Every unmanageed Saturday brings us one step closer to the end of the most boring, predictable, less chaotic and overwhelming debate in school football playoffs for seven years.
Maybe that’s a smart thing to do. Generations of school football enthusiasts have seen the seasons go through in clouds of chaos and disorder. Do we deserve anything normal? That would at least be welcome by 2020.
Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and the state of Ohio point to the four most sensible. These groups will be their national semi-finalists if these steps are taken:
Alabama beats Florida to win the SEC, even if Crimson Tide manages to lose to Arkansas on Saturday.
Clemson defeated Notre Dame to win the ACC, sending the playoffs with a loss.
And the state of Ohio manages to play and win at least six and seven games.
Here are the winners and losers of Tuesday’s playoff rankings:
Holiday
NCState debuted at number 23, giving ACC five groups in this week’s playoff rankings, joining No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Clemson, No. 10 Miami (Florida) and North Carolina No. 17. A good fortune in the regular season (8-3), which followed a 4-8 mark in 2019 and increased tension in coach Dave Doeren when he entered his eighth year with the show.
Five groups in the Top 25 ACC arguments to position the Tigers and Fighting Irish in the semi-finals, if Clemson takes the lead over Notre Dame in a rematch to resolve the ACC. In the playoffs, the strength of the convention strengthens Notre Dame’s arguments to move to Alabama and secure the No. 1 in the semi-finals.
State of Iowa
The variety committee is beginning to identify in the state of Iowa as one of the country’s groups. thirteen in the first rankings two weeks ago, the Cyclones climbed to ninth place last Tuesday and seventh in the last Top 25, reflecting the show’s rise in the most sensitive ranking of the 12 Grands. This is the season in the show’s history.
But there is a sense that ISU missed the opportunity to succeed in the maximum of 4 sensible. Where would the Cyclones qualify if they hadn’t lost 31-14 to 19th Louisiane-Lafayette at the start of the season?Given coach Matt Campbell’s team position at 8-2, Iowa State at 9-1 would probably have been ranked 5th and in a position to advance to the semi-finals if any of the four premieres failed before December 20.
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Louisiana-Lafayette
Not that everything is positive: Louisiana-Lafayette remains 12th put the state of Iowa despite the fewest losses (one opposite the two cyclones) and ownership of this 17-point victory in September. to import. Now the good news. The Ragin’s Cajuns are six points clear after last week’s 24-21 victory over Appalachian State and, more importantly, they are well ahead of No. 24 Tulsa.
Why does that matter? Despite its position in the standings, Cincinnati continues to block the Group of Five’s bid for the New Years Six by defeating Tulsa to win the American Athletic Conference championship. On the other hand, a victory at Tulsa would open the door for Louisiana-Lafayette or No. 13 Coastal Carolina, who will meet next week for the Sun Belt title. Beating the Chanticleers would give the Cajuns two impressive victories and would be enough to stay ahead of Tulsa and triumph in one of January’s big bowls.
Cincinnati
The Bearcats’ chances of achieving the semi-finals necessarily reached 0 after a difficult start to the week. First, Saturday’s scheduled game with the No. 24 Tulsa canceled due to instances of COVID-19 in bearcats program. This eliminated the opportunity, to raise two significant victories before the end of the normal season, so it’s incredibly unlikely that Cincinnati will have the resume needed to beat Power Five groups just outside the four most sensitive.
Returning from a position to No. 8, behind the state of Iowa, makes this official, Cincinnati still made history as the first Group of Five team in playoff history to succeed in seventh place. with a win over Tulsa for the convention championship. But even in this strange normal season, a Group of Five team couldn’t do enough to crack the playoff code.
The Variety Committee
The committee’s affection for Georgia No. nine is confusing and turns out to reflect more of the show’s recent good fortune with coach Kirthrough Smart than anything the Bulldogs have achieved in the normal season. Achievements themselves are scarce: Georgia lost to Alabama and Florida at 17 and 16 points, respectively, and won six against the warplanes with a combined 15-36 record. (Auburn, 5-4, is the only opponent with a win record). If six SEC victories are admirable, of course, but is a resume worthy of the 10 most sensible?
Follow USA TODAY sports school reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg