There will be a new No. 3 team in next week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Michigan State – the No. 3 team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings – beat No. 9 Michigan 37-33 in dramatic fashion last Saturday.
Apparently, the Spartans were due for a letdown after such an emotional win. In true Purdue fashion, the Boilermakers took down the third-ranked Spartans 40-29 on Saturday night.
Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell had a massive performance through the air, completing 40 of his 54 pass attempts for 536 yards and three touchdowns. It was his receiver, David Bell, who stole the show though with 11 catches for 217 yards and one score.
Michigan State’s dreams of reaching the Playoff for the second time in program history just took a severe blow.
Michigan State can still find its way into the College Football Playoff, but can’t afford another loss from here on out. The Spartans have remaining tests versus Maryland, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 22 Penn State.
Purdue, on the other hand, has now taken down two top-five teams (No. 2 Iowa and No. 3 Michigan State) this season. Do not take the Boilermakers lightly or you’ll pay the price.
The next edition of this season’s playoff rankings will be unveiled next Tuesday night. Georgia will probably stay put at No. 1 in next week’s playoff rankings following a dominant 43-6 win over Missouri on Saturday. Alabama, meanwhile, should be able to take care of business versus LSU tonight and stay put at No. 2, though they trail the Tigers early on.
Oregon, which surprisingly landed at No. 4 in the first playoff rankings, could jump up to No. 3 if the Ducks can take down Washington in Seattle later this evening.
The real playoff-rankings mystery begins at No. 4. Ohio State and Cincinnati – Nos. 5 and 6 – won in lackluster fashion on Saturday, but one is bound to take the jump.