight of their last 10 games with losses only to Cal and Stanford.

Iowa has been the team that everyone has loved to hate all season.

The Cowboys took a significant hit to their chances with the loss at home to Baylor on Saturday.

#20 Mississippi State won a 51-50 thriller over Arkansas and their only losses have come against LSU, Texas A&M and Alabama. I knew they would be trouble as the season rolled along. Get by Auburn and Florida is next in the conference title game. The Bison lost at Montana in their season opener. A win this week at Stanford might put Irish back in – a loss would definitely eliminate them. The Ducks are a good team that is getting hot late, but Stanford’s only real shot was to finish with one loss.