SI Top 10: Playoff Contenders Narrow to Seven as Buckeyes Roll, BYU Falls

In his pregame television interview, Ohio State coach Ryan Day prepared us all—the CFP Committee viewers included—for an ugly game in East Lansing.

Ohio State was down so many players and coaches that we should all expect a turbulent showing. The Buckeyes were without 17 scholarship players, including three starting offensive linemen. Day was, of course, at home in isolation after a COVID-19 positive test. They were also without their co-defensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator.

“You win, you move on—it doesn't matter what it looks like,” Day said. “We're short-handed.”

Final score: Ohio State 52, Michigan State 12.

Thanks for the warning, Ryan!

Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch-Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Buckeyes rolled to 5-0, mostly on the legs and arm of their star quarterback. And now comes the anxiety: Can Michigan, battling a rash of COVID issues, play a game next weekend? And if not, will the Big Ten change its protocols to allow a team with fewer than six regular season games participate in the championship game? Or will the conference at least allow the Buckeyes to play another conference team if the Wolverines can’t go?

It would behoove the conference to do either or it may be keeping its best CFP contender from an all-important extra data point—and the league title.

In this wacky year of 2020, you don’t want to take any chances, especially with the SEC breathing down your neck. Texas A&M beat Auburn and Florida secured the SEC Eastern Division. Meanwhile, Alabama stomped LSU into the Tiger Stadium turf. Three SEC teams, three CFP contenders.

BYU’s loss to Coastal Carolina on Saturday booted the Cougars out of CFP consideration, basically boiling down the field to seven teams: Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Florida, Texas A&M and Cincinnati.

But enough about the CFP. A weak schedule of Saturday games (one matchup between top-25 teams) turned into a typically tasty college football slate. Arkansas went for a two-point conversion in the final minute, got it to go up 48-47, only to watch Missouri march down for a game-winning field goal. Akron snapped a 21-game losing streak dating back nearly 800 days by beating Bowling Green, and Virginia Tech kept it close for a while with Clemson, a game that featured the on-field sprinklers shooting out water in the middle of the first half. The Tigers ended up drowning the Hokies late.

Meanwhile, in an underrated and very unexpected game Saturday, Marshall fell from the unbeatens by losing to Rice—yes, Rice—20-0. Yes, 20-0. And oh, don’t forget about the guys out west. The Pac-12’s preseason favorite, Oregon, lost to Cal to drop to 3-2 and previously undefeated Washington lost a game against 2-2 Stanford at home. It means the conference is down to two undefeated teams: USC (which plays Sunday) and Colorado. Yes, Colorado.

OK, to the Top 10 we go, where we welcome Coastal Carolina!

1. Alabama

Last game: beat LSU, 55-17
Next game: at Arkansas on Saturday

Remember when Ed Orgeron and the Tigers went to Tuscaloosa last season, beat the Crimson Tide and then paraded at midfield in an outburst resembling a championship celebration? Well, Alabama got its revenge. This one was never close. It was 45-14 at halftime. And now the Tide gets an SEC championship game tuneup at Arkansas. But all eyes are on Atlanta (don’t tell Nick Saban), where the Gators and the Tide rumble in what is somewhat of a CFP quarterfinal.

2. Notre Dame

Last game: beat Syracuse, 45-21
Next game: vs. Clemson in ACC championship game on Dec. 19

Midway through the third quarter, the Orange were hanging around, down just 24-14 and with great field position after intercepting Ian Book. And then they fumbled. And then the Irish scored 21 unanswered points to wipe away any thought of a pre-ACC championship game upset. Notre Dame’s path to the CFP is quite clear: don’t get blown out by Clemson. Just hang around. That’s it. Make it respectful and Notre Dame is likely in the CFP as the 3 or 4 seed. Win the game and the Irish are the likely 2 seed. Either way, could they actually meet Clemson a third time? Maybe.

3. Clemson

Last game: beat Virginia Tech, 45-10
Next game: vs. Notre Dame in ACC championship game on Dec. 19

Sure, it was 17-10 with about five minutes left in the third quarter. The nation’s eyes turned away from the Coastal Carolina-BYU to what looked like a potential upset. What happened next was predictable. The Tigers scored the next 28 points. Trevor Lawrence (12-of-22 for 195 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) will have to play better against Notre Dame, but coach Dabo Swinney’s team hangs on to our No. 3 spot with, basically, a CFP quarterfinal coming in two weeks.

