Written by Taylor Venema at No Coast Bias
The College Football Playoff Committee released its second set of rankings Tuesday. Clemson remains unrivaled at the top and will likely finish there. #2 Alabama helped clear up some of the fog by beating LSU which, accompanied by Ole Miss’ loss, now means the Tide controls its own destiny for the SEC Championship Game, and by default, a Playoff slot.
But these things never go quite smoothly. Here are some scenarios that are keeping Jeff Long awake at night. (All rankings are the Committee rankings as of 10 November 2015.)
The Big 12 might play itself out of contention (again)
Just like last season, when 11-1 Baylor and 11-1 TCU were only distinguishable by a 61-58 airshow and the Committee decided simply to pass on both, the 2015 Big 12 race does not appear likely to have a single clear winner.
For the moment, #8 Oklahoma State (8-0) appears to be the safest bet, having already beaten TCU. The Cowboys get to host Baylor and Bedlam rival Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, #12 Oklahoma (8-1), owners of the worst loss of the bunch (24-17 to Texas) have bounced back to win four straight games by an average score of 58-12.5. Whatever it was that Texas took advantage of, the Sooners seem to have fixed it, but they have to visit Baylor and Oklahoma State.
#6 Baylor (8-0), the surest bet before its quarterback went down, now has to win on the road against Oklahoma State and TCU (on a short week) with a true freshman quarterback. Mind, that freshman quarterback (Jarrett Stidham) looked just fine in his debut Thursday in about the toughest possible environment in which to make one’s debut against Kansas State (23-of-33, 419 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs), but asking him to keep pace with two of the best offenses in the nation is a tall order.
And, lest we forget, #15 TCU (8-1) is still very much in the conference hunt. They visit Oklahoma and host Baylor.
The Big 12’s backloaded conference scheduling is sure good for one thing: it makes November VEEEERY interesting. It could also make it that much harder for a one-loss team to distinguish itself, leaving the Committee feeling unimpressed with any of the contenders. (It’s happened before, after all.)
And should the Big 12 feel like playing itself out, one conference above all stands to benefit:
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