Yes

The stars have aligned for the possibility — watch out for a pair of Big Ten teams making it to the final four matchups.

Oklahoma is locked into the playoff, thanks to a lack of a Big 12 Championship game.

Are their any other spots up for grabs heading into championship week?

Let’s assume Alabama beats Florida, an assumption that seems safer than any other conference championship prediction.

That leaves two spots. In order for Clemson not to get in, they must lose to North Carolina. Possible?

Absolutely. North Carolina lost in week one to South Carolina and has won eleven straight games since. That same South Carolina team took Clemson to the wire in a five-point loss just this past week.

Once the hot North Carolina squad has defeated Clemson, both teams have one loss, and the Tarheels are the better team by default. They has no chance at the playoff, as the committee still has them No. 10.

The Big Ten Champion is a lock for the College Football Playoff, regardless of Saturday’s victor.

Now we’ve got one spot to talk about. Notre Dame was just taken of contention with a loss to Stanford. None of the other Big 12 teams have a remote chance. The ACC title game loser is out. Stanford has two losses and cannot be seen as a top-four team when undefeated and one-loss power conference schools remain.

With the Big Ten teams sitting at ranks of four, five and six, Ohio State is just outside the top four, and they have no games remaining. After the Big Ten title game, Ohio State will move ahead of the loser in the CFP rankings. With a Clemson loss, Ohio State is in the top four.

There you have it. The Big Ten Champion is a lock, and a logical conclusion to championship weekend will have the Buckeyes coming in to help the Big Ten comprise half of this year’s College Football Playoff.

— By Mason Clarke

No

When the NCAA implemented the new playoff system, one of the first observations to be made was that with only four playoff spots, at least one of the Power Five conferences would be left out.

Given the revenue-centric nature of modern college football, much is often made about ‘making sure’ that the conferences are rightfully represented.

As such, we find ourselves in a landscape that makes it very difficult for one conference to land two teams in the playoff.

So firstly, there would be only one conference in a given season that could even hope for two playoff teams; that being whichever conference is perceived as the most powerful.

For example, back when the SEC was the unrivaled elite conference (prior to the playoff system), if an undefeated Alabama theoretically entered the conference championship ranked No. 1, but fell to an also undefeated Florida team, it is quite likely that Florida could have been selected as SEC champion, but Alabama would also be selected as a proven elite team in the nation.

Fortunately for the Big Ten, many see it as 2015’s deepest conference with Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, and even Michigan garnering national attention. Unfortunately, as can often happen in “deep” conferences, the Big Ten has cannibalized itself to the point that two playoff teams would be impossible.

The ideal scenario would have been to keep Ohio State undefeated through the year, and ranked No. 1 in a conference championship with Iowa. In that case, an undefeated Iowa would earn itself a playoff spot by winning the Big Ten, and Ohio State would have an argument to be selected on its year-long performance.

The Buckeyes underwhelmed, however, and ultimately fell to Michigan State. The Big Ten now finds itself in a situation where Iowa stands as its premier program, a team which national observers have been counting down the days to when they can eliminate them from contention.

What would need to happen for two Big Ten selections is that Michigan State wins the championship game, and the playoff committee miraculously decides that Iowa has already earned its spot.

Alas, we in Iowa City have known for months that a single loss would shatter the Hawkeyes’ playoff dreams. If Michigan State wins, Iowa won’t get in. If Iowa wins, Michigan State won’t get in.

It simply will not happen.

— Kyle Mann