Tag: playoff

College Football Playoff: Texas stays put, Iowa State on verge of top four

In the latest CFP rankings, Texas stayed at No. 20. Out of the four weeks of the rankings, the Longhorns have been ranked in three of them.

Texas’ regular-season finale against Kansas was canceled due to COVID-19, finishing with a 6-3 record. The Longhorns will now wait around to find out which bowl game they will be playing in.

In the latest College Football Playoff rankings, Texas stayed at No. 20. Out of the four weeks of the rankings, the Longhorns have been ranked in three of them.

Iowa State moved up one spot to No. 6, moving them closer towards the top four. Losses by Clemson in the ACC championship and by Ohio State in the Big Ten could see the Cyclones jump into the playoff. The committee would have to debate between them and Texas A&M.

Oklahoma (No. 10) and Oklahoma State (No. 21) are the only other conference teams ranked. The Sooners will be in the way of Iowa State’s playoff bid on Saturday in the Big 12 championship.

Here is the full top 25:

  1. Alabama
  2. Notre Dame
  3. Clemson
  4. Ohio State
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Iowa State
  7. Florida
  8. Georgia
  9. Cincinnati
  10. Oklahoma
  11. Indiana
  12. Coastal Carolina
  13. USC
  14. Northwestern
  15. North Carolina
  16. Iowa
  17. BYU
  18. Miami
  19. Lousiana
  20. Texas
  21. Oklahoma State
  22. North Carolina State
  23. Tulsa
  24. San Jose State
  25. Colorado

If these were the final rankings, here is how the College Football Playoff would look:

Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs No. 4 Ohio State

Rose Bowl: No. 2 Notre Dame vs No. 3 Clemson

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College Football Playoff: Texas jumps into top 25, Iowa State moves up two spots

UT moved back into the top 25 of the Colleg Football Playoff rankings at No. 20. All three of Texas’ losses this season have come ranked. 

After picking up a third loss to Iowa State on Nov. 27, it seemed as if Texas’ ranked days were over for the 2020 season. One dominant 69-31 win over Kansas State and things changed.

The Longhorns moved back into the top 25 of the Colleg Football playoff rankings at No. 20. All three of Texas’ losses this season have come as a ranked team.

As for the rest of the Big 12, three other teams are ranked. No. 22 Oklahoma State is in the back end after a loss to TCU. The Cowboys were the conference’s best shot at a College Football Playoff spot at one point.

Now that pressure belongs to Matt Campbell. Iowa State moved up two spots to No. 7 after dismantling West Virginia. Past a Big 12 title, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Florida are in their way of being the second Big 12 team to ever make the playoff.

Oklahoma remained at No. 11 after taking care of Baylor. The Sooners will have the opportunity to win a sixth consecutive Big 12 championship on Dec. 19.

Here is the full top 25:

  1. Alabama
  2. Notre Dame
  3. Clemson
  4. Ohio State
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Florida
  7. Iowa State
  8. Cincinnati
  9. Georgia
  10. Miami
  11. Oklahoma
  12. Indiana
  13. Coastal Carolina
  14. Northwestern
  15. USC
  16. Iowa
  17. North Carolina
  18. BYU
  19. Lousiana
  20. Texas
  21. Colorado
  22. Oklahoma State
  23. North Carolina State
  24. Tulsa
  25. Missouri

If these were the final rankings, here is how the College Football Playoff would look:

Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs No. 4 Ohio State

Rose Bowl: No. 2 Notre Dame vs No. 3 Clemson

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

Download the USA TODAY SportsWire app to follow Longhorns Wire and your other favorite teams in the Apple Store for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.

Notre Dame stays No. 2 in new CFP rankings

The latest CFP rankings are out and with no huge upsets this weekend the top remained unchanged.

The College Football Playoff committee released their updated standings on Tuesday night and after no significant upsets this past weekend, there were no real shakeups towards the top.

