Top 4 College Football Playoff Chase Rankings
4. Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-1)
So here’s the difference between 10-1 Oklahoma State and 10-1 Oklahoma – besides that OSU lost to Iowa State and OU beat Iowa State, and OU lost to Baylor and OSU beat Baylor.
Oklahoma State is playing consistently well, and Oklahoma isn’t.
The College Football Playoff committee appears to play a value on dominance. Oklahoma State’s defense is right there with Georgia and Wisconsin as one of the elite of the elite, allowing just 23 points total over the last four games and 24 points or fewer in every game so far.
It’s not like taking out Texas Tech was that big a deal, but it was coming off a 41-38 win over Iowa State, was the only team to beat Houston, and it was dangerous.
Oklahoma State’s defense all but pitched a perfect game in the 23-0 win that was even more dominant than the final score.
With the ten-point win over Baylor, and the road win over Boise State, and with the offense improving and the defense rocking and rolling, beating Oklahoma twice – or Baylor again in the Big 12 Championship – should be enough to get in over Cincinnati.
Let’s put it this way. 12-1 Big 12 Champion Oklahoma State has a better shot at getting in over 13-0 Cincinnati than 12-1 Big 12 Champion Oklahoma does.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1)
There was some question about the schedule.
Beating Minnesota wasn’t without its charm, but it lost to Oregon, and beat a whole slew of bad teams.
Yeah, it beat Penn State, but it wasn’t totally convincing, and the victory over Nebraska was too sluggish.
Ohio State 59-17 over Purdue, Ohio State 56-7 over Michigan State. Boom, boom. THAT’S what the committee is looking for out of a team in mid-November.
So why is Ohio State is here and not No. 2? It can’t lose.
More on this in a moment when it comes to Alabama, but even though the offense has been unbelievable and the the team looks amazing, it’s out if it loses to Michigan and it’s out if it beats Michigan and loses the Big Ten Championship.
Now, there might be a scenario or three that Ohio State could lose and still get in, but it’s way too weird. Let’s save that unless we have to go there.
Win the next two games, and that’s it. It’s the 2 or the 3 seed – it doesn’t matter – and it’s off to the Cotton Bowl