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College Football Playoff: Where we are halfway through the season

By Thomas Nikundiwe

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Oct 10, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Aaron Burbridge (16) gets around Rutgers Scarlet Knights defensive back Blessuan Austin (10) during the first quarter at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Big Ten

AP ranked teams: Ohio State (1), Michigan State (7), Michigan (12), Iowa (17), Northwestern (20)

Undefeated teams: Ohio State (6-0), MSU (6-0), Iowa (6-0)

Divisions: East vs. West

Division leaders:
East: 1. MSU (2-0 in conference) 1. Ohio State (2-0 in conference) 3. Michigan (2-0 in conference) 3. Penn State (2-0 in conference)
West: 1. Iowa (2-0 in conference) 2. Northwestern (1-1 in conference)

Suddenly the Big Ten has the most teams in the AP Top 25 with five. What looked to be a weak conference has flexed its muscles enough to mean that the winner of the conference will have a great shot at the college football playoff. Ohio State and MSU still control their destinies as they are undefeated and winning out will guarantee a playoff spot.

While Michigan is not undefeated, if it wins, out it will almost definitely get in, as well. Michigan has done a lot to create a buzz for the Big Ten and they will get a chance to prove that it’s not just background noise when they meet MSU this weekend and Ohio State in the final game of the season.

All of those teams are in the Big Ten East. On the West side, Iowa and Northwestern will duke it out for the right to play the playoff favorite coming out of the East. Northwestern is still in it despite getting manhandled by Michigan because of impressive non-conference wins over Stanford and Duke.

While Iowa and Northwestern are currently on the outside looking in with regard to the playoffs, having to face a highly rated Ohio State, MSU or Michigan will help their playoff bid should they win the championship game.

If Iowa or Northwestern can keep chugging along, I would expect the winner of the Big Ten Championship to get a playoff bid no matter who wins it.

Last week’s playoff relevant results

 No. 4 MSU 31, Rutgers 24: For the most important result from MSU’s perspective will continue to be their own games. They control their own destiny. On the one hand, you could argue that if MSU continues to play at the level its been playing, it will lose a few games this year. On the other hand, if you take the position that MSU plays to the level of its competition, then it will be doing exactly what it needs to do to get to the playoffs.

No. 1 Ohio St 49, Maryland 28: It was another struggle for the number one team in the country as Ohio State found itself tied against lowly Maryland. Ohio State pulled away in the end in a game that felt like the Buckeyes just needed to wake up.

No. 18 Michigan 38, No. 13 Northwestern 0: This was the game that was supposed to be the real first test for Michigan. If this was a real test, then Michigan had the key in their back pocket. They beat Northwestern soundly in every phase of the game. This result actually helped MSU in that it created a highly ranked opponent and a lot of attention. Everyone is counting MSU out for this game, so winning will have even more cachet.

No. 22 Iowa 29, Illinois 20: It looks like Iowa will just eke out wins and if they keep doing that it will take them where they need to go. While MSU is getting skewered for similar wins, Iowa is gaining momentum and the more they win the better it is for MSU.

Key conference games this week

  • No. 7 MSU at No. 12 Michigan
  • No. 17 Iowa at No. 20 Northwestern
  • Penn St at No. 1 Ohio St

The landscape has shifted quite a bit since the beginning of the season. It will likely shift again by the end of the season. The great thing about college football is that teams get opportunities to write themselves into or out of the college football playoff story every single week.

And that starts this weekend with Michigan State visiting Michigan, Alabama at Texas A&M, UCLA at Stanford, and Florida at LSU.

Next: This Michigan State-Michigan hype video will boil your blood

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