Numbers one through four all stayed the same as Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State again fell in line there.

The first two out remain the same as well as Texas A&M and Florida checked in fifth and sixth.

Cincinnati, who will play Tulsa twice in the coming weeks is eighth while Iowa State jumped them win an impressive win, Georgia and Miami (FL) round out the top ten.

Aside from No. 3 Clemson, North Carolina is the only other Notre Dame opponent from this season that checked into these rankings as the Tar Heels can be found at No. 17 after their easy win this past Saturday.

The entire new College Football Playoff Rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Iowa State
8. Cincinnati
9. Georgia
10. Miami, FL
11. Oklahoma
12. Indiana
13. Coastal Carolina
14. Northwestern
15. USC
16. Iowa
17. North Carolina
18.  BYU
19. Wisconsin
20. Texas
21. Colorado
22. Oklahoma St.
23. NC State
24. Tulsa
25. Missouri

Big Ten Championship Game or not, it would certainly appear that Ohio State has done enough for the College Football Playoff committee that if they win their game against Iowa on December 19, that they’ll seemingly be headed to the CFP.

The big question I have in regards to Notre Dame is, say Florida actually beats Alabama in the SEC Championship and Clemson hands Notre Dame a loss.  Are the Irish getting in?

My initial thought would be no because it really feels like a foregone conclusion to me that Ohio State will be getting in.

College Football Playoff: Texas unranked, Big 12 inching closer to final four

Texas dropped out of the CFP rankings after losing to Iowa State. The Cyclones moved up, giving them the conference’s best shot at the CFP.

After Texas’ loss to Iowa State on Black Friday, the Longhorns have dropped out of the College Football Playoff rankings. Tom Herman’s squad was ranked No. 17 in the initial rankings.

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Iowa State was ranked behind Oklahoma in last Tuesday’s poll but jumps ahead of the Sooners with their win. Ranked at No. 9, the Cyclones currently hold the conference’s best shot at making the playoff.

Having a chance and actually making it is a completely different story. Losses from teams such as Cincinnati, Ohio State, Miami, and even Northwestern would be required for the Cyclones to even have a compelling argument.

Assuming Iowa State wins the Big 12, their resume would include two wins over Oklahoma and a road win over a ranked Texas team. Yes, it will be a long shot for the Cyclones to get into the playoff but this is college football.

Crazier things have happened.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State round out the rest of the Big 12. The Sooners are No. 11 after their game cancelation and the Cowboys are No. 15 after a home win against Texas Tech.

Both teams have two regular-season games remaining, pending COVID-19 issues.

Here is the full top 25:

  1. Alabama
  2. Notre Dame
  3. Clemson
  4. Ohio State
  5. Texas A&M
  6. Florida
  7. Cincinnati
  8. Georgia
  9. Iowa State
  10. Miami
  11. Oklahoma
  12. Indiana
  13. BYU
  14. Northwestern
  15. Oklahoma State
  16. Wisconsin
  17. North Carolina
  18. Coastal Carolina
  19. Iowa
  20. USC
  21. Marshall
  22. Washington
  23. Oregon
  24. Tulsa
  25. Lousiana

If these were the final rankings, here is how the College Football Playoff would look:

Allstate Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs No. 4 Ohio State

Rose Bowl: No. 2 Notre Dame vs No. 3 Clemson

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.

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Final USA TODAY bowl projections before first CFP rankings

Earlier this week we discussed the CBS bowl projections and their love for Oregon. USA TODAY released the latest and do not share same love.

Earlier this week we looked at the CBS Bowl Projections done by Jerry Palm and discussed why, if Oregon were to make the College Football Playoff in 2020, it’d be infuriating to Notre Dame fans, assuming the Irish only have one loss and that comes in the ACC Championship Game.

The USA TODAY released their latest bowl projections on Tuesday and these, done by Erick Smith, should make Notre Dame fans a lot more pleased.

