Played In/Played Out: Baylor, Ohio State renew charge
Paste BN Sports is keeping careful tabs on how each week's wins and losses impact the eventual makeup of the inaugural College Football Playoff. If the season ended today, here are three teams moving into the championship picture and three moving out.
Teams that played their way in :
Baylor. Heading into Saturday, the biggest gripe about Baylor's Playoff credentials centered on the Bears' nonconference schedule — flimsy as it was. While that debate rages on, Baylor helped bolster its case with a marquee road win against Oklahoma. It was pure Baylor football: the Bears fell behind early but stormed ahead for good with a barrage of picture-perfect offensive explosiveness, quickly leaving the Sooners in the dust and remaking the Big 12 Conference conversation into a two-team race — TCU and Baylor. Though the Horned Frogs have a strong case of their own, don't forget that Baylor owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Ohio State. Like Baylor, the Buckeyes have one thing to live down: September's home loss to Virginia Tech. Also like Baylor, Saturday night's win against Michigan State goes a long way toward erasing Ohio State's single blemish. Amid all the noise, it's easy to forget that Urban Meyer has this team in the mix for the Playoff despite using a redshirt freshman quarterback, four new starters on the offensive line and five freshmen or sophomore starters on defense. Despite those potential roadblocks, Ohio State has positioned itself for a November push for the top four.
Alabama. While rivals have fallen by the wayside, Alabama continues its push for a one-loss season. Mississippi, which beat Alabama last month, has since lost twice. Auburn suffered its second loss of the season on Saturday. LSU now has three losses, the third coming to the Crimson Tide. Meanwhile, the Tide have moved past the loss to the Rebels to stand as likely the fourth-place team in this week's Playoff poll. There's been little pretty about the 8-1 start, but Alabama knows that the last team standing in the Southeastern Conference is destined for the Playoff.
Teams that played their way out :
Michigan State. The Spartans could have survived a single loss, seeing that it came at Oregon, and perhaps rode a 12-1 season and Big Ten Conference title into the top four of the final Playoff poll. The second loss ends those hopes. That this latest defeat came to the Buckeyes only increases Michigan State's disappointment. Consider that the Playoff is over, of course, and that the Spartans failed to defend their home turf. What hurts most of all: Michigan State had a grand opportunity to notch a second conference title in a row yet couldn't slow down the Buckeyes' offense.
Notre Dame. With any title hopes on the line, Notre Dame saved its worst 30 minutes of the season for the year's biggest stage to date. The Fighting Irish tried to recover, making a valiant charge in the second half, but the damage had been done: Arizona State was not going to let this win slip away. With two losses in the books, let's think of Notre Dame in two ways. The first is that these two defeats are not enormously disappointing, seeing that both — Florida State joining ASU — came on the road against two of the top teams in the country. On the other hand, Notre Dame has failed to add a meaningful win to these losses. Either way, the Irish are absolutely out of the Playoff picture.
Auburn. This was surprising: Texas A&M punched and bloodied Auburn, hung onto the ropes during the Tigers' inevitable comeback and then — wonder of wonders — were the beneficiaries of not one but two lucky breaks. The first came when Auburn fumbled near the goal line when down a field goal. The second came just plays later, when a botched snap from center Reese Dismukes was recovered by the Aggies. For the first time under Gus Malzahn, the bounces didn't go Auburn's way. The loss knocks Auburn out of the mix, but the season can be salvaged — in a way — with a win against Alabama in the Iron Bowl.