Oklahoma makes bid for Playoff; OSU’s case closed

Arecord seven games between ranked teams were on the college football schedule. You had to know that chaos was coming.

And it did come on Saturday, leaving redrawn conference races and a new-look College Football Playoff chase in its wake. Several teams saw their Playoff hopes go up in smoke, while others will benefit from a key win.

Here are those who can still have an impact on the potential national championship picture:

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Oklahoma: Though fifth in the debut Playoff poll, the Sooners know they have a clear road to the top four: Oklahoma just needs to win out. That continued Saturday with a 62-52 win against Oklahoma State, which has the double bonus of knocking the Cowboys out of the picture. Next week brings another big one, this time against one-loss TCU, but Oklahoma’s offense, at least, looks ready for a Playoff push.

Michigan State: The Playoff isn’t in play, not with two losses – even if the Spartans can add wins against Ohio State and Wisconsin to their docket before the postseason. What the win against Penn State does is set Michigan State up to win the Big Ten East Division, which would be an enormous achievement after last year’s three-win finish. The Spartans can get there by taking out a wobbled Ohio State team. If push came to shove, MSU would likely be a slight favorite in a matchup against Wisconsin.

Auburn: At the very least, the Tigers are a key team in the overall Playoff hunt. That’s because Auburn still gets Georgia and Alabama in November, and can bring even more craziness to this race by winning one of two, let alone both. But what if both? In that case, Auburn would be 10-2, winners of the SEC West Division and owners of two highly impressive wins. Beating Georgia twice, the second time in Atlanta… well, it could be interesting.

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The Big Ten: Ohio State and Penn State could have earned their own sections after falling to Iowa and Michigan State, respectively. Both teams are eliminated from the Playoff hunt. But the issues run deeper for the entire Big Ten, which now must pin its hopes on Wisconsin running the table in November, beating Michigan along the way, and then topping one of Ohio State or Michigan State to claim the conference title. Even then, Wisconsin’s flimsy strength of schedule could be an issue. No league has suffered a worse Saturday.

Oklahoma State: The Sooners made their second big statement of the regular season by topping the Cowboys, who are now essentially eliminated from playing for the Big 12 title. It’s probably safe to say in hindsight that OSU was a bit too one-dimensional – meaning lacking the weapons needed on defense – to really compete with the very elite of the FBS. That doesn’t make the second loss any easier to swallow; that it came to Oklahoma makes it even worse.

Ohio State: OK, the Buckeyes still deserve their own space. To lose to Iowa in the manner they did – the program’s worst conference defeat since 1994 – is shocking, given how high Ohio State stood after sneaking past the Nittany Lions a week ago. It was a historic defeat, a miserable letdown and a potential breaking point for a team suddenly brought hurtling to Earth after opening its path to a Big Ten title just seven days earlier. Having said that, don’t forget: Ohio State can still win the East Division and claim its first Big Ten title since 2014. Here are some more winners and losers from a eye-opening Week 10

WINNERS

Alabama: It’s good to be reminded now and then that Alabama is, indeed, mortal. Though that isn’t usually the common refrain in the regular season, especially the last couple years in the SEC, they can’t just come out and flatten everyone. Yet, trying to find flaws in the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide is often just picking nits. They still had a relatively easy time of it Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in a 24-10 win against No. 20 LSU. Still, Alabama is 9-0 and onto the business end of its schedule, with intriguing games coming up against Mississippi State and Auburn.

Miami: After weeks of close calls against mediocre competition, Miami made a national statement with a 28-10 win against Virginia Tech. Beyond securing the ACC Coastal Division – no small deal, since Miami hadn’t won any hardware since joining the conference – the win will impress the Playoff selection committee and likely bump the Hurricanes up a few spots in the next rankings. Most of all, however, the victory paints Miami as a true contender for the Playoff rather than a team rising up the rankings almost solely by virtue of its unbeaten record.

Virginia: A train wreck a season ago, Virginia secured bowl eligibility with an impressive divisional win against Georgia Tech. The Cavaliers were always going to improve under Bronco Mendenhall, the former coach at Brigham Young, but few expected six wins before the second Saturday of November. Now 6-3, Virginia could add another two wins to before the postseason and head into national signing day with as much momentum as at any point in the past decade.

LOSERS

Kevin Sumlin: He’s been on the hot seat dating before this season, but after winning five of six in September and October the potential was there for Sumlin to secure job security in one of two ways: either by leading the Aggies to a top-25 finish or by getting ahead of the pack and leaping to a Power Five opening at the end of the regular season. Neither option seems as likely now that A&M has dropped two in a row by a combined 36 points, the latest that embarrassment at home against Auburn.

Florida: You’d think it couldn’t get any worse for the Gators, and then it does. Florida’s 42-16 loss to Missouri – if anything, worse than the score indicates – joins last Saturday’s 42-7 loss to rival Georgia to represent the program’s rock bottom. The 64-point margin of defeat in back-to-back games marks the Gators’ worst two-game stretch since losing to Auburn and Georgia by a combined 75 points in 1971.

Florida State: Yeah, the Seminoles beat Syracuse after the Orange missed a last-second field goal to tie. Congratulations? While putting the Seminoles on pace to secure bowl eligibility, the victory does little to change the notion that FSU is one of the premier disappointments in the FBS.