The College Football Playoff picture became very clear after Michigan went into Columbus Ohio and beat there longtime rival Ohio State 45-23. This is the first time since 1999 and 2000 that Michigan has beaten Ohio State in back to back years as Michigan is currently on a 2 game winning streak against the Buckeyes. So right now after the recent rankings came out a couple of hours ago it has Georgia at #1, Michigan at #2, TCU at #3 and USC at at #4. Ohio State is at #5 and Alabama at #6 as the first two teams out. The Bulldogs, Wolverines and Horned Frogs are currently undefeated while the Trojans have 1 loss as we speak. Georgia plays LSU this Saturday in Atlanta in the SEC Championship game and they should get in the CFP regardless of the result on Saturday. Michigan plays Purdue in the Big 10 Championship game in Indianapolis on Saturday and the Wolverines should be in the CFP regardless of the result. TCU plays Kansas State in Arlington Texas in the Big 12 Championship game and I feel the Horned Frogs need a win to get into the CFP. The USC Trojans play Utah in the Pac 12 Championship game this Friday night in Vegas. The Trojans lost to earlier in the season was the Utah Utes by 1 point in a 43-42 thriller in Salt Lake City. I feel the Trojans for sure need a win to get into the CFP. So as long as TCU and USC win their games I feel the CFP will be Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC in the Final 4 for the College Football Playoff.
So what happens if USC or TCU loses? Ohio State could get in even though they won’t play on Championship Saturday. Ohio State does have 2 good wins against Penn State on the road in a hositle environment and at home against Notre Dame but that Michigan loss last week they fell apart in the second half and lost by 22 points at home against it’s big rival in Michigan. As for Alabama they don’t really have any quality wins on their schedule but in the 2 losses against LSU and Tennesssee were by a combined 4 points where both happened on the road in a hostile environment. I think Ohio State will get the edge if I had to guess if there is a loss by USC or TCU on Championship weekend but we shall see. That’s a tough one for the committee if their is an upset on Championship weekend.