College Football Playoff: The 12 remaining games that will decide the Top 4
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 13 Baylor (Nov. 16)
Saturday night in primetime of Week 12, both the Baylor Bears and Oklahoma Sooners will have the opportunity to make statements. For the visiting Sooners, Lincoln Riley’s team needs to start earning some style points, especially with a signature win. After their loss on Oct. 26 to Kansas State, they had to stave off a comeback attempt from Iowa State to remain a one-loss team.
Jalen Hurts, CeeDee Lamb and the Oklahoma offense have proven to be one of the most exciting units in college football. But sitting at No. 10, if they want a chance to make the College Football Playoff rankings, they not only need to beat the undefeated Bears but need to trounce them in doing so.
On the flip side, the Bears have largely been playing with fire on their way to 9-0 on the season. Baylor needed two overtimes to beat Texas Tech at home, beat a bad West Virginia team by three at home and took three overtimes to top TCU on the road last week. However, a win at McLane Stadium over the mighty Sooners would have to make the committee consider a substantial bump up for the Bears.
No. 9 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State (Nov. 23)
The Ohio State Buckeyes have been nothing short of dominant this season but their dominance was somewhat put into doubt as Chase Young‘s eligibility was put into question. However, the star defensive end’s suspension was reduced to two games, meaning he’ll be back on the field for Week 13 when the Buckeyes host the Penn State Nittany Lions.
As good as Ohio State has been this season, the argument could be made that they’ve not been truly tested in 2019. Their two closest games of the year were in the season opener against Florida Atlantic and on Oct. 5 against Michigan State, both of which were 24-point victories. The Nittany Lions will undoubtedly be the best team they’ve faced.
To be sure, Ryan Day’s team led by Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins on offense has given absolutely zero reasons to doubt them. However, you need great teams to pass big tests such as this one to justify a No. 2 ranking for the College Football Playoff and this will be their chance to show they are as elite as they’ve looked.