After a few weeks with several massive games, Week Nine took a step back as we learned something about several teams but, the games weren't great. LSU vs Texas A&M, Notre Dame Vs Navy, and UNLV Vs Boise State were our biggest matchups with playoff implications which isn't the most appealing of slates.
Compared to most weeks this was a calm week of College Football as we had several chances for massive upsets but, they never ended up materializing. After Week Nine, here is how we predict the College Football Playoff bracket will shake out by the end of the season.
Rank | Team | Why They're Here | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Oregon Ducks | Big Ten Champions | 1st |
2. | Georgia Bulldogs | SEC Champions | 2nd |
3. | Miami Hurricanes | ACC Champions | 3rd |
4. | BYU Cougars | Big 12 Champions | 4th |
5. | Texas Longhorns | At Large | 6th |
6. | Ohio State Buckeyes | At Large | 5th |
7. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | At Large | 10th |
8. | Texas A&M Aggies | At Large | Unranked |
9. | Penn State Nittany Lions | At Large | 7th |
10. | Clemson Tigers | At Large | 8th |
11. | Tennessee Volunteers | At Large | Unranked |
12. | Boise State Broncos | Mountain West Champions | 12th |
The Oregon Ducks remain our top team as they dominated Illinois while a few of the other threats in the Big Ten struggled immensely. The Georgia Bulldogs remain our pick to win the SEC especially as Texas struggled yet again. The Miami Hurricanes may not face a team on their level until the ACC Championship but, they have a Heisman front runner in Cam Ward and will be tough to beat in the ACC. Rounding out the Conference Champions is BYU who continues to demolish everyone in their path.
The two media darlings in Ohio State and Texas still have a great chance if they make it to their conference championships but, fresh off of their losses, they didn't erase any doubt as they struggled with Vanderbilt and Nebraska.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish make the jump to 7th after handling Navy this weekend in a dominating performance. The Fighting Irish have two games that could give them a test left against Army and USC but, they should win both games while their win over Texas A&M continues to look more impressive.
The Texas A&M Aggies join the party with their massive win over LSU as they hold first place in the SEC. The Aggies still have some tough tests ahead including a game against the Longhorns but, if Texas A&M can avoid a loss prior to Texas, the Aggies should only finish with two losses.
The Penn State Nittany Lions won but, they struggled against Wisconsin and Quarterback Drew Allar suffered a knee injury. The next game on the schedule is Ohio State and if this Penn State team is different than the ones before it they'll need to win this game.
Clemson and Tennessee are our final two at large teams despite being on a bye week this weekend. Tennessee still has a massive test against Georgia left on the schedule and Clemson will need to beat Miami in the ACC Championship but, both teams have great chances at the Playoff.
Late on Friday Night into Saturday Morning, the Boise State Broncos picked up a massive win over UNLV shifting the race in the Mountain West. Between Navy, UNLV, and Liberty all losing, Boise State is the front runner for the final conference champion win but, Army could put themselves into the Conversation.
Dropping out of the field from last week are LSU and Indiana as the Tigers suffered their second loss of the season while Indiana still has four massive tests including one against Ohio State.
The teams in contention for one of these spots down the stretch are the winner of Alabama Vs LSU, Iowa State who's in contention for the Big 12, SMU who's unbeaten in the ACC, Indiana who's unbeaten in the Big Ten but, lacks a big win, Kansas State who's alive in the Big 12, and Ole Miss if they win out and get some help.