SportsPulse: USA TODAY’s college football reporters Paul Myerberg and George Schroeder give their take on who will win the Rose Bowl. USA TODAY Sports
Sizing up the San Diego Credit Union Holiday Bowl between Michigan State (9-3) and Washington State (9-3): More
It would be easier to follow the popular narrative and dismiss the Big Ten’s teams as inconsequential NCAA men’s basketball tournament fodder if they weren’t so likable. More
That’s the field of 68. The bubble burst for Syracuse and Illinois State. Both had good cases but didn’t get in. It appears the first four in were Wake Forest, Kansas State, Southern California and Providence. More
An airplane carrying the Michigan men’s basketball team was involved in an accident on Wednesday afternoon but no one was injured, the school said in a statement.
According to the school, the team’s plane, which was headed to the Big Ten tournament in Washington, D.C., was attempting to take off in high winds at Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The takeoff was aborted and, after braking strongly, the plane slid off the runway.
Scary attempt to get to DC but everyone is alright pic.twitter.com/gC4nJBxUDw
The plane sustained extensive damage, according to the statement,…
Wisconsin has used the same starting lineup for 59 of its past 60 games, so a change to that group will not be made casually. The Badgers are serious about getting themselves ready for March. More
INDIANAPOLIS — When the top four teams won this weekend, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee won a reprieve. The 12 representatives who will bask in the glow of their computer screens on Selection Day don’t have to choose among equals.
One can argue that No. 4 Washington’s 41-10 rout of No. 8 Colorado, coupled with No. 3 Clemson’s 42-35 defeat of No. 23 Virginia Tech, means that the Huskies and Tigers should switch. But it’s hard to argue against rewarding the only four Power 5 teams that finished the season with one loss or fewer.
No. 7 Penn State can make a compelling case, given that it won the Big Ten by a score of 38-31 over No. 6 Wisconsin on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium and defeated No. 2 Ohio State during the regular season. But the Buckeyes won’t be the first team to lose and advance beyond a team that beat them.
Florida State won the 1993 wire-service national championship over Notre Dame, a result that will send former Irish head coach Lou Holtz’s blood pressure off the chart to this day. Seven years later, the Seminoles lost to Miami yet finished ahead of the Hurricanes in the BCS standings. It didn’t help the young BCS’ credibility when Oklahoma pounded Florida State in the national championship game.
Now, in Year 3, the credibility of the College Football Playoff will be tested on Selection Day. Those of us who like sports because there are clear-cut winners and losers hoped for no upsets and hoped the committee wouldn’t have to make an impossible decision. After Penn State won Saturday night, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany refused the opportunity to pick among his constituents.
“I don’t know what it means,” Delany said. “Is the Clemson game over?”
The Tigers had won.
“All the votes are in,” Delany said. “I’ll be watching like everybody else.”
If No. 5 Michigan is mad about playing in the Capital One Orange Bowl, then the Wolverines should have done better than 2-2 on the road.
Penn State could, like No. 10 USC, make a case that it is one of the four best teams in the country on Dec. 3. Picture a world, if you will, in which the roles this weekend were reversed. Penn State would be No. 2 and Wisconsin No. 5, and No. 6…
It sounds like the perfect weekend, everyone gathered around the television to watch football.
But, in this case, the 12 men and women of the College Football Playoff selection committee have convened in Grapevine, Texas, for some potentially headache-inducing work.
With conference title games continuing across the nation through Saturday night, they will take one more look at the top teams and maybe debate into the early hours before voting on who gets to vie for the national championship.
“You know, there are number of legitimate contenders who could stake a claim to being in those top four spots,” committee Chairman Kirby Hocutt said. “The committee takes its work very seriously.”
At least one piece of the puzzle is in place.
No. 4 Washington took care of No. 8 Colorado for the Pac-12 title Friday night, the Huskies making their argument for a slot in the semifinals. But the overall picture remains fuzzy, particularly in the Big Ten.
No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Michigan, despite their lofty rankings, did not even qualify for the conference championship game. Instead, sixth-ranked Wisconsin will face No. 7 Penn State in Indianapolis. Ohio State is 11-1; Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan are 10-2.
If the Badgers win, you could make an argument for keeping them out of the playoff in favor of Ohio State, which prevailed in Madison during the regular season.
If Penn State wins, the whole thing becomes a lot messier because the Buckeyes’ only loss was to the…
The College Football Playoff is the only thing that really matters this weekend.
Championship weekend is all about putting the playoff puzzle together. What if this team loses? What if this team wins? Two Big Ten teams? Three? Who is in?
The selection committee makes its big reveal Sunday.
Assuming Alabama and Ohio State are safely in the field, five scenarios to know going into the final weekend of college football’s regular season:
WHAT IF WASHINGTON AND CLEMSON WIN?
The selection committee uncorks a few bottles of wine and gets to sleep an extra hour Sunday.
Clemson was No. 3 in the last committee rankings and Washington was No. 4. The committee said Michigan was a really close fifth, but the Wolverines do not play while the Huskies can add a victory against Colorado and a Pac-12 title. The Huskies should be just fine.
The only intrigue on Sunday would be if the lack of a conference title drops Ohio State from No. 2 to three or four.
WHAT IF WASHINGTON LOSES?
Colorado, which is eighth going into the…
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) OG Anunoby scored 16 points, James Blackmon Jr. had 14 and Robert Johnson added 11 Wednesday night, leading No. 13 Indiana past No. 3 North Carolina 76-67 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The Hoosiers (5-1) have won two straight since last week’s stunning loss to little-known IPFW.
In that game, Johnson struggled, Blackmon injured his knee and Anunoby tried to play through an illness. This time, they helped Indiana start fast and fend off the Tar Heels‘ second-half charges to close it out. Anunoby was injured at the end of the game and needed help to get to the locker room.
There was no immediate word on what Anunoby’s injury was though he appeared to land awkwardly after a dunk with 1:36 to go.
”The way he played tonight is the way we expect him (Anunoby) to play on a consistent basis,” Johnson said. ”The way he came out determined to get on the…
Michigan endured an excruciating loss Saturday, a 30-27 defeat in double overtime at arch rival Ohio State that may well have knocked the Wolverines out of the College Football Playoff. Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh blew his cool during that game, and afterward, he sharply criticized the officiating crew in comments that earned him a reprimand from the Big Ten, which also fined the school $10,000.
The Big Ten announced the punishments Monday in a statement that cited Conference Agreement 10.01., which includes this passage: “The Big Ten Conference expects all contests involving a member institution to be conducted without compromise to any fundamental element of sportsmanship. Such fundamental elements include integrity of competition, civility toward all, and respect, particularly toward opponents and officials.”
In his postgame news conference, Harbaugh said…