Smith’s projections call for Notre Dame to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff instead of a trip to Miami for the Orange Bowl.

Smith’s College Football Playoff Projection:
Alabama vs. Notre Dame in Sugar Bowl
Ohio State vs. Clemson in Rose Bowl

For what it’s worth this projection had Oregon earning a spot in the Fiesta Bowl and taking on BYU.

Related: Projecting the College Football Playoff Rankings Top 10

Miami vs. Florida in the Orange Bowl, Georgia vs. Cincinnati in the Peach, and Oklahoma vs. Northwestern in the Cotton Bowl round out Smith’s New Years Six predictions.

I’ve said it before and I will again unless something entirely unforeseen happens with Notre Dame having two losses on the season, I don’t see how the Pac-12 gets treated the same as the other Power Five conferences in regards to the College Football Playoff simply because of the lack of games.

And even with as good as they’ve looked at times in their three games, if Ohio State were to have another game canceled I’d be thinking the same thing about them.

College Football Playoff to remain 4 teams

Even in these strange times during this odd season we aren’t going to see expansion to the College Football Playoff.

Despite a plea from the Pac-12 the College Football Playoff won’t be expanding beyond four teams for the 2020 season.

That news came out Wednesday afternoon after Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott suggested the move for this season.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports was among the first to report the news and in his piece released on Wednesday, gave the following information:

CFP sources told CBS Sports that Scott merely “mentioned” expansion in terms of asking, “Is this something we should consider?” during a call with the committee. The discussion among the 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick was not contentious.

Well at least everyone is getting along and not getting contentious so that part is good.

I’m usually the most anti-expansion person when it comes to postseasons in sports.  Whether it’s the NCAA Tournament, the Major League Baseball or NFL playoffs, I don’t like the idea of more teams having a shot at a title.

Except in this case.

How are we supposed to judge the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC, and Big 12 against each other if they don’t play anyone from the other Power Five conferences?

I know the Big 12 has looked awful against the powerhouse Sun Belt but are we supposed to just say if Texas goes unbeaten that they don’t deserve a shot because the conference schedule they played wasn’t strong?

Or are we going to say that Ohio State, the team seen as the best in the nation before the year doesn’t get a shot after a possible unbeaten regular season?

I’m usually against expanding playoffs but in this case we have no real way to fairly do this.  In this strange season I’m against the decision to stay at just four teams getting in.

A problem we can save for another time is if we think these CFP games are actually going to be played on the dates their currently set to play on.

Former Clemson assistant calls this Kelly’s best Notre Dame team yet

In case you missed it Saturday afternoon, longtime Clemson offensive coordinator Jeff Scott gave this Notre Dame team big-time praise.

If you didn’t catch it while getting ready for Notre Dame’s game against South Florida last week, the new Bulls head coach Jeff Scott is a longtime assistant at Clemson, having helped coordinate their offense from 2015-2019.

At age 39, Scott became the youngest head coach in the American Athletic Conference this past off-season as he tries to help turn things around for South Florida.

In the meantime, Scott has been around plenty of winning football in recent years as Clemson went to the College Football Playoff five times with him as a staff member and won it all twice in that time.

I missed Scott’s press conference following Saturday’s game but in scanning YouTube on Monday I stumbled into something you’ll probably find interesting.

In Scott’s post game press conference the South Florida head coach was about as complimentary to the 2020 Notre Dame football team as you’ll ever see an opposing head coach be:

  •  Scott calls Notre Dame “playoff caliber” and admits that “sometimes you’ve got to tip your cap”
  • Scott says that “it felt like we were playing Clemson just in gold helmets”
  • Scott says that it feels like this is the best team since Kelly has been at Notre Dame and thinks Kelly has pretty much said the same.

It’s high praise from a young coach who has been around a lot of winning.  It’s clear from watching a few of the South Florida players meet the media after the game that their coaches said similar things to them as multiple players called Notre Dame “a playoff team”.

