Week 11 was uneventful in the top four standings. None of the teams in the top four changed their positions. Also, Iowa retained their spot at number five.
Oklahoma State moved up two spots to number six putting them in prime position to represent the Big XII in the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma also moved up from number 12 all the way up to number seven. These two teams play each other at the end of the season which could end up being a play-in game for the College Football Playoff.
LSU and Stanford dropped big making it almost impossible for them to make a case to be in the CFP.
TCU also dropped big with their lackluster win over the winless Kansas Jayhawks and has a very thin chance of making the playoffs. Basically if you’re out of the top-10 at week 11, it’s going to be really difficult to climb back up.
Once again, the committee is saying that they haven’t seen enough out of Iowa and Oklahoma State to make them a top-4 team. Iowa plays at home against Purdue (2-8) this week in what will probably be an easy win. So unless Notre Dame loses don’t expect much change. Notre Dame has a game against Boston College (3-7) inside Fenway Park this weekend. The last time these two teams played was in 2012. That year Notre Dame won the game and ended up in the BCS National Championship.
Oklahoma State continues with their back loaded schedule against Baylor this weekend in Stillwater. This is a big game for Oklahoma State because if they lose, their playoff chances go way down. The biggest thing will be that with a Oklahoma State loss, Oklahoma could have a really good chance to sneak into the playoffs. Oklahoma is hosting a depleted TCU team that could be without their starting quarterback, Trevone Boykin. This win won’t wow the committee and probably won’t move them up but they need to beat up on TCU to keep their name in the conversation.
Lastly, the biggest game this weekend is between Michigan State and Ohio State which could really shake-up the standings. Ohio State hasn’t looked like an unbeatable team and this is Michigan State’s chance to prove they they deserve a spot in the Big 10 championship game. This could be the game that spells doom for the Buckeyes season.
