In the third season of the NCAA’s College Football Playoff format, the same narratives seem to persist each season; namely, that no one can predict what will happen and, no matter what, there will be controversy surrounding who the CFP Committee selects to play for a national championship.
With only one week left in the regular season, the Big Ten—with four teams that could potentially make the Playoff—has exemplified this whirlwind of unpredictability and potential controversy.
No one could have predicted that No. 8 Penn State (yes, that Penn State) would be in position in the Big Ten East to make it to the Big Ten Championship and potentially the Playoff. With a win over Rutgers last week, if the Nittany Lions can beat Michigan State in the final week of the season and No. 2 Ohio State pulls off a win against No. 3 Michigan, Penn State will be taking a road trip to Indianapolis with their eyes set on a Big Ten Title.
Accordingly, Michigan’s monster matchup with Ohio State in the final week of the regular season has monumental playoff implications. Both teams struggled in Week 13, with Ohio State narrowly beating a destitute Michigan State squad and Michigan looking subpar offensively under new senior quarterback John O’Korn.
Still, if Michigan finds a way to steal a win on the road, the Wolverines would head to the Big Ten Championship with only one loss, and a win in Indianapolis would chalk Michigan’s spot into the playoff. The Buckeyes need to win and hope for a Penn State loss to make it to the championship game. Still, even without a conference title, the committee may very well still put a one-loss Buckeye team in the playoff.
In the Big Ten West, No. 5 Wisconsin hosts Minnesota and controls its own destiny on the path to the Big Ten Championship. A win over Michigan in the title game would almost certainly solidify Wisconsin’s bid to the playoff, while a win over Penn State would place them firmly on the bubble. If the Badgers can’t best Minnesota, however, and Nebraska holds off Iowa, then the Cornhuskers will travel to Indianapolis instead of Wisconsin.
Elsewhere, the PAC-12 has three pretty good teams, including No. 6 Washington, which—with only one loss to No. 12 USC—would have a solid shot at the playoff as the PAC-12 champion. The Huskies will most likely play No. 9 Colorado in the championship game, but a loss by the Buffalos and another USC win could send the streaking Trojans to the championship game.
In the ACC, No. 11 Louisville picked up its second loss of the season last weekend, effectively eliminating the Cardinals from the College Football Playoff and leaving No. 4 Clemson as the clear front-runner in the conference to make the playoff. The Tigers will play either Virginia Tech or North Carolina in the ACC championship, both of which should be relatively easy wins, and would coast into the playoff.
Over the next two weeks, there will be significant movement in the College Football Playoff rankings. Still, even as some teams will solidify themselves in the top 4 and others will ruin their chance at the playoff, there will inevitably be controversy as the college football season comes to a close.
