A chalky championship Saturday could’ve made the College Football Playoff Committee’s job pretty easy. But chalk isn’t all that fun, anyway, is it?
The top six have already seen a shakeup after the first major game of the day when No. 5 Oklahoma State’s comeback effort against Baylor in the Big 12 Championship fell literally inches short. Despite four interceptions from quarterback Spencer Sanders and a 21-6 deficit heading into the locker room, the Cowboys’ defense, which has been sturdy all season, came up big in the second half, shutting the Bears out.
OSU trailed by five, and with under 1:30 to play, a pass interference call on third and three from the six set it up with a first and goal from the two-yard line. But Baylor put together its second goal-line stand of the game. On fourth down, running back Dezmon Jackson bounced a carry to the outside, and though it initially looked like he had space, he was stopped short while diving for the goal line.
The Cowboys, who now sit at 11-2, would have been a near-lock to make the CFP field had they won this game and Alabama lost to Georgia in the SEC Championship. But their loss opens the door for a different team to sneak into the field in the event of a Bulldogs win.
Perhaps, a team like Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish only have one loss this season, which came at home to Cincinnati back on Oct. 2. The Bearcats are, especially with Oklahoma State’s loss, all but guaranteed to become the first Group of Five team to make the playoff if they can take care of business against Houston in the American Athletic Conference Championship.
An Oklahoma State victory would have made things difficult considering the fact that the Cowboys already ranked higher and would have had an additional top-10 win on their resume while Notre Dame was idle this week.
Now, with a spot likely becoming available, the Irish would be the next team up, despite the fact that they lost longtime coach Brian Kelly, who took the LSU job this week. The program promoted 35-year-old defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to the head coaching gig, and a playoff semifinal would certainly be quite a way for the former Ohio State linebacker to begin his stint in South Bend.
Of course, Georgia could just pull a Georgia and allow the Crimson Tide to crack the field, instead, rendering this whole thought experiment obsolete.
What a sport.
