Predictions for second set of CFB Rankings

By Brandon Scalea

Baker Mayfield threw for 598 yards against OK State and emerged as a Heisman favorite.

Tonight at 7 p.m. ET will be the second set of rankings put together by the College Football Playoff Committee.

It was a relatively easy week for the top four, so expect that to remain exactly how it was last week. The bubble teams is where it starts to get interesting, though.

Oklahoma was ranked No. 5 last week, but it's coming off easily its most impressive win of the year — 62-52 over Oklahoma State. In that battle of 7-1 teams, Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield had a career night, throwing for 598 yards and five touchdowns. With Penn State running back Saquon Barkley being shut down the last two weeks, it suddenly looks like Mayfield is the Heisman frontrunner.

Anyway, don't be shocked if the Sooners sneak into the No. 4 spot. Clemson had that fourth spot last week, and the Tigers are coming off a win over ranked NC State. But the team had to come from behind and escape with a 38-31 victory.

Ohio State and Penn State were No. 6-7, respectively, and both teams are coming off bad, bad losses. The Buckeyes were run out of the stadium by Iowa and the Nittany Lions were beaten at the buzzer by Michigan State. PSU will now drop out of playoff contention, probably falling as far as No. 16 in the rankings. I'd drop Ohio State to No. 12.

The Buckeyes aren't necessarily out of the hunt yet, but they'll need a home win against the Spartans to have a slight chance.

With the 6 and 7 spots now open, I'd move Wisconsin to No. 6 and TCU to No. 7. Both teams have a lot to prove still, but each can make their own case.

CFB Playoff Rankings predictions for tonight:

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Clemson

5. Oklahoma  6. Wisconsin  7. TCU

Brandon Scalea can be reached at brandonscalea22@gmail.com or scaleasports@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonscalea. 

Week 9 is one to forget for the Big Ten

By Brandon Scalea

Michigan State beat Penn State, 27-24, on a last-second field goal on Saturday. Photo from PennLive

As I sat in High Point Solutions Stadium for a relatively unimportant game between Rutgers and Maryland, I kept checking my phone to see the Big Ten's hopes for a playoff bid basically falling apart.

As the home Scarlet Knights went on to win an impressive 31-24 game against the Terrapins for coach Chris Ash's biggest win yet, Ohio State was routed by Iowa and Penn State was beaten in the final moments by Michigan State.

Here's what this means for the Big Ten: there is little to no shot that the conference will be represented in this year's College Football Playoff. 

At 9-0, Wisconsin is the Big Ten's last remaining undefeated team, but experts have continued to say the Badgers, even at 13-0 with a conference title under their belt, might be left out of the final top four. UW has yet to play a ranked team this season, and might not all year. Their only legitimate challenge during the regular season is a Nov. 18 home matchup with the unranked, beaten-down Michigan Wolverines.

Wisconsin has pretty much already clinched the Big Ten West. With Penn State (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) out of contention for the Big Ten Championship, next week's game between the Spartans and Buckeyes in Columbus will be the de facto Big Ten East title game. Both of those teams are 5-1 in conference play.

All the momentum, however, seems be on Michigan State's side.

The Spartans are fresh off a come-from-behind win against No. 7 Penn State in a weird, weather-delayed game. There was a noon kickoff, a three-and-a-half-hour delay for lightning and a walk-off field goal after night had fallen and half the stadium had gone home.

In a season where MSU has already beaten its "big brother" in Ann Arbor and a top-10 Nittany Lion team, one would expect Mark Dantonio's squad to beat the Buckeyes too, for good measure.

Meanwhile, Ohio State is coming off what might be the worst loss of Urban Meyer's career. In front of a hostile blackout crowd in Iowa, the Buckeyes surrendered 55 points and only scored 24. JT Barrett, who emerged into the Heisman race after last week's win over PSU, all but killed his chances after throwing four interceptions Saturday.

The No. 6 Buckeyes are the sixth top-10 team in the last nine years that has fallen at Iowa. Notably, the Hawkeyes came up just short earlier this year against the then-No. 3 Nittany Lions, who won on the last snap of the game.

We know that college football is a crazy game with crazy story lines, but right now it seems like the Big Ten will need some outside help to get a team into the College Football Playoff.

Here are some predictions moving forward: Ohio State will beat Michigan State, 20-16, next week. The Buckeyes will get into the Big Ten Championship and beat Wisconsin convincingly. At 11-2 overall, Ohio State will finish the season at No. 6 and fall short of the playoff.

Brandon Scalea can be reached at brandonscalea22@gmail.com or scaleasports@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonscalea. 

Breaking down first CFB Playoff rankings

By Brandon Scalea

It's that time of year — we are eight weeks into the college football season, which means the venerable College Football Playoff committee has released its first rankings.

I can happily say that for the first time since the committee's inception a few years ago, there were actually a few surprises in the rankings. Here they are, in case you missed them:

1. Georgia 
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Clemson

First two out: Oklahoma, Ohio State 

Undefeated Alabama has been No. 1 in the AP and Coaches' Polls since the beginning of the season, so the committee is really making a statement here putting the Bulldogs in the top spot. While Georgia is also unbeaten with arguably a tougher schedule, the Crimson Tide have made easy work of every opponent, including 59-0 and 66-3 beatdowns of Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, respectively.

With only LSU and Auburn left as slight challenges, you can expect Alabama to finish the regular season 12-0 and earn a spot, yet again, in the SEC Championship in Atlanta. Georgia has all but earned the SEC East division title, so a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown is pretty much set to decide who wins the SEC and who gets the spot in the playoff. Despite both teams playing tremendously this season, it would be a long shot to have two SEC teams in the four-team playoff.

Notre Dame has quietly stormed through its schedule after a week 2 loss at home to Georgia, 20-19. Since then, the Irish have dominated rival USC and nationally-ranked NC State. The team still has a very tough road ahead, with road games at Miami and Stanford. If ND finishes the season 11-1 with their only loss to Georgia — especially if the Bulldogs win the SEC — then the team should be a lock for a playoff spot.

Clemson has probably the worst loss out of all the top one-loss teams — to Syracuse a few weeks back. That game wasn't a fluke either, the Orange thoroughly outplayed the then-No. 2 Tigers. But Clemson has impressive road wins over Louisville and Virginia Tech, and a home win against Auburn. As the defending national champion, the Tigers will probably stay at No. 4 if they can win the ACC.

It's interesting to note that there are currently no Big Ten teams in the top four. Penn State had been ranked No. 2 and seemed destined for a national title run after a miraculous road win over Iowa, and a vengeful 42-13 win over No. 19 Michigan. But the Nittany Lions had a fourth quarter collapse to Ohio State, and now the Buckeyes are the favorite to win the Big Ten.

Penn State certainly isn't out of the race, but a lot will have to go right for them to get back into the top four. After all, Ohio State finished 11-1 last season, did not even play in the Big Ten Championship, but still finished the season No. 3.

There are still four weeks left until championship weekend, and right now, it's safe to say that no one is a lock for the playoff just yet.

Brandon Scalea can be reached at brandonscalea22@gmail.com or scaleasports@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonscalea.