With another college football weekend in the books, ESPN has updated their playoff picks. With the Big Ten now in the fold for the playoff run, the Ohio State Buckeyes have jumped into the conversation. Of the 13 writers who weighed in on the CFP teams, the Buckeyes were named by all of the college football analysts. The Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers were the other two teams to make it onto the ballot.
The final team on the ballot for the fourth and final spot in the CFP went to Oklahoma for 12 of the 13 writers. Adam Rittenberg is sticking with the Texas Longhorns as his team. So far Rittenberg and Kirk Herbstreit are leading the charge for the Longhorns into the playoff. Herbstreit stuck with his Texas pick on the most recent College Gameday show on Saturday.
According to the All State Playoff Predictor, the Longhorns have the best chance to make the playoff in the conference. The Longhorns are currently sitting at seventh with 22% and 3% to win the title. Not exactly great odds but better than zero. The Sooners meanwhile are 13th at 8% to get into the tournament and 1% to win it all. Texas Christian was just behind the Sooners as the only other Big 12 team listed.
The interesting part is that Oklahoma is usually the popular pick as seen by the 12 analyst that picked them to return to the playoff. However, the computers don’t seem to fall in line with the human opinion. That game on Oct. 10 at the Cotton Bowl could go a long way of proving one right and the other wrong. This coming Saturday the Sooners will host Kansas State and Texas travels to Texas Tech as Big 12 play opens.