Iowa just survived a bit of a scare from a game Minnesota team to stay undefeated. Ultimately, the script is written for Iowa. If they get into the Big Ten title game undefeated and beat Ohio State (or Michigan State or Michigan, I suppose), they're into the playoff. If they lose, they're out. And if they lose before they get there to either Purdue or Nebraska, they didn't really deserve to be in the playoff anyway.
The committee has already sent a clear message that the conference they respect the least is the Big 12. They did it last year with Baylor and TCU being left out, and they're doing it this year with 1 loss Notre Dame and Alabama ahead of Oklahoma State and (as of last week) undefeated Baylor.
If I'm the Big 12, I am rooting for OK St to go undefeated than a 1 loss OU team who lost to terrible Texas team.
I probably agree with this, but damn, that Ok St team is fraudulent up to this point. I think they get cracked the next two weeks. Being battle tested by K-State, WVU, Iowa St, and UT (ref aided win) can be a sign of resiliency, but can also be a sign that they're just not that good. OU had the Tennessee win, and even though everyone is hyping OU's chances, at the end of the season they'll have (assuming they take care of business): Good wins (either beating a good team or demolishing a decent team): Tennessee, WVU, Baylor, TCU, OK St Ugly wins vs bad teams: None Losses: UT (bad) Notre Dame: Good wins: Navy, USC, Temple, Pitt, Stanford Ugy wins vs bad teams: UVA, G Tech, but circumstances will probably apply here considering they lost their QB and have gelled since then. Losses: Clemson (good) I just don't see the committee thinking that OU's good wins are that much greater than Notre Dame's good wins to make up for bad loss. Honestly, OU and Notre Dame are 2 very good teams and both deserving if things shake out like expected. I even think an undefeated Ok St gets left out, bc the only way I see them winning the next two is by way of the injury bug combined with weather, lol.
Oklahoma could be like Ohio State last year that had a pretty bad loss to VTech early in the season. If they run the table and have wins vs Baylor, TCU, and OSU.
I disagree, Oklahoma State should not be rewarded for playing such a weak schedule. The rest of the Big 12 needs to follow in OU and UT's footsteps and schedule real competition. Unfortunate that Tennessee wasn't as good as advertised but you can't predict that stuff.
The thing is...I'll bet the committee respects OU scheduling Tennessee, even if Tennessee underwhelmed. There's a difference between having a schedule just not pan out and be as competitive as expected, and having a schedule where you're noticeably dodging any semblance of quality competition like Baylor/Oklahoma State have.
Yes their non-Conf is not that good, but if they run table 12-0 in the Big 12. They deserve a spot in Top 4 with wins over OU, TCU,Baylor in last 4 games.
