ESPN's Ryan Clark Gives Alabama-LSU Loser the Edge Over Oklahoma in CFP Race
By Chris Pyo
The race for one of four College Football Playoff berths is really intensifying of late, especially after the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners dropped a game to unranked Kansas State 48-41 Saturday.
Now, ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark is seemingly giving the loser of a highly anticipated Alabama-LSU matchup the edge over Oklahoma for the CFP no matter what (assuming that team finishes with just one loss).
Presumably, Clark thinks that because the Sooners lost a game to an unranked team, that essentially knocks them out of Playoff contention barring something unforeseen, and that may be a valid point. No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 LSU will be facing off on November 9, and only one team can win that game, after all, but the loser may still be the second-best team in the nation.
Having a loss to a top-two ranked team looks a lot better to the playoff committee than a loss to an unranked Kansas State team that had no business beating a title contender-- no matter how close Oklahoma was to pulling out the W in the end.
Now, the stars are aligning for Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Clemson to jostle for those all-important CFP berths. Oklahoma, on the other hand, is on track to be on the outside looking in.