When the new College Football Playoff rankings are unveiled, Notre Dame will find itself (again) out of the Top 4, after losing a nail bitter 38-36 to Stanford on a last second field goal by Conrad Ukropina.
It was an unimpressive showing against an unranked Boston College team on a prime time stage last week, as Notre Dame turned the ball over five times en route to squeaking by. This time around Notre Dame was not as lucky against a Stanford team looking to sneak into top 4 on their own, albeit they would need some major help as well from this point on. Combined with Oklahoma’s impressive run (as predicted here), Iowa’s continued undefeated streak, Michigan State’s impressive win against Penn State and Ohio State’s drubbing of Michigan, Notre Dame’s loss to Stanford sees them effectively out of the College Football Playoff Top 4.
The picture is much clearer after this week in determining the final four teams who will take part in the Playoff:
Clemson had a scare against South Carolina but managed to prevail and will play North Carolina next week in the ACC Championship game. The Tar Heels are a good team and will pose a threat to Clemson, but the Tigers got a wake up call they needed against the Gamecocks, and should be able to take care of business against UNC.
Alabama won the Iron Bowl against Auburn and will now face Florida in the SEC Championship game. While Florida will pose a serious threat to Alabama in Atlanta, Nick Saban has his team focused and Travis Henry is borderline unstoppable: there seems little chance of a second hiccup this season. The Crimson Tide will win and join Clemson as one of the four teams in.
Oklahoma doesn’t have a championship game to play since the Big 12 Conference doesn’t have one. That, while being ridiculous in itself, will at least ensure the Sooners won’t lose another game whereas others still could. Because of their impressive streak of victories over ranked teams to end the season, Oklahoma will not be leap-frogged by anyone and will remain the No. 3 in the College Football Playoff.
The fourth spot is the only spot still up for grabs but it looks like a two-horse race barring unforeseen craziness. Undefeated Iowa will face Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game and the winner will almost certainly be the last team in, especially if one of them wins in convincing fashion. The Hawkeyes are undefeated but untested while Michigan State took down Ohio State but is a bizarre punt-gone-wrong away from being just another two-loss disappointment. Who Wins?
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