College Football Playoff Controversy Brewing: Georgia, Ohio State or Oklahoma?
You just knew that the College Football Playoff rankings wouldn’t survive “Rivalry Week.”
Ohio State blew a hole in last week’s rankings with its 62-39 blowout of No. 4 Michigan on Saturday. Michigan dropped to 10-2 and will be out of the top four when the new rankings come out Tuesday.
Ohio State, which is 11-1, will certainly move up from its current ranking of No. 10. But will the Buckeyes, on the strength of a decisive win over Wolverines, move into the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings?
That is a question that college football fans and experts are asking themselves right now.
Our college football algorithm cutely thinks that if the playoff selection committee really values conference championships, it would consider putting in both a 12-1 tOSU and 12-1 Oklahoma ahead of 12-0 Notre Dame. I really doubt that happens IRL, though. https://t.co/gROi6Kuq10 pic.twitter.com/3AUAZgRYnf
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 25, 2018
The top three from last week’s rankings — Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame — will remain the same. Alabama wiped out Auburn 52-21, Clemson beat South Carolina 56-35, and Notre Dame beat USC 24-17. All three remain perfect at 12-0.
But now several teams can make an argument for that fourth spot, including Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma and perhaps Central Florida.
Ohio State, of course, was impressive in its win over Michigan. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Georgia (11-1) beat Georgia Tech 45-21 and Oklahoma (11-1) got a late touchdown to slip past 13th-ranked West Virginia 59-56. No. 9 Central Florida beat South Florida 38-10 to remain unbeaten at 11-0, but lost quarterback McKenzie Milton to a season-ending knee injury.
Setting aside how the rankings will look this week, let’s look ahead and project how things will likely shake out after Saturday’s conference championship games.
Georgia might actually move into the top four this week, but they have the unenviable task of having to beat No. 1 top-ranked Alabama in the SEC championship game. The most likely scenario is the Bulldogs lose to the Crimson Tide and are out with two losses.
Oklahoma battles Texas in the Big 12 title game next weekend. Texas, ranked 14th, has already beaten Oklahoma this year, so it’s not out of the question it will happen again.
Meanwhile, Ohio State goes up against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes should take care of business against Northwestern, a team that’s ranked 19th but has losses to Duke, Akron, Michigan and Notre Dame.
Dear College Football Committee,
Please let Alabama play Oklahoma in the CFB playoffs.
Signed,
Nick Saban pic.twitter.com/0x02BmUruA— Ryan C. Fowler (@RyanCFowler) November 24, 2018
If Georgia beats Alabama, obviously they’re in and the final four is set. But that’s a long shot.
Oklahoma and Ohio State are the favorites in their championship games, so it’s likely that fourth spot will come down to these two teams. If that’s the case, it will be hard to deny Ohio State a berth based on that win over Michigan.
If all three lose, the door could be open for Central Florida.
Next weekend should be fun.
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