Rivalry Week has already seen one upset that will affect a conference championship and College Football Playoff seeding. Ohio State made sure we didn’t get another one to start Saturday.
On Friday, Texas upset Texas A&M to give A&M its first loss of the season and knock the Aggies out of the SEC championship game. The Buckeyes, undefeated and No. 1 in the CFP rankings, overcame a slow start against Michigan and posted some big plays to snap a four-game losing streak in the series.
Those aren’t the only games that will affect the playoff. We’ve got the best moments from Ohio State-Michigan and CFP takeaways for the week’s other big games.
Jump to: CFP takeaways | Top plays
CFP takeaways
With the win against No. 15 Michigan, the Buckeyes clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game against Indiana and will maintain their No. 1 spot in the committee’s fifth ranking on Tuesday. By entering the conference championship game undefeated, Ohio State increased its chances of earning a top-four seed and a first-round bye even if it finishes as the Big Ten runner-up. This also knocked Michigan out of the playoff conversation by ending the Wolverines’ chances of playing for the Big Ten title. Michigan losing should also help Texas move up after its win against Texas A&M. Texas winning continues to help Ohio State’s résumé, as the season-opening win against the Longhorns continues to be valuable. This was Ohio State’s biggest win, though, since its opener.
The Hurricanes did exactly what the selection committee needed to see: a convincing CFP Top 25 road win at Pitt. Now, barring multiple outcomes in the ACC race, the Canes still need upsets above them today to increase their likelihood of earning an at-large bid as one of the top-10 teams. With BYU pulling away in the second half to beat UCF, it’s unlikely the two-loss Canes leapfrog the one-loss Cougars. A more realistic promotion would come with some combination of Alabama losing to Auburn, Notre Dame losing to Stanford on Saturday night, and/or Oklahoma losing to LSU. The committee isn’t ignoring Miami’s head-to-head win against the Irish, but it is also comparing the Canes to Alabama and BYU. The committee could also compare Miami to Texas this week after the Longhorns’ win against Texas A&M, but Miami beat Florida — which is the Longhorns’ worst loss — and has one fewer loss overall.
With another convincing win and Texas A&M’s loss, it’s possible the committee boosts the Red Raiders into the No. 4 spot on Tuesday night behind Georgia. Whether they can keep that first-round bye position depends on whether they win the Big 12 title. The Red Raiders will face BYU in the Big 12 championship game and should feel secure in their playoff place whether they win or lose. Texas Tech had no trouble with West Virginia, distancing itself from the Mountaineers easily in the first half. That gives them a cushion to earn a CFP spot even as a two-loss Big 12 runner-up. Nobody else in the country would be able to claim a regular-season win against the eventual Big 12 champs in that scenario.
The Cougars got off to a slow start against 5-7 UCF but pulled away in the second half to avoid what would have been a problematic second loss. BYU has already clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game against Texas Tech, but it can at least cling to slim hope at earning a spot in the field as a two-loss runner-up if it doesn’t win. That possibility would have been eliminated with an upset to UCF. BYU would need some help to earn a bid as the Big 12 runner-up, though, because it’s already in a precarious position and would be out of the field as an at-large team. BYU’s best wins are against Arizona and Utah, which wouldn’t be impressive enough in the committee meeting room to finish in the top 10, but if Alabama finishes as a three-loss SEC runner-up, it could open the door for a debate.
— Heather Dinich
