B1G East Divisional Standings
Thought it would be useful to pause and take a look at the standings and elimination scenarios for the coming week. First the standings (including conference record):
1. Michigan (5-0)
2. OSU (4-1)
3. Maryland (3-2)
3. Penn State (3-2)
3. MSU (3-2)
6. Indiana (1-5)
7. Rutger (0-5)
Indiana and Rutger have already been eliminated from contention in the division.
If Michigan wins, Penn State is eliminated from contention and the loser of Maryland-MSU is eliminated.
After this weekend, if Michigan wins, only Ohio State, Michigan, and the winner of Maryland-MSU will still be in contention to win the division.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:40 PM ^
If Bama loses, and LSU or Georgia win the conference...and all thats left is undefeated Clemson, 1 loss Ollahoma, and 1 loss Michigan...I think Bama is left out. Bama is another team that may finish the season beating 1 or 0 ranked teams.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
which 3 ranked teams will ou beat? looking at their schedule the only ranked team is wvu. even assuming they win that and the b12 championship game that is, at most, 2 wins over ap top 25 teams. assuming we win out, we’d have wins over ranked wiscy, staee, ped state and ohio. the schedules arent even close, our resume would be far superior. plus, they’re already 3 spots back and if we win out there’s no reason to believe they’d jump us.
a 1-loss bama on the othet hand, could definitely keep us out
October 29th, 2018 at 12:58 PM ^
In the (brief) history of the CFP, a one-loss "wild card" has never made it in at the expense of a one-loss P5 champ.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^
True, and they shouldn't in this scenario, but are you saying that you can't imagine Michigan getting screwed like this?
October 29th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
Absolutely. Let them choose between a one loss Alabama or an unbeaten notre dame if they're going to. To pick both in that scenario would render conference championships pointless.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
Don't even limit it to the CFP. Just go back in time and pick any random year and look at the pre-bowl rankings. Would a 1-loss conference champ have ever been left out? Are there more than 4 one-loss teams? I haven't found it yet.
I'm just going to leave this topic now instead of continually screaming into the void, but seriously guys, there are so many losses out there waiting to be had. Just wait. This entire discussion is so unnecessary.
October 29th, 2018 at 4:11 PM ^
Yeah, I don't get the 1 loss Alabama angst. I get last year. I'm still pissed at the LSU-Alabama rematch a few years ago that was complete horseshit; but even I had no issue the committee picked Alabama over 2 loss Ohio State and 2 loss USC. 2 losses each, and none of those 4 losses were particularly competitive games.
Lots of games to play yet, and more than likely half the teams we are talking about will self-disqualify themselves.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
Thus comes the age old question of beating ranked opponents, is it were they ranked when you beat them, or are they ranked at the end of the year no matter if they were or not when you played them. Seems to me the committee has waffled on this in the past.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
No we don't.
We just need to beat everyone we play.
Would you feel good about winning the East if we lost to OSU? I wouldn't.......I dont think the team would. They want to do this on their own merit. Not little brothers help
October 29th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
Sorry to be blunt, but you and the others that hold this view gotta be f*****g kidding me. Do you really think the team would be all depressed and barely even have the strength to accept the trophy if they won the B1G after losing to OSU? Have you not been around the last 15 years, since we won our last B1G title? 15 freaking years??? Do you think PSU was bummed winning the title with two losses a couple years ago? You think MSU should give at least one of their trophies back because it came in a year where both OSU and UM sucked?
There is more parity in college football than ever, and it's more competitive than ever before. There is no more "Big 2, Little 8". Winning a B1G title is going to be incredibly difficult, and I don't give a shit how we win one if we do so.
Angry rant over... ;-)
October 29th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
Had we won 3 of the last 5 BIG championships I could get behind the "let's not cruise into the BIG championship game with a loss". But considering 2004 was the last one, god damn - give it to me anyway we can get it. Hope MSU somehow beats OSU
October 29th, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
A shared one too. I will take an outright big ten championship and no playoff. It's a start!
October 29th, 2018 at 2:37 PM ^
This assumes we beat Penn State which is far from guaranteed. I hope I don't need to remind you what the score of last year's game against Penn State was.
October 29th, 2018 at 3:51 PM ^
We all remember last year. So does Don Brown. The fact that Don Brown wakes up thinking about that game every morning makes me fairly confident heading into Saturday.
October 29th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
Well we would have to win in Piscataway NJ and extend the Indiana streak to 23 as well.
October 29th, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
You understand that we are currently in a world where Kentucky, Northwestern, and Virginia are all leading or tied at the top of their respective divisions? Dark times my friends...
October 29th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
October 29th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
Got to win out to have a chance at the playoff. Win 'em all I say.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:00 PM ^
Over on RCMB, they were discussing scenarios where MSU could still win the division. It was adorable...
October 29th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Did those scenarios involving Michigan losing 3 out of the last 4?
October 29th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^
There is a scenario where we lose to PSU and OSU and MSU wins out and there is a 4-way tie at the top and MSU goes because of something. Seriously, they had to pool ALL of the intellectual resources to figure this out. It was actually quite impressive.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
Intellectual resource and Sparty are mutually exclusive. Some other party must have been involved.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
Now, now. There are plenty of intelligent people who went to MSU.
Just not at RCMB. The smart ones stay away from the football fans.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
Going back to my mythology days as a youth, it reminded me of the story of Perseus and the 3 witches who had to share one eye. I can envision the collective of RCMB having to do the same with the one functioning brain there.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
You sure you don't just remember that from the movie Hercules?
October 29th, 2018 at 12:38 PM ^
The original Clash of the Titans with Harry Hamlin actually.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^
That was a great flick.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^
October 29th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
That pretty much describes the conditions in which Sparty has had any relevance in the last 20 years
October 29th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
I wouldn't say the combination of Michigan losing to PSU and OSU plus OSU beating everyone but MSU would qualify as a "monumental collapse."
October 29th, 2018 at 12:44 PM ^
This. It's not too far fetched at all. Michigan loses to PSU and OSU. MSU wins out. MSU wins the tiebreaker and probably wins the Big Ten.
Let's beat PSU and not allow this as an option.
October 29th, 2018 at 3:52 PM ^
I do believe this scenario is correct. Strange as it may seem, MSU is still in play if they win out. Here, Michigan must finish at least 3-1 to go to the CCG...not sure what all the rules are here with MSU having an out of division conference loss. There will be plenty of upsets before the season plays out but I doubt there will be enough to get a 2-loss team into the final four. Is there a way for OSU and MSU to both lose when they play each other...like both of them use ineligible players or something???
October 29th, 2018 at 12:10 PM ^
The Penn State Rivals board has an active thread discussing their chances of making the CFP. College football is the best.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
Notre Dame going into Northwestern is a trap game. Really good chance ND will lose this. That would be great on so many levels from ND dropping in the playoff picture to a future potential opponent being ranked higher in the BIG championship.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
Boy oh boy I had the exact same thoughts this weekend...hope you're right!
October 29th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
The Good Version of Clayton Thorson needs to make an appearance for NW to have a chance. He's been missing the last two weeks.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:39 PM ^
Needs to both "appear" and have the game of his life. Early/quick score or two might wake up the bad thunder for ND.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:49 PM ^
I could see this if it was at NW, but it's in South Bend. I think it will be close, but ND pulls it out. Having said that, they could still lose against Syracuse or even USC if they ever decide to wake up.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:13 PM ^
Pretty sure it's in Evanston. Not a very intimidating place to play in theory, but a lot of weird shit goes on there.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:36 PM ^
Damn, yes it is in Evanston -- turns out Google was wrong. OK, this one could get real interesting. ND will likely have more fans like we did, but NW almost always plays well there.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
There is definitely not a "really good chance" they lose.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:14 PM ^
No, what Northwestern does is beat some of the better teams in the B1G and then lose to some non-con scrub to make the conference look bad.
If it's a non-conference game, NW can lose to anybody.
If it's a conference game, NW can beat anybody.
...always looking to ruin the B1G image.
October 29th, 2018 at 1:51 PM ^
I don't think it is a trap game. I think it is a huge game.
October 29th, 2018 at 5:36 PM ^
Sorry, this is NOT a trap game. A trap game usually involves not taking an opponent seriously. ND will take NW seriously. They have beaten some good teams and took Michigan to 4th quarter. I see ND winning this by at least 14. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT a ND fan. In fact, if it wasn't for ND playing great helping Michigan for the CFP I would hope they lose every game.
If there is a football god, they will pair Michigan vs ND in the CFP (2 vs 3). There would be a much different outcome in the favor of good guys..... a guy can only hope.
October 29th, 2018 at 7:37 PM ^
No trap games on ND's schedule...all mediocre teams left to play.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:02 PM ^
The playoff picture is starting to look a little muddy to me, especially if LSU and Notre Dame wins out.
The final pool of playoff contenders could potentially be:
- SEC Champion 1-loss LSU
- 1-loss Alabama
- Undefeated Notre Dame
- ACC Champion undefeated Clemson
- B1G Champion 1-loss Michigan
- Big 12 Champion 1-loss Oklahoma
Who gets left out then?
October 29th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
Oklahoma should imo because their defense cannot compete
People keep saying their offense would shred anyone, well tough to say since they won't play a competent defense the entire season.
October 29th, 2018 at 12:10 PM ^
I would love for Michigan to test themselves vs a vaunted Big12 air attack offense...could be incredibly funny!
October 29th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
This sounds cliche, but I feel it'll depend on what the national media cling onto. Do they love OU for their offense? Or hate them for their weak SOS and lack of defense? Do they love Michigan for winning the Big Ten, having a really good loss in ND, and playing in the tough B1G east? Or do they hate Michigan because it turns out the Big Ten isn't as good as we thought and Wisconsin, MSU, and PSU are all kinda crappy?
Way too early to tell