B/R
In theory, the College Football Playoff picture should be getting clearer with just one week remaining in the regular season before the conference championship games.
That theory didn’t account for the complete chaos that unfolded this past Saturday, especially in the SEC. There are now plenty of question marks regarding what the 12-team field will eventually look like, and those questions will only get louder if there is another week of chaos with rivalry games on deck.
The selection committee provided some answers to its overall mindset Tuesday with the latest set of rankings. Keep in mind, the rankings will look different than the current projected bracket because the four highest-ranked conference champions will receive the top four seeds and the first-round byes that come with them.
What’s more, the fifth-highest ranked conference champion is also automatically included in the field, meaning a team outside the top 12 in the rankings could be in the CFP.
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Penn State
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- SMU
- Indiana
- Boise State
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- South Carolina
- Arizona State
- Tulane
- Iowa State
- BYU
- Texas A&M
- Missouri
- UNLV
- Illinois
- Kansas State
- Colorado
Saturday was a no good, very bad, forgetful day for many of the SEC’s playoff contenders.
First, Ole Miss picked up its third loss of the season when it dropped a game to 6-5 Florida. That was just the start of the massive results, as Alabama didn’t even score a touchdown in a 24-3 loss to a 6-5 Oklahoma team that hadn’t even beaten an FBS team since September.
As if that wasn’t enough, Texas A&M picked up its third loss when it fell in four overtimes to a 5-6 Auburn squad that will need to defeat the Crimson Tide just to be bowl eligible.
Even Georgia allowed 226 rushing yards to 2-9 UMass, although the Bulldogs can at least take solace knowing they won the game and will be comfortably in the playoff picture as long as they take care of business against rival Georgia Tech.
In quite the ironic twist, Indiana may have been one of the biggest playoff winners Saturday even though it was blown out in a 38-15 loss at Ohio State.
While that was the Hoosiers’ first loss of the season, there were questions about their overall resume even when they were undefeated. After all, their best win in terms of the Big Ten standings came against 6-5 Washington, and there was a narrative emerging that Indiana didn’t belong ahead of many of those multi-loss SEC teams that played harder schedules.
That narrative picked up more steam after the Buckeyes handled Curt Cignetti’s team with ease. And then it completely fell off a cliff when many of those same SEC teams that supposedly deserved to be ahead of the Hoosiers lost against middling opponents.
The chaos that helped Indiana and others wasn’t limited to the SEC, as 5-6 Kansas handed Colorado a third loss while Arizona State gave BYU its second loss.
As a result, there are still nine teams with a chance to reach the Big 12 Championship Game heading into the final week of the regular season. Seeing how every team in the conference has at least two losses and there will be more defeats before the final 12-team field is revealed, it is difficult to envision the Big 12 getting more than one team into the playoff.
It also wouldn’t be surprising if the ACC ends up with one team in the playoff, although it still has three legitimate contenders in SMU, Miami and Clemson.
The Mustangs control their own destiny and already clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game, while the Hurricanes are a win over Syracuse away from joining them. Yet Clemson would jump into the conference title game if Miami slipped up and perhaps have the opportunity to reach the playoff as well.
One thing is for sure with so much hanging in the balance. The rankings will look different at this time next week.
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