Predicting the College Football Playoff after Alabama, Ole Miss, and Indiana all lose
This weekend was one of the best yet the most chaotic weekend's of the College Football season. Just when everything seemed to be becoming clearer in the race for the College Football Playoff Ole Miss, Alabama, and Texas A&M all took shocking losses only fueling the debate even further.
We're now in the final weekend of the regular season and none of the Power Four Conferences have their Conference Title Games fully set while nearly everyone is alive in the Big 12 race. After an incredibly wild week 13, here is how we see the 12 team College Football Playoff field playing out.
Rank | Team | Why They're Here | AP Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Oregon Ducks | Big Ten Champions | 1st |
2. | Georgia Bulldogs | SEC Champions | 6th |
3. | SMU Mustangs | ACC Champions | 9th |
4. | Arizona State Sun Devils | Big 12 Champions | 14th |
5. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | At Large | 5th |
6. | Ohio State Buckeyes | At Large | 2nd |
7. | Texas Longhorns | At Large | 3rd |
8. | Penn State Nittany Lions | At Large | 4th |
9. | Tennessee Volunteers | At Large | 7th |
10. | Miami Hurricanes | At Large | 8th |
11. | Indiana Hoosiers | At Large | 10th |
12. | Tulane Green Wave | AAC Champions | 18th |
The Oregon Ducks remain the lone unbeaten team and remain the best bet to earn the top overall seed in the College Football Playoff field. The Georgia Bulldogs have already punched their ticket to the SEC Championship Game and they've already beaten their most likely opponent the Texas Longhorns. The SMU Mustangs remain our pick to win the ACC Championship game, they have a solid defense and their offense will push a shaky Miami defense to the limits. Rounding out the Bye Weeks are the Arizona State Sun Devils who will punch their ticket to the Big 12 title game with a win over 4-7 Arizona.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have done everything right since losing to Northern Illinois and they now have the perfect path to earning the highly coveted 5th seed. Ohio State will likely face Oregon in the Big Ten Title game and if they lose the rematch they'll still likely land at the 6th seed. At 7th we have the Texas Longhorns who are in a win and in game for the SEC Title game this weekend and if they win and lose to Georgia as we expect they'll be the best candidate to land at 7th.
At 8th and 9th we have two teams that will benefit from not playing in their Conference championship in Penn State and Tennessee. Both teams will face inferior Conference opponents this weekend and all they'll need to do is win to earn their way into the Playoff while a loss makes both cases shaky.
At 10 we have the Miami Hurricanes who were likely the benefactor of the chaos in the SEC this weekend as even with a loss in the Conference Championship game they should be in the playoff. Despite the Indiana Hoosiers loss against Ohio State, they're also saved by teams like Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M taking their third losses. Rounding out the 12 teams are the Tulane Green Wave who have dominated this season and have the best shot at making the Playoff as Boise State continues to struggle.
On the outside looking in are Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M with the Aggies controlling their own destiny with a win over Texas and a win in the SEC Championship game. In the Group of Five, Boise State, UNLV, and Army are all alive in addition to Tulane.
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