(Props to Carter Karels of the South Bend Tribune for asking the question that received this response)

It doesn’t guarantee anything but it’s certainly worth noting and discussing a bit, especially after the poor feeling many Notre Dame fans had after their showing in the opener against Duke.

What I do know is that even if the stars on this Notre Dame team don’t carry the same star power that perhaps a Jaylon Smith or Quenton Nelson have in recent years, but the depth of this Notre Dame team is at worst just as deep, but probably deeper in terms of talent than any other squad Brian Kelly has coached here.

Alabama football ranked No. 3 in latest preseason power rankings

The latest preseason power rankings were released by College Football News, and the Alabama Crimson Tide was ranked No.3.

The latest preseason power rankings were released by College Football News, and the Alabama Crimson Tide was ranked No.3, behind Ohio State and Clemson.

Nov 9, 2019; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris (22) runs over LSU Tigers cornerback Kristian Fulton (1) as he carries the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. LSU won 46-41. Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama may have finished the 2019 season 11-2, but the Crimson Tide is on a mission to prove they’re truly the best. With Mac Jones, Najee Harris, Dylan Moses, and DeVonta Smith returning, Alabama has a great chance to make it back to the CFB Playoff.

Even though the SEC decided to play a conference-only schedule due to the coronavirus, Alabama still has a tough schedule this season including games against Georgia, Florida, LSU, Auburn and more.

College Football News and 247Sports had this to say about the Crimson Tide:

College Football News: “Don’t make the mistake of thinking things are slipping after the way the 2018 season ended and with the two losses last year. Across the board, the next-level talent is still breathtaking, and the depth continues to be almost unfairly deep.”

247Sports: After losing multiple regular-season games last fall for only the second time in a decade, Alabama enters the 2020 campaign with a chip on its shoulder. The Crimson Tide, at least for the time being, are healthy on defense and like the talent back on the other side of the ball, led by All-SEC playmakers Najee Harris and Jaylen Waddle.”

Time will tell what Alabama is truly capable of this season, but don’t count the Tide out yet!

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NFL officially expands playoff format to 14 teams 

The NFL announced today that officially 14 teams would be able to qualify for the postseason after clubs voted on the agreement.

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The Kansas City Chiefs will have another team to deal with if they hope to repeat as Super Bowl champions next season. The NFL announced today that officially 14 teams would be able to qualify for the postseason after clubs voted on the agreement.

The addition of two teams in the postseason was addressed in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was recently agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA. Two additional Wild Card team’s, one in each conference will qualify for the next season’s playoffs. The top seed in each conference will receive a bye in the Wild Card round. The new format eliminates the first-round bye for the second-seeded teams from each conference.

The other division champions of each conference via their overall records will be seeded 2, 3, and 4. The wild card teams per conference with the best records are slated to be seeded 5, 6, and 7, respectively. Wild Card Weekend for the upcoming season will show three games on Saturday, January 9, and three games on Sunday, January 10, 2021.

Last year, the Chiefs were ironically a No. 2 seed that benefitted from the bye week. They wouldn’t have that luxury moving forward under the new system. The emphasis on teams needing to secure the top seed in the conference has never been higher and should limit late-season resting of starters.

In addition to the new rules changes, the NFL announced that television networks CBS and NBC will broadcast the new wildcard games, including a special kids simulcast of a game on Nickelodeon.

The additional two teams and revamped format should energize Wild Card Weekend even more and increase late-season battles. The Chiefs Kingdom will be revitalized for the quest to repeat as the league continues to work toward expanding its viewership.

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Packers vs. 49ers: Who will control the middle of the field?

Can the Green Bay Packers’ defense stop the 49ers’ quick offense? Henry McKenna explains why that’s the key for the Packers to win the NFC Championship game.

Can the Green Bay Packers’ defense stop the 49ers’ quick offense? Henry McKenna explains why that’s the key for the Packers to win the NFC Championship game.