4. Ohio State

Last game: beat Michigan State, 52-12
Next game: vs. Michigan on Saturday

Down three offensive line starters, a head coach and the co-defensive coordinator, all the Buckeyes did was jump out to a 28-0 halftime lead, nearly double up the Spartans in yards (521 vs. 261) and coast to an easy victory. Justin Fields accounted for 303 yards—104 on the ground—and scored four touchdowns. If CFP Committee members wanted a dominant victory after the Buckeyes defense flopped against Indiana, they got it. Sparty finished with just 180 yards passing on 36 attempts and converted three of 17 third-down tries.

5. Cincinnati

Last game: beat Central Florida, 36-33, Nov. 21
Next game: at Tulsa on Dec. 12

The Bearcats were off (though they could have been playing BYU on Saturday if they didn’t have a bout of COVID!). The Aggies didn’t help Cincy’s CFP chances by winning at Auburn. But the Bearcats are still clinging to a slim shot at making the playoffs. They’d need, at the very least, Clemson to blow out Notre Dame (or vice versa), Texas A&M to lose to Ole Miss or Tennessee and Alabama to beat Florida in the SEC championship game.

6. Texas A&M

Last game: beat Auburn, 31-20
Next game: vs. Ole Miss on Saturday

Okay, so it wasn’t always beautiful, but the Aggies asserted their physicality against the Tigers, gouging DC Kevin Steele’s defense for 313 yards rushing. After a sluggish performance against LSU last weekend, QB Kellen Mond ran for 60 yards, threw for 196 and misfired on just five of 23 attempts. A&M needs to keep winning, have Alabama whip up on Florida and hope Notre Dame beats Clemson or Clemson beats Notre Dame badly enough to expel the Irish from playoff consideration.

7. Florida

Last game: beat Tennessee, 31-19
Next game: vs. LSU on Saturday

The Gators continue to start slow but finish fast. QB Kyle Trask remained squarely in the Heisman race after throwing four touchdowns and 433 yards, and Florida is a win over LSU and Alabama from reaching the College Football Playoff. The Gators feel like a playoff team and would, right now, be considered a lock had they not fumbled a win away at A&M earlier this season. That loss means they must beat the Crimson Tide in the SEC championship game.

8. Indiana

Last game: beat Wisconsin, 14-6
Next game: vs. Purdue on Dec. 12

The Hoosiers are eight points away from being undefeated and squarely in position to make the CFP. Yeah, buddy, 2020 is really weird. A 42-35 loss at Ohio State is holding back IU and fan favorite coach Tom Allen. And to think, his team was driving in that game for a touchdown that could have tied or won it. A victory at Purdue next week would seem to lock in a New Year’s Six bowl for this historic basketball school. On Saturday, even without QB Michael Penix, Indiana did enough defensively, including generating two more turnovers. The Hoosiers continue to be the Turnover Kings of football. They entered the game having the second-best turnover margin in the nation (18 takeaways to 9 giveaways).

9. Miami

Last game: beat Duke, 48-0
Next game: vs. North Carolina on Dec. 12

Manny Diaz has the Hurricanes playing good ball. They’ve won five straight and their only loss came at Clemson, 42-17. What if they had kept that game closer? Would they be considered a CFP contender? Maybe. For now, QB D’Eriq King (248 passing yards and 3 TDs on Saturday) will continue their pursuit of a high-profile bowl game and the best record a Canes team has had since early days of the Larry Coker era.

10. Coastal Carolina

Last game: beat BYU, 22-17
Next game: vs. Louisiana in the Sun Belt championship game on Dec. 19

FORDE: Coastal Carolina and BYU Deliver a Game to Remember

The Chanticleers served up what was, maybe to this point, the most exciting college football game of the season. In a game scheduled three days out, Saturday’s only top-25 matchup lived up to the hype. The game was chippy. It was fun. And it came down to the bitter end. Coastal safety Mateo Sudipo made a game-saving tackle at the 1-yard line to preserve the win as the clock expired. The Chanticleers, in front of a national audience, showed that they’re for real. Sure, their only Power 5 win is at Kansas, but this is the same team that beat Louisiana, which of course beat Iowa State, which is one victory away from being the Big 12 champion. Give the Chants their due.