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No. 16 Auburn upends No. 5 Alabama's playoff hopes, 48-45
Auburn (9-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) survived a final, marathon Crimson Tide drive when Joseph Bulovas' 30-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright with 2:00 left. Alabama (10-2, 6-2) made the first five College Football Playoffs fields, but its case was damaged with a 46-41 loss to No. 1 LSU. The team's in-state rival delivered the final blow.
No. 4 Georgia (11-1, 7-1 SEC) - No.2 LSU (12-0, 8-0 SEC) plays for the SEC Championshp and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Ohio State is No.1, Clemson is No.3
College Football Playoff: With Alabama out of picture, hopes rise for Oklahoma, Utah and Baylor
Alabama just made life much easier for the 13 members of the Colege Football Playoff selection committe.
Are No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 LSU already in? - Yes. Both teams finished the regular season undefeated and should remain in the same spots Tuesday. The order could be shuffled a bit if both lose their respective conference title games, but Ohio State and LSU would likely still be in the top four on Selection Day.
What happens to Wisconsin or Georgia if they win? - If two-loss Wisconsin beats Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game, the Buckeyes would probably get in instead of the Badgers. It would be easy for the committee to justify that decision because Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 38-7 on Oct. 26.
If Georgia finishes as a one-loss SEC champ, the Dawgs are in along with LSU, blocking the way for the Big 12 and Pac-12 champions. The committee has made it clear Georgia's good wins (Notre Dame, Florida and Auburn) have more than compensated for its ugly 20-17 home loss against South Carolina on Oct. 12, and a win against a top-four LSU team would only enhance that.
Can Oklahoma leapfrog Utah for a top-four finish? - Yes. The most obvious way this happens is if Utah loses against two-loss Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, but it can also happen if Utah wins a close game and Oklahoma earns a convincing win against Baylor in the Big 12 title game. The Sooners got a boost last week when the committee promoted Baylor to No. 9, its first appearance in the top 10. Since OU has already beaten the Bears this season, it has a stronger win on its résumé than any on the Utes' schedule -- and Lincoln Riley's crew has a chance to beat the Bears again.
Does Baylor have a chance? - Yes. Now that Alabama is out of the mix, there are no other teams not playing in their conference championships that can make a case for being "unequivocally" better than any of the Power 5 winners -- including Baylor. The only way the committee reverts to the word "unequivocal" to justify a top-four team this year is if LSU or Ohio State loses its respective conference title game. It's extremely unlikely the group would consider any two-loss teams ahead of any contenders playing in their conference title games this year.