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For fans and critics of the four-team college football playoffs clamoring for something a little different – Someone different – the sport at least offered the opportunity halfway through the season, serving up a frenzied Saturday in which the Alabama No.1 and Penn State No.4 both lost.
No, the No.1 Alabama dropping a nail in the road to a two-game losing streak Texas A&M doesn’t take Tide out of the conversation, but now Alabama needs to win the SEC, and that puts a damper on them. The league hopes to have two SEC teams in the top four. It can still happen if Alabama loses a loss and defeats an unbeaten Georgia in the SEC Championship game, but the Tide has now lost their mulligan in the SEC title game, if they win the West and make it to Atlanta.
The loss of the Crimson Tide also means that Iowa and Cincinnati – new faces in an area typically dominated by Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma – are real contenders.
For the moment.
While Georgia has established themselves as a clear No.1, and it’s probably at least safe to assume that the Big Ten champ will finish in the top four this year, the other two spots could be quite a debate. there is only one deserving SEC team. this autumn.
Oklahoma are still undefeated after their thrilling victory over Texas. With BYU losing at home to unranked Boise State, Cincinnati are clearly the best team remaining outside of a Power 5 conference. Michigan and Michigan State are still undefeated but must face each other, and the State of Michigan is still undefeated. ‘Ohio looks like one of the best loss-making teams in the country.
That’s why Oregon’s win over Ohio State is still one of the best in the country, so don’t take out the struggling Ducks just yet.
This is why the selection committee does not even begin to try to fix the problem until November 2. There is still plenty of time and opportunity for Alabama and the other single-loss teams to impress the committee. Alabama has not lost consecutive games since the end of the 2013 season. The last time Alabama lost consecutive regular season games was in 2007, Nick Saban’s first season. The Tide travel to unranked Mississippi on Saturday and are expected to be favorites to win, but they end the season with tough games against Arkansas and rival Auburn.
“Everyone has to remember how they feel and not forget it,” Saban said after the game, “because when I say respect for winning, that’s what I mean. want to avoid the feeling you have when you lose. “
If that happens again, they will lose a lot more than another game.
So what about two Big Ten teams instead?
A lot of credibility has already been given to the possibility of the SEC bringing two teams into the CFP, but given what happened in the Big Ten and the SEC on Saturday, consider this scenario: an Ohio loss. State leads the table, wins the Big Ten, and gives Iowa their only loss of the season in the conference championship game.
ESPN’s Football Power Index projects both Ohio State and Iowa to win each of their remaining games. If that were to happen, the selection committee would likely consider them both, but the fact that it was a close game would take that into account, as would Iowa’s appearance all season. While the Hawkeyes’ defense has been outstanding, their offense has at times felt stagnant and it’s hard to imagine Iowa keeping pace with a more powerful offense. The Hawkeyes could barely hang onto Penn State when quarterback Sean Clifford was in good health in the first half.
To place two teams in the top four, the Big Ten need an undefeated team to reach the conference title game, as they won’t get a two-game finalist. Thus, Ohio State and Penn State are in unavoidable mode. from now on (see: Alabama).
It’s a critical piece of the puzzle in determining which direction the Nittany Lions are heading. Much like Alabama, they can still win their division and even face Iowa again in the Big Ten Championship game. They need Clifford, however, to do it.
Oklahoma keeps Big 12 CFP hopes alive
The Red River Showdown was a victory for the Sooners and all of the Big 12, as the league’s top-ranked undefeated team stayed that way, keeping the conference in contention for a spot in the semi-finals.
The Sooners’ thrilling 55-48 win over rival and 21st Texas was their first this season against an Associated Press Top 25 opponent, but they should have a chance to impress the committee with two more. OU ends its regular season at No.12 in Oklahoma State, who has a pass and is also undefeated, and if the Sooners play in the Big 12 title game, they will likely face another one there. ranked opponent.
Their remaining calendar force, which is No. 27 in the country, would win a CV battle against Cincinnati if the committee compared them for that fourth place, along with Alabama, Georgia and the Big Ten champion. Overall, Oklahoma’s schedule would likely trump the Pac-12 champions as well, although Oregon can still boast one of the best wins in the country, against Ohio State.
ESPN’s REIT gives OU at least a 75% chance of winning each of its remaining games, with the most difficult being the regular season finale at Oklahoma State (75.1% chance of winning).
Aside from the schedule, the Sooners need to start looking for the role of a playoff contender. With the exception of a 76-0 win over Western Carolina, OU hasn’t won a game by more than seven points – beating Tulane, Nebraska, West Virginia, K-State and Texas by an average of 5, 6 points.
Oklahoma trailed Texas 21 points after the first quarter, finished with two turnovers, knocked out starting quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of rookie Caleb Williams and allowed 516 total yards. While OU has made some defensive progress under the guidance of coordinator Alex Grinch, the Sooners are still not ranked among the nation’s elite, ranking 62nd in points per game (23.83).
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said he has been discussing with his team since the summer the importance of finishing strong and playing your best in the fourth quarter. On Saturday against Texas, the Sooners had to overcome a start that Riley described as “perhaps the worst of all my training years.”
The Red River Showdown could be a microcosm of the Sooners’ entire season – a slow start, but finding ways to stay undefeated and finish strong, therefore remaining relevant in November. Riley said he didn’t think Saturday’s win “will be the highlight of our season.”
“We were a group that ended well,” he said. “You keep doing that, you keep winning, you keep improving between weeks, who knows? We’ll see what happens.”
Cincinnati, only realistic competitor of the non-Power 5 conference
Cincinnati managed Temple with ease, winning 52-3 on Friday night, but their playoff hopes were also bolstered with the loss to Alabama and Notre Dame’s victory over Virginia Tech. Cincinnati need the Irish to lead the table, so the Bearcats’ victory over Notre Dame continues to resonate with the selection committee.
One of Cincinnati’s other hurdles is the possibility of the SEC bringing in two teams, and while the Alabama loss didn’t completely eliminate the scenario, it toned down it.
Another small victory for the Bearcats on Saturday was No. 24 SMU winning a close game at Navy. Cincinnati hosts SMU on Nov. 20, and right now he’s the only other ranked opponent remaining on the Bearcats’ regular season schedule.
BYU squandered a huge opportunity by losing 26-17 to unranked Boise State at home on Saturday, leaving Cincinnati as the most realistic team outside of a Power 5 conference to garner any serious consideration from of the selection committee.
BYU had it all: a realistic chance of an unbeaten season and multiple opportunities against respectable Power 5 conference teams. He arguably had a chance to have a better resume than Cincinnati, with wins over Utah. and Arizona State, and a chance to beat Baylor and USC on the road. Instead, BYU recorded four turnovers and just one touchdown in the last three quarters of its loss to Boise State.
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