There was this nonsense from the committee chairman and Iowa athletics director in reference to the debate between the Spartans and Wolverines: "Set aside watching the games, though that’s certainly a part of it," Barta said on Tuesday night. "But statistically in just about every category, offensively and defensively, Michigan comes out on top over Michigan State."
With SMU not in the rankings after a pair of recent losses, getting a ranked win against Houston in the American championship game would be hugely significant for Cincinnati's playoff resume. The Cougars should rise after games against Memphis and Connecticut, if entirely as a result of losses from Power Five teams higher in the rankings instead of the committee actually putting stock in two meaningless wins. The Bearcats benefit from Houston landing at No. 4 and be firmly on the radar for the fourth spot in the field. If Oregon and Cincinnati lose, Wake could be sitting at 12-1 on Dec. The Deacons will have the chance to finish with more overall wins and nearly double as many wins against bowl teams as Notre Dame, not to mention a Power Five conference championship. But at least two of the three Big Ten teams higher in the rankings are guaranteed to add a second loss this month. The bigger deal for Wake Forest is the statement this makes about the team's odds of reaching the top four, which seemed nearly dead in the water last Tuesday.
10 belonged instead to the Demon Deacons, who rebounded from a shootout loss to North Carolina with a shootout win against North Carolina State and can clinch the ACC Coastal by beating Clemson on Saturday or Boston College on Nov. 12, a three-spot move from last week's rankings. Another option was Ole Miss, which put together a very strong win against Texas A&M the Rebels came in at No. 13 and third among teams from the Big 12. 10 after Saturday's 27-14 win against Oklahoma, which dropped to No. Shakeups outside the top nine of the rankings lead the list of this week's biggest winners and losers: WINNERSīaylor was projected to take over at No. Saturday's slate includes Michigan State at Ohio State, Wake Forest at Clemson, Arkansas at Alabama, SMU at Cincinnati, Baylor at Kansas State and Oregon at Utah, with each game carrying enormous playoff and postseason implications. This will be the first and only time the committee will be able to hit copy and paste.
In fact, the committee didn't do much on Tuesday night, largely maintaining the status quo and relying on this coming weekend's crowded slate of games to provide the basis for a late November shakeup of the Top 25. The College Football Playoff selection committee didn't rectify the main complaint with last week's rankings: that Michigan was ahead of Michigan State despite the Spartans' 37-33 win in late October.