This was the first weekend real chaos ensued in the top 25. There was a lot of it too.
Let me point out on my philosophy on these rankings – you’re most recent OOC results count a lot, and you’ll see me reference that throughout the season.
We’ll give each conference a relative strength value 1-10.
1) SEC – 7.75
Any win Arkansas has in the SEC is bad for the conference, after their OOC flame outs. They beat Tennessee this weekend. Ole Miss getting whacked 38-10 by Florida was another bad result for the SEC. It knocks Ole Miss out of the playoff chase at the moment. As far as I’m concerned any team that loses by more than 21 points during the regular season isn’t a playoff without a ton of help. That means we’re looking at you too Georgia after your embarrassing 38-10 loss to Alabama. Here’s the problem right now for the SEC. They keep knocking each other off, and it’s not because the teams are outstanding. Remember despite Alabama’s nice win at Georgia, they have an ugly home loss to Ole Miss.
The SEC is not guaranteed a playoff spot, so they better hope someone catches fire.
Tennessee plays Georgia and Arkansas visits Alabama. Tennessee or Arkansas winning would not be a good look for the SEC.
Playoff Contenders
LSU
In the Playoff Picture
Alabama, Texas A&M
2) Pac 12 – 7.5
The Pac 12 is suffering from the same problem as the SEC is. They are knocking each other off. This week Arizona State who lost OOC to Texas A&M, beat UCLA 38-23. That leaves the Pac 12 with one legitimate playoff contender at this point in the season. Utah’s win over Michigan is looking better and better as the season progresses. If your poll doesn’t have Utah in the top 5, then I question how you evaluate teams.
Utah hosts a dangerous California team next week in the Pac 12′s game of the week.
Playoff Contenders
Utah
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
3) Big 10 – 7.25
The Big 10 is one weird conference. Ohio State and Michigan State are in the top 5, but based on actual season performance Northwestern has the best resume, while the Buckeyes and Spartans have looked very shaky. Michigan barely escaped a bad Purdue team, and Ohio State nearly lost to Indiana. I don’t like how the Spartans are trending. They are not a playoff team right now. Ohio State is one more poor performance from joining them.
Michigan is improving each week, and Iowa looks pretty good. There’s depth to the Big 10 this year.
None of the Big 10′s playoff contenders play next week.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State
In the Playoff Picture
Michigan State, Northwestern
4) Big 12 – 7
TCU finally looked like a playoff team humiliating Texas 50-7, but I’m still remembering a close wins against Minnesota and Texas Tech. Baylor finally beat a team with pulse when they took out Texas Tech. Oklahoma is the team you have to watch, they looked impressive pounding a decent West Virginia team.
Next week TCU has a very dangerous game against Kansas State on the road. A Bill Snyder coached team losing two in a row? I’m calling this upset. Baylor will have their starters sitting by the end of the first quarter against the country’s worst power 5 team Kansas. If Oklahoma State is for real, they’ll win at West Virginia.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
Baylor, TCU
5) ACC – 6.5
Miami proved to be pretenders after an ugly loss at Cincinnati. NC State also have reached pretender status when they couldn’t defeat Louisville at home, but Clemson saved the weekend for the ACC. The Tigers in a monstrous win defeated top 10 Notre Dame 24-22, and put themselves in the playoff hunt. It was the win the conference desperately needed and Clemson came through.
Duke is on on the fringe of the top 25, and could give the ACC a lift if they can get ranked. There only loss has been to a very good Northwestern team.
This week Clemson faces a reeling Georgia Tech team in a game they still can’t over look. Same goes for Florida State. They get a Miami team coming off that Cincinnati defeat. The Noles aren’t playing well enough to just lineup and take care of the Hurricanes.
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
Florida State
The Rest
Notre Dame was fairly lucky they had an opportunity to win at Clemson. They were outplayed for most of the game by the Tigers but nearly rallied to win. That said the loss puts a dent in the Irish’s playoff chances. They have the schedule that should they run the table could get them back into the top 4. Always tricky Navy is this week.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
My Current Playoff Teams
As my personal criticism of the playoff committee, I don’t think the top 4 seeds order should be released until the final rankings. The playoff committee’s inconsistent and ever changing criteria is causing unnecessary frustration and confusion. It’s one of the improvement points I’d have for them.
If I had a vote this is who I would put in the playoff right now.
In – LSU | Ohio State | Clemson | Utah
Just Missed – 5) TCU 6) Oklahoma 7) Alabama 8) Baylor
