Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, November 11, 2014
Some key losses last Saturday promise to shake up the third College Football Playoff poll, to be released tonight.
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Last week, we saw Mississippi State No. 1, Florida State No. 2, Auburn No. 3, and Oregon No. 4.
The Tigers? home loss to Texas A&M on Saturday will drop them out of this week?s top four. But look for Mississippi State (beat UT-Martin), FSU (beat Virginia) and Oregon (beat No. 17 Utah) to remain in the playoff.
Who will take Auburn?s spot?
A case can be made for Alabama, which was No. 5 last week and won in overtime at No. 16 LSU. Bama also has topped No. 21 Texas A&M. Its loss was at No. 11 Ole Miss. The Tide opened the year with a win vs. West Virginia on a neutral field.
But, don't be surprised if it comes down to TCU or Baylor. Each team is 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12. I?m gonna go with TCU at this point. Yes, the Bears beat the Horned Frogs earlier this season in a wild 61-58 game that saw Baylor rally late to win.
TCU, which was No. 6 last week, has wins over No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 20 West Virginia, No. 7 Kansas State. Baylor was No. 5 when it beat the Frogs on a last-second field goal in Waco, Texas.
Baylor,which was No. 12 last week, has victories vs. No. 9 TCU and No. 15 Oklahoma. The Bears? lone loss was on the road to an unranked West Virginia club.
If you ask me, TCU has the more impressive of the two resumes at this point.
Now, the important question: What about Ohio State? The Buckeyes should slide up from their No. 14 spot, but how high? It should crack the top 10 after beating Michigan State, which was No. 8 in last week?s poll and likely is now out of playoff contention after the 49-37 decision.
About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
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