TCU comes to Memorial Stadium this weekend with an 8-1 record and a coveted spot in the College Football Playoff Ranking’s top four.

So does anyone from the Lawrence Journal-World staff think Kansas (3-6) can topple the Horned Frogs on Saturday?

No. Not really.

At least we can debate the merits of the new College Football Playoff.

WEEK 11 MATCHUPS

TCU at Kansas

Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Texas at Oklahoma State

Nebraska at Wisconsin

Auburn at Georgia

Mississippi State at Alabama

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

If the season ended today, TCU would be in the four-team College Football Playoff. Though TCU and Baylor are both 8-1 and the Bears beat the Horned Frogs head-to-head, BU is No. 7 and TCU is No. 4 in the College Football Playoff Rankings. Do you have any issue with this or anything else related to the new system?

Overall: 46-14 Last week: 2-4

TCU 49, Kansas 14

Oklahoma 48, Texas Tech 24

Texas 24, Oklahoma State 21

Wisconsin 28, Nebraska 21

Auburn 35, Georgia 21

Alabama 17, Mississippi State 14

Answer: I think TCU has earned the No. 4 spot over Baylor, despite the head-to-head loss. Baylor’s only other top-25 win came last week against a reeling Oklahoma team, which fell out of the rankings following the loss. TCU has four wins against top-25 teams and would have five if not for the fourth-quarter meltdown against Baylor. TCU should be able to hold on to the No. 4 spot or even move up before season’s end. The Horned Frogs shouldn’t have any trouble getting past Kansas and Iowa State, but a Thanksgiving night matchup against Texas in Austin could be a difficult one.

Overall: 45-15 Last week: 3-3

TCU 49, Kansas 31

Oklahoma 35, Texas Tech 24

Texas 28, Oklahoma State 17

Wisconsin 34, Nebraska 23

Georgia  35, Auburn 31

Mississippi State 56, Alabama 13

Answer: No issues whatsoever. I could quibble with ranking TCU ahead of Baylor, but I give the committee mad props for dropping Florida State to No. 3 and keeping Alabama out of the top four. By the end of the season, the top four will be pretty obvious and there won’t be much left to debate. Since the main reason we watch sports is to have something to debate, the committee was smart to start Buzz-Feeding us its weekly rankings in October. 

Overall: 42-18 Last week: 2-4

TCU 77, Kansas 14

Oklahoma 42, Texas Tech 14

Oklahoma State 14, Texas 13

Wisconsin 63, Nebraska 55

Georgia 28, Auburn 21

Alabama 35, Mississippi State 3

Answer: Of course there’s going to be controversy, until there’s a 64-team, quadruple-elimination round-robin followed by a best-of-3, best-of-5, best-of-7 elimination bracket. Think how much money THAT would generate. But it’s all about the kids.

Overall: 42-18 Last week: 1-5

TCU 45, Kansas 14

Oklahoma 21, Texas Tech 7

Texas 17, Oklahoma State 14

Nebraska 51, Wisconsin 47

Auburn 45, Georgia 38

Alabama 34, Mississippi State 24

Answer: Reminds me of 2000 national title game when the BCS elected to let one-loss Florida State in over one-loss Miami, who had beat FSU. I love strength of schedule as much as the next guy, but head-to-head results should weigh much more than who’s played tougher opponents. I will give credit to the committee for ranking the lovely Minnesota Golden Gophers at #25, though. They know talent when they see it.

Overall: 40-20 Last week: 2-4

TCU 38, Kansas 10

Oklahoma 38, Texas Tech 14

Texas 34, Oklahoma State 21

Wisconsin 21, Nebraska 17

Auburn 24, Georgia 17

Alabama 28, Mississippi State 20

Answer: I’d put Baylor in there based on beating TCU. My only issue with the system is let’s stop the charade and go directly to eight teams next year. Under that scenario, Kansas surely would have been one of the eight the year of the Orange Bowl and the whole nation would have tuned in to watch Todd Reesing, James McClinton, Aqib Talib. If Talib had a pick six as he did in the Orange Bowl the whole nation could have heard his answer to the sideline reporter who asked, “What was going through your head as you returned that for an interception?” Talib said, “Deion!” honoring the great Deion Sanders.

Overall: 40-20 Last week: 3-3

TCU 37, Kansas 14

Oklahoma 33, Texas Tech 24

Texas 17, Oklahoma State 16

Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 23

Auburn 36, Georgia 30

Mississippi State 19, Alabama 17

Answer: In the grand scheme of the College Football Playoff Rankings, TCU (No. 4) and Baylor (No. 7) aren’t that far apart. If they were right next to each other — Baylor at No. 5 — I’d have an issue with the rankings. Right now Alabama is No. 5, and I’d agree the Crimson Tide is a better team than Baylor (not totally convinced Arizona State at No. 6 is though), so there is some separation. I guess the question is: how did TCU get past Baylor to begin with? Well, Baylor’s loss at West Virginia was more recent and more of an “upset,” so the Bears haven’t had time to recover in the rankings. By the end of the regular season, hopefully it works itself out. I’ll be interested to see what happens if the two teams do end up side-by-side.

Overall: 40-20 Last week: 3-3

TCU 42, KU 17

Oklahoma 40, Texas Tech 14

Oklahoma State 23, Texas 20

Wisconsin 33, Nebraska 27

Georgia 35, Auburn 34

Mississippi State 24, Alabama 23

Answer: Anything’s better than the BCS, right?

Overall: 39-21 Last week: 3-3

TCU 38, Kansas 14

Oklahoma 35, Texas Tech 21

Texas 27, Oklahoma State 17

Wisconsin 33, Nebraska 23

Auburn 28, Georgia 24

Mississippi State 26, Alabama 24

Answer: There’s probably no perfect system but I like this better than anything we’ve had in recent memory. I think it’s great that there’s a selection committee & I’m all for human element and thoughts playing into such decisions. If it were up to me, there’d be an 8-team playoff and this isn’t too far away from that. For whatever it’s worth, I think Baylor & TCU both crack the Top 4 when it’s all said and done.  

Overall: 38-22 Last week: 2-4

TCU 47, Kansas 19

Oklahoma 42, Texas Tech 21

Oklahoma State 30, Texas 22

Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 17

Georgia 24, Auburn 21

Alabama 30, Mississippi State 24

Answer: I’d say if Baylor and TCU wound up with the same record, a head-to-head victory should give Baylor the nod over the Frogs. Head-to-head meetings are always a point of contention. Remember when Missouri beat KU in football and KU landed the Orange Bowl and Mizzou a much lesser bowl? A lot of people think at that moment, MU basically checked out of the conference. It’s an interesting debate. A playoff is welcome, but there are always going to be teams that feel they were left out.

Overall: 38-22 Last week: 1-5

TCU 56, Kansas 10

Oklahoma 34, Texas Tech 30

Texas 28, Oklahoma State 27

Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 28

Georgia 35, Auburn 30

Alabama 24, Mississippi State 17

Answer: College football would be better off with an eight-team playoff, and even better off with a 16-team playoff.