Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions Battle of Big Ten's Best

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"I've talked to a lot of different people who were in this room," Penn State coach James Franklin said this week. "I think the difficulty is in changing staff, we've been told what factors are supposed to be important, but the reality is that people make decisions, and I think the hard part is changing every year, depending people in the room. "

There are six new faces this fall on the 13-member board, but that's also a different picture for the Big Ten, as Ohio State and Penn State are undefeated before their meeting on Saturday. The Buckeyes won a major victory against TCU in the third week and the Nittany Lions avoided Pitt's unstated intrigues in Week 2. Whereas Wisconsin (BYU), Michigan State lost a match Penn State and Ohio State entered Saturday as the top two league prospects in the first four places.

ESPN Analytics included a list of 10 remaining games that will have the biggest impact on the playoff race and the Ohio State at Penn State is number 1, according to the Football Power Index. The winner will not only lead the Big Ten East, but will also become the best playoff contender.

"I think I have a very good understanding of how it works, but I do not know if anyone will really understand how it works because the personalities and experiences of the room are changing," Franklin said. . "For me, I want to have an idea, but after that, we really want to spend our time focusing on the things we can control and that is our football team and our development and find a way to win. "

The loser of Saturday's game will not be completely eliminated, but he will need a lot of help to get back into the division race. And PSU and OSU are too familiar with the dangers of a second loss.

The committee has yet to place a two-game losing team in its top four, although Auburn moved closer last year. The group made it clear that the unbalanced losses suffered by both Ohio State and Penn State over the past years were too disturbing to ignore. Former selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt called Ohio State's Iowa defeat "prejudicial" on the final day of qualifying and called Penn State "uncompetitive" in 2016 over the Michigan.

However, after experiencing the full range of emotions that accompany Selection Day, the Ohio State coach Urban Meyer congratulated the committee. Director, Athletic Director Gene Smith, begins his second season on the committee, but if there are discussions around the Ohio State, Smith must recuse himself and leave the room for and can not vote for the Ohio State .

"I think they're doing a great job," Meyer said this week. "If you have six, there will be the seventh and eighth teams that will be unfortunate, if you have eight, nine and ten will be unhappy, I do not know exactly – I know Gene Smith is involved, but we rarely speak "Our job is to compete and win games and not worry about that stuff."

This only becomes a concern after a loss.

Here's a look at how the biggest games of Week 5 will affect Saturday's winners and losers:

1. Ohio State at Penn State

If Penn State wins: With a win, Penn State's chances of reaching the playoffs would increase to 58.9%, which is not bad, but also recalled that PSU still has to play against Michigan State, Michigan and the United States. Wisconsin. The November 3 game of the Nittany Lions in Michigan is currently the only game on the calendar at which Penn State is unfavorable, according to the ESPN REIT. If the PSU beats the Buckeyes, but slides to the Wolverines, the photo will change again quickly. If Penn State wins Saturday, Ohio State would not be eliminated, but it would obviously be necessary for Nittany Lions to lose twice to return to the division race. The selection committee will examine the injury of defensive end Nick Bosa, but will also assess whether the Buckeyes are one of the top four teams without him.

If Ohio State wins: The Buckeyes' chances of placing in the top four climbed to 73.3%, according to the predictor of the ESPN playoffs. Ohio State would enter in October with two of the most impressive wins of the season – both against ranked opponents (TCU and PSU) and away from home (Arlington, Texas and State College, Pennsylvania). The Ohio State match on Saturday is the only game remaining in the program and that REIT does not expect for the Buckeyes (43.4%). If the Buckeyes prove otherwise, they have an excellent chance of entering undefeated Michigan State on November 10th. Three of their next four games are at home against Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska. They travel to Purdue on October 20th. Unlike Penn State, Ohio State has no cross match against Wisconsin, and the Buckeyes draw Michigan home.

If Stanford wins: If it's not already done, the Pac-12 spotlights will move from Washington to Stanford, while the cardinal will enter October with the most impressive playoff summary in five weeks. It would also increase the likelihood that Stanford will be undefeated before the November 3 critical match in Washington – which, with Saturday's game at Notre Dame, is the only other game that FPI does not favor for the Cardinal. If Stanford beats the Irish, his qualifying hopes will increase to 21.8%. If the cardinal is 9-0 after the Washington match? His chances are 71.6%. If Notre Dame loses, her playoff hopes would take a big hit because the committee would likely be challenging its schedule strength. To date, Stanford is the last ranked opponent the Irish will face. It's not that Notre Dame can not afford to lose a match and finish as a defeat candidate, but without another ranked opponent to compete in a championship game, the Irish Independents must impress the committee with a summary of 12 games. Even if Michigan won the Big Ten title, the victory of Notre Dame against the Wolverines might not be enough to impress the committee if the Irish did not beat Stanford at home.

If Notre Dame wins: This may well be Notre Dame's most impressive win of the season, as the only other ranked opponent the Irish currently have on their calendar is Michigan. Stanford can afford to lose this game, but the pressure is to set the table and win the Pac-12. Without this victory, however, the committee would look at a Power 5 champion to a loss whose only other non-conference wins were against San Diego State and UC Davis. That would not correspond to Clemson's victory over Texas A & M, Ohio State's victory over TCU, Auburn's win over Washington or LSU's victory over Miami – for n & # 39; to name a few. And Stanford should then hope that Notre Dame loses because it would certainly not win the argument if the Irish were at the top of the